{"id":17610,"date":"2026-01-29T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/?p=17610"},"modified":"2026-01-29T12:00:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T12:00:50","slug":"how-to-configure-and-use-the-customer-in-idempiere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/how-to-configure-and-use-the-customer-in-idempiere\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Configure and Use the Customer in iDempiere"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Customer Header<\/strong> defines a customer\u2019s commercial identity, credit behavior, pricing, billing logic, and defaults. All sales documents inherit from it, making it a control layer<\/strong> for system behavior\u2014misconfiguration later causes pricing, credit, or invoice issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer Identity and Classification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The top section establishes who the customer is<\/strong> and how the system recognizes them internally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Search Key<\/strong> is the system\u2019s internal identifier. It must be unique and stable, as it is used in reports, integrations, and references.
The Name<\/strong> and Name 2<\/strong> represent the legal and display names used on documents.
The Customer checkbox<\/strong> explicitly classifies this Business Partner as a customer (a partner can also be vendor or both).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why this matters:<\/strong>
This classification controls document availability. Without the Customer flag, sales orders, invoices, and opportunities cannot be created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer Status and Credit Control<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This section defines whether the customer is allowed to transact financially<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Credit Status<\/strong> reflects whether the customer is allowed to place orders.
The Credit Limit<\/strong> defines the maximum exposure allowed before orders are blocked.
Open Balance<\/strong> and Credit Used<\/strong> are system-calculated and updated automatically from invoices and payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit is not checked at opportunity stage<\/strong>, but it is enforced<\/strong> when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Sales Orders are completed<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Shipments are processed<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Invoices are generated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Key behavior:<\/strong>
    A customer with \u201cCredit Stop\u201d can still appear in CRM but cannot complete financial sales transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Business Partner Group Assignment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The Business Partner Group<\/strong> is one of the most powerful hidden controls in the Customer Header.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    This group:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Assigns default accounting combinations<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Controls revenue, receivables, discounts, write-offs<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Inherits accounting schema behavior<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The customer does not store accounting accounts directly<\/strong>.
      Instead, it inherits them dynamically from the Business Partner Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Why this matters:<\/strong>
      Changing the group can change accounting behavior without affecting transactions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Sales Ownership and Responsibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      The Sales Representative<\/strong> field defines who owns this customer commercially<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This user becomes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Default owner for opportunities<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Default sales representative for orders<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Responsible person in pipeline reports<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Owner for performance and commission tracking<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        This field ensures sales accountability and reporting clarity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Pricing and Discount Controls<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        This section determines how prices are calculated<\/strong> when sales documents are created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        The Price List<\/strong> defines base prices for products.
        The Discount Schema<\/strong> applies automatic discounts (quantity, value, customer-based).
        The Flat Discount %<\/strong> applies a blanket reduction across all prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Important rule:<\/strong>
        Pricing is evaluated only when quotations or orders are created<\/strong>, not at opportunity stage. This allows commercial flexibility early and price enforcement later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Order, Invoice, and Delivery Behavior<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        These fields control how orders flow operationally<\/strong> once created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Key controls include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Delivery Rule<\/strong> \u2013 When and how goods are shipped<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Invoice Rule<\/strong> \u2013 When invoices are generated (e.g., after delivery)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Invoice Schedule<\/strong> \u2013 Frequency for recurring invoicing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Payment Term<\/strong> \u2013 Due date calculation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Payment Rule<\/strong> \u2013 Expected payment method<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          These fields ensure that every order created for this customer behaves consistently<\/strong> without manual overrides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Logistics and Document Handling<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          Operational preferences related to shipping and documentation are defined here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Delivery Via<\/strong> \u2013 Courier, pickup, or freight method<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Document Copies<\/strong> \u2013 Number of printed documents<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Invoice Print Format<\/strong> \u2013 Layout used for customer invoices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            This ensures customers receive documents in the expected format and quantity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Lifecycle and Analytical Fields<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            These fields support management insight<\/strong>, not transaction control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

            They include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • First Sale Date<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Potential Lifetime Value<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Actual Lifetime Value<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Sales Volume<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Employees \/ Rating<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              These values help management understand customer importance and growth potential<\/strong>, but they do not block or allow transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Relationship with Sub-Tabs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

              The Customer Header acts as the parent<\/strong> for all sub-tabs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              • Opportunities<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Contacts<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Locations<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Contract Prices<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Requests<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Orders<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                All these records inherit defaults<\/strong> from the header but maintain their own lifecycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                This separation keeps the system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \n
                • Flexible in CRM<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Strict in finance<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Predictable in operations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  Purpose<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                  The Customer Header exists to centralize control while decentralizing execution<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Business users configure rules once.
                  Sales teams work freely within those rules.
                  Finance and operations receive clean, predictable transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Outcome<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                  As a result, organizations experience fewer pricing errors<\/strong>, controlled credit exposure<\/strong>, faster order processing<\/strong>, and consistent invoicing<\/strong>, with clear customer ownership<\/strong> across teams. The Customer Header acts as the single source of truth, defining how iDempiere treats a customer throughout the entire sales and finance lifecycle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  The Customer Header defines a customer\u2019s commercial identity, credit behavior, pricing, billing logic, and defaults. All sales documents inherit from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-master"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17610\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tenthplanet.in\/idempiere\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}