Customer File Maintenance is a menu of options that enable customers to be added to your system, customer numbers to be changed or merged together, customer sales history to be maintained, and the addition of customer type codes.

Customer Master File Maintenance

Customer Sales History Maintenance

Combine Existing Customer Numbers

Customer Number Change

Prospective Customer Maintenance

Customer Type Code Maintenance

Import Customers from ASCII File

Before you enter your customer numbers into the system, we strongly recommend that you first review and update your files.

Customer Numbering Scheme

One of the first things that you need to do is to decide on a customer numbering scheme. The customer numbering scheme allows you to identify and keep track of your customers by assigning each a number.

The customer number must be 6-digits in any alphanumeric combination.  The scheme should be simple enough for the operator to be able to quickly identify the customer and access the customer's information using the system look-up capability.

When the customer numbers are entered, the system will automatically alphabetize for you.

Example: You may set up Pizza Hut, located in Albany, New York, with a customer number of PIZ100. This would allow you to simply enter "P" or "PI" when you need to look up a customer.

If you enter "P", the system displays all customers whose customer number starts with the letter P. By entering "PI", the system displays all customers whose customer number starts with the letters PI thereby narrowing the scope of the search even further.

Alternately, you may assign Pizza Hut a customer number NYPI50, which indicates a New York location. You may then enter "NY" or "NYP" displaying all customers located in New York beginning with a P.

Now, suppose the corporate company owns several Pizza Hut branches. They may be located in the same state, city, or even in the same building. Additionally, you may have different contacts or buyers, and their businesses require you to set up each business with a separate customer number so that you can track sales. How can you differentiate between each of them?

SUGGESTION... You can use the contact initials to determine the customer number. For example, if you call on Bob Holt at Pizza Hut, the customer number may be PIBH10 (PIzza Hut Bob Holt 10) or PIJS10 (PIzza Hut John Smith), or by using a numbering scheme by state (such as (NYPIBH).  Variations of this scheme are possible as long as the customer number is at least six characters long.

Whenever a lookup is initiated, the system will display a window with a list of customers corresponding to the lookup parameters you entered.  To search the window further when customer numbers are very similar, press F9.   This will expand the window to include the contact and the city and state of the customer.  Select the customer by entering the sequence number to the left of the customer number. 

You may design a numbering scheme different from what is shown in this example.  The customer numbers may be all numbers, all letters, or a combination of both.  Whatever you decide, the scheme must be consistent.  More than one person may be entering customer numbers into the system.  Uniformity is the name of the game.

Setting Up Your Customer Base

After you have the appropriate customer information and have established a standardized numbering scheme, you are ready to enter your customers into your new system.  Customers are entered into the system using Customer Master File Maintenance on the CFM menu.