Before Migration
For All Staff:
You have heard the buzz, and want to learn more about the Client & Contact Structure before your firm migrates over! Here is your one-stop show to learn more about the new structure and what changes you can expect once the migration is complete.
1. Benefits of the new Client & Contact Structure
The updated Client & Contact structure is designed to help improve the overall client experience and address some of the concerns you brought to us! The new structure will not only help alleviate some of the pain points but will also allow for future growth and advancement in what you can do with your clients!
Benefits include:
Separation of Contacts to create a more flexible Client experience including one profile for married couples and the ability to add multiple contacts to business client records.
Client Groups to help organize clients under the same ownership and allow for group billing!
It opens the door for new and exciting features down the road! Keep your eyes peeled.
2. Get to Know the Client & Contact Structure
Check out this overview video to better understand how clients, contacts, and client groups work together in the updated client & contact structure.
Client vs. Contact vs. Client Group
When you're managing clients in Canopy for the first time, it’s important to understand the difference between a Client, a Contact, and a Client Group. This will help you stay organized and work more efficiently.
Clients: Who You’re Working For
A Client is an entity your firm provides services for. Clients aren’t going anywhere, this is what you already know and love. There are two types:
Individual Clients –Anyone filing taxes as a singe, married, head of household etc. Example: such as Jimmy and Kelsey Baker.
Business Clients – Companies, LLCs, or non-profits, like Baker & Baker Plumbing.
Contacts: The People You Interact With
A Contact is a person associated with a client. They might be a spouse, a business owner, or a company manager. Contacts can be invited to the Client Portal to:
View and download shared files
Review invoices
Complete assigned tasks
Example: Jimmy Baker is a contact for both his personal tax account and his business, Baker & Baker Plumbing. He can switch between them in the Client Portal.
Client Groups: Keeping Related Clients Together
A Client Group links multiple related clients under the same ownership structure.
Example: The Baker Group includes:
Jimmy & Kelsey Baker(Jimmy’s Personal tax account)
Baker & Baker Plumbing (Jimmy’s business)
With Client Groups, you can:
Organize related clients
Share files across clients
Group billing
Now that you know how these work, let’s explore the changes you will notice on a client record.
The Client Record comparison
Once you migrate you will notice your Client Record page will have a slightly updated look. The primary function of the page is not changing; you will still be able to find all the same information as before, but now it should be easier to view contact details.
Let's check out a quick comparison of the current structure and the new client & contact structure:
Client portal Information will now be available under the contact details. You can send invites, manage sent invites, and resend invites under the Contacts section.
Information in the current Client Info and About sections will move to either the contact details if it relates to an individual person (SSN, DOB, etc) or under updated client info if it is generic to the client record (Client since created on, etc)
Spouse, dependent, and important client information will all live under Contacts and Connections. This may look a little different depending on how your firm chooses to link each of these relationships in the migration process.
Helpful Tip: You may be wondering what a connection is: it is simply a client you wish to have associated with the account but not listed as a contact. This could include business associates, a lawyer, etc.
When you navigate away from the home page, you have more room to work as the client information is tucked away. You can click on the Client info at the top of the page to have the client information panel fly. You can X out and return to the full page at any time.
Adding a Client
You will also notice a few new changes to the Add Client Modal.
Navigation Menu - There is now a navigation menu on the left-hand side.
Client Name - during the migration, your firm will select your firm's client naming convention.
Client Facing Name - You will have the option to use a different naming convention for documentation your client sees.
Save - You can save your client information by clicking Create and close or Create and manage - now at the top of the window.
Primary Contact - for individual clients, you will need to add a primary contact.
You will still have the ability to add custom fields, tags, and roles.
Client List
There are a few changes to look forward to on the client list as well.
Contacts - View all the contacts associated with the client record. You can click on a contact to view their details.
Client Group - View the client group the client is associated with.
Client Portal User - A quick way to view if the client record has any client portal users.
You can take a deeper look at the client list here.
Contact List
The client & contact structure also has a new contact list where you can view all contacts. Organized similar to the client list you can filter the list, complete bulk actions and view contact details.
Click on the contact name to view and edit the contact.
View all assigned clients associated with the contact.
Select multiple contacts to send bulk emails, merge contacts, or archive.
Save filtered views to further organize contacts.
Learn more about the contact list here.
Other Changes
There are a few other areas in Canopy where you will see slight changes.
For example:
Moving and sharing files - Share files with clients in the same client group
eSign - You will select a specific contact from the client record to sign documents.
Client requests - You will select a specific contact(s) from the client record to receive the client request. When sending bulk client requests all contacts associated with the selected clients will be sent a request.
Engagements - When creating a new client in an Engagement, you will need to add a primary contact.
Organizers - When you create a new client in an organizer you will also need to include a primary contact.
WIP Reports and Statements - Generate WIP Reports and Statements by Client Groups.
Invoices - Create one invoice for an entire client group. Select which client in the group to send the invoice.
For Admin:
Your firm is ready to migrate, but you may be thinking What can I do to prepare for the migration? What can I expect during the migration process and what steps do we take after?
We are here to help you, and want to make sure you have all the information and resources you need to make sure you feel confident moving forward. On top of this guide, you can also talk to your CSM about additional services to help support you throughout the migration process.
How to Prepare for the Migration
First, let’s look at some of the things you can do to prepare your data for migration. Keep in mind that you can choose to “clean” your data before or after migration. You will not lose any data in the migration, so any of these suggestions can also be done after the migration takes place. However, if you have time now, here are a few suggestions we have to help you prepare:
1. Choose a Client Name Convention
Think about what you want your naming convention to be after the migration. During the migration process, your individual clients will go from being organized by first name and last name to a Client Name. You want to decide as a firm what naming convention works best for you.
The Migration settings allow you to select from:
First Name Last Name (Tom Hanks)
Last Name, First Name (Hanks, Tom)
Your current Display Name (Hanks Family, or Tom and Lily Hanks)
2. Tidy Your Data
Once you have selected your naming convention, you can take some time now to organize your data.
For example, If you decide you would like to have spouse names included in the client name, you have a couple of options:
If you select the migration setting that includes first name & last name, you can include the spouse's name in the first name section. Example:
Or you can have their names listed as your display names. Example:
If you are synced with QBO you will need to keep your display names as is. Your new client name will be the same as your QBO display name to sync properly.
You can learn more about the Client Name Migration Settings here.
3. Look for Duplicate Clients
The migration tool will look for duplicate clients during the migration process, but taking a little time to consolidate and archive any duplicate clients is always a good idea.
4. Review Inactive Clients
Now is a great time to archive any inactive clients. These clients will remain archived after the migration, so you can always activate them later if needed.
* Keep in mind: All your active, inactive, archived and even deleted clients are migrated over. You won’t lose any data during the migration process so if you ever need to revive a client they will be there!
You will want to keep inactive clients linked to an active client account that you want to remain associated with the client. These inactive clients can become contacts during the migration process depending on the setting you select. Example:
You can learn more about the Linked Clients Migration Settings here.
5. Review Client Portal Invites
Check for any pending invites. These will not be migrated over and will need to be resent after the migration. A list of all pending client portal invites will be provided during the migration process.
What to expect during the migration process
Now that you have taken the time to prepare for the migration you may be wondering what the process is going to look like.
The Migration Preview Tool
Before you commit to any migration settings, we have designed a preview tool to help you see what your clients' data will look like before and after migration. You can change each setting and preview your data before you commit.
To access the migration preview tool:
Select Clients from the global navigation bar
At the bottom of the second menu, you will see a box labeled New Client & Contact Structure Preview
Select Learn More
Client before and after. Here, you view a quick snapshot of how the migration settings you have selected impact your client’s name, display name, contacts, and connections.
Search for a specific Client. This tool selects a random subset of your clients. You can search to see any client in your client list.
Restructure guide. Learn more about each migration setting and how it will affect your migration process.
Change Settings. Here, you can change any setting and select apply. It will repopulate your client’s data so you can see how the setting changes the After view.
Migration Settings
During the migration process, you need to select a setting option for the following settings:
Linked individual Client Settings
With this setting, you will determine how you want your linked client records to migrate which includes all spouse, dependent, and important clients.
For a deeper understanding of the migration setting you can check out this guide.
Client Facing Name Settings
This setting will determine how you want to set up your client-facing name. This allows you to use a different name than your client's name on the materials that your clients view and use.
The Migration Process
How many people need to be involved in the migration process?
Any admin user can access the migration tool, and only one admin needs to select the settings and start the migration.
Once the migration has started you will be unable to revert back to the previous structure. Make sure all admins are aligned on the migration settings before migrating.
How much time does the migration take?
At this time we are unable to provide an accurate estimate for how long the migration will take. With that being said, we recommend beginning the migration after hours or over the weekend.
It should be noted Canopy will be inaccessible during migration. We recommend letting your firm members know when you are planning to migrate and make them aware they will not be able to access Canopy while the migration takes place.
How will I know when the migration is complete?
Admins will be notified via email once the migration is complete. Upon logging in, your staff will be able to view an overview video explaining the changes made with the new client & contact structure.
You can also share this guide with your team members with a list of resources to help you navigate the new client & contact structure.