Customer Master

For: People using the software to manage customers

Purpose: Understand what the Customer module does and how it helps your business

Related: The Vendor module covers parties you buy from (bills, purchase orders). The same party can be both a customer and a vendor; see [Linking a Customer to a Vendor](#section-1-sub-4) below.

What This Module Does

The Customer module is where you keep all information about customers: companies or people who buy from you. You use it for:

• Invoices: what you billed and what's paid or outstanding
• Quotes: offers you send before an order
• Sales orders and delivery challans
• Payments received from customers
• Credit notes: credit you've given that they can use against future invoices

You can add, edit, search, and view customers. You can manage their addresses, link a customer to a vendor when it's the same party, and give customers access to a portal so they can log in and see their own data (invoices, orders, etc.).

Main Features (What You Can Do)

1. Add a New Customer

Portal access:

• You enter details such as name, company name, email, phone, GSTIN, billing and shipping address.
• You can upload a company logo and documents (e.g. agreements, tax forms). These are stored securely.
• Each customer is saved with a unique display name within your company. The same display name cannot be used twice for customers (the check is case-insensitive, e.g. "ABC Ltd" and "abc ltd" count as the same).

• If you turn on "Enable portal" and enter an email, the system can send an invitation to that email so the customer can log in to the portal and see their invoices, orders, etc. Sending the invite does not block saving the customer; if the email fails, the customer is still created.

2. Add Many Customers at Once (Bulk Add)

• You can add multiple customers in one go (e.g. from a list or import).
• The system records who added them and when. There is no duplicate-name or link check in this bulk step; use it when you are sure the data is correct.

3. Search and List Customers

• You can search by name, company name, email, phone, code, or type.
• You can filter to show only Customers (or use a combined list that includes vendors when the screen needs both).
• The list is paginated (shown in pages) so it stays easy to use when you have many records.
• For each customer you can see who added them, who last updated them, and their credit limit (either one overall limit or the sum of branch-wise limits, depending on your setup). You can also see who is linked to a vendor.

4. View Full Details of a Customer

When you open one customer, the system can show:

• Invoices: status, total, paid amount, balance, dates.
• Delivery challans: status, total, date, invoice link.
• Sales orders: status, total, order date, payment status.
• Quotes: quote number, status, expiry, total.
• Payments received: amount, date, mode, status.
• Credit notes: balance available, total, date, status.

If this customer is linked to a vendor, you also see the vendor side:

• Purchase orders, GRPO, bills, payments made, vendor credit.

You can choose to see only split or non-split transactions when your company uses split accounting.

5. Link a Customer to a Vendor (Same Party)

• Sometimes one party is both your customer (you sell to them) and your vendor (you buy from them). You can link this customer to one vendor so that both sides of the relationship are visible in one place.
• Rules:
  • A customer can be linked to only one vendor. If they are already linked to someone else, you must unlink them first.
  • The vendor can be linked to only one customer (see the Vendor module doc).
• When you link them, both records are updated so that from either the customer or the vendor screen you see the linked party and their related documents.

6. Update a Customer

• You can change any saved details: name, addresses, contacts, credit limit, branches, payment terms, documents, logo, portal access, etc.
• Addresses: You can update the main billing and shipping address. You can also add and edit additional shipping addresses and turn them on or off (active/inactive).
• Branches: If you use branches, you can set opening balance, current balance, credit limit, payment terms, and restricted modules per branch. The system keeps balances consistent when you change opening balance.
• Documents and logo: New files you upload are added (documents) or replace the logo. Existing documents stay unless you change them.
• Portal:
  • If you turn off portal for a customer who had it on, the system can disable their portal access for that email.
  • If you turn on portal (or leave it on and only change the email), the system can enable access or send a new invite to the email, so they can log in.

7. Manage Addresses

• View addresses: You can see all shipping addresses (main + additional). The main one is marked as default; others can be marked active or inactive.
• Add a shipping address: You can add one more additional shipping address and use it for deliveries.
• Edit an address: You can edit either the default shipping address or any additional one (e.g. change street, city, pincode).
• Activate or deactivate: For additional shipping addresses only, you can toggle active/inactive so that old addresses stay in history but are no longer used for new orders.

8. Credit and Balances

• Credit limit: You can set an overall credit limit for a customer or use branch-wise limits. The system can show you the total credit limit (e.g. sum of branch limits when branch credit is used).
• Unused credit: The system can show unused credit note balance (money the customer can use against future invoices). This appears in lists and in the customer view so you know how much credit is available.

9. Delete a Customer

• You can delete a customer when they are no longer needed. The system checks that the record belongs to your company. Deletion is permanent; use with care.

10. Customer List for Dropdowns and Selection

• In other parts of the software (e.g. creating an invoice, quote, or sales order), you choose a customer from a list. The module provides:
  • Customer list: for sales (invoices, quotes, orders, etc.) with optional branch filter. You can see who is linked to a vendor.
  • Where the screen needs both customers and vendors, a combined list is available with filters, optional branch, and unused credit (credit note or vendor credit) so you can see available balance when selecting a party.

Summary Table (At a Glance)

Important Business Rules

1. Names: No duplicate display name for customers within your company. The check is case-insensitive (e.g. "ABC Ltd" and "abc ltd" count as the same).
2. Linking: One customer ↔︎ one vendor. To link to a different vendor, unlink the existing link first.
3. Portal: Portal invite is sent when you enable portal and save a valid email; if the email fails, the customer is still saved. Turning off portal can disable their access.
4. Documents and logo: Uploaded files are stored securely; new uploads add to documents or replace the logo as described above.