customers

A customer is a company or person that will purchase goods or services. Customers are used throughout the purchasing process. Customers reside in General>Master Data>Customers and contain the base information required to initiate sales transactions.

There are three different customer types to allow flexibility in delivering products.

• Bill-To - this customer type will receive the invoice for all of the shipments to a ship-To customers. Currency and payments terms are set as defaults at the bill-to customer. Payment terms can be established by ship-to location if required. The relationship between the bill-to customer and ship-to customer are established on the Business Usages tab on the of the bill-to customer. This relationship must be established prior to sales orders being created.

• Ship-To - the customer that will receive the product is defined as a ship-to customer. The ship-to location establishes all of the details related to reporting of sales such as sales regions, territories and other reporting components. Pricing is also established by ship-to locations, although the same pricing table can be assigned to all ship-to locations for a specified bill-to customer. A customer can be defined as both a bill-to and ship-to location.

• Delivery Location - the delivery location allows an optional third tier for delivery. For example, the order is sold to Customer A, shipped to Customer B and delivered to Farm 1. The deliver-to location are assigned to the ship-to customers when creating the customer relationships in the Business Usages tab of the bill-to customer.

Create a Customer

Depending on the type of customer that is being created, different tabs are required for completion.

General

The General tab is used to enter the basic details for the vendor.

1. In General>Master Data, select Customers.
2. In the Customers index, click to create a new customer record.

3. In the Customer No field, enter the code that is used to identify the customer (alphanumeric, max 20 characters). For those interfacing to a financial system, it is beneficial to use the same codes for both systems.
4. In the Customer Name field, enter the name to identify the customer (alphanumeric, max 50 characters).
5. Customer Short Name is an optional field to enter a short-form or common name for the customer (alphanumeric, max 50 characters).
6. In the Address 1-4 fields, enter the address details for the customer.
7. From City No, select the city code for where the selected customer is located. City Name will default from City No, and displays the name of the city in which the selected customer is located. Cities must be predefined in Admin>Business>General>Definitions>Cities.
8. From County No, select the county code for where the selected customer is located. County Name will default and displays the name of the county in which the selected customer is located. Counties must be predefined in Admin>Business>General>Definitions>Counties.
9. From State No, select the state code for where the selected customer is located. State Name will default and displays the name of the state in which the selected customer is located. States must be predefined in Admin>Business>General>Definitions>States.
10. From Country, select the country code for where the selected customer is located. Country Name will default and displays the name of the country in which the selected customer is located. Countries must be predefined in Admin>Business>General>Definitions>Countries.
11. In the Zip field, enter the zip code or postal code for the customer.
12. From Customer Type,  select whether the customer is an internal or external customer.

1. Internal - The customer belongs to the same organization and journal transactions for the customer are recorded to the intercompany purchase accounts (SLSIC).

2. External: The customer is external and journal transactions for the customer are recorded to the external purchase accounts (SLS).

13. Select the Bill To flag if the customer receives invoices. Customer relationships must be established on the Business Usages tab prior to orders being created.
14. Select the Ship To flag if the customer is a ship-to location. All ship-to locations must be assigned to a bill-to customer on the Business Usages tab, even if the customer is a bill-to/ship-to combination.
15. Select the Delivery Location field if the customer is a deliver-to customer. Delivery locations are assigned to ship-to locations on the Business Usages tab of the bill-to customer.
16. In the Tax Id field, enter the 1099 tax identification number.
17. The Active field indicates if the customer is active or inactive. If the customer is no longer required, de-select the option.
18. In the Notes field, enter any additional notes related to the customer.
19. Handling Instructions is a text field to enter special notes on how the deliveries to the customers are to be handled (Example: Call the customer the day prior to the delivery).
20. Latitude and Longitude are the customers' GPS coordinates for mapping and delivery distances.

Billing

The Billing tab is used to enter the billing information related to the customer.

1. Currency No is a required field that indicates the default currency for the customer. If the currency is different than the default currency of the division invoicing, multi-currency transactions will be created. The default currency will transfer to sales contracts and orders with an option to modify.
2. Currency Name displays a description of the selected currency.
3. In the Payment Term No field, select the payment terms assigned to the customer. Payment terms can be modified if required, on the contract or purchase order. Admin>Business>General>Definitions>Payment Terms.
4. Payment Term Name defaults from Payment Term No and displays a description of the payment terms.
5. Payment Method No outlines how the payment is received. Common options are: Check, Wire, Draft. Payment methods are predefined in: Admin>Business>General>Order Management>Payment Methods.
6. Payment Method Name displays the name of the selected payment method.
7. Select the Credit Check flag if there has been a credit check done on the customer.
8. If applicable, enter a Credit Limit for the customer. This field is for reference only.
9. Enter the name of the Collector if there is a collection firm assigned to the customer (alphanumeric, max 50 characters).
10. Select the Credit Hold flag if the customer is on a credit hold. If the option is selected, the system will not allow new orders to be created for this customer.
11. From Bank No, select the customer's bank from the list of user-defined bank numbers. Banks are predefined in: General>General>Master Data>Banks.
12. Bank Name displays the name of the bank that is selected for the customer.
13. From Invoice Method, select the method that the customer will use to receive their invoices. Options are: Mail, Email, or Fax.
14. Invoice Email is only required If Invoice Method is set to Email. Enter the email address that the invoices will be sent to.
15. Select the Consolidated Invoice flag if the customer receives invoices with multiple orders on one invoice. If this flag is not selected, the customer will receive an invoice for every order.

Business Usages

The Business Usages tab is required if the customer is a Bill-to customer or a Bill-to/Ship-to customer. Business Usages establishes the relationship for the bill-to and ship-to locations. An order cannot be placed to either a bill-to or ship-to customer that does not have the relationship defined.

1. From Ship To No, select the ship-to location. The Ship-to flag must be selected on the General tab for the customer to be selected. If the customer is both Bill-to/Ship-to, it must still be added to this tab to process orders.
2. Ship To Name defaults from Ship To No displays the name of the selected Ship-to customer.
3. Payment Term No will default from the selected bill-to customer. If required, modify the payment terms for the selected ship-to customer. Payment terms are created in: Admin>Business>General>Definitions>Payment Terms.
4. Payment Term Name defaults from Payment Term No and displays a description of the payment terms.
5. Select the Primary flag if the ship-to customer is the primary location that the product is delivered.
6. From Ship Method No, use the drop-down menu to select the appropriate shipping method for deliveries to the customer. Values will default to sales order with an option to modify. Available options are: Delivery, Pickup, Courier, or Air.
7. Ship Method Name will default from Ship Method No and displays a description of the shipping method.

 



 

8. In the Freight Term No field, enter the freight terms for the customer. Some commonly used terms are: FOB Origin, FOB Destination, and COF.
9. Freight Term Name defaults from Freight Term No and displays a description of the selected freight terms.
10. Interface Account Name is used to identify the financial account that is used when transactions are interfaced from MTech to the financial system. If applicable, enter the name of the interface account,.
11. In the Price Master No field, enter a price list for the customer, if applicable. Using a price list will automatically price orders placed to this ship-to customer. The Price Master is created in General>General>Sales>Price Master.
12. Price Master Name defaults from Price Master No and displays a description of the selected price master list.
13. Consolidated Invoice Flag determines if the ship-to location will be included in the consolidated billing process. The option defaults from the Bill-to customer, but can be configured by the ship-to customer. Any ship-to customer that has the consolidated flag selected will be grouped on the same invoices if there are multiple shipments in the same invoicing period.

Delivery Location

Within the Ship To No tab, there is a child grid that contains delivery information relating to the ship-to customer. This allows a third tier to the delivery of an order if required.

1. Select the Delivery To Customer from the drop-down list. The list will be filtered for customers with the Delivery Location flag selected.
2. The Customer Name will default from the selected Delivery To Customer.
3. Address 1-3 defaults from the Delivery To Customer.
4. City No defaults from the Delivery To Customer.
5. State No defaults from the Delivery To Customer.
6. The Zip field defaults from the Delivery To Customer.

7. State Name will default and displays the name of the state in which the selected customer is located.

8. Country No will default and displays the name of the country which the selected customer is located.

Contacts

The Contacts tab is used to define internal and external contacts for the customer. The Primary Flag is used to identify the main contact information for the internal and external contacts. External contacts are typically customer contacts while internal contacts are those within the Company, such as the purchasing agent or buyer that may deal with the vendor.

1. Click to add a new contact to the grid.
2. From Contact Type, select whether the contact is an External or Internal contact.
3. From Title, select the appropriate title for the contact. Examples are: Mr, Mrs, Ms.
4. Enter the First Name of the contact.
5. Enter the Last Name of the contact.
6. Enter the Job Title of the contact.
7. In the Email field, enter the Email address of the contact (if applicable).
8. Select the Primary Flag if the contact is the first contact to call for the customer
9. The Active Flag will be selected by default. If the contact is no longer needed, de-select the active flag.

Additional Contact Details

Within the Contact, there is a child grid that contains the telephone and fax numbers related to the contact. These details must be defined if the contacts are to be added to the sales order.

1. In the Country Code field, enter the calling code for the country that the vendor is located in.  
2. In the Area Code field, enter the area code of the vendor's location.
3. In the Telephone field, enter the main telephone number for the vendor.
4. Enter the Extension of the telephone number (if applicable)
5. From Phone Types, select the type of phone number entered. Options must be predefined in Admin>Business>General> Phone Types.
6. Select the Primary Flag if the contact is the first contact to call for the customer.

Notes

The Notes tab allows the user to enter additional information relating to specific customers.

1. In the Contact Name field, enter the name of the person that was contacted (alphanumeric, max 50 characters).
2. In the Subject field, enter a brief description for the purpose of the call or discussion (alphanumeric, max 50 characters).
3. Enter a Priority number for the call (alphanumeric, max 10 characters). This field is undefined.
4. In the Notes field, enter additional information related to the customer call or discussion. (alphanumeric, max 255 characters)
5. Enter the Date that the call or discussion with the customer took place.

Reporting

The Reporting tab cis populated when the customer is defined as a ship-to customer. The structure of these options is completely dependent on how the Company wishes to report sales data.

1. From Sale Geography No, use the drop-down menu to select  the geographic area of the customer. This field is user-defined and is used for reporting purposes. Codes must be pre-defined in: Admin>Definitions>Order Management>Sales Geographies
2. Sale Geography Name defaults from Sale Geography No and displays a description of the geographic area selected.
3. From Key Marketing Area No, use the drop-down menu to select the area of the customer. This field is user-defined and is used for reporting purposes. Codes must be pre-defined in: Admin>Definitions>Order Management>Sales Marketing Areas.
4. Key Marketing Area Name defaults from Key Marketing Area No and displays the name of the selected marketing area.
5. From Sales Region No, use the drop-down menu to select the region in which the customer is located. Codes must be pre-defined in: Admin>Definitions>Order Management>Sales Regions.
6. Region Name defaults from Sales Region No and displays a description of the region.
7. From the Sales Territory No drop-down menu, select to assign a territory number to the list customer . This field is used for reporting services. Codes must be pre-defined in: Admin>Definitions>Order Management>Sales Territories.
8. Sales Territory defaults from Sales Territory No and displays a description for the selected sales territory name.
9. Delivery Zone No is used for ship-to customers, and for planning purposes. This field is used for reporting services. Codes must be pre-defined in: Admin>Definitions>Order Management>Delivery Zones.
10. Delivery Zone Name displays the name of the selected delivery zone that can be used for planning purposes.