---
title: Understanding the Clients Solution
description: "The **Clients** solution is your customer database: once someone moves from potential customer to paying customer, they become a client. It is where you manage everyone you're actively working with, track their projects and invoices, and keep your complete relationship…"
url: "https://help.onesuite.io/docs/understanding-the-clients-solution/"
updated: "2026-10-01"
category: Client Management
---

# Understanding the Clients Solution

The **Clients** solution is your customer database: once someone moves from potential customer to paying customer, they become a client. It is where you manage everyone you're actively working with, track their projects and invoices, and keep your complete relationship history in one place.

**In this guide you'll learn how to:**

- Tell what belongs in **Clients** and what belongs in **CRM**
- Choose between an **Individual** and a **Company** client
- See how clients connect with other OneSuite solutions
- Keep your client records clean with a few best practices

## What goes in the Clients solution?

Clients are the people and companies you do business with. Your **CRM** tracks potential sales, while **Clients** tracks actual customers.

Every client record stores:

- Contact information
- Communication history
- Connections to their projects, invoices and documents

When you need to see everything about a customer relationship, you look at their client record.

**Key difference from CRM:** **CRM** is for opportunities you're pursuing. **Clients** is for customers you've won.

## Should I use an Individual or a Company client?

Use **Individual** for one person who handles everything, and **Company** when you work with several people at the same organization.

| Client type | Use it for | How it works |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Individual** | Solo professionals, freelancers or personal customers | One person, one record. |
| **Company** | Businesses and organizations | Track the company plus multiple people who work there. Designate one person as **Point of Contact** for primary communication. |

When to use each:

- **Individual:** you're working with one person who handles everything.
- **Company:** you have multiple contacts at the same organization, such as a project manager, a billing contact and a decision maker.

You can change the client type later if your relationship evolves.

## How do clients connect with other solutions?

A client record links to your work across OneSuite.

| Solution | How it connects to clients |
| --- | --- |
| **CRM** | Convert opportunities to clients automatically. Contact info and history transfer over. |
| **Projects** | Link every project to a client, so you see all work for a specific customer in one place. |
| **Invoices** | Track billing history, outstanding balances and payment status per client. |
| **Contracts** | Connect proposals, contracts and agreements to client records. |
| **Client Portal** | Give clients login access to view their projects, invoices and documents. |

## Best practices for managing clients

- **Choose the right type from the start.** Use **Individual** for solo contacts and **Company** for organizations with multiple people. It saves time later.
- **Keep the Point of Contact current.** For Company clients, this person is your primary communication channel, so make sure it's accurate.
- **Use consistent data entry.** Set standards for your team, such as company name formatting, required fields and source tracking.

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## FAQs

### What is the difference between CRM and Clients in OneSuite?

**CRM** is for opportunities you're pursuing, and **Clients** is for customers you've won. Once someone moves from potential customer to paying customer, they become a client.

### When should I create a Company client instead of an Individual client?

Create a **Company** client when you work with multiple contacts at the same organization, such as a project manager, a billing contact and a decision maker. Use **Individual** when one person handles everything.

### Can I change a client from Individual to Company later?

Yes, you can change the client type later if your relationship evolves. Choosing the right type from the start still saves time.

### What is a Point of Contact?

It is the person at a **Company** client you designate for primary communication. Keep it current so you always reach the right person.

### What information does a client record hold?

A client record stores contact information, communication history, and connections to the client's projects, invoices and documents.

### Can I just keep my clients in a spreadsheet instead?

You can, but a spreadsheet won't link each client to their projects, invoices and contracts, or give them portal access. A client record in OneSuite keeps the whole relationship in one place.

## What to do next

**Add your clients:** Create Individual and Company records with [Adding Clients](https://help.onesuite.io/docs/adding-clients/).

**Explore a client record:** See every tab on a client's profile with [Client Profiles](https://help.onesuite.io/docs/client-profiles/).

**Invite clients to the portal:** Give clients their own login with [The OneSuite Client Portal](https://help.onesuite.io/docs/client-portal/).