> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.charle.agency/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> Manage client relationships, retainers, and schedules in CharleOS

Clients are at the heart of CharleOS. The client management system tracks relationships, retainer plans, scheduled work, and performance metrics.

## What you can do with clients

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Client Profiles" icon="building">
    Store client information, assignments, and retainer details
  </Card>

  <Card title="Retainer Plans" icon="file-contract">
    Manage monthly hours, pricing, and budget tracking
  </Card>

  <Card title="Schedule Work" icon="calendar">
    Plan and track scheduled work for each client
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monitor Health" icon="heart-pulse">
    Track RAG status and schedule health
  </Card>

  <Card title="Client Intelligence" icon="brain">
    View deliverability scores and historical performance data
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Client types

CharleOS supports two types of clients:

### Retainer clients

Clients with ongoing monthly retainers:

* Monthly hours allocation
* Fixed monthly cost
* Day rate pricing
* Ongoing scheduling and capacity planning
* Hours tracking and usage monitoring

### Project-only clients

Clients working on specific projects:

* No monthly retainer or hours allocation
* Quote-based pricing
* Fixed-scope project work
* One-time or sporadic engagement

<Info>
  Most clients in CharleOS are retainer clients. Project-only clients don't have a plan assigned.
</Info>

## Client information

Each client profile tracks:

### Basic details

* **Client name** - Company or individual name
* **Status** - Active or Archived
* **Start date** - When the retainer or relationship began
* **Notes** - Internal notes about the client

### Retainer & pricing

* **Plan** - Monthly retainer plan (hours and cost)
* **Custom overrides** - Client-specific pricing or hours
* **Day rate** - Sold day rate based on plan
* **Hours allocation** - Monthly hours with PM deduction applied

### Team & ownership

* **CSM** - Assigned Customer Success Manager
* **Client portal users** - Client team members with portal access

### Health & performance

* **RAG status** - Red/Amber/Green health indicator
* **Hours usage** - Allocated, logged, and remaining hours
* **Efficiency** - Banked time and overage tracking
* **Schedule health** - How well work is planned

### Integration

* **Slack channel** - Client-specific Slack channel for notifications

## Who can access clients

Access to client features is permission-based:

| Role                 | View Clients     | Edit Clients | Manage Plans | Schedule Work |
| -------------------- | ---------------- | ------------ | ------------ | ------------- |
| **Delivery Team**    | ❌ No             | ❌ No         | ❌ No         | ❌ No          |
| **Project Managers** | ✅ Yes            | ❌ No         | ❌ No         | ✅ Yes         |
| **CSMs**             | ✅ Yes (assigned) | ❌ No         | ❌ No         | ✅ Yes         |
| **Managers**         | ✅ Yes (all)      | ✅ Yes        | ✅ Yes        | ✅ Yes         |

<Note>
  CSMs only see clients assigned to them. Project Managers, Managers, and those with multiple roles (e.g., PM+CSM) see all clients.
</Note>

## Navigating clients

### Clients list

Access the clients list from the sidebar:

* Navigate to **Clients** in the Work section
* View all clients you have access to
* Search by name or notes
* Filter by status, CSM, or plan
* Sort and paginate large client lists

### Client detail pages

Each client has a dedicated page with tabs:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Overview">
    * Performance stat cards (Day Rate, Efficiency)
    * Hours summary for current month
    * Client information sidebar
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Team">
    * Client portal users
    * Invite and manage client access
    * User roles and permissions
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Quotes">
    * All quotes for the client
    * Filter by status (draft, pending, approved, rejected)
    * Create new quotes
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Tasks">
    * All tasks for the client
    * Filter by status and phase
    * View task progress
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Schedule">
    * Blocks (capacity reservations)
    * Planner (tasks to be scheduled)
    * Scheduled tasks with subtasks
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Performance">
    * Performance trend charts over time
    * Hours, efficiency, and deliverability trends
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Intelligence">
    * Deliverability and QA score cards
    * Score history chart and event log
    * Outlier tasks management
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Quick actions

From the client detail page:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Edit Client" icon="pen">
    Update client details, plan, or CSM assignment
  </Card>

  <Card title="View Hours" icon="clock">
    Check hours usage for any month
  </Card>

  <Card title="Add Quote" icon="file-plus">
    Create a new quote for the client
  </Card>

  <Card title="Schedule Work" icon="calendar-plus">
    Add tasks to the schedule
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Client sidebar

Every client detail page includes a sidebar showing:

### Client info

* Status badge (Active/Archived)
* RAG status badge (Red/Amber/Green)
* Plan name with "Custom" badge if overrides exist
* Assigned CSM with avatar

### Hours summary

* Month picker (view any historical month)
* **Allocated hours** - Plan hours with PM deduction
* **Logged hours** - Actual time entries
* **Remaining hours** - Budget remaining (red if negative)
* **Progress bar** - Visual utilization
* Link to view all time entries

<Tip>
  The hours summary updates in real-time as work is logged. Check it frequently to monitor budget usage.
</Tip>

## Client health indicators

### RAG status

RAG (Red/Amber/Green) indicates client health:

* **🟢 Green** - Healthy client relationship
* **🟠 Amber** - Needs attention or monitoring
* **🔴 Red** - Critical issues requiring immediate action

RAG status is updated from weekly RAG reports and appears throughout the system.

### Schedule health

Schedule health shows how well work is planned:

* **On Track** (green) - 90-110% of monthly hours scheduled
* **Under Scheduled** (amber) - Less than 90% scheduled
* **Over Scheduled** (red) - More than 110% scheduled

<Warning>
  Over-scheduled clients risk running out of retainer hours before month-end. Under-scheduled clients may have unused capacity.
</Warning>

## Common workflows

### Create a new client

1. Navigate to **Clients**
2. Click **New Client**
3. Enter client details:
   * Name and slug
   * Start date
   * Plan selection
   * CSM assignment (optional)
   * Custom overrides (if needed)
4. Save

The client is created with status "Active" and ready for work.

### Monitor client hours

1. Open the client detail page
2. Check the hours summary in the sidebar
3. Use the month picker to view historical usage
4. Click **View Time Entries** to see detailed breakdown

### Schedule work for a client

1. Navigate to the client's **Schedule** tab
2. Review **Blocks** (capacity reservations)
3. Add tasks to **Planner** from backlog
4. Schedule subtasks with dates and assignees
5. Work appears on team schedules

## Best practices

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Assign CSMs" icon="user-tie">
    Every retainer client should have an assigned CSM for relationship management
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monitor hours weekly" icon="gauge">
    Check hours usage weekly to avoid over or under-allocation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Keep RAG updated" icon="traffic-light">
    Update RAG status weekly to track client health trends
  </Card>

  <Card title="Plan ahead" icon="calendar-days">
    Use the 3-month schedule health view to plan capacity proactively
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Client Profiles" icon="building" href="/user-guide/clients/profiles">
    Learn what information is tracked on client profiles
  </Card>

  <Card title="Retainer Plans" icon="file-contract" href="/user-guide/clients/retainer-plans">
    Understand how retainer plans and hours work
  </Card>

  <Card title="Client Schedule" icon="calendar" href="/user-guide/clients/client-schedule">
    Learn how to schedule work for clients
  </Card>

  <Card title="Client Intelligence" icon="brain" href="/user-guide/clients/client-intelligence">
    View deliverability scores and improve scheduling accuracy
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quotes" icon="file-text" href="/user-guide/quotes">
    Create quotes that convert to tasks
  </Card>
</CardGroup>