# Add your first client

Source: https://help.mucka.ai/getting-started/add-your-first-client
Category: Getting started
Last updated: 2026-09-08

> How to add a new client so Mucka can remember them and pull up their history any time you ask.

Mucka keeps everything you do, every quote, job, invoice and note, pinned to a client. So before you can quote a job, you'll usually want to add the client first. It's quick.

## The fast way: just tell Mucka

Open Mucka and say *"add a new client, Sarah Walker, 07700 900123, 14 Bramble Lane Manchester M15."* That's it. Mucka will create the record and read it back to confirm.

If you'd rather type, the chat field works the same way.

## The form way

If you prefer a form, head to [**Clients**](/clients) in the sidebar and tap **Add client**. Fill in:

- **Name**: first and last, or the company name if it's a business
- **Phone**: mobile is best, so Mucka can text and WhatsApp them
- **Email**: optional, but needed if you want to email quotes and invoices
- **Address**: used for routing engineers and for the quote PDF

Hit save and you're done.

## Keeping your own reference for a client

Some businesses give every customer their own code, or get handed one by a housing association or a letting agent. If that's you, head to [**Settings → Business → Paperwork**](/settings/business/paperwork) and switch on **Client references**.

Once it's on, every client record gets a **Client Reference** box. Type whatever you use: `ACC-001`, `HA/2024/117`, a purchase order number, anything you like. Letters, numbers, dashes and slashes are all fine.

The reference then prints on that client's quotes and invoices as **Your ref**, which is usually what the customer's accounts department is looking for before they'll pay.

It's completely optional. Leave it blank on any client and nothing complains. And if you don't keep references at all, leave the setting off and you'll never see the box.

## What happens automatically

Once a client is in:

- Their phone number is recognised next time they call
- Mucka can text them quotes, appointment confirmations and "running late" messages with one tap
- You can ask *"what's the history with Sarah Walker?"* and get a one-line summary of every job, quote and invoice

You don't need to fill in everything up front. Mucka will ask for what's needed when it's needed.

## Two customers with the same name

Plenty of trades have two John Williamses on the books, or three Joneses. That's normal, and Mucka copes with it.

When you add somebody whose name is already on your list, Mucka stops and shows you who you've already got, with their number and where they live. Then one of two things happens:

- **If their phone number or email matches too**, that's almost certainly the same person you already have. Mucka won't make a second record. Open the one it shows you and add the work to that.
- **If nothing else matches**, only you know whether it's the same customer with a new number or a different person altogether. Mucka asks. Tap **Different person — add anyway** and they go in, kept completely separate.

The second one is filed with their postcode after the surname, so your list shows **John Williams** and **John Williams (SY21 9FD)** rather than two identical rows you can't tell apart. Nothing else changes: the quotes, jobs and invoices all sit on the right person, and the postcode is only there to help you pick the right one.

Nothing you've typed is ever lost while Mucka asks. The form stays open exactly as you left it.

## Common gotchas

- **Company vs person.** If the client is a business, switch the form to **Commercial** at the top. You get a company name, a contact person, a company email and phone, and a VAT number, all on the one record.
- **Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble.** A brand-new workspace comes with a couple of example clients and jobs so the screens aren't empty while you find your way around. They disappear the moment you add anything real — your first client, your first job, or an import — and if you never get round to it they clear themselves after a week. You can also just ask Mucka to *"get rid of the demo data"*. Everything that came with them goes at the same time: the example quotes and invoices, the properties, any sample certificates, appliances or service plans, and the example reviews that show on your quote page. Mucka tells you what it removed.