Dev Hound can track clients as well as their support calls. With the fields associated with clients you can:

• Have salespeople keep track of their prospects and clients
• Keep mailing lists for marketing
• Manage groups of clients such a beta teams
• Track which software has been purchased
• Keep registration keys for software
• Keep remote control information such as username, password, and modem numbers
• Add custom fields for added flexibility

Dev Hound can allow your clients to login to add support calls. To turn on this feature edit the client's details and enter a username and password. This is the login the client will use to access Dev Hound so remember to let them know what it is. Dev Hound assigns a particular security access for clients which by default is external. To alter this access:

• Click on the Admin tab
• Click on the Security Groups link
• Click on the External group

The External group has the option client login turned on which means that it will be used for clients. It is important to make sure you only allow access to relevant sections such as support and knowledge base 

To add a client simply click on the Clients tab and click the New link. The following fields are available:

• Account - Usually used to keep an account number or unique identifer for the client. This may be an indentifier in an external system
• Name - Name of the client. This may be a company name or individuals name
• Contact / Contact 2 - Contact names of the person to contact at the company
• Email - Email address. Used for mailing lists
• Address/City - Mailing address
• Phone - Phone number
• Fax - Facsimile number
• Modem - Modem number usually used when dialing into the site for remote control (eg PC anywhere)
• Status - Can be used to track prospects, clients, ex-clients and is also configurable
• Type - A user configurable field used for example to track support plans or marketing source
• Software - The software that the client owns
• Registration Key - Software registration key
• Username - Username for client access
• Password - Password for client access
• Salesperson - The person who sold the software to the client. Can be used by salespeople to track their own prospects
• Managed By - The person charged with managing this client
• Notes - A freeform field which can contain any amount of text or HTML/XML

Dev Hound has a template based email system which allows you to compose emails using mail merge fields. Each email can be saved to a template for use later. This allows you to create emails to clients rapidly. Both individual clients and groups of clients can be emailed so that you can create newsletters, release announcements, product updates, standard responses etc.
Emailing Individual Clients

To Email one client only click on the client from the Clients tab to view their details. Click on the Email button on the toolbar. 

To email a group of clients simply filter the client list and click on the Email All button on the toolbar. To help in categorising clients you can configure the "type" of client from the admin section. For example you can choose between users who have purchased different editions of your software or have opted in for newsletters. 

After clicking the email or email all buttons from the client area enter the subject and body of the email. 

If you are composing an email that can be sent to more than one client then you should use the mail merge features of Dev Hound to make the job easier. On the toolbar there is an insert merge field drop down box which lets you choose a mail merge field to insert into the email body. When selecting a field it will appear where the cursor was last in the email. Note also that you may manually type in merge fields into the subject of the email. 

Once you have created an email using mail merge fields you should type in a name for the template (eg January Newsletter) in the Template Name area and then click on the Save button. The new template when then appear in the Template area above the email subject. 

Saved templates can be chosen from the template area just above the emails subject. When you select the template from the drop down box the subject and body will appear. 

Dev Hound allows support calls to be logged for clients making it ideal for use in technical support centers. Support calls can be viewed by clicking on the Support tab - this is typically used when calls need to be followed up or reviewed. Adding support calls is usually done from the Clients tab. The following scenario describes how to log a call:

• A clients phones or emails for support
• Click on the Clients tab and enter a keyword in the Search area (eg XYZ company)
• Click on the client from the client list
• Click on Add Call

• Enter the support call information in the description area
• You may fill in other details if required
• Once you have finished the support call click on Save
• Please note that each support call is timed so that you can work out how much time is spent on a particular client

If the client requires more support or needs to be passed on to another support user you generally changed the assigned user. Additional dialog with the client or changes made are generally added as comments to support call and these are again timed. 

The support history of a client can be accessed by clicking on the History link on the client view screen. From this history you can add comments to calls, modify support calls or attach files to support calls (eg screenshots sent from clients or emails).
Attaching to Issues

When a client raises an issue you may want to notify the client via email when the issue is resolved. The field "related to issue number" allows you to select an issue associated with a support issue. When the issue has been resolved Dev Hound will notify the client via email that the email has been resolved.
Attaching calls to clients

Normally you will add support calls from the clients tab or using the call center application however if you have entered a support call via the support tab or need to change a support call from one client to another you may do so by:

• From the support call edit page:
• Click on the down arrow next to the client field
• Either search for or select the client
• Click on Save to save the support call changes

Dev Hound has been designed to allow your clients to:

• Log into Dev Hound
• Add their own support calls and issues
• View only their own issues or calls
• View knowledge base articles
• View only projects they are associated with
• Send and receive messages from other users

To accomplish these features a little bit of setup is required as well as some thought into how much information you want your clients to view. There are two ways to setup a client in Dev Hound: The easy way and the flexible way. 

The easiest way is give clients access is to simply add their details into the clients area and assign a username and password. The client may then login to Dev Hound using this username and password.

• Security : Clients are assigned the security group of "External" when they login. To find out more about this group click on the "Admin" tab and choose "Security Groups" and click the "External" group (The security group with the option "Default group for clients" is the one that will be used when clients log in)
• Note: Make sure the external group has the option "Allow Editing (Global)" turned on otherwise they will not be able to add support calls etc.
• Advantages : This is a fast way to allow clients access into Dev Hound and create support calls and browse the knowledge base. You also have control over the "client access" security group so you can limit access to Dev Hound
• Disadvantages : This method doesn't allow email notifications on issues or membership across multiple projects. You also cannot tailor the security access on a per client basis.

The most flexible way to give clients access is to add them as a Dev Hound user. Click on the "Admin" tab, choose "Users" and click "New". Assign a username, password and email address and choose the "External" security group. Please note that you can assign a different security group or create a completely separate group for external clients. You should also edit the groups options by clicking on the "Security Groups" option in the Admin tab and selecting the group making sure the following options are checked (ticked):

• "Display only projects user is a member of" : This prevents the user from seeing projects they are not a member of. This will also mean that you will need to assign this user to the projects they should have access to
• "Display only users in project" : This prevents the user from seeing other users in projects they are not members of
• "Display Only Users Items" : This will limit the users view of issues and calls to those they have entered. Other items will not be displayed. This feature is optional but recommended
• Advantages : When a client logs in as a Dev Hound user they can modify their profile to request email notifications or to modify what filters they see. You can also tightly configure the users access to multiple projects and even assign them a unique security group if required
• Disadvantages : You have to setup a separate dev hound user for each client and ensure security is appropriately set. This extra intellectual overhead is the price you pay for flexibility