Customers (SUCU)

The Customer Master (SU13) maintains Customer information used by other modules in PointForce iTopia and PointForce Enterprise, including Order Entry, Invoicing, Accounts Receivable, Retail Sales and Sales Analysis. When you first access the Customer Master, you open the "Customer Master (SU13)-Search Criteria/Grid" page.

• The Search/Grid page includes only a sub-set of all of the fields available on the Customer Master (SU13). The remaining fields are found on the Customer Master (SU13)-Details page. The Search/Grid page also includes all of the fields required for Export to Outlook.

You can edit the Customer Master information on both the Search Criteria/Grid page, in the grid section, and on the Details page. Simply double click on the field in the grid, or edit directly in the field on the Details page.

• Drop down lists are active on both the Search Criteria/Grid and Details page.

• The query that displays beside many fields in PointForce Enterprise has been replaced by the 'Execute Quick Lookup' or the lookup icon in PointForce iTopia.

You can access information for an existing customer or you can create a new customer. The following fields are available on the Customer Master and are based on the order in which they appear in the grid on the search page:

• Company Number - every record in the PointForce iTopia SQL database includes the Company Number. When reviewing the results from your search, the Company Number will display for all Customer records. Note: You cannot modify the Company Number field once the record is created.

• Open Outlook Contact - this icon, when clicked, automatically opens Outlook Contacts for the selected record if you have exported the record to Outlook using the Export to Outook Contacts option. Otherwise, the message 'Outlook: item not found. OK' displays. For more information about exporting records to Outlook Contacts, click here.

• Customer Code - the Customer Code displays for every customer record. You cannot modify the Customer Code in the grid. When you are creating a new customer, the maximum length for the Customer Code is defined in Maintain Company (CC95) in the 'Customer Code Length' field. Each Customer must be assigned a unique Customer code.
  • For more information on creating customers, click here.

  • For more information on the Special Logic Coding Conventions built into iTopia for Warehouse locations involved in inventory transfers and Sales Representatives involved in inventory consignments, click here.

• Customer Name - the Customer Name can be a maximum of 30 alpha numeric characters in length. The Customer Name prints on all reports pertaining to customer information, including Sales Reports, Aging Reports and Open Order Reports. If multiple accounts share the same name, a unique characteristic (such as store number or location) is useful; for example, Sears-Toronto.
  • Note: When adding the customer name to a customer record, do not use the apostrophe (') as issues may arise when performing searches using lookup views. For example, if the customer's name is Karol's Koffee, we recommend that you enter the name as Karols Koffee.

  • If WMS (Elite WMS or Accellos) is active in Company Control Initialization (CC00/Warehouse Management Interface), then you cannot use the following characters in the Customer Name field: ^ < >. If you enter any of these characters, a warning message displays and you cannot update the record.

• Address 1 - the street and number to a maximum of 30 characters.
  • For Address 1 (and Address 2 which is not included in the default view but can be personalized into this view), if WMS (Elite WMS or Accellos) is active in CC00/Warehouse Management Interface, then you cannot use the following characters in the Address 1 field: ^ < >. If you enter any of these characters, a warning message displays and you cannot update the record.

• City - the City or town to a maximum of 30 characters.

• Province/State - enter or select from the lookup the Province or State. The Province/State lookup is defined in Maintain Province Codes (CC14).

• Country - the Country automatically displays once the Province or State is selected from the list box. You can edit this field, as required.

• Postal/Zip Code - the Postal Code or Zip Code. For Canadian addresses, the Postal Code field automatically converts to Upper Case. The Postal Code displays exactly as entered, therefore be sure to enter the Postal Code with a space between the first group of 3 alpha numeric characters and the second group of 3 alpha numeric characters, for example H0H 0H0.

• Address Map - when you click on this link, an Internet Explorer window (or new folder) automatically launches a link to the "Google Maps" website for the current address.

• Phone Number - the Phone Number appears exactly as entered in SU13. Be sure to include the Area Code and dashes.

• Fax - the Fax number appears exactly as entered in SU13. Be sure to include the Area Code and dashes.

• Web Address - enter the Internet Address web page from an external web server for this customer. Once the address is entered becomes a hyperlink that launches the web site when clicked.
  • If you are editing the information in this field, you can click on the icon to launch the web address.

• Account Type - this field displays the Account Type for the the current record. You can only edit this field when the Account Type is set to 'P'.

  There are two valid Account Types: Prospect (P) and Customer (C). Note: Prospect is only an option if CRM is active.

  1. P-Prospect - identifies the Customer Code as a 'Prospect' account type. A prospect is a client that has the potential to become a 'Customer'. Note: Once the account type is changed from Prospect to Customer, you cannot revert back to a Prospect account type.
     • If the 'Prospect Status' is set to Qualified, the 'qualified prospect' Customer Code can be entered in Enter Orders & Quotes (OE30) for quotes only; a Photo Quote can also be created in Maintain Photo Quote Forms (IM18).

     • In addition, certain reports in PointForce Enterprise can be filtered by Prospect. These reports included the Open Order Report (OE50), Customer Listings (SU15), etc.

  2. C-Customer - identifies the Customer Code as a 'Customer' account type. A Customer Code with an Account Type of Customer can be used throughout all of the programs in PointForce Enterprise and PointForce iTopia. Note: You cannot change the Account Type from 'Customer' back to 'Prospect'.

• Customer Status - the Accounts Receivable status code. Enter or select from the look up the AR Status. Note: The Customer Status field is unavailable when the Account Type is set to 'Prospect'.

  Valid options include:

  • A - Current and Active; the default code.

  • H - Customer On Hold; Orders are taken for this Customer, but are placed on Credit Hold. A warning message displays in OE30/IN41 stating: "Customer status is "H". This Order will go on credit hold". In RS41, the message states, "Customer status is "H". Cash transactions only".

  • D - Ready to Delete; the Customer is flagged for deletion. The Customer cannot be deleted from Enterprise in Delete Inactive Customers (SU16) until the Customer is completely inactive, i.e. no Sales Orders or Invoices exist.

  • P - Pending Credit Status; Orders are taken for this Customer, but are placed on Credit Hold. A warning message displays in OE30 stating: "Customer status is "P" (Pending). Order will be held." In IN41 and RS41, the message advises that the "Customer status is "P" (Pending)"; you can continue to Invoice the customer.

• Prospect Status - this field is available only when the CRM module is active. This field represents the status associated with the Prospect. Enter or select from the look up a Prospect Status.

  Note: The Prospect Status field is unavailable when the Account Type is set to 'Customer'.

  Valid options include:

  • Q - Qualified; The prospect is qualified and can now receive Quotes from OE30 and Photo Quotes from IM81.

  • A - Archived; The prospect record stays in the system. The SU16 program will not delete prospect records flagged as 'Archived'. This status code allows you to keep the prospect on file for future reference.

  • D - Ready to Delete; Flags the prospect for deletion. The next time SU16 runs, all prospects flagged 'Ready to Delete' will be removed from the system. Caution: SU16 will delete a prospect flagged for deletion even if the prospect has open Quotes in OE30. The open quotes for the deleted prospect are removed from the system when the prospect is deleted.

• Sales Rep SU - enter or select from the lookup the Sales Rep code associated with this Customer. Sales Rep codes are defined in Sales Reps (SU09). The Sales Rep code is used by OE30, IN41, and RS41 to calculate the Commissions and to capture Commission statistics for reporting purposes.

• Paying Office - the Paying Office represents the Customer Code to which Invoices are posted. The Paying Office field is automatically set to be the same value as the Customer Code. A new Paying Office code can be entered or selected from the lookup.
  • Note: The Paying Office cannot have an Account Type set to 'Prospect' when assigned to a Customer record. If you assign a Prospect Paying Office to a Customer, the following message displays: "Customer ##### is a Prospect. Prospects may not be paying offices."

  • When 'Head Office' pays the Invoices for all stores in a chain, the Head Office is set up as a Customer and the Head Office Customer Code is assigned as the Paying Office for each store in the chain.

  • The Paying Office field (and not the Customer Code) is used for Credit Limit and Delinquency checks.

  • The Paying Office field (and not the Customer Code) is used for the following Accounts Receivable functions: Account Inquiry, Statement of Account and Aging Report.

  • Sales statistics are updated using the 'Sold To' Customer code on the Invoice, not the Paying Office Customer Code for all sales files except Record of Collections (ARRC), where sales are updated per the Paying Office. Sales stored in this file are displayed in Customer Inquiries (SU45/Account Summary) and can be optionally printed on the Overdue Analysis Report (AR83) and the Aging Report (AR84).

  • The pricing routine considers the Paying Office when assigning Special Prices. For more information on Price List rules, click here.

• AR Terms - the standard Invoice (Accounts Receivable) terms. Enter or select from the lookup the standard AR Terms Code for the customer. The AR Terms codes are defined in Maintain A/R Terms (AR03). The standard AR Terms code is assigned to all Orders and Invoices for the customer.

• Account Manager - this field is available only when the CRM module is active. If the CRM module is not part of your PointForce iTopia package, this field will be unavailable.
  • Enter or select from the lookup an Account Manager. This field is maintained in the CRM Account Manager table, in the CRM module.

• Bank - the Accounts Receivable Bank code. Enter or select from the look up the AR Bank code. The AR Bank codes are defined in Maintain Bank Codes (AR02). Note: The Bank must have a Gateway of 'None'.
  • The Customer is linked to a Bank code in AR02. The Bank code identifies the GL Accounts to be updated for domestic and foreign Invoicing and cash receipts. If the Currency Type for the Bank Code is 'Foreign', special processing rules in the Invoicing cycle are executed for exchange purposes. For more information on Foreign Currency Invoicing, click here.

  • Note on Changing the Bank Code: Before you change the Bank,you need to be aware of the currency of the current Bank. If you change the bank code to another bank code with the same currency, there is no need to be concerned about any other fields that involve currency (Master Price List and Specials/Contracts). If you change the bank code to one that is assigned to a different currency, you must take the following steps:
    1. Delete all Specials and Contracts on the Customer Price Lists (SU13) page.

    2. Change the Bank field to the desired bank code on the Customer Price Lists (SU13) page.

    3. Change the Master Price List to one that is associated with the same currency as the selected Bank.

    4. Re-enter all of the Specials and Contracts on the Customer Price List (SU13) page selecting those that match the currency for the new Bank.

• Currency - this field displays the currency associated with the Bank code. This field is for information purposes only and cannot be edited. To change the currency for the Customer, you must update the Bank code.

• Ship Via - enter or select from the lookup the Ship Via code for the Customer. Ship Via codes are defined in Ship Via Codes (SU09).
  • Note: The Ship Via field in OE30/IN41/RS41 automatically displays the value from SU13. You can change the Ship Via option in OE30/IN41/RS41.

• Last Change - the system tracks the date and time the Customer Master record was last updated. This field is for information purposes only and cannot be modified.

• Department Code - enter the Department number for the Customer, if applicable, up to a maximum of 8 characters. The department number prints on Sales Orders and Invoices.
  • If the Department number is variable, enter Y in this field to indicate that OE30, IN41 and RS41 are to stop for entry in the Department field.

  • If this Customer does not use Department numbers, enter N in this field. The default is N.

For information on the functionality of each button on the Customer Master (SU13) Search Criteria Results/Grid page, click here.