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      Video: Customer Information Window

      This video takes an in-depth look on the Customer Information Window.

       

      Customers can be found on the menu bar Customer > Customer Information or by using the Customer shortcut from the main toolbar.
      Click the magnifying glass next to the Customer name field to find a customer.
      Primary Filters used to refine search.

      • Find
      • Begins with

      Secondary Filters can be used independently or in conjunction with the primary filters.

      • Branch
      • Type
      • Salesperson

      Customer Information Window

      Customers can be entered and maintained in Acctivate or QuickBooks. However, synchronization with QuickBooks must be performed for information to appear and/or update in either program.
      Customer jobs are also utilized in Acctivate. Check the Job box in order to assign the parent customer. Feel free to use jobs any way you like including having a job hierarchy. Every customer that has a job will have a Jobs tab in the customer window, which stores a history of all jobs for the customer.

      • Customer Name is the unique ID specific to each customer. This field is the key field during synchronization. Users can enter the ID directly in this field or they can enter the Company or Contact name and press tab to fill it in automatically.
      • If this is a commercial customer, place their company name in the Company field.
      • The billing contact person for the customer will be placed in the Contact fields on the main customer window.
      • In order to edit or create the address, either type is manually in the Address box or use the Edit button.
        • The Show button changes to Edit while in edit mode.
        • We recommend using the Edit Address Info window when entering any address. This ensures the City, State, and Zip are placed in the appropriate fields during synchronization.
      • When you customer maintains a website, enter it into the Website field. Users can click the binocular button to the right of the field to open the site in an internet browser.
      • If using multi-currency, be sure to specify the customer’s Currency in the appropriate field.
      • Customer Type:  This field is configured in QuickBooks and synchronized into Acctivate as a way to group your customers. It can be used to specify things like the record being a Customer vs. Prospect or specific industry types. There are reports which can be filtered by this field, as well.
      • Branch:  The Branch typically is an actual location with a physical address and a phone number that customers can call to place orders from. This will be the location that is displayed on the order/invoice when it is sent to the customer. The system admin can map separate Accounts Receivable accounts to each branch in order to track certain revenue streams.
      • Salesperson:  This will ensure sales commissions are assigned to the proper salesperson. Assign the value on the customer window for it to fill in automatically on orders. The system admin can also restrict access to information based on salesperson in Configuration Management.
      • Reference, Reference 2, and Alt Customer ID:  These fields are all text fields which can be used for customer searches. The reference fields will be copied to any order created for the customer by default. Alternate ID could be the customer ID from a different software program, in case you need to reference an old customer ID scheme.

      Customer Information Tabs

      Tax Info

      • Specify whether this is a taxable or non-taxable customer.
      • Identification of Tax Exemption status and number.
      • This will override the taxable status of a product.

      Phone

      • Bill To contact information tracked here.
      • QuickBooks customer contact information will appear in this section.

      Misc

      • Synchronize transactions as:  Allows you to synchronize the transactions for this customer to a separate customer record.
      • Invoice Text prints at the bottom off all invoices for this customer automatically.
      • Popup Note will display when selecting customer on a Sales Order, Credit Memo, Business Activity and when opening the customer, if the Popup box is checked.

      Notes

      • Used to record internal notes with a date stamp linked to a user ID.
      • These Notes show up on Business Alerts when Followup date and By (user it’s assigned to) are set on the note.

      Ship To Information

      The Ship To tab on the customer window stores specific details regarding the shipping information for the customer. This tab allows customers to have multiple Ship To locations. Each Location needs its own unique alpha-numeric ID. Many Acctivate users choose the store number as the location ID, but you can use it however you see fit. The following information can be configured differently for each location in the customer’s list of ship to’s.

      • Attention:  Addressee for shipping location.
      • Address:  The specific address for this location. Be sure to modify this address by clicking the Edit button (the Show button changes to Edit in edit mode).
      • Tax Category:  Determines the taxing authority or tax location for sales to the specific customer site. This list of categories is maintained solely in QuickBooks. Acctivate allows you to specify whether the category is Shipping Exempt in the Customer section of Configuration Management.
      • Map Ref:  Notes on map references for this location. If you are using a map split into grids, you can enter the coordinates in this field.
      • Distance:  Notes on setting the distance away for this location.
      • Route:  The route associated with the customer ship to location as defined in Configuration Management.
      • Stop:  The stop number on the specific route selected above.
      • Routing Inst:  Routing instructions specific to this location and route.
      • Ship Via:  Set the shipping method from pre-configured types set in Configuration Management.
      • FOB:  Information regarding “Free on Board” location which is the point where the customer takes ownership of the product.
      • Job Number:  Set default job number for orders here.
      • Notes:  Internal notes created by users. These can be marked as something to follow-up on for a specific user when utilizing Business Alerts.
      • Del Inst:  Delivery instructions specific for this location. These will default when creating new Sales Orders.
        • Comment:  General comments regarding shipping information. This list is defined in Configuration Management.
        • Shipping Instructions:  Specific shipping instructions for this location. These will print on the Sales Order and Invoice.
        • Special Instructions:  Internal instructions specific to this location.
        • Phone:  Contact information for this ship to location.
        • Misc:  Miscellaneous internal notes for ship to locations.

        Invoices Tab

        • Provides invoice and payment history for each customer.
        • Users can toggle between invoices, current invoice, past due based on aging, payments, and credit balanced items.
        • Print the grid by right-clicking anywhere in the grid.
        • Double-click on a data grid row to open the customer invoice.

        Sales Tab

        • Specify who referred the customer to you in the Referred By field. You can choose a Customer, Vendor, or Other Contact.
        • The Marketing Code field is user defined to track marketing initiatives; setup this list in Configuration.
        • The Marketing List is user defined and allows you to add or remove customers from a group for sending broadcast emails.
        • Sales History for the customer summarized by month is displayed on the right hand side of the window.

        Credit Tab

        • Active check box indicates whether a customer is active or inactive.
        • The credit status of the customer, can display as Credit Hold, Overdue or Over Limit based on the following:
          • Credit Hold:  Displays if a manual credit hold has been set by checking the Credit Hold box.
          • Overdue: This credit status will display if the ‘Deny credit if invoices overdue’ check box is checked in Configuration Management in the Customer Options and the customer has unpaid invoices older than the indicated grace period.
          • Over Limit: This credit status will display if the ‘Deny credit if over limit’ check box is checked in Configuration Management (in the same section as above) and the customer’s balance is over the Credit Limit set on this tab.
          • Sales orders can still be entered for a customer on credit hold or if they over their credit limit. These orders require special approval before the orders can be invoiced.
          • If you would like to track the customer’s credit information, do so in the Credit Rating field and where you received the credit information in the Source field.
          • Users can also set the Preferred Payment, Account No (Banking), and Credit Card details to pull automatically on the sales orders.
          • Annual Sales and Ownership Style are text fields for internal information tracking.
          • Collection Trend (days) displays a series of up to the 12 most recently paid invoices in days.
          • The Phone section can hold the billing contact information in case it differs from the main customer window.
          • Use the Notes section on this tab to manage accounts receivable collection.

          Orders Tab

          • Lists history of all orders and quotes for the selected customer.
          • Users can toggle between all or specific order status’ as well as Due date.
          • Double-click an order in the grid to open the Sales Order.
          • Right click to print grid.

          Contacts Tab

          • Keep track of multiple customer Contacts on this tab.
          • Each contact will have a unique Contact ID assigned.
          • Users can define the contact Name, Title, Phone, Fax, Email, Alternate Phone, Mobile, and Pager information.
          • To email directly from this tab, click the envelope icon next to the email address. Emails sent this way will be saved in the Email tab.

          Prices Tab

          • Default Price Code:  Price code to use for all orders automatically.
          • Default Invoice Discount %:  Whole invoice discount percent used on Sales Orders.
          • Prices:  Users setup special negotiated pricing outside of the price code groupings by adding products to the Prices tab. This option gives you the ability to utilize Effective/Expiration dates, Low/High Qty for volume pricing as well as Price type options, such as Price, List Price minus Percent, or Cost Plus.
          • Contracts:  Customer contracts are configured here. Within the contract, users can set a Contract ID, Description, Contact, Note, PO, Terms Code, Begin/End Dates, Invoice Discount %, and Invoice Text. All this will show when the specific contract is selected on a Sales Order.

          Products Tab

          • Displays history of products that have been purchased by the customer.
          • Use the Look for field to find data matching a text string when there are numerous products in the list.
          • Use the Lookup magnifying glass to filter the data to show the history of quantities purchased and price paid for a specific product.

          Product IDs Tab

          • This tab allows products in the system to be assigned customer specific product IDs and descriptions.
          • Product ID:  The product ID already in the system.
          • Description: The product description of the above product ID as recorded in the Product Information window.
          • Customer Product ID:  The customer product ID assigned to the above product.
          • Customer Description:  The product description related to the customer product ID.
          • Note:  A free form note field.
          • Click the Lookup button that appears to type within a larger text box.