SaaS

Customize SaaS Account Names for New Clients: A Practical Guide for Agencies

Charles Higgins

Charles Higgins

— 11 min read
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In this article, we break down a short tutorial from the platform’s tutorial channel and walk through how to customize the default names for new subaccounts (SaaS client accounts) in the platform. We’ll explain why this small setting matters, how to change it step-by-step, what to watch out for with different checkout methods, and practical naming conventions that keep your agency organized and reduce confusion for your team and your clients.

Table of Contents

Why customize default account names?

When we run an agency that creates subaccounts for clients—each client getting their own instance under our agency umbrella—the way those subaccounts are named has a surprisingly big impact on day-to-day operations. Default naming behavior can be useful, but it often creates ambiguous or inconsistent entries in our subaccount list. Customizing account names up front gives us better clarity, faster navigation, and a smoother onboarding experience for clients.

Here are the main benefits we see when we take control of default names:

  • Faster account identification: Team members can find the right client account quickly without opening multiple accounts to verify.
  • Professional client-facing names: Clients see an account name that matches their business identity when we onboard or communicate.
  • Cleaner reporting and lists: Our subaccount lists become more consistent and easier to scan or export.
  • Reduced support friction: When clients report issues, using the business name makes it clear which account to access, saving time.

All of these benefits are simple to achieve by choosing the right default name option in the platform settings. Let’s walk through exactly how to set it up.

Where the setting lives: the SaaS configurator

The ability to control default names for new subaccounts lives in the SaaS configurator inside the platform. This is a tool made specifically for agencies who create and manage subaccounts for their clients. Note that the configurator is available on higher-tier plans designed for agencies, so if you don’t see the option in your account yet, it’s likely due to plan level.

The core setting we’ll focus on is called “Subaccount onboarding” (name may vary slightly by interface version). This toggles whether the system uses the customer’s personal name or the company name entered during sign-up to populate the default subaccount name.

Step-by-step: Change the default subaccount name

Follow these steps to change the default naming convention for new subaccounts. We’ll keep the instructions generic so they match most versions of the platform:

  1. Log into your agency account (the main account that manages subaccounts).
  2. Open the SaaS configurator section from the left-hand navigation.
  3. Look for an area labeled “Advanced settings” or similar.
  4. Find the “Subaccount onboarding” or “Default subaccount name” option.
  5. Choose between the two main options:
    • Customer name: Uses the name the client enters (for example, if the client is Tina, the default name might appear as “Tina’s account”).
    • Company name: Uses the business or company name the client enters in the signup form.
  6. Save your settings.

That’s it. New subaccounts created after changing this setting will follow the selected naming convention. It’s a quick change that immediately starts producing cleaner account lists.

Customer name vs. company name: Which should we choose?

Choosing between using the customer name and the company name depends on how your clients typically sign up and how your team prefers to organize accounts. Here are considerations for each option to help us decide:

Customer name (personal name)

  • Best for: Solopreneurs, freelancers, or clients who prefer to be addressed personally.
  • Pros:
    • Quick identification when clients are individuals.
    • Human-friendly: reads like “Tina’s account” which can feel personal and approachable.
  • Cons:
    • Can become confusing for agencies that manage many clients with similar or common first names.
    • Not ideal when the business identity is important (e.g., franchises, multi-location businesses, or clients with separate brand names).

Company name (business name)

  • Best for: Businesses, brands, and organizations where the company name is how the team recognizes the client.
  • Pros:
    • Consistent and professional naming that aligns with invoices, contracts, and reporting.
    • Reduces ambiguity when multiple clients have the same owner name.
  • Cons:
    • Relies on the client entering the company name in the sign-up form; if they skip it, the platform may fall back to the customer name.
    • Some solopreneurs may not have a company name or may enter something non-standard.

Our recommended approach is to default to company names when we manage mostly businesses and use customer names for individual clients. If the signup process is known to capture company name reliably, company defaults lead to cleaner lists. If not, consider improving the sign-up form to make company name a required field (we’ll discuss form tips later).

Important note about checkouts and metadata

There’s an important caveat: the naming option that uses the company name is most reliably applied when the value is captured and passed by the checkout system. The platform’s configuration screens often indicate that the company-name option is applicable to final checkouts. That means:

  • If you use the platform’s built-in checkout, the system will typically capture the company name from the signup form and apply it to the subaccount name when the purchase completes.
  • If you use an external checkout system, you can still use the company-name option—but only if the external checkout sends the company name value as part of the subscription metadata during the transaction.

In plain terms: if the checkout completes without the company name being included, the platform cannot magically know the company name and will fall back to the personal name or other default. When using external payment systems, make sure they send along the company name field if you prefer company-based naming.

What happens if the company name is missing?

If a client goes through the platform’s funnel and does not fill in a company name, the system will typically default back to the customer username or personal name. In other words, even if we choose “company name” in the configurator, the platform cannot create a company-based subaccount name if the company name is blank at registration.

This fallback behavior is important to understand because it affects how our account list will look when clients skip fields. If many clients are missing company names, we may still end up with many personal-name accounts. To prevent that, we have two practical options:

  • Make the company name required: Adjust the signup form or funnel so the company field is required, forcing users to enter a value.
  • Use a helper/automation: After signup, run a small automation that checks for missing company names and prompts the client to provide one or offers to map the username to a clean format.

Practical examples and real-world scenarios

Let’s put this into concrete scenarios we encounter every day. These examples show the impact of selecting either option and highlight what to watch for during sign-up.

Scenario 1: Local marketing agency working with small businesses

We run an agency that helps local restaurants and brick-and-mortar stores. Each client has a clear business name (e.g., “Maple Street Café”). If we default to company name:

  • The subaccount list shows “Maple Street Café,” “Riverbend Florist,” etc.—clean and recognizable.
  • Invoices, reporting, and file storage align with the business name, making bookkeeping easier.

If a client signs up without typing the business name, the account might appear as “Laura’s account,” which is less helpful. Requiring the company field during signup prevents this mismatch.

Scenario 2: Coaching business working with solopreneurs

We run a coaching program and many clients operate under their personal names (e.g., “Jordan Smith Coaching”). If we default to customer name:

  • Entries like “Jordan’s account” are human and quick to locate.
  • However, when clients use different variations of their names (e.g., “Jordan Smith,” “Jordan S.”), the list can look inconsistent. We might standardize naming conventions afterward.

In this case, we may still prefer company-name defaults if we require the “business name” field to be the same as their professional brand (e.g., “Jordan Smith Coaching”) so that lists remain consistent and professional.

Scenario 3: Agencies managing franchise locations

When we manage multiple locations under one brand, company names are essential. Having “CoffeeChain — Downtown” and “CoffeeChain — Uptown” in the account list lets team members quickly pick the correct location. Here, using the business/company field during signup is critical, and we often add a location suffix during our account creation steps to keep naming consistent.

Best practices for naming conventions

Choosing a consistent naming convention helps both our team and the client. Below are practical best practices we use to keep names clean, searchable, and useful.

  • Decide on a pattern and stick to it: Examples of patterns:
    • Company Name — Location (e.g., “Northside Gym — Midtown”)
    • Company Name (Industry) (e.g., “Bright Dental (Dental)”)
    • Company Name — Owner Name (e.g., “Riverside Cafe — Owner: Mark”)
  • Make key fields required: If we rely on the company name, make that field required during sign-up to prevent fallback to personal names.
  • Normalize input where possible: Use automations to correct casing, remove extra spaces, and standardize abbreviations (e.g., “Co.” vs “Company”).
  • Include a unique identifier for duplicate names: If two clients have identical business names, append a unique tag like location or owner initials to differentiate them.
  • Document your convention: Keep a short internal guide so every team member knows what naming pattern to expect and how to correct names manually when needed.

Onboarding improvements to ensure accurate names

We can reduce naming issues by making a few small changes to the client onboarding experience:

  • Make company name a clear, required field: Position it prominently in the signup form and explain why we ask for it (for example, it helps us set up the account correctly and keeps invoices aligned).
  • Use helpful placeholder text: Instead of a generic placeholder, use a hint like “Enter business or brand name (e.g., Maple Street Café).” This guides clients to provide the right input.
  • Validate entries: Add a simple front-end validation to prevent empty strings or accidental spaces from being submitted.
  • Confirm the name in an onboarding email: As part of the welcome sequence, include a message summarizing the account name and offer an easy way for the client to request a change if needed.

Troubleshooting common issues

Even with the best setup, issues can crop up. Here are typical problems and how we resolve them quickly:

Issue: Subaccount shows the personal name instead of the company name

  • Check whether the company name field was filled during signup. If it was blank, that explains the fallback.
  • If using an external checkout, verify that the checkout system sent the company name in the subscription metadata. If not, update the checkout to include that field.
  • For accounts already created, update the subaccount name manually or run an automation to copy the company field into the subaccount’s display name.

Issue: External checkout doesn’t pass company name

  • Confirm whether the external checkout system supports sending metadata. If it does, configure it to include the company name field.
  • Test a purchase flow to ensure the value arrives in the platform’s subscription metadata.
  • If the external checkout cannot supply metadata, implement a secondary step immediately after checkout (a simple form or API-based flow) to capture the company name and update the subaccount name.

Issue: Duplicate business names make it hard to tell accounts apart

  • Use a naming suffix like location or owner initials to differentiate accounts with the same business name.
  • Maintain a mapping spreadsheet for commonly duplicated names and use automations to append a standard suffix during account creation.

Automation ideas to keep names consistent

Automation can reduce manual corrections and improve consistency across subaccounts. Here are automations we recommend implementing:

  • Auto-format company names: When a signup occurs, run an automation that capitalizes properly, removes double spaces, and trims leading/trailing characters.
  • Fallback prompts: If company name is missing, trigger an email or SMS prompting the client to provide their business name with a one-click update link.
  • Name-verification step: After signup, send a welcome message that displays how the account will appear and offers a quick reply option to request a name change.
  • Duplicate-check automation: Check for existing identical names and append a standard suffix or alert an admin to review during account creation.

How this change saves time and reduces headaches

We emphasize practical outcomes. Changing this one configurator setting and tightening up the signup flow saves real time and reduces friction in many small but cumulative ways:

  • Less time searching for accounts: Clean, business-centered names mean our team spends less time guessing which account belongs to which client.
  • Fewer misdirected support actions: When names are clear and consistent, we avoid logging into the wrong client account by mistake.
  • Smoother handoffs between team members: When an account name follows a predictable pattern, everyone on support, onboarding, and fulfillment knows where to look.
  • Better client perception: Clients see an account that matches their brand, which looks professional and reinforces trust.

Checklist: Implementing clean default names

Before we finish, here’s a simple checklist to run through to get this right in under 15 minutes:

  • Confirm you have access to the SaaS configurator (check your plan level).
  • Decide whether company name or customer name fits your typical client profile.
  • Update the subaccount onboarding option in Advanced Settings.
  • Make the company name field required in your sign-up flows if you selected company name.
  • Test signups using built-in and external checkouts to ensure the company name is passed correctly.
  • Create a simple automation to correct common formatting issues and to prompt clients if the field is missing.
  • Document your naming convention for your team and train new hires on it.

Quick examples of naming conventions we use

Here are a few practical naming templates we’ve used successfully:

  • Company Name — City (e.g., “Bright Dental — Austin”)
  • Company Name — Owner Initials (e.g., “Maple Street Café — MJ”)
  • Brand (Industry) — Location (e.g., “Fresh Flowers (Florist) — Uptown”)

Pick one that suits your agency’s workflow and apply it consistently. Simplicity is better than complexity here—choose a clear pattern and stick to it.

Short testimonial

“After we switched to company-name defaults and required the business field in our signup, our support team cut account lookup time in half. It’s a small change that made a big difference.” — a small agency that implemented these steps

FAQ

Q: Do we need a specific plan to access the SaaS configurator?

A: Yes. The configurator is available to agency accounts on higher-tier plans that include subaccount management features. If you don’t see the configurator in your account, check your plan level or contact your billing/support team to confirm what’s included in your subscription.

Q: What happens when a client signs up via an external checkout?

A: If you use an external checkout, you can still use the company-name option as long as the external checkout includes the company name in the subscription metadata passed to the platform. If it doesn’t, the platform can’t apply the company name and will typically fall back to the person’s username or personal name.

Q: The company-name field wasn’t filled—how do we fix existing accounts?

A: For existing accounts, we can manually edit the subaccount name or run an automation that updates names based on client-provided data. If many accounts need updates, create a batch process or use an export-edit-import workflow to correct multiple entries at once.

Q: Can we customize the format of the default name beyond company or customer?

A: The basic configurator usually gives the two options: company or customer name. For more customized formats (like adding location, tags, or owner initials automatically), we recommend using automations after signup or a naming script to adjust the display name based on other data fields captured in the form.

Q: How do we handle duplicate business names?

A: Append a location, owner initials, or an internal ID in a consistent way. Implement an automation that detects duplicates and adds a standard suffix to keep each account unique and identifiable.

Conclusion

Customizing default subaccount names is a small administration change that pays dividends in clarity, efficiency, and professionalism. By choosing whether to default to company or personal names, requiring the right fields during signup, and adding simple automations, we eliminate confusion and make it easier for our teams to support clients quickly.

We recommend reviewing your current onboarding and checkout flows, deciding on a naming convention that suits your client base, and implementing the change in the SaaS configurator. With a few minor adjustments, account lists become cleaner, onboarding becomes smoother, and our team spends less time hunting for the right account—time we can put toward delivering value for clients instead.

If you have questions about applying these steps to your specific signup flows or want a checklist tailored to your agency, we’re happy to help. Let’s make naming one less thing to worry about.

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