Master Data · Daily operations · 8 min read

Create a customer or supplier

Add a contact in the Contacts app, choose whether it is a customer, a supplier or both, and keep it correct afterwards.

Before you begin

• Check that the contact does not already exist: search the Contacts list by name, email or phone. Removing the default Status = Active filter also shows archived contacts.
• Contacts does not warn you about duplicates when you save. The Master Data app finds them afterwards: see Find duplicates and merge them.
• You need partner.manage and, today, to be a company administrator to see New contact.

Steps

1. Open Contacts > Contacts.
2. Press New contact. The Customer 360 record opens in edit mode.
3. On Overview, enter the Legal Name (required, up to 160 characters). Add the Arabic Name and Trade Name if you have them.
4. Leave Customer Code empty to get the next number (CUST-00001), or type your own, 2 to 30 letters, digits, underscores or hyphens.
5. Choose the Entity Type (Company, Individual, Government, Non-profit or Other).
6. Choose the Country and Emirate / Region under registration and compliance. For the UAE pick an emirate. Changing the country clears the emirate.
7. Open General and set Contact Type: Customer, Vendor or Customer & vendor. Set Market to Business (B2B) or Consumer (B2C).
8. If the contact is registered for VAT, open Tax & E-Invoicing (or the Overview) and set Tax Registration to Registered, then enter the VAT Number / TRN.
9. Add the Primary Email, Phone and Mobile on General.
10. Press Save. The record reads Saved.

What happens next

• The contact is Active and appears on the Contacts list. History shows who created it.
• A Customer can be chosen on quotations, sales orders and invoices. A Vendor can be chosen on RFQs, purchase orders and bills. A Customer & vendor works on both sides.
• The code can no longer be changed. Typing cust-test01 stores CUST-TEST01.

Changing and archiving

• To change a contact press Edit, change fields and Save. The History tab lists every changed field with the old and new value, the user and the time.
• If someone else saved the same contact while you were editing, your save is refused with 'This record changed. Reload it before saving.' Reload, repeat your change and save.
• Leaving the screen with unsaved changes asks 'Discard unsaved customer changes?'
• More > Archive removes the contact from the default list and from new documents. Old documents and statements stay readable. More > Restore brings it back.

Good to know

• A registered customer must have a TRN, or the save is refused with 'Enter a tax registration ID for a registered customer.' Contacts accepts any text up to 40 characters; it does not check the 15-digit UAE format. Check it yourself or use a governed party.
• Email and phone on the General tab are not checked for format. Email addresses of contact persons are.
• Account Status (Active, On hold, Blocked, Archived) and the Customer Status archive flag are separate. Setting Account Status to Archived blocks sales but the contact still shows on the active list. Use More > Archive for a full archive.
• Suppliers created with a blank code also receive a CUST- number.
• Custom fields defined by your company appear on General. A required one must be filled, or the save is refused with '<Label> is required.'
• The Parent Customer picker lists the contacts loaded on the list page, which is the first 80.

Worked example

You add Test Trading LLC, Company, UAE, Dubai, Contact Type Customer, B2B, Tax Registration Registered, TRN 100000000000003 (test value). After saving, the header shows the chip VAT: 100000000000003, and the customer is offered on a new quotation.

Next: Addresses, people, banks and documents.