Let's take a look at the Client & Contact Structure.
How Are Clients, Contacts, and Client Groups Organized in Canopy?
Understand how Clients, Contacts, and Client Groups work together in Canopy—and how to quickly search and communicate across them.
Organizing clients correctly helps your firm manage files, billing, communication, and portal access without confusion—especially when individuals and businesses are connected.
Table of Contents
Understand Clients, Contacts, and Client Groups
Canopy organizes the people and entities you work with into three categories:
Client Group – A grouping of related client records under the same ownership structure.
Client – An individual or business entity for whom you complete work.
Contact – A person associated with a client (the people you interact with).
Client Types
Canopy supports two types of clients:
Individual Clients
Single
Married filing jointly
Head of household
Other individual filing statuses
Business Clients
LLCs
Corporations
Non-profits
Partnerships
Other business entities
Example: Individual Client
Your firm prepares taxes for the Costa family.
The Costa Family is the Individual Client.
The client record contains all work related to that family.
Within that client record, you may see multiple Contacts, such as:
Kim Costa (Primary Contact)
Alessandro Costa
Sally Costa (Dependent)
Each contact:
Has their own login credentials
Can access the Client Portal (if invited)
Can view shared files, invoices, and assigned to-dos
The client record allows you to:
View and edit contacts
Organize files
Create and manage tasks
Send invoices and track payments
Manage communication
Example: Business Client
Kim Costa also owns Kim’s Cafe, and your firm handles its bookkeeping and taxes.
Kim’s Cafe is a separate Business Client record.
It has its own files, tasks, billing, and communication history.
You can add multiple contacts to a business client, such as:
Kim Costa (Primary Contact)
Cafe managers
If Kim is a contact on multiple clients:
She can switch between client portals (e.g., family and business).
Client Groups
Client Groups help organize related client records under the same ownership structure.
For example:
The Kim Costa Group may include:
The Costa Family client record
Kim’s Cafe client record
Client Groups allow you to:
Invoice multiple related entities at once
Share files across related clients
Keep ownership structures organized
Best Practice: Use Client Groups when individuals and businesses are closely connected (e.g., family-owned businesses).
Search for Clients and Contacts
Canopy makes it easy to find clients and contacts quickly.
Use Global Client Search
Click Clients in the global navigation bar.
Begin typing in the search bar.
Search results may include:
Clients
Contacts
Related email addresses
You can also search by:
Phone number
External ID
Under each client result, you’ll see whether it is an Individual or Business client.
Click a client to open their client record.
How Contacts Appear in Search
Contacts appear once for each client record they are associated with.
For example:
Kim Costa may appear multiple times if she is:
A contact on her family record
A contact on Kim’s Cafe
Associated with another related record
When you click a contact in search:
You are taken to the client record listed beneath their name.
This ensures you land in the correct context.
Use Email and Communication Features
Each client record includes a Communication tab.
To send or view emails:
Open a Client Record.
Click the Communication tab.
From here, you can:
View email history
Send new emails
Track communication in context
Send an Email
When creating a new email:
The To: field defaults to the Primary Contact or business email.
Click in the To: field to view other associated contact emails.
Type a new email address and press Enter to add an address not listed.
View Client and Contact Information Quickly
While navigating different tabs:
Click the blue Client Info button at the top of the client record.
A panel will slide in displaying:
Client details
Associated contacts
Contact information
This allows you to review key information without leaving your current workflow.
Summary
In Canopy:
Clients are the entities you perform work for.
Contacts are the people associated with those clients.
Client Groups connect related entities under a shared ownership structure.
Using proper organization:
Keeps billing, files, and communication clean
Helps manage family and business relationships efficiently
Reduces confusion during high-volume seasons
Need Help?
Contact Support or ask Penny, our AI Support Bot, for assistance.