Account Maintenance

Use the Account Maintenance form to add, define, change, and remove system and customer accounts. The details you add to the account determine how the application processes the records you associate with this account, including the pricing, taxes, currency values, invoicing, how and when their statements are produced, and even who can purchase items for the account. It makes sense to understand the settings carefully and think through the consequences of the choices you make here.
Note: The Account Inquiry form shows the same fields and entries as Account Maintenance, but the entries are view-only. If a user needs access to this information without being allowed to change account information, consider providing them access to the Account Inquiry form instead.

Adding a New Account

To add a new account, enter a new account ID in the Account field or choose the New button and the application generates an account ID for you. Then, you can complete the entries as appropriate for the account in the form.

To modify or delete an existing account, enter or select the account code in the Account list. The Function Key area (at the bottom of the window) briefly displays a message reporting when you are Creating a new entry or the Database Updated.

To access the Account Maintenance form, from the Main Menu choose Point of Sale > Database > Account.

Understanding the Form Fields

In the main form (upper area above the folder section), basic information about the customer is displayed and can be edited. Most of this information is self-explanatory such as name, address, state, etc.; however, a few may not be.

Account

This is an account identifier that is used for the customer that may contain letters, numbers, and certain symbols. If you do not specify an account ID, the application fills this field in with the next available account ID. In Point of Sale transactions, team members can enter the customer's name; however, there are a few areas where account code is the primary selection method. Alternate menu choices are available whenever account selection is required, so it's not ever the user's only choice, and in many areas both name and account code can be used. A partial customer name can be used as a alternative to account number for selection in the Maintenance form, but you must click on the down arrow button to view matches; otherwise, it assumes you are adding a new customer. The account is used for selection on some reports and the format can be used by your company to indicate certain attributes (such as branch, account type, etc.) as needed.

New Button

The New button (next to the Account drop down control) displays when a new account prefix has been defined for the current branch location. Prefixes may be defined from the Receivables tab of the Parameters form (accessed from the Maintenance area's Database menu). For more information about prefixes, please see the Receivables Parameters documentation.

Address Fields

Formatting of address fields are determined by parameters as well as your computer's region and language settings. The address appears differently based upon whether your company is located in the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom. The same address control is used in a wide range of transactions and forms; however, each area may use the address differently. Branches, customers, contacts, jobs, and vendors all have associated address data.

Name

This is the name associated with the address and is typically the first (top) line when an address is printed or displayed. Typically, this is a name associated with the business. This can be the business owner, the person that is responsible for the bill (accounting), or the person who is responsible for purchasing. This part of the address can be up to 50-characters in length.

In some cases, the "Name" address field performs additional functions that might not be obvious. For example, when adding a new customer, the name becomes the default for the "sort name" field and also the name of the "primary contact" for the account. The sort name can then be modified so that it is different from the address "name;" however, changes to either the "name" or the name associated with contact zero automatically update to keep both fields the same.

Company

This is the company name associated with the address (if any). If supplied, the company prints/displays below the "name" and above the address lines (1 & 2). This part of the address can be up to 30-characters in length.

Address Line 1

This is the first of two (2) lines provided for the address. Both are optional. Usually, when an address is displayed or printed on a document, an address line is only shown when it has been assigned a text value. This is done to avoid unnecessary blank spacing between address lines. This part of the address can be up to 30-characters in length.

Address Line 2

This is the second of two (2) lines provided for the address. Both are optional. Usually, when an address is displayed or printed on a document, the address line is only shown when it has been assigned a text value. This is done to avoid unnecessary blank spacing between address lines. This part of the address can be up to 30-characters in length.

City/Suburb

This text area is reserved for the "city" (city, town, village, etc.) part of the address. This part of the address can be up to 30-characters in length.
Note: For some regions, it is appropriate to use the suburb name instead.

State or Province (Code)

This portion of the mailing address varies based on your software region setting located under the Parameters database (United States vs. Canada) or your computer's globalization setting. When shown, it is a postal abbreviation used for the state, province, or territory where the address is located. When using a zip code database, entry of a zip code ("postal code" in Canada) can result in this field automatically completing. Listings of state and province codes also include territories. This part of the address can be up to 2-characters in length. In some cases, the printed address will only show the state/province if the "city" part of the address is also present.

Upon request, support can enable a parameter that would include country codes in addition to the state or province code.

States, provinces, and country codes are grouped together. If your company is located in Canada, province codes are listed first in the drop down followed by states and then countries (if enabled). In the United States, state codes are listed first followed by Canadian provinces and then country codes (if enabled). If your company is located in the United Kingdom (UK), this field is not shown nor is it typically printed. There is no "UK" parameter setting. If you are located in the United Kingdom, the software uses the region and language settings of your computer as well as the database region (in certain cases).

Postal Code (aka. ZIP Code or Postcode)

In certain cases, postal (ZIP) code changes can trigger other changes such as setting the sales tax location. This part of the address can be up to 10-characters in length. In North America, the zip code is numeric and is listed to the right of the city and state/province. In the United Kingdom, the postcode is printed as a separate line (the last or bottom line of the address).

Delivery Point

The USPS (United States Postal Service) assigns delivery points in addition to the zip + 4 codes as a way of designating multiple delivery points at the same address (4 offices in the same building -- or -- 2 apartments in the same house, for example). Delivery points are not typically printed (except for Canadian users in certain cases) but are included when POSTNET bar-coded mailing labels are printed. Usually, this is a single digit added to the end of the ZIP code, ZIP+4 code, or a combination of both codes when printing a barcode. Typically, a check digit is also added after the delivery point (if included). This part of the address can be up to 4-characters in length.

For Canadian users, the delivery point field has an alternate use (see below):

Settings for Canada

If your company is located in Canada (and assigned to the Canada regional parameter), the delivery point can be used to add a country notation to addresses on documents. If the delivery point is US, USA, or CAN, these is printed with most document addresses. Again, this is only done for Canadian systems (as determined by the "Canada" system parameter).

Phone #

Use this field to enter the primary phone number of the business, including appropriate country codes, if needed.

Est Date

Date the account was created. This is not an editable field.

Sort Name

The sort name field is used by reports and is the default for selection by customer name in other areas. Sort name is automatically defaulted to match the "name" field but can be modified. This providing some control over how the customer's name appears in selection lists (first name, last name or last name then first, for example). This should be done consistently and match with your company's preferences for reporting and customer selection.

Class

Class is a organizational tool for customer's accounts which is entirely optional. Class codes can be up to three (3) alpha-numeric characters or blank if no class is assigned. Customer classes may be used as a selection method on some reports and also for statements. Use the Class Maintenance form icon to add or modify class codes and descriptions.

Price Level

This selection field is used to assign customers to one of seven (7) potential inventory price levels. Level 0 is always labeled as store retail. Other level descriptions can be modified by a system administrator. Level pricing can be set up differently for each item. When a customer is assigned to a price level, it determines which of the seven (7) possible levels of pricing the software will use for pricing each individual item sold to the account. Level prices on items might be a set price, discount off of list, or markup based on cost. For more information about price levels, see Price Updates - Price Level Entry.

Price Group

Choose the preliminary price group (may include groups like Contractors, Premium, Employees), to define the account's pricing structure based on the group discounts or mark ups associated with a specific price group. For more information about price groups, see Price Groups.

Tax ID

This area is reserved for entry of the customer's federal tax identifier. In most cases, tax/business identification numbers are required in limited circumstances, so it may not always be necessary for your company to maintain a record of it. For some customers and situations, it may be required, however. If your company needs to retain this information for filing forms with a government agency, obtain this information from the customer, and use this field to keep their ID in the account database. You can also consider attaching a scanned copy of any tax related documents associated with the customer to the account (such as an exempt certificate).

Because this information is considered sensitive, all but the last 4-characters are now masked with asterisks (******1234, for example) during maintenance on an existing account and inquiry except when the current user is a system administrator.

Alternate Name

This field allows entry of an alternate name for the account. In some cases, a company might be a subsidiary of a larger corporation, for example. In this example, the account's billing and sales may use one name, but tax forms might go to the owner company. Alternate name could be used to store information such as a subsidiary's owner.

Alternate Tax ID

Similar to the previous field, this applies to companies who may be owned by another entity. The owner company may have a different tax ID number from the subsidiary.

Continue Mode

Use this option to add or modify customer accounts in a sequence. If checked, continue mode maintains the current tab selection after choosing either the Process (F12) or Next (F1) functions. For example, if you are modifying the "override" code on a series of accounts, this would prevent having to re-click the "Codes" tab after each account is processed (or when you choose Next).

Tabs

There are seven static tabs in the Accounts Maintenance and Account Inquiry form. Use the links to find out more about a specific tab:

Receivables (ALT-R) Tab

Use this tab to define whether the account is used with self-managed receivables, and if so, how the application should bill and manage the account financials.

Codes (ALT-C) Tab

Use this tab to add additional settings related to the account's general operation, primarily with regard to Point of Sale.

Contacts (ALT-O) Tab

Use this tab to add, modify, and remove contacts associated with the account.

Attachments (ALT-A) Tab

Use this tab to manage the account's attachments (windows files, map links, web addresses, and application documents).

Purchase Agents (ALT-P) Tab

Use this tab to add, modify, and remove purchase agents associated with the account. Purchase agents are the individuals allows to use the account for purchases. Names may optionally be linked with an image. If purchase agents are added, selection is required at Point of Sale.

Balances (ALT-B) Tab

Use this tab to display a summary of the customer's receivables and sales activity.

ProLink (ALT-L) Tab

Use this tab to enable the ProLink app for the account and to enter an email address.

Account Maintenance-Specific Functions

There are several standard functions available in this form as well as a few that apply only to maintenance type areas.

Standard functions include Next (F1), Cancel (F9), Exit (F10), and Process (F12). There are also 2 additional functions: Template (F5) and Save/Modify (F6) explained below.

Template (F5)

The Template (F5) function is used when adding a new customer account using the settings of another account. The template function will use most of the selected account's settings with some exceptions (contacts are not copied, for example).

Warning: The Template (F5) function should be used at the very beginning of account entry. Any previous entries made will be lost and overwritten with the template account's information.

Save/Modify (F6)

This function is used when adding or modifying contacts for the account and are only enabled while the Contacts tab is the current tab. The function will be labeled Save when you add a new contact and Modify when change a previously saved contact.

Warning: the Process (F12) function does not "save" contact information. You must choose either Save (F6) or Modify (F6) before you choose Process (F12) for your changes or additions to Contacts to be retained!

Deleting an Account

Users with security permission have access to Menu Marker context menus. This form offers those users a Delete Account option. Accounts can only be deleted in certain cases. To delete an account, there can be no current activity associated with the account. This includes any non-zero balances as well as any outstanding finance charges and unapplied credits. In addition, the account cannot be associated with any of the following documents: invoices (except "canceled" transaction), customer orders, open credits, receivables posting, and receivables adjustments. In the event that an account cannot be deleted for any of these reasons, you can change the status of the account to "closed." Closing an account does not remove any balances or activity.

Alternatives to Deleting an Account

You can merge or rename customer accounts using the Account Merge (Rename) utility found on the Utilities > Receivables menu. Please read the documentation regarding this utility before merging or renaming any accounts.