Getting Started with Cornerstone: Your First Steps

Getting Started with Cornerstone: Your First Steps

Welcome to Cornerstone! This guide will walk you through the essential first steps in using our system, from finding a customer to managing their account details. This article serves as a hub to get you started, and we'll link out to more detailed guides for each task.

For a shorter guide on the most common data entry processing, please visit our dedicated article Getting Started: Cornerstone Data Entry.

1. Navigating the Customer List

When you first log in, you will be on the customer list screen. This is your central hub for all customer-related tasks.

• Access: Find your customer list by clicking the Customer icon on the main navigation.
• Searching: The most common first tasks are finding a customer or creating a new one. You can easily search for customer information using one of two methods:
  • Customer Tabs: Use the specific search fields at the top of the customer list (e.g., Customer Name, Account #, Street Address).
  • Wildcard Search: Click the Search icon on the left-hand panel or enter a value in the main search bar and click the magnifying glass. This powerful tool searches for your query across all fields in the customer record.

2. Viewing and Editing an Account

Once you have located a customer, you can view and edit their information.

• Accessing the Account: Double-click on the customer's name in the list to open their account shell.
• Customer Shell:This screen provides a complete view of the customer's information, including:
  • Site Address and Contact Information
  • Central Station ID (CSID)
• Editing Information: To update any data, simply click into a field, make your changes, and click OK to save.

For more information, see our article on Creating a New Account

3. Managing Recurring Charges

Adding and updating recurring charges is a key function in Cornerstone.

• Access: From the customer shell, click the Recurring Charges icon.
• Adding a New Charge: Click Insert to add a new recurring charge.
  • You will select the appropriate charge code, billing cycle, and amount.
  • You can also set the billing method, such as Printer, Email, or Autopay.
• Editing an Existing Charge: Highlight the charge and click Change to edit details like the amount or billing method.
• Stopping a Charge: To stop a recurring charge, simply enter a stop date in the designated field.

For a detailed guide on these tasks, please refer to:

• How to Insert a New Recurring Charge
• How to Stop a Recurring Charge

4. Other Common Tasks

Here are a few other important tasks you can perform from the customer shell:

• Closing an Account: To stop all future billing for a customer, enter a date in the Closed Field by typing it in or using the calendar selector. This will automatically stop all active recurring charges.
  • Article: Close a Customer Account

• Adding an Email Address: Navigate to the Email/Misc tab to add or update the customer's email address.

• Using Internal Notes (Restrictions): The Restrictions field is for your internal team's use only. Use it to note any important information or special conditions for the account that are not visible to the customer.

• Customizing User-Defined Fields: The User-Defined tab allows you to store custom data points specific to your business, such as referral information, sales representatives, or device types. To customize these fields for your database, please contact the Cornerstone support team.