Table of Contents
Account Groups: Overview & Example Use Cases
Updated
by Morgan Wynnes
What Are Account Groups?
Account groups are a simple method that can be used to classify and categorize accounts within your Sonar instance. Once an account group is created, you will be able to assign accounts to it during the account creation process, from the Edit Account window, or from within the individual account's page.
Creating a New Account Group
To create a new account group:
- Click into the Settings menu from the left-side panel
- Expand the items under Accounts by clicking the "+" next to it
- Click "Account Groups"
- Click "Create Account Group"
- Within the Create Account Group window that appears, enter in a descriptive name for your group and click "Create"
- The new account group will now be displayed within the Account Groups table, where you can also edit or delete it
Adding an Account to a Group
An account can be added to a group during the account creation process (through the Create Account window), or from any area in Sonar where the Edit Account window can be opened (such as the Account list screen, the individual account's management page, etc.).
- Navigate into a screen that allows you to edit the account you wish to add
- Open the Edit Account window
- Using the "Groups" drop down menu, select the account group that you want to add the account to
- Click "Save"
- The group(s) that an account belongs to will be displayed within the Account list view, as well as the individual account's management page
Example Use Cases
Account groups can be used in a variety of ways within Sonar, such as when creating address lists, creating RADIUS groups, sending out mass emails, creating services, etc. Below are a few examples of some different ways that account groups can be implemented to help streamline internal processes:
- To quickly identify tower hosts: having a Tower Host account group would provide a visible indicator for accounts where you're providing a data service to an address in return for them hosting your wireless service tower, while also allowing you to allocate IP addresses and services to this account. In addition to this, you could also set up a Tower Host discount that is only able to be applied to accounts who are members of this group.
- To remind customers about a required action: when moving to a new billing system, all customers who previously had a credit card on file but have not yet added their credit card information into the new system are placed into the "Credit Card Pending" account group. Then, every other day a mass email is sent out to this group, reminding them that their billing information still needs to be updated into the new system. Through the use of Sonar reporting, each day a report is generated that contains customers who are in the Credit Card Pending group and have a credit card on file - based on this report, the customers who have added their credit card information are removed from the Credit Card Pending group and therefore no longer receive the mass email.
- For limiting service to a specific group: as service plans change and certain legacy services are discontinued, by associating a legacy service with a Legacy Customers account group, we can continue to accommodate our legacy customers while restricting the service from being offered or applied to new customer accounts that are not within the group.
