Customers

Manage customer records

Customer records keep contact information, notes, communication preferences, and repair history connected to the right person.

FretTrack Customers workspace with search, filters, customer directory, account summary, and customer profile

The responsive Customers workspace shown with fictional shop and customer data.

Create or select a customer

  1. Search for the customer before creating a new record.
  2. Select the existing record when possible.
  3. If the customer is new, enter first name, last name, phone, email, and useful notes.
  4. Record SMS, transactional email, or Automated Service Reminder opt-in only when the customer has agreed. Reminder consent is separate from ordinary job email permission. SMS consent can be recorded now, but FretTrack SMS delivery is not enabled.
  5. Connect new jobs to the correct customer record.

Use customer history

The Customers page uses one directory and profile workspace. Search and filters narrow the selectable directory; the open profile separates account totals, contact details, job history, payments, and shop notes. On a phone or tablet, those areas stack into one contained column.

When a customer returns, review previous jobs, notes, instruments, parts, work logs, reminder eligibility, and—on Pro—Loyalty progress and redemption history. This helps the shop repeat preferred setups, answer questions, and avoid duplicate customer records.

Save and reuse customer instruments

Open a customer profile and use Instruments to add the customer's guitar, bass, amplifier, keyboard, or other instrument. Record a nickname, type, make, model, year, serial number, color, finish, orientation, string count, and shop notes as needed.

During new work-order or estimate intake, select the customer first and then choose the instrument from Saved instrument. FretTrack fills the instrument identity into the new document and links the work order to that profile. For a new instrument, leave the selector on New / unsaved instrument and keep Save this instrument to the customer profile selected.

Each work order keeps its own instrument snapshot, so later profile edits do not rewrite prior paperwork. Archive an instrument that the customer no longer uses; archiving preserves its existing service history.

Read and route incoming email replies

  1. Open Messages from the left navigation.
  2. Use Refresh in the shop-wide Unassigned Inbox to load newly received replies.
  3. Review the matched customer, choose the correct work order, and select Route message.
  4. Open the customer's profile to review that customer's Conversation history. The shop-wide inbox is kept separate from customer profiles.

FretTrack does not guess a work order from an email subject. Replies remain safely unassigned until a staff member chooses a work order belonging to the matched customer.

Good customer notes

  • Preferred contact method.
  • Pickup availability.
  • String or setup preferences.
  • Approval requirements before ordering parts.
  • Deadline notes tied to repair work.

Privacy and professionalism

Customer records can contain personal contact information. Keep notes focused on repair workflow and avoid unnecessary private details, gossip, or anything that would not belong in a professional shop record.

Automated reminders and Loyalty

A Pro shop can send a service reminder only when its shop rule is enabled and the customer separately opted in. Removing the customer's email also removes reminder consent when the record is saved. Loyalty stamps come from qualifying linked, fully paid, completed work orders; staff explicitly record reward redemption and apply any promised service or discount through the normal work-order billing controls.

Import customers from MusicShop360

FretTrack imports customer information from MusicShop360 customer CSV exports. Owners and administrators can open Customers, choose CSV Import Preview, select their export, review the results, and choose Import Ready Customers.

Names, company, email, phone and cell numbers, full postal addresses, and notes are supported. A cell number is used when the main phone is blank. Files may contain up to 25,000 customers; progress is shown as records are imported in batches.

Duplicate or invalid rows are skipped and available through Download Skipped/Error CSV. Shared family phone numbers or emails may need review. Existing customers are not overwritten.

This transfers contact information, not balances, transaction history, rewards, discounts, tax settings, inactive status, marketing consent, or custom fields. Keep your original export. If an import stops, review the reported progress and customer directory before starting another import, because earlier batches remain saved.

Troubleshooting

Owners and administrators can merge suggested duplicate customer profiles. Open the profile you want to keep, select Merge a duplicate, compare both records, and confirm the merge reason. Work orders and message history move to the kept profile; missing details and notes are preserved. Shared family contact information is only a suggestion, so verify both people before merging. Profiles with immutable transaction history cannot currently be merged.

If you cannot create or edit a customer, check your role. Viewer access is read-only. If a job is attached to the wrong customer, ask an owner or admin to correct the link if you do not have edit access.