Configure accounts and contacts

task australia Updated Sep 10, 2026 1 min read configure-csm-accounts-contacts.md

An account is a supported external customer and a contact is a user who is an employee of an account.

Before you begin

Role required: One of the following roles:

sn_crm_account_data_manager
sn_crm_account_relationship_data_manager
sn_crm_foundation_data_manager
sn_crm_foundation_admin
admin

About this task

There are two types of accounts: customer accounts and partner accounts. The Customer and Partner fields on the Account form denote the account type. An account can be a customer account, a partner account, or both.

A partner is a supported external customer that sells to and supports other customers. A partner can report and manage cases on behalf of customers. A partner can also be a customer.

Note: After importing customer account data, you must also set the account code system property.

An account can have multiple contacts but a contact can be associated with only one account. A contact can have one or more associated assets and service contracts. A contact can also have a user ID and can log in to the customer portal.

Note: A contact is a user in the system. If you create a contact, that person is also added to the User table (sys_user).

Procedure

You can import existing accounts and contacts using guided setup.
You can create accounts and contacts using the Customer Service Management application.

Related topics

Create customer accounts

Account hierarchy

53 lines · 2.4 KB Wrap lines

---
title: Configure accounts and contacts
description: An account is a supported external customer and a contact is a user who is an employee of an account.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/customer-service-management/configure-csm-accounts-contacts.html
release: australia
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Customer data, Set up your environment, Configure, Customer Service Management]
---

# Configure accounts and contacts

An account is a supported external customer and a contact is a user who is an employee of an account.

## Before you begin

Role required: One of the following roles:

- sn\_crm\_account\_data\_manager
- sn\_crm\_account\_relationship\_data\_manager
- sn\_crm\_foundation\_data\_manager
- sn\_crm\_foundation\_admin
- admin

## About this task

There are two types of accounts: customer accounts and partner accounts. The **Customer** and **Partner** fields on the Account form denote the account type. An account can be a customer account, a partner account, or both.

A partner is a supported external customer that sells to and supports other customers. A partner can report and manage cases on behalf of customers. A partner can also be a customer.

**Note:** After importing customer account data, you must also [set the account code system property](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/customer-service-management/set-csm-account-code-property.md).

**Note:** A contact is a user in the system. If you create a contact, that person is also added to the User table \(sys\_user\).

## Procedure

- You can import existing accounts and contacts using guided setup.

- You can create accounts and contacts using the Customer Service Management application.

**Related topics**

[Create customer accounts](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/customer-service-management/import-create-csm-accounts.md)

[Account hierarchy](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/customer-service-management/c_AccountHierarchy.md)