Add/Edit Customer/Contact
This page serves as both the add and edit page for customers and contacts. The descriptions below explain what each field needs or should contain. Most of the fields below are optional but will be required if the contact actually buys product from you. We strongly recommend that you enter as much information as you can the first time around.

1. Id - This is an auto generated number that is controlled behind the scenes. This is the main customer id number and may be required for certain customer related tie-ins.

2. Customer Type - Choose an option from the list provided. This list is dynamic and controlled on a per corporation basis. The link to manage this list is found on the customer homepage and is tied to the admin customer permission.

3. Business Name - This is where the business name, if any, would appear. The business name is only required if a first and last name are not used. Max of 150 chars and min of 2 chars (only if the first and last names are not used).

4. First Name - The first name is required only if no business name is provided. There is a max of 50 chars and a min of 2 chars.

5. Last Name - The last name is required only if no business name is provided. There is a max of 50 chars and a min of 2 chars.

6. Address - The address is an optional field. The address will be required for all unit sales and customer invoices. Max of 100 chars.

7. Address 2 - This is an optional 2nd address field. Max of 100 chars.

8. City - The city is optional for adding a customer. The city will be required for all unit sales and customer invoices. Max of 50 chars. Use the special link to help look up the city, state, zip, and county.

9. County - The county is optional for adding a customer. It will be required for all unit sales and customer invoices. Max of 50 chars. Use the special link to help look up missing values.

10. State - The state is not required but will help later on. Choose from the list provided or leave blank for foreign addresses.

11. Zip and International Zip - The zip code or international zip is required. Domestic zip codes require 5 numeric digits and international zip codes require at least 3 alpha-numeric characters.

12. Home Phone - This field is optional and can hold up to 25 chars.

13. Cell Phone - This field is optional and can hold up to 25 chars. This field will not show up on the customer invoice to help with privacy.

14. Work Phone - This field is optional and can hold up to 25 chars.

15. Fax - This field is optional and can hold up to 25 chars.

16. Email - The email field is optional and can hold up to 150 chars. If a valid email address is entered, it will show up as a direct email link.

17. Web Address - This is where you may enter a customer's web site link or web address. Optional with a max of 150 chars. The system is setup to look for actual web addresses. If present, the stored value will become a live link to the customer's web site. In order for the application to recognize a web link, it must have the values "http" or "www".

18. Marketing Contact Opt Out - Optional. This setting has two different values. One is for email contact and the other is for text messaging contact. Checked means do not contact. Unchecked means normal or ok to contact via these methods.

19. Customer Start Date - Required. This is the first of four custom date fields for customers. The title or caption for the field may not be "Customer Start Date". The field name is controlled by the corp-wide settings. This field is required and must be a valid date. Use the m/d/yy format for all dates.

20. Customer End Date - This is the second of four custom date fields for customers. The title or caption for the field may not be "Customer End Date". The field name is controlled by the corp-wide settings. In order to use the field, enter a valid date (use the m/d/yy format). Otherwise use the value of "N/A" to show that the date is not applicable.

21. Membership Start Date - This is the third of four custom date fields for customers. The title or caption for the field may not be "Membership Start Date". The field name is controlled by the corp-wide settings. In order to use the field, enter a valid date (use the m/d/yy format). Otherwise use the value of "N/A" to show that the date is not applicable.

22. Membership Expiration Date - This is the fourth of four custom date fields for customers. The title or caption for the field may not be "Membership Expiration Date". The field name is controlled by the corp-wide settings. In order to use the field, enter a valid date (use the m/d/yy format). Otherwise use the value of "N/A" to show that the date is not applicable. Note: If this field is used (by entering a valid date), the system is setup to do a date comparison on the value. If the date has been exceeded, the system will show the value in red and may have the word "Caution" next to it. This is to help those companies that use a expiration date as part of their business practices. Other than that, this date is just one of the four custom date fields for customers.

23. Date Of Birth - This is an option birthday field. If used, we recommend that you enter a four digit year such as 1990 or 1976 to make sure that the system knows the exact date to store and use. If used, the age of the customer will automatically be calculated for you. There are also a number of ways to search for customer birthdays from the advanced customer search page. If the field is not used, a value of "N/A" will be added and stored for the customer.

24. Drivers License - This is a special customer identifier field. When searching for a customer the drivers license field is included. There are also special card scanning and populating functionality that key on this field. This field has a max of 100 chars.

25. Customer Tax Id - This is a special customer identifier field. The title or caption is controlled by a corp-wide setting and is able to contain a dynamic title or name. This allows this field to be used for other purposes if needed. If this field contains a value (data), it will show up on any invoice or quote where the customer gets assigned. This field has a max of 50 chars.

26. Default Tax Category - Choose from the list provided. This is where you can set up what tax category the customer uses. The default is "Taxable". As a note: If a customer is setup on a tax category that is not a taxable category, the shopping cart will warn you upon checkout if taxes are being applied for that customer. We have updated this setting slightly, but without getting into the whole ball of wax, this setting was originally going to be applied right to the shopping cart and was going to be applied by default (once again only partially done). However, as we got into it, it began to branch and got incredibly deep. There are some states that require certain taxes even for farmers and government agencies and require tax collection regardless of tax settings. There are other states, cities, and municipalities that tax based on location of the purchase vs. where the customer/person lives. That gets into full zip code automation and such. The simple setting kept getting deeper and deeper and more unpredictable. So, what we did was we turned it into a "reminder" of sorts instead of a full on hardcore setting. Some automation has been added but still consider it as a reminder vs a full on hardcoded setting. Too many variables.

27. Customer Tax Id - This is an optional field that may contain the customer's tax id number for tax exempt status. Max of 50 chars.

28. Discount Rate - This value must be numeric and 0.00 or above. This field will show up in cart mode as a reminder to the sales staff of the customer discount rate.

29. Credit Settings - This is an admin field. Choose from the list provided. This setting will show up in cart mode and during checkout (creating an invoice). The default is set to "Cash Only".

30. Credit Terms - This is also an admin setting field. Enter the terms with a max of 50 chars. The default is blank. Normal values for this field are N/A, Cash, PO Only, Net 10, Net 15, Net 30, Net 45, Net 60, etc.

31. Default Main Salesperson - This is where you can set a default salesperson for the customer. If set, this value will be used on all new shopping carts where this customer gets assigned. Once set, you may change the salesperson if needed. This is provided to help keep the correct salesperson assigned when possible. The default is unassigned or blank.

32. Default Other Salesperson - Similar to the main salesperson listed above, this is the second or split salesperson. The default is unassigned or blank.

33. Gender - The gender field is optional and may be left blank. Choose from the list provided.

34. General Notes - This is a general notes field for the customer/contact. There is no limit to the amount of info that this field can hold. These notes are internal to the system and will not ever be seen by a customer unless specifically printed.

35. Status - Choose from the list provided. Active allows a shopping cart to be created and assigned to the customer. Inactive will show an inactive flag and will not allow the customer to be used on a new shopping cart until turned from inactive to active. This switch is also searchable to help limit the results.

The last section is for additional contact/address info. This section is optional but may be used for additional contacts. In add mode, there are three options (3 separate forms). In edit mode, there is only a link to add new or edit current contact/address info. If adding a new contact, the only required fields are the add checkbox and the contact type field. All others are optional but highly recommended. The show on every invoice checkbox is special. If checked, the additional contact/address will show up on every invoice once the main customer is assigned (the main customer that is attached to the additional contact/address). The default is blank or unchecked. This means that it may be used from time to time but doesn't need to show up on every invoice.