Create Accounts

What is account creation?

Account creation is the process of adding new business locations to your Business App system. Each account represents an individual business or business location that you serve, containing their complete business profile, contact information, and service settings.

Why is account creation important?

Creating accurate business accounts is essential because:

• Foundation for All Services: Accounts are required for activating products and providing services
• Data Accuracy: Proper business information ensures effective service delivery and reporting
• Customer Experience: Complete profiles enable personalized dashboards and communications
• Integration Success: Accurate data improves integration with third-party services and platforms

What's included with account creation?

Individual account creation

• Business search and automatic data population
• Manual business profile entry
• Required and optional field configuration
• Category and market assignment

Bulk account import

• CSV template-based import system
• Data validation and error checking
• Batch processing for multiple accounts
• Default settings application

How to create individual accounts

Using business search

The fastest way to create accounts for known businesses:

1. Navigate to Accounts > Manage Accounts
2. Click Create Account in the upper right corner
3. Search for the business:
   • Enter business name and location (e.g., "Starbucks, Broadway, New York, NY")
   • Use specific search terms for better results
   • Include city and state for disambiguation
4. Review search results:
   • Select the correct business from results
   • Verify address and contact information
   • Note any competitor suggestions for reports
5. Complete additional information as needed
6. Click Create Account

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Business search automatically populates address, phone, and category information when businesses are found in public directories.

Manual account creation

When businesses don't appear in search results:

1. Click Go to Account Creation from the search interface
2. Complete required business information:
   • Business Name: Official business name as it appears publicly
   • Street Address: Physical business location
   • City, State/Province, ZIP: Complete location details
   • Country/Region: Business location country
   • Phone Number: Primary business contact number
   • Business Categories: Select up to 3 relevant categories

Business Categories Reference

For a complete list of available business categories and guidance on proper classification, see Business Categories. Proper categorization ensures optimal product features and integration capabilities.

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If no suitable category exists, select "Other" - but note that some product features may be limited.

3. Add optional information:
   • Website URL: Business website address
   • Customer Identifier: Your internal tracking ID
   • Business Description: Brief description of services
   • Additional Contact Info: Secondary phone, fax, email
4. Configure account settings:
   • Market Assignment: Select appropriate geographic market
   • Service Area: Choose if business serves customers at their location
   • Business Hours: Operating schedule information
5. Click Create Account to save

Handling special business types

Service Area Businesses (SABs) — businesses that serve customers at the customer's location and have no fixed public storefront (plumbers, landscapers, mobile pet groomers, etc.):

SABs commonly don't appear in the account creation search bar. This is expected — the search uses Google's Locations API, which only surfaces businesses with a verified physical address. An SAB that doesn't list a street address publicly won't appear in results.

To create an account for an SAB:

1. In the Create Account search, type the business name. If it doesn't appear, click Skip to Account Creation (or Go to Account Creation).
2. Fill in the business name and a valid street address. If the SAB has no public address, use the owner's address or a city/ZIP placeholder.
3. Once the account is created, update the listing to define a service area radius and remove or hide the public street address if needed.

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Creating an account with no street address limits Listing Sync and other listing-dependent products. Those products require a physical address to sync data. Add a valid street address before activating listing products.

Multi-Location Businesses:

Multi-Location Businesses — create separate accounts for each physical location, use a consistent naming convention (e.g., "Business Name - Location"), and plan to group them using Multi-Location Groups later.

How to import multiple accounts

Preparing for Bulk Import

Before importing accounts:

1. Navigate to Accounts > Manage Accounts
2. Click Import Accounts
3. Download the CSV template to ensure proper formatting
4. Gather required data for all businesses:
   • Business names and addresses
   • Phone numbers and contact information
   • Business categories and classifications
   • Market assignments (if applicable)

CSV file preparation

Required columns:

• Business Name
• Street Address
• City
• State/Province
• ZIP/Postal Code
• Phone Number
• Business Category (see Business Categories guide for valid options or download the complete list)

Optional columns:

• Customer Identifier
• Website URL
• Business Description
• Market Assignment
• Additional Contact Information
• Business Hours
• ServiceAreaBusiness — set to TRUE if the account is a Service Area Business; FALSE or blank otherwise. This field is case-sensitive: only TRUE and FALSE (uppercase) are valid. Using true, True, yes, or any other value will cause the row to fail validation.

Save format: Save your file as CSV UTF-8 (not standard CSV or Excel format) to avoid character encoding errors during import.

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Use consistent formatting for phone numbers, addresses, and categories to ensure successful import processing.

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Automatic product activation does not run on CSV-uploaded accounts. Products you want activated for imported accounts must be bulk-activated separately after import using account lists or the Activate Product action.

Executing the import

1. Upload your prepared CSV file
2. Review import preview:
   • Check for data validation errors
   • Verify business category assignments
   • Confirm address formatting
3. Configure import settings:
   • Default market assignment for all accounts
   • User creation preferences
   • Welcome email settings
4. Handle duplicate detection:
   • Review potential duplicate businesses
   • Choose merge or create separate account options
   • Resolve address conflicts
5. Click Import Accounts to process

Post-import tasks

After successful import:

1. Review created accounts for accuracy
2. Correct any data issues identified during import
3. Assign accounts to appropriate lists for organization
4. Configure products and services for new accounts
5. Set up user access for customer dashboard access

Enrichment after import

After import, the system attempts to enrich each account with data from Google (address, phone, categories, hours). Some accounts are skipped and won't be enriched:

• The business's country or state doesn't match what's on Google
• The company name or address on the CSV is significantly different from the Google listing (low similarity score)
• No Google listing exists for the business
• The account has no street address (SABs without an address are not enriched)

Accounts that aren't enriched still import successfully — they just retain only the data from your CSV.

How to handle account creation issues

Business not found in search

Common causes and solutions:

Business name variations:

• Try shortened names or common abbreviations
• Search without business type suffixes (e.g., "LLC", "Inc.")
• Use owner or manager names if business name is unclear

New or unlisted businesses:

• Use manual account creation process
• Verify business information directly with customer
• Check for recent name changes or rebranding

Address-related issues:

• Try searching by address instead of business name
• Verify current address with mapping services
• Check for recent relocations or closures

Import error resolution

Data validation errors:

• Missing required fields: Complete all required columns in CSV
• Invalid phone formats: Use consistent formatting (e.g., (555) 123-4567)
• Address validation failures: Verify addresses exist and are properly formatted
• Category assignment errors: Use exact category names from the system (refer to Business Categories or download the complete list for all valid category options)
• ServiceAreaBusiness validation error: This field only accepts TRUE or FALSE (uppercase). Using any other value — including true, yes, 1, or leaving it as a non-blank non-TRUE/FALSE value — will cause the row to fail. Blank is treated as FALSE.

Duplicate business handling:

• Similar names: Review carefully for legitimate duplicates vs. similar businesses
• Same addresses: Check for businesses sharing locations (like shopping centers)
• Phone number conflicts: Verify which business currently uses the number

Best practices for account creation

Data Quality:

• Always verify business information before creating accounts
• Use official business names as they appear in legal documents
• Include complete address information for location-based services
• Select the most specific business categories available

Organization:

• Use consistent naming conventions for similar businesses
• Apply relevant tags immediately after creation
• Assign appropriate markets based on service territories
• Plan for future list organization and grouping

Customer Communication:

• Prepare welcome materials for new account holders
• Set up initial user access promptly after account creation
• Configure appropriate notification settings

Bulk import settings (users and notifications)

When importing via CSV, you can configure user access and notifications for newly created users:

• Allow access to Business App
• Send notifications
• Send the Welcome Email

You’ll see these options during the import wizard after mapping fields.

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You can adjust user permissions later from Manage Users if needed.

Troubleshooting business search

If a business doesn’t appear in the Create account search:

• Service Area Business — SABs without a public address are not returned by Google’s Locations API, which powers the search. This is expected, not a bug. Click Skip to Account Creation to add the account manually.
• New or recently listed businesses — New businesses may not yet appear in Google’s database. Use manual creation.
• Name variations — Try shortened names (drop "LLC", "Inc.", etc.) or search by address instead.

Clicking Skip to Account Creation always lets you create the account manually regardless of whether it appears in search results.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What's the difference between searching for a business and manual creation?

Business search automatically populates information from public directories, saving time and ensuring accuracy. Manual creation requires you to enter all information but works for any business, including new or unlisted ones.

Can I edit account information after creation?

Yes, most account information can be edited after creation. However, changes to business location or market assignment may affect integrations and reporting, so make these changes carefully.

What happens if I select the wrong business category?

You can change business categories after account creation by editing the account. However, some product features are category-specific, so choose the most accurate categories initially.

How do I handle businesses with multiple locations during creation?

Create separate accounts for each physical location, then use Multi-Location Groups to manage them together. This provides location-specific data while enabling consolidated reporting.

Can I import accounts with different market assignments?

Yes, include a Market column in your CSV file to assign different markets during import. Accounts without market specification will use the default market setting.

What should I do if the CSV import fails?

Review the error messages, correct data formatting issues in your CSV file, and try importing again. Common issues include missing required fields, invalid phone formats, or duplicate entries.

How do I create accounts for service area businesses without addresses?

SABs often won't appear in the Create Account search because Google's Locations API doesn't surface businesses without a verified public address. To create the account:

1. Type the business name in the search bar. If it doesn't appear, click Skip to Account Creation.
2. Enter the business name and a street address (use the owner's address or a placeholder city/ZIP if there's no public address).
3. After the account is created, update the listing to define a service area and hide the street address if needed.

Creating an account with no street address will limit Listing Sync and other listing products until an address is added.

Can I set up user access during account creation?

While creating accounts, you can configure default user settings for bulk imports. For individual accounts, add users separately after account creation for better control over permissions.

Where is the information gathered when creating an account by search?

The Google Locations API is used to gather the Name, Address, Phone Number, Website, geo-location, Business Category and Hours of Operation. The social profile URLs are gathered from the business website.