How to Create a Customer

Creating a Customer in Cotillo is the first step to organizing your projects, estimates, and invoices. Every job in Cotillo starts with a Customer, so getting this set up correctly ensures everything flows smoothly.

▶️ Watch the Walkthrough

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to Customers

Go to the main navigation
Click Customers

2. Click “Add Customer”

Select + Add Customer

3. Select Customer Type

Choose the correct Type at the top of the form:

Company

Use when:

The job is commercial
You are working with a business or organization

Individual

Use when:

The job is residential
You are billing a homeowner or person

Important:

For Individuals, use their legal name (as it would appear on payment or contract).

4. Enter Name and Basic Info

Name (Required) — official name from contract or W-9
DBA Name (Optional) — if different from legal name
Email (Recommended)
Phone (Optional)

5. Assign a Category

The Category helps you track the relationship stage of the customer.

Typical categories include:

Lead → Not yet doing business
Active → Current customer
Inactive → No longer active

You can:

Select an existing category
Click the ✏️ icon to manage or add categories of your choosing. Think outside the box.

6. Select Market Type (Optional)

Market Type helps classify the type of work the customer is associated with.

Examples:

HVAC
Plumbing
Paving
Electrical

This is useful for reporting and segmentation later.

7. Set Credit Status (Optional)

Use this field to track internal credit decisions.

Examples:

Approved
Hold
Review

You can:

Select an existing category
Click the ✏️ icon to manage or add categories of your choosing. Think outside the box.

8. Enter Address

Start typing in the Address search field:

Cotillo will suggest matching addresses
Select the correct one to auto-fill the fields

Or manually enter:

Address Line 1 / Line 2
City
State
Zip Code

9. Save the Customer

Click Save

Your Customer is now ready to use.

✅ What Happens Next?

Once your Customer is created, you can:

Create Contacts
Create Projects
Set up Estimates
Create Billing Plans
Send Invoices and Payment Links

Cotillo is designed around a project-based AR workflow, so everything flows from the Customer into billing and collections.

💡 Best Practices

Use Company vs Individual correctly
Always use legal names for Individuals
Assign a Category (at minimum: Lead or Active)
Use Market Type consistently for reporting
Add an email to speed up invoicing

⚠️ Common Mistakes

Selecting Company for a homeowner job
Leaving Category blank (loses visibility into pipeline)
Creating duplicate Customers with slightly different names
Skipping address (causes issues later with invoices)

How to Create a Contact
How to Create an Project
How to Create a Estimate