# Customer Records

The **Customers** card under **Admin → Users** lists everyone who has ordered from you, with their history and totals.

There's no separate "add a customer" step — customers appear as they order.

## What's in the list

For each customer:

- **Name** and contact details
- **Order count**
- **Total paid**
- **Their orders**, opening to full detail

Search by name, email, or phone. Search runs across your whole customer list, not just the page on screen, so a customer from eight months ago is findable.

## Reading "total paid" correctly

**Total paid counts only orders that were actually charged.** An order set to pay at pickup and never collected is food someone asked for, not money you took.

Each row also shows a **paid order count**, so a total that looks low against the order count is explained rather than mysterious. Cancelled orders and unpaid register drafts are excluded.

For financial reporting, use your Stripe dashboard — these are order totals before processing fees. See [Processing Fees Explained](/processing-fees).

## How customers are identified

A customer is matched by their signed-in account where there is one. Otherwise they're identified by **email when the order has one, and phone otherwise**.

That mixed rule exists because neither field alone covers everyone: a counter ticket often has no phone number, while an online order requires a phone but may have no email. Keying on just one would drop a whole population from your list.

The practical consequence: someone who orders online with one email and later gives a different one at the counter may appear twice. Nothing is lost — but if you're counting regulars, look for near-duplicates.

## What this is useful for

**Recognizing regulars.** The [register](/register-pos) recalls returning customers from past orders, so a cashier can pull up someone's details without retyping them.

**Understanding value.** Order count and total paid show who your business actually depends on. It's usually a smaller group than people expect.

**Handling a complaint.** Open someone's history before responding. Knowing this is their twelfth order changes the conversation.

## Scope

Customers cover every restaurant you have access to. If you run several locations, you see customers across all of them.

## Privacy

These are real people's contact details. Treat them accordingly:

- Only send marketing to customers who **opted in** — see [Email Marketing](/marketing-campaigns).
- Don't export the list somewhere it isn't protected.
- Give staff [the least access they need](/users-and-roles). Kitchen staff have no reason to see customer contact details, and the Kitchen role doesn't grant it.

## Where to go next

- [Email Marketing](/marketing-campaigns)
- [Rewards & Loyalty](/rewards)
- [Managing Orders](/orders)
- [Users & Roles](/users-and-roles)