---
sourceDocument: Australia Customer Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/customer-service-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Customer Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - csm

bundleId :

    - csm

workflow :

    - Customer and Industry


---

# Bi-directional account relationships

# Bi-directional account relationships {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Australia
* 
* Updated June 30, 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read

A bi-directional account relationship is a relationship that exists between two
accounts. You can create account relationships between two customer accounts or between a
partner account and a customer account.  
A bi-directional account relationship is based on a defined account relationship type. Creating a bi-directional account relationship is a two-step process that involves:

* Defining the types of relationships that exist between your partners and customers.
* Using these relationship types to create relationship records between selected accounts.
{#c_AccountRelationships__ul_ixj_pbp_nlb}

You can view relationship records on the Account form for either account in the relationship.
These records are stored in the Account Relationships related list.

For relationships between a partner account and a customer account, contacts with the Partner or Partner administrator role can create and manage cases for their customer accounts.

## Account relationship types {#c_AccountRelationships__section_xbz_gcp_nlb}

An account relationship type defines a relationship that can exist between accounts. Users with the administrator role can define the following account relationship types:

* Account to account
* Partner to account
{#c_AccountRelationships__ul_h4s_jcp_nlb}  
When creating an account relationship type, you define the following information on the Account Relationship Type form:

* The type of source account (account or partner).
* The type of target account (account or partner).
* The relationship between the source account and the target account.
* The reverse relationship between the source account and the target account.

{#c_AccountRelationships__ul_bb5_dcf_q5}  
Note:  
One default account relationship type is provided for partner accounts.

## Account relationship records {#c_AccountRelationships__section_ayd_2fp_nlb}

Once an account relationship type is defined, users with the Customer Service Manager role can use it to create relationships between specific accounts or partners. An account relationship record includes the following information:

* A source account, selected in the Account From field.
* A target account, selected in the Account To field.
* The account relationship type that this relationship record is based on.
* The relationship and the reverse relationship of the selected accounts.
{#c_AccountRelationships__ul_xpt_qrm_q5}  
View a relationship record from either account:

* The relationship (Account FromAccount To) appears in the Account Relationships related list on the source account record.
* The reverse relationship (Account ToAccount From) appears in the Account Relationships related list on the target account record.
{#c_AccountRelationships__ul_efd_cpf_q5}Select the account relationship record from either account to see the Account Relationship form.

You can also view account relationship records that use a specific account relationship
type. This information appears as a related list on the Account Relationship Type form. This
list shows the source account (Account From field) and the target
account (Account To field) for each account relationship record.

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