# Adding New Customers

**Follow these steps to add new customers to your Alternative Payments partner dashboard.**

***

If you're using Alternative Payments to create all your invoices and customers, here's how you can add a new customer to your partner dashboard.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** If you are using a PSA or accounting software integration, then all invoices and customer details will sync in from your integration. You do not need to create customers manually.
{% endhint %}

## Creating a Customer

1. Log in to your Alternative portal: [www.alternativepayments.io](https://www.alternativepayments.io/)
2. Go to "Account Receivable > Customers" and select "All Customers."
3. Select "Add customer."

<figure><img src="/files/lgNyADchX38iD3JR8UFr" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

4. Fill in the customer details using the fields below, then click "Continue."

### Customer Fields

| Field               | Required | Description                                                                                              |
| ------------------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Company**         | Yes      | The customer's company or business name. This is the primary identifier shown throughout the dashboard.  |
| **Legal Name**      | No       | The registered legal name of the business, if different from the company name. Used on formal documents. |
| **EIN**             | No       | Employer Identification Number. Must be a 9-digit US tax ID (format: XX-XXXXXXX).                        |
| **Address**         | Yes      | Street address for the customer's primary business location.                                             |
| **City**            | Yes      | City for the customer's business address.                                                                |
| **State/Province**  | Yes      | State or province. Validated against US states and Canadian provinces.                                   |
| **ZIP/Postal Code** | Yes      | ZIP or postal code. Validated for US (5-digit or ZIP+4) and Canadian (A1A 1A1) formats.                  |
| **Country**         | Yes      | Currently supports United States and Canada.                                                             |

<figure><img src="/files/cpUl95rXqxIDS9RKZMJD" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

5. After filling in the customer details, click "Continue" to create the customer record.

## Adding Users to a Customer

After the customer is created, you can add users who will be able to access and pay invoices associated with the company profile. Adding at least one user is required to complete the setup.

1. On the user screen, enter the user's name and email address.
2. Click "Create Customer" to finalize.

<figure><img src="/files/GH8yKAi27phb0mWLesr6" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

If there are multiple team members that require access to a company's invoices, add those team members as users. Each user receives their own login credentials and can view and pay invoices for the company.

You can also add more users later from the Customer Details page after the customer has been created.

## What Happens Next

Once a customer is created, the following capabilities become available:

* **Invoicing** -- You can immediately create and send invoices to the customer.
* **Automation** -- The customer is eligible for automated email reminders and payment notifications.
* **Portal Access** -- Users added to the customer profile can log in to the customer portal to view invoices and make payments.
* **Tags** -- You can apply tags to the customer for filtering and organization across your dashboard.
* **Payment Methods** -- Users can add payment methods (credit card, debit card, or bank account) through the portal, or you can add them from the partner dashboard.

**Love our platform?** Rate us on [Channel Program](https://channelprogram.com/v/alternativepayments) and check out our [Referral Program page](https://www.alternativepayments.io/referral-partners/)!<br>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://help.alternativepayments.io/payments-and-invoicing/managing-customers/adding-new-customers.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
