Partner File
Partner file referential
In the solution, you can consult the partner referential. This referential contains all Partners.
Access : Application config → Referential → Partners
Each app has Partners that are consistent with that app.
For example, the Sales app contains Customer type Partners, while the CRM app has the Prospect type of partner. Supplier Partners can be found in the Purchases app.
Partners: available actions
Several actions are available from the menu bar on grid and card view of Partners:
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Contact phonebook: click on "Contact phonebook" to open a pdf file containing the details of all contacts.
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Company phonebook: click on "Company phonebook" to open a pdf file containing contact details of all contacts associated with your company.
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Check for duplicates: check the list for duplicates.
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Merge duplicates: merge existing duplicates by selecting an original to keep.
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Advanced export: export data.
Partner types
A partner can have different types: it can be a prospect, customer, supplier, internal partner, carrier or factor. The type of partner is configured on the partner file. Please note that some partner types are compatible with each other, so it is possible for a partner to belong to several types, for example customer and supplier. Others are not compatible: a partner cannot be a prospect and a customer at the same time.
A partner can be multiple types at the same time, however, it cannot be a prospect and customer at the same time.
Create a partner file
Create a partner file various menus.
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Create a customer record from the referential by accessing it via Application Config (access : Application Config → Referential → Partner). From this window, click on the + icon. On the record, tick the ‘Customer’ box to define this partner as a customer.
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Create a customer record from the Sales or CRM app by clicking on the Customers menu and then clicking on the + icon (Sales/CRM → Customers → New).
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Or, create a customer file by converting a track (CRM → track) into a Customer partner type.
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On a customer record, select either Company or Individual. To create a partner for a legal entity, select "Company". You will then be able to attach contacts to this partner. To create a partner for an individual, select "Individual". There will be a single record (for example, Sandra Mitchell), which is both a customer and contact, unlike a customer - company record with associated contacts.
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If you indicate that the customer record is a Prospect, please note that the record will automatically become a Customer once the first order has been confirmed.
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Complete the information. Select a category. You can create a category to suit your needs (access: Application config → Referential → Configuration → Partner categories).
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Industry : select or create an industry sector. Access: CRM → Configuration → Industry.
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In the Information tab, enter the address. Either select an existing address or add a new one. In this case, a new Address tab will appear. If a city is missing, new cities can be added (access: Application config → Organization → Territories → Cities → on a city page click on "Import cities"). Cities can be imported either by importing CSV files or by using Geonames.
Importing cities via Geonames can take time.
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When you have entered the address, indicate a type of address by using the icons in the address field (billing address / delivery address / default address). You can always add an additional address by clicking on (+). In this way you can define one address as the delivery address and another address as the billing address.
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Still in the Information tab, select a language in the section "General contact details", (French or English). This choice will have an impact on all the documents generated for this customer, i.e. documents will be generated in either English or French. This could be an order form, a quotation, a delivery note, an invoice, etc.
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The "Assigned to" field is used to find out who is in charge of this account and which sales team it belongs to.
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The "Company" field. This field is useful for multi-company accounts; it is possible to indicate whether a customer is attached to a particular company, or whether this customer is common to the various entities in the group. This avoids the need to create several master records. In addition, it is also possible to separate the referential with permissions and rights rules so that everyone has access to their own records.
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Save the changes.
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You can also add contacts to the "Contacts" section. Either select an existing contact or create a new one.
The Contacts section becomes visible once you have saved the Customer file.
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Activate partner delegations : find "Activate partner delegations" option in the Base app. On a customer file, add companies in the tables "Managed by" and "Managed for".
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Manage subsidiaries on partners : activate "Manage subsidiaries on partners" option in the Base app in order to add a mother company.
Parent company & Subsidiaries: activate subsidiaries
Access: in order to activate subsidiaries open Application config → Apps management → Base, configure → on the Base app page, click on the Configuration tab → activate the option "Manage subsidiaries on partners".
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Once you have ticked this checkbox, save and then refresh the page.
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You will notice that the "Parent Company" field has appeared on the form view of the partner.
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When you have defined a Parent Company from the partner Subsidiaries, you will be able to view all the subsidiaries attached to this Parent Company in the Subsidiaries section.
Activate partner delegations
- Activate partner delegations in the Base app (formerly available in the Supplychain app).
Access : Application config → Apps management → Base, configure → click on the Activate partner delegations option
This option allows you to indicate the relationships between different Partners, in particular between a holding company and its various establishments, in order to have clearer management in terms of orders, deliveries or invoicing.
Example: the customer is a subsidiary who places the order, but it is another establishment that will receive the deliveries, however, it is the holding company that will be invoiced. By configuring these relationships, each document will automatically be generated and sent to the correct partner (delivery note, invoice, etc.).
Remember to save your changes and refresh the page.
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Managed by/Managed for : on a partner file, "Managed by" and "Managed for" fields appear.
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Managed for: this means that this partner will manage either the delivery, invoice or order for another partner (select between "Delivered for" / "Invoiced for" / "Ordered for"). Select another partner for which this company will manage the delivery / invoice / order. For example: Apollo is the parent company of the subsidiary 123 Services. To indicate that Apollo will manage the invoicing for 123 Services, on the Apollo file in "Managed for" table, select "Invoiced for" as link type, and 123 Services as the partner.
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Managed by: on the subsidiary file, in the "Managed by" field you can see who manages the invoicing. To continue with the previous example, from the 123 Services file, in "Managed by", you will select "Invoiced by" in the link type, and Apollo as the partner.
Invoicing payment tab
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Sending method of payment notices : select the method of sending payment notices
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Invoice sending media : select between Email / Paper / Email and paper,
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Invoices copies : specify the number of copies of the invoice, etc.
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In payment mode: this is the default payment method by which the partner will pay you (customer payment or supplier refund).
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Out payment mode: this is the default payment method by which you will pay to the partner (supplier payment or customer refund).
You can always change the payment method later in orders, invoices, etc.
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In/out payment conditions: these are default payment conditions for this partner (for example, 30 days).
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Fiscal position : select between intra UE or Import/Export. The fiscal position is used to define tax and accounting equivalents for a partner in relation to what was defined by default on a product. If, for example, the partner is a foreign customer for whom you will have to export the merchandise, you will have to assign a tax status that allows you to apply tax exemptions for exports. This information is taken into account automatically, as soon as an order or invoice is registered for this customer.
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Currency : select a currency.
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Apply a financial discount by default if required.
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DAS2 Activity : select a DAS2 Activity in a dedicated field. This value is used for declarations of fees to the state (example: lawyer's fees, chartered accountant's fees).
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When necessary, complete the Analytical distribution model.
Find an Analytical distribution model in Accounting tab. Remember to enable the feature in Accounting app by company, in Analytic tab (in the "Analytic distribution type" field select "per Partner").
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"Show invoices" and ”View all unpaid invoices" buttons will redirect you to a new tab, in order to view either all associated invoices or only unpaid invoices.
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Enter bank account information.
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When necessary, activate comments that will be displayed on the invoice, especially if the customer wants to display certain information on the invoice (valid only for this customer). The same approach applies to proformas.
Please note, that you can activate the "Group products on printouts" option.
Access : Application config → Apps management → Base, configure → in the Printing tab, activate the option "Regroup products on printings". This action allows to regroup several product lines into a single line on printouts according to the configurations in the Base app.
Next, select the type of items to group (services / product or both), and the grouping level (general or by category). You can also enter the name of the grouped services / name of the grouped products.
Partner accounting information tab
- Click on the company file to configure the accounting information.
The amount outstanding can be configured in the Sales module.
Accepted credit
Access: Application Config → Apps management → Sales, configure → on the Sales App page, in the Sales Config section, click on the Company → you will be redirected to the Sales Config page per company where you can define the amount of accepted credit.
Blocking tab
The purpose of this function is to be able to set different blockingings. If several companies are associated with this file, you can define which company will launch the blocking. This tab contains several types of blocking (sales order blocking, reminder blocking, invoicing blocking, etc.).
For example:
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If there is a legal dispute in progress, set a sales order blocking, resulting in the sales rep not being able to create an order for this customer.
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Enter the dates of blocking and the reason for the blocking.
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It is possible to create a new reason for the blocking (e.g. legal dispute).
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Add a comment if you would like an additional explanation as to why this blocking has been applied.
Types of blocking :
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Refund blocking: if there is a legal dispute with the customer, this blocking prevents the customer from being refunded.
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Invoicing blocking: will block the creation of invoices.
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Debit blocking: if a customer asks you to stop debiting for a certain period, use this blocking.
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Reminder blocking: this blocking relates to collections; the collections function allows you to send automatic reminders, particularly to a customer in the event of non-payment. However, if you have negotiated an extension for the payment period with a customer, this blocking will stop an automatic reminder which won't be necessary in this specific case.
How to monitor activity on the customer/supplier file?
Use Emails, Events, Opportunities, Marketing campaigns, Customer/Supplier tabs, Carrier and Delivery tabs, in order to carry out genuine monitoring from A to Z.
Customer tab
On a partner file, click on the Customer tab. In this tab you will find information relating to the customer's commercial activity:
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Label to be displayed on sale orders: if the customer wishes to display certain information on a sale order form, write the information in the "Label to be displayed on orders" field.
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Payer quality: payer quality is updated automatically and is based on the customer's payments (depending on whether the customer has paid their invoices on time, etc.).
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Sales Price List : here, attach a list of sales prices for all negotiated prices.
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Charging Back Purchases Type: indicate whether you are re-invoicing on an identical basis / using a price list / or if there is a percentage.
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Factorized customer: this tick box is used to indicate whether or not a customer is factored. This box is linked to factoring.
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Customer catalogue: add a customer catalogue. Enable this functionality in order to access the customer catalogue in the customer tab on a customer file.
Access : Application config → Apps management → Sales, configure → on the sales app page click on "Enable customer catalogue management".
Save and refresh the browser in order to make appear the Customer Catalogue on a customer record.
The "Enable customer catalogue management" option in the Sales app config allows you to indicate that some of your products have different names and/or codes for certain customers.
In other words, when you create a sale quotation for this customer, instead of default name and code of a product appear on a product file, it will be the one you have defined in the customer catalogue.
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Configure shipping costs: configure shipping costs.
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Account blocked relates to late payments. Ticking this box will block a customer account. In other words, if you subsequently try to confirm a customer order, a "Customer is blocked because of late payment" message will appear.
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Comment to display on sales order: write a comment. This comment will be displayed on the sales order.
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Sale details by product: view what has been sold to a customer (total quantity sold / average sale price / total price).
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Sale Orders: find the lines relating to sale quotations and orders in this table.
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Create sale quotation: create a sale quotation.
Delivery tab
In this tab, view all delivery information for a partner.
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Enter the delivery delay (in days).
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Define the shipment mode.
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The freight carrier is filled in automatically once the carrier mode has been configured (a carrier must be attached to the carrier mode). How to configure freight carrier modes? Freight carrier modes are configured in Stock management → Configuration → Freight carrier mode. Then add a carrier, which will be filled in on a customer file.
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ISPM 15: this option is used to indicate that shipments for this customer are covered by the ISPM 15 standard (international standard applicable to wood packaging), and this will therefore be indicated on the delivery notes for this customer.
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Certificate of conformity required: indicates whether a certificate of conformity is required for products shipped to this customer.
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**Partner Stock settings:**here, define specific characteristics for a customer or a supplier, taking into account the default source location and destination location for this partner. You can therefore specify that deliveries for a partner are destined to a particular stock location (and therefore not necessarily a default virtual customer stock location). This feature is particularly useful for managing remote stocks. If this section is not completed for a partner, the default locations in the stock settings by company will apply. It is also possible to indicate whether you wish to send an email to the partner when planning and carrying out the stock movement (if the option is not active in the stock configurations by company, you will have to manage it on a case-by-case basis).
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Customer account numbers to carriers: contains the customer account numbers with carriers.
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Comment to display on delivery: add comments that will only be displayed on delivery notes for this customer.
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Comment to display on picking order: add comments that will only be displayed on this customer's preparation notes.
Product tab
Activate the Product tab on a customer/partner file:
Access: Application config → Apps management → Sales, configure → activate the "Manage partner complementary product" option.
Manage partner complementary product option is used to indicate that when a product is sold, a complementary product can be automatically added. There are two possibilities : a product can be added automatically, or a product can be added as an option.
An optional product is not automatically added to a sale quotation. On the product's sale quotation line, this product will be offered as an option, and if selected, it will be added to the sale quotation.
Create a supplier file
You will usually find supplier files in the Purchases app (Supplier menu). In addition, when you are creating a partner record, all you have to do is to tick the Supplier box for the record to be considered as a Supplier. It is then possible to consult it from the Supplier referential by accessing it via the Purchases app.
The structure of a supplier file is similar to the structure of a customer file.
On the file, tick the ‘Supplier’ box to indicate that this is the supplier file. Broadly speaking, you will find the same types of information as on the customer file.
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However, instead of sales orders, there will be purchase orders linked to this supplier (click on the Supplier tab to view the purchase orders).
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When the Supplier box is activated, the Supplier tab will appear in the tab bar on the page.
The Supplier tab contains following fields:
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Purchase Order Information: enter a text which will be displayed in red to the user on the supplier quotation and purchase order to warn them of a particular point, or give them instructions in case an order is placed.
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Purchase Price Lists (if you have negotiated rates with the supplier): select a purchase price list.
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Supplier Catalogue: consult a supplier catalogue, which contains all listed products for this supplier. It is always possible to add a new product (by importing / connecting to the supplier portal / updating the catalogue).
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Supplier quality level: supplier quality level reflects the level of delivered products. The score can be filled in manually, otherwise, it will be determined automatically according to the results of conformity checks carried out during supplier product reception. Usually, a compliant reception is given 5 stars, a non-compliant reception is rated 0 stars.
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Supplier arrival product quality: set up conformity checks (not compulsory). Consequently, each time you receive a product, you will be able to indicate whether it's compliant or not. The quality of the product is seen with a score.
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Partner product quality rating: this table lists all products that were received from a supplier, their quantity and rating.
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Comment to display on purchase order: write a text which will be displayed on the purchase order for this supplier.
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Create purchase quotation: click on this button to create a purchase quotation.
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Purchase Order: lists all purchase orders placed with this supplier.
Other useful information for partner records
Reports/Envelope
This action can be used on customer and supplier records. Envelope is used to generate a form with the customer's / supplier's address, ready to be printed.
Tools
This tab allows you to perform a number of actions, such as "Generate project", "Customer recovery", "Create sale quotation", "Create purchase quotation".
Map
Click on Map to display the geographical position of a customer/supplier. Map is configured in the Base app.
Access : Config application → Apps management → Base, configure → Interface → "Mapping" field → select either Google or Open Street map.
Google Map features may be chargeable.
Check & merge duplicates
**Access:**Application config → Referential → Partner
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Open the list of Partners in Grid view.
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Click on "Check duplicates" button.
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In the "Check duplicates" window, click on the magnifying glass icon (Select) and select a field from which you wish to search for a duplicate. For example, you can search for Partners with the same name by selecting the Name field.
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Select the records you wish to merge and then click on "Merge duplicates".
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On the merge page, select which record is the original and then click on the "Merge duplicates" button. The original will be kept.
Access: Application config → Referential → Contacts
It is also possible to check and merge duplicates in the Contacts menu.