This page will explain how to set up a Customer within Vision Commerce.
Before you read the information below, it may be useful to watch the quick youtube video below which should explain the setup of a customer within Vision Commerce
To create a customer the following would need to set up first
Analysis Codes
Nominal Control Accounts
VAT Code
Country
Currency
Main Form
This section covers everything you need to enter on the top & bottom line of the customer form, if you want to see what is required on the tabs then select from the tab sections below.
Account - This is a shortcode for your customer, it has to be unique for each customer. It works best for reporting when you have a format which is easily searched so a consistent format is a great way to do this. e..g SMITH01 JONES23 RETAI14
Client of - This will always show your own company, however it is possible to show other company names here (alternatives), what would then happen is that the SOP documents to the customer would then be presented with the alternative company information. It allows you to have a trade as a company.
This alternative company is an optional feature available to those who require it, there is a small charge to use this feature.
Status - There are three statuses
Live
Prospect - accounts which have not traded yet.
Archive - accounts which are no longer trading
You can only process orders with a live account, if the account is another status it will ask you to change it to the LIVE status and it will check to ensure all details are complete before allowing you to enter the order.
Refresh - If something has changed elsewhere in the system such as you added a new price list, then you will have to refresh in order to see it in the dropdown.
Sales Analysis - A quickie snapshot of what this customer has been purchasing over a given period of time.
Get Accounts Data - Where this is allowed we can obtain customer transaction and information from the finance system which will be visible on the Transaction tab and the analysis tab
Each tab has its own section below
Details
This tab contains the key items needed for the setup of a customer
General
This contains key information for the customer, most fields do not require an explanation as they are relatively obvious.
The following fields are mandatory
Address Line 1
Town
Postcode
Country
Email Address
GDPR
The GDPR options have been added at the foot of this section and you can select the correct legal type for this account which will be either 'Natural Person' or 'Business'.
A Natural Person is a human being (an individual) rather than a Business or Organisation.
For more information please see GDPR Statement page
The GDPR options only comes into use for a Natural person.
If you select the GDPR option there is NO WAY TO UNDO your actions
GDPR Options:
Leave it blank
Anonymous - when this option is chosen the GDPR information will not show for the current User unless that User's account is set to view Anonymous PII. This Customer's PII information will not show on reports or extracts.
Forgotten - if this option is chosen and there are no outstanding Sales Orders associated with the Customer account, any PII information will be deleted and accounts archived. If there are Orders outstanding this field will revert to blank and no information will be changed.
For more information please see GDPR Statement and Admin - User Maintenance pages
Key Account Settings
Field Name | Explanation |
|---|---|
Vat / Tax Rate Code | Sales Tax rate code used for this customer for normal purchases. e.g. for underbond only customers you should still setup the customer as standard rate When entering an order depending on the type of order we may select an alternative tax code for the specific order. The code will update on the order only |
Vat / Tax Registration | Enter your customers sales tax / vat registration number |
Account Trading Currency | This account can only trade in a single currency, if you wish mutliple currencies to be used then each would require a seperate accounts This is due to many finance systems not being able to handle multiple currency within the same account. |
Default Payment Method | This will default to the payment method you setup as your default but you can change this here and it will become the default for the customer. It can be changed at the time of the order. |
Duty Accounts | These are the default duty accounts that you will be using for this customer, by default it will be your warehouse account code OR your deferment DAN. If you are selling to your customer “Duty Deferred” to their account then you should enter the code provided to you by your warehouse into these fields If you are paying the customs duty and your customer paying the excise duty then you should have your code in the customs duty fields and your customers in the excise duty field. This can be changed at the time of the order but please ensure the code you change it to exists otherwise your order will be rejected. If you are duty deferring an order to your customers deferment you will see on the order that this is shown and highlighted ALSO prices will automatically have the duty element removed from the prices shown on the order |
Discounts / Pricing
You can specify the default price list your customer will be using.
The pricing lookup will check the prices in the following order
customers contract price
price list
Standard product price
It is always a good idea to have all customers pointing to a price list even if that list has no products on it (which would then use standard pricing)
Also within this section you can set a default % discount which will be applied to the order lines as they are entered, this would apply to all lines but can be adjusted on the order
Standard Delivery Details
These are all fields which are used as defaults at the order creation time, they can be adjusted on the order at the time of order entry.
Field Name | Explanation |
|---|---|
Carrier | If this customer uses a specific carrier then you can default it here, you can also set this up against the warehouse for all orders, but if setup here it will over ride the warehouse. If the warehouse are making the delivery themselves then this is generally left blank |
Warehouse Delivery Service | If your warehouse offer you different deliver services this can be specified here e.g. They offer 48 hour service but you can specify a 24 hour or a Saturday delivery. Codes are only setup here if your warehouse supports the use of the codes. |
Delivery Times | YOU DO NOT NEED TO SPECIFY DELIVERY TIMES If you do specify those then ensure your warehouse/delivery company will support the use of these fields. We have 2 sets of times you can use one or both (if you need to use them at all) You need to enter a FROM and TO time, the difference between these may be defined in the warehouse setup because your warehouse are requesting a minimum window on all deliveries. At the time of order you can specify a single time window (e.g. same time in from and to) this is considered a fixed time window. Please be aware that using the delivery times may then incur you additional delivery costs. |
Delivery Point Telephone | contact information for your warehouse to speak to the customer if needed. If you enter a +447 or 07 number then if your warehouse support this it will send SMS messages to the customers phone. If your warehouse is using the SMS update (Vision WMS customer) then this is used to inform your customer about the delivery coming to them, estimated arrival times and any delays |
Delivery Point email | contact information for the warehouse SMS/email service If your warehouse is using the SMS update (Vision WMS customer) then this is used to inform your customer about the delivery coming to them, estimated arrival times and any delays |
Default to Sending SO Acknowledgement | If you always want to send this for each order then have this selected. Alternatively you can select this at the time of order for the specific order |
Delivery / Pick Instructions
These are fields which are defaulted for each order, but you can change them on an order to order basis
There is a limit of 120 characters for each field, this is because other fields are available which also contain key information for the delivery to take place, review the Standard delivery section above.
Delivery Instructions - this goes onto the delivery note for the driver
Picking Instructions - this will be printed on the picking note and is instruction for the warehouse.
Analysis
This tab includes information for Financial and Sales analysis and reporting
Financials
The fields outstanding order value and last invoice date are autoamtically calculated for this customer when the customer record is opened, these fields are read only.
On Hold - you can stop any further orders from being released to this customer by placing them on hold, this is a feature controlled by you within commerce. Any new orders would also be placed into held status until released.
Settlement - if you offer your customer an early settlement discount then this can be included in this section, specify the amount of days and the settlement discount rate offered.
Please check that the template you are using for invoices accomodates the addition of the settlement discount option.
Payment Terms - this will appear on the invoice for the customer, the options available are very standard and used by most businesses.
Group Account - When posting to the finance system we would normally use the main account code, however for group companies we can raise the invoice to goto the account address but consolidate the group debt on the sales ledger in a single account, allowing you to send statements to the group but the individual invoice to the customer.
Bank Accounts - These are used to indicate which account details should appear on the invoice, in general most customers have a single account, be default you can have the system automatically enter this account into the primary field. Additional accounts can be added
Ensure the report layout you choose for your invoices accomodates multiple bank accounts if you are using more than one account as not all templates support multiple accounts.
Finance System (linked information)
Credit Limit - if your system is linked to a finance system which can provide this then the field will be read only and is controlled by the financne system, if not then you will have to set the limit within this field.
All other fields in this section are provided to Commerce from your finance system and can not be changed.
To update the fields press the “Get Accounts Data” button at the bottom of the page
If the finance system has the account “on hold” then only the finance system can release this hold on the account.
Analysis
The Analysis Section provides seven default fields to assist you analysing the account, this is specifically used for reporting purposes and for marketing extracts.
The drop down lists you see in this section are defined within the system admin and if they are in use then you need to select one of the options.
Customer Notes
Memo field only, free to enter whatever you want.
Invoicing Output Options
There are three options for each account regarding the production of invoices where you can either
No Invoice is required
Invoice is sent via email
Invoice is printed and send through the mail
We always assume that you are not printing a copy of these for your own records, you can at any time print if needed. If you have no finance system connected you can always use the no fianance option csv file to obtain information for each invoice.
You can select option 1 OR a combination of option 2/3 (2 or 3 or both)
Export Option Email is the email address where all sales order documentation will be sent to. If one address is not enough then select the contact list option and then proceed to the contact list and select the SOP Docs option against each contact you wish to send the email to.
If you select the “Use Contacts List” then you must select contacts where this will be sent to as it will no longer use the email address in the export option email field.
If you are using the print options then you can set a default printer for the invoices to be sent to upon generation or you can specify at the time when you print them, this allows you to use the old fashioned dot matrix printing on specific paper.
Contacts
This tab allows you to add Contacts and assign them to Mailing Lists
For details to be sent to the contact, you would need to make sure there is an email address and that SOP Docs are ticked.
See the notes above on the analysis tab about ticking the Use Contact List field for invoicing.
Tasting Notes can be automatic sent to the Contacts for the Customer if they have a valid email address and Tasting Notes is ticked
To enter a new contact you will need to add it to the blank row at the bottom
To add the Contact to the Mailing List, you will need to click on the Mailing list button and this will bring up all the Mailing List that the contact can be apart of
You would need to tick the Mailing List that the contact should be involved in
If they are apart of a Mailing list, they will receive emails sent to that Mailing List
This tab can be used to record one or more Delivery Addresses to be used.
The Delivery Address is used in the Sales Order if the delivery address is different from the Customer main address
To create a new Delivery Address, click on the Add New button and this will load the Customer Delivery Address screen
Once you have a unique Del Point Code, this can’t be changed once the Delivery Address have successfully saved for the first time
The Del Point Code cannot be used again (even if the Delivery Address is marked as Archived).
The Default tickbox will set this Delivery Address to be the default Address for the Customer for the Underbond Type that is selected
The formatting of the Address depends on the specifications given to you by your Warehouses and your Carriers but most will expect the first line of the address, the Town, Postcode, and Country to be filled in.
Underbond Type field must be selected to save the Delivery Address
This will be used to select the correct Default Delivery Address for the Correct Underbond Type for the Sale Order
The Legal Type can either be set to 'Natural Person' or 'Business'.
A Natural Person is a human being (an individual) rather than a Business or Organisation.
GDPR Options:
Leave it blank
Anonymous - when this option is chosen the GDPR information will not show for the current User unless that User's account is set to view Anonymous PII.
This Customer's PII information will not show on reports or extracts.
Forgotten - if this option is chosen and there are no outstanding Sales Orders associated with the Customer account, any PII information will be deleted and accounts archived.
If there are Orders outstanding this field will revert to blank and no information will be changed.
Delivery Times - the possible Start and End times, whether you can include none, one or two delivery slots and the time difference between the two slots will depend on limits set by your Warehouse or Carrier.
Delivery Instructions and Pick Instructions are both sent on outgoing files to your Warehouse or Carrier to be included on Warehouse and Delivery Notes.
Analysis Details are categorise the current customer for reporting and extract purposes.
The Credit Card Details are used for the Sales Order if this Delivery Address is used
The View/Edit Details button will show the Customer Delivery Address screen where some fields are read-only
This screen will also show the Customer Delivery address that has been archived
Web/Reserve
This tab contains setup information about your Customer if you store Reserves for them
Here you can record details for Trading Stocks, Rental Charges, and set up web administration details if your Company's website links to Vision Commerce.
Your Paid Reserves should not be stored in the same Warehouse account as your main trading stocks.
The Reserve Warehouse is the default Warehouse that the Stock will be landed in when doing a Transfer to a Paid Reserve for this Customer
Warehouse Alternate Account Code is the code for the Reserve Warehouse will be using
This code can be the same as the standard Account Code for the current Customer.
Trading Customer Stocks
This section will show if you can trade the stock that is in the Customer Reserve to other customers and the Commission for the Sales order
Storage Charges
This section will be set up if you are charging for the Storage for the Stock for your Customers' Paid Reserves
By default, we charge by the bottle per month and we generate an annual charge and then pro-rata charges throughout the year.
Charge per bottle (single) is per month
For example Charge Per Bottle = £1.00 x 26 total singles storage = £26.00 per month for a single rotation.
Minimum Charge Per Rotation
Compared to the example above, if the Minimum Charge = £30.00 and the above was a single rotation, then the minimum charge of £30.00 would be applied.
Web Administration
Use this section to set up your Customer to logon to the web system.
You must have your web site linked to Vision Commerce first.
Web Logon Enabled field will allow the Customer to be able to log on via your website
Web Trading Enabled field will aloo this customer to trade through your website
Contact the support team regarding Storage Charges set up before you use Web Reserves it for the first time.
It is important you contact the support team and ask for this to be set up, otherwise, you will get odd results when you run this the first time for any Customer.
If you just tick the box then the system will not know what has or has not been invoiced and what period it has to be invoiced for or to.
Contact the support team so that they can check the system is correctly configured for your Company.
Reserve Stock
This tab shows a list of all Stock that is stored Paid Reserve and Unpaid Reserves for this customer.
Unpaid Reserves
This section will show the stock that is reserved for the current customer however they have not been paid for. Therefore does not legally belong to the customer yet.
Paid Reserves
This section will show the sock that is reserved for the current customer that has been paid for. Therefore legally belongs to the customer.
The list will show information regarding the stock, the list is below
Warehouse
Product Code
Rotation
Quantity
Bought for
Market Value
Currency
Retrieved
Bind
Minimum Underbond Cases Sales Value
Trade fields against any stock will show that the customer has agreed that you can trade this current stock if any stock has this unchecked you would not be able to trade the Customer Paid Reserves and it has not to be agreed
This will have defaulted to the field in the previous tab if Trading Customer Stocks is ticked or not
Reports/UpdateMarket Values/Bids
This section is part of Vision LIVE which is a licensed module
You will see a message to let you know if you try to use these buttons without the appropriate license
Reserve Stock Values/Reserve Stock will generate a report with the information of the Reserves Stock for this customer
Update Market Values will update any market values that are not up to date with the Market values
Update Bids will update the current Bids against the Product
Contract Price List
This tab can be used to check the Products and Prices on any Customer Price Lists
The Price Lists that does display here are set up in the Customer Price List
To view the details you would need to enter the Name of the Price List
All fields are read-only
Product on Price List
This will show all the Products that is on the Price List
Product Prices
This section will show a list of any Price Bands and Prices set up against the currently selected Product in the Products on the Price List section to the left.
Sales Orders
This tab shows a list of all Sales Orders associated with the current Customer
By default this list will show all the Outstanding Status for the Sale Orders, but you can also see all the other status by ticked the Display All Orders in the top right of the tab
View button against one of the Sales Order in the list will open the Sale Order.
Transactions
This tab shows the Accounts Transactions for the current Customer
This feature is unavailable for some accounts system as you may see this
You will need to click the Get Sage Data button at the bottom of the screen to get the latest transactions from the Account Software
View button against a transaction will open in a .PDF format