Customers
In Pointa, when referring to your Customer database, there are a few different areas we need to look at.
Customer records are used for appointment history, sales history, customer notes, reminders, promotions, rewards, credit balances, and account activity.
When it comes to making an appointment on behalf of a customer, best practice is to search for an existing customer before creating a new one, especially if the customer may have booked before, purchased before, or been imported from another system.
Creating a New Customer
Go to Customers > New Customer
Enter the customer details. The required fields are:
First name
Last name
Recommended fields are:
Mobile phone
Email address
Date of birth
Preferred contact method
Preferred staff member
Medical notes, if relevant
Customer options include:
Email reminders
SMS reminders
Email promotions
SMS promotions
Reward scheme member
VIP customer
Pointa checks for duplicate customers using details such as name, email address, and mobile number. If a possible duplicate is found, review it before creating a new customer. This helps avoid splitting a customer’s appointment history, rewards, sales history, and notes across multiple profiles.
A customer cannot be deleted if they have future bookings that are not cancelled or deleted.
Customer Sales History
Go to Customers > Search customer > Sales
The Sales tab shows sales linked to that customer. Use this when reviewing previous purchases, checking a customer’s transaction history, or finding a sale for a return/refund.
This can be a better way to locate a sale than going directly through Sales > History, especially if the customer has a long purchase history or you are unsure of the sale date.
Customer Appointment History
Go to Customers > Search customer > Sales
The Appointment tab shows all past and future upcoming appointments for this customer.
Creating Customer Records
The most common time to create a customer record is when completing a sale. After selecting Complete Sale in POS, Pointa can prompt you to create a customer record for the client.
Whether this prompt appears is controlled in Settings > Sales. Under the Sales heading, choose one of the following options:
Ask – Prompt you each time to create a customer record.
Always – Automatically open the customer record window after every completed sale.
Never – Do not prompt or automatically open the customer record window.
You can also create customer records manually at any time.
Create a Customer Record Manually
Go to Customers > Search Customer > Records > New Record.
Customer records are dated notes stored against a customer's profile. They can be used for consultation notes, colour formulas, preferences, service history, or any other information that staff may need to refer back to.
Each customer record displays:
Date and time
Author (staff member)
Notes
Linked booking or sale, where applicable
Customer records can also be linked to sales or bookings. For example, a customer record created during a sale may include a link back to the associated receipt.
Notifications
Customer notification preferences are controlled on the customer profile:
Email reminders
SMS reminders
Email promotions
SMS promotions
Preferred contact method
These customer-level settings work alongside the business notification settings under:
Settings > Notifications & Reminders
A customer must have the relevant contact detail loaded before Pointa can send that type of notification. For example, SMS reminders require a mobile number, and email reminders require an email address.
Promotion settings are separate from appointment reminders. A customer may receive reminders but not promotions, or promotions but not reminders, depending on their profile settings.
Loyalty Rewards
Rewards depend on three things:
Rewards must be enabled in Settings > Sales.
The customer must be ticked as a Reward scheme member.
The item sold must allow customer rewards.
When a qualifying sale is completed, Pointa calculates the reward value using the rewards percentage in Sales settings. The reward amount is added to the customer’s reward balance as customer credit.
Example: if rewards are set to 5%, the customer is a rewards member, and they buy $100 of reward-eligible services/products, Pointa adds $5 to their reward balance.
Rewards can later be redeemed as a payment type when making a sale. See the Point of Sale/payment section for more detail.
Bulk Customer Import
Go to Settings > Import
Select Download to download the Pointa import templates.
Use the customer import template only. Do not change, move, rename, or delete the column headings. Add customer data below the existing headings, then upload the completed .xlsx file under:
Import Customers
Imported customer fields include names, gender, date of birth, email, phone numbers, and address fields.
Imported customers are not automatically opted in for promotions. Review customer communication preferences after import if the business intends to use promotional email or SMS.
Customer Marketing
Mailchimp integration is used for email marketing. Your business is required to have a separate Mailchimp account in order to connect to Pointa.
To connect your Mailchimp account:
Go to Settings > Apps > Connect to Mailchimp
Once again select Connect to Mailchimp.
Once connected and logged into your Mailchimp account, select the Mailchimp audience to synchronise with Pointa.
When Mailchimp is paired, Pointa can subscribe customers based on their email promotion preference. Customers need an email address and must be opted in for email promotions for marketing sync to be useful.