Entering Customers into DSM

These instructions show how to enter a new customer into DSM.

Rights needed:  Adding customers into DSM require “User can add customers” under customer management in their user profile.  You may also need administrative rights to turn on or off features in DSM.

 

There are numerous ways to add customers into DSM.  The most commonly used option is to click the button on the main screen [Customer Lookup]

Alternately, you can also use the menu options at the top Action > Customers. 

Note:  There are also “hot keys” in DSM as well.  Pressing CTRL + U will also get you to the same screen.

Click [New Customer]. 

By default, the automatic customer numbering feature in DSM is turned on.    DSM will assign a number for you. 

If you wish to number your customers yourself, this option can be turned off by going to File > Administration > Company Configuration. 

 

Edit your company configuration by selecting the “General” tab, then unchecking the “Automatic Customer Numbering” box as shown.

 

Enter a Company Name and other associated information.

GENERAL (F2) tab:

Foreign Customer #:  Used for an alternate customer number.   (e.g. Accounting package customer number, etc.)

Default Company:  Used to determine which internal company the customer belongs to.  More on multiple companies can be found in the Configuration Documentation section.

Company:  The company or Customer name may go here.

Type:  Select which customer type.

Address, City, State, Zip, Phone:  Self explanatory.

Website:  If the customer has a website, you can enter it here.  The “LAUNCH” button will open the website using your computers default browser.

Taxable:  If checked, will prompt you for a tax rate when billing.

Exempt #:  If customer is exempt, enter their exempt number here.

Tax Code:  Pick the default tax rate (code) to apply to this customer.  (invoices automatically drop in the tax rate when billing)

PO Required: If checked, any job entered for this customer will prompt you for a PO number.  It will allow an override until the billing phase.  Billing cannot occur until a PO Number has been entered.

Job Request # Required:  If checked, the field on the order called “job request #” will require you to make an entry here.  You may use this field for many purposes but is not required.

Exclude from:  Batch invoicing, if checked, will require you to invoice this customer individually.

Exclude from:  Batch Statements, if checked, will require you to send statements individually for this customer.

Priority:  Sets a default priority level for a job for this client.  (jobs for this customer to show up as a prioritized color on the schedule.)

 

Financial Information

Deliver invoices to:  Pick who the invoices should go to.  This information comes from the contact information in the upper right hand section of this tab.  You may choose multiple contacts and define their roles within their organization.  In the example here, there is only one person as it is a residential job.

Terms:  Choose the customer terms here.  Note you can add a new one by clicking the plus button.

Via: Choose the method which the invoices are to be delivered.

Last Credit Check:  Enter a date that you last ran a credit check on them.  You may click the calendar instead of typing if you wish.

Standard Treatment Days: Enter the number of days you wish to have the system count to determine past due status.

Growth Account: Set whether it is a growth Account.

AR Agent:  Select the person which is the Accounts Receivable agent for this customer.  People from the Upper Right contact info show up here if multiple are entered.

Entered / By:  Shows the date, time and USER ID of the person that entered this customer into the system. Helpful for Sales Reporting.

Financial History Button:  If clickable, will take you to the financial history screen of this customer.  If it is grayed out, no financial history exists.

Credit History Button: If clickable, will take you to the credit history screen for the customer.  If it is grayed out, no credit history has been entered.

Credit Card on File:  Click this button to store their encrypted credit card information for future billings.  The “YES / NO” field simply alerts you as to whther credit card information is stored or not.

Find Customer Button:  Easily look up another customer right from any customer information screen.  If you’re in the middle of entering the customer and have to look up another, the system will prompt you to save what you have entered before going further.

Delete Customer Button:  Clicking this button will delete the current customer.  It is recommended to use the MARK CUSTOMER INACTIVE however.

 

Contacts

The contacts area simply contains company or client contact information.  Multiple people can be entered.  It shows the main contact and AP contact in gray at the top.

To add a contact, click the Add button.  The following screen will be shown.

Enter their information here.  Selecting MAIN contact will cause them to show up as a person in any drop down list throughout the system when a job is tied to this customer.  Many contacts may be added.

 

Customer Notes

The customer notes are a basic area for your notes.  You may print them or even print an envelope from this screen.

If you check the box that says “Show notes when accessing customer” the system will prompt you with a window showing these notes with an OK button to continue.  This is helpful in many scenarios.

 

MORE (F3) tab:

The More tab is a continuation of the General tab and contains a few items.

The “Use alternate billing address for invoices”, if checked and filled out, will cause the system to print this alternate address on their invoices.

Quickbooks® integration status is also shown here.  Note:  The Quickbooks® integration is an extra charge within DSM.  Contact Sales for more information on this feature.

 

 

JOB HISTORY (F4) tab:

The Job history tab shows a multitude of information.  It shows the date, order number, type of work, etc. relevant to any job that’s ever been entered for this customer.  You may sort ascending or descending by clicking the headers at the top.

Additional features of this screen allow you to filter at the bottom to narrow your results as well as edit orders, job tickets and invoices shown. 

 

JOBSITES (F5) tab:

The jobsites tab shows any job sites this customer has been involved with.  Similar to the job history tab above but with other information.  This is also helpful when showing things like certified jobs which must be attached to job sites.

 

DOCUMENTS (F6) tab:

 

The Documents tab here is a neat function in DSM.  It is all over the system for many items such as jobs, tickets, trucks, etc.  Simply drag and drop any file you like from your computer to the window on the left, and it gets automatically stored with the job site record.   Call it a file cabinet if you will.

When you put items here you can also check the boxes in the lower right telling DSM to Print the document ANY TIME you use it on an order or bill a client. 

EMAIL LOG (F7) tab:

 

The Email Log in DSM is a powerful tool. 

Any time you email a client anything from DSM, it will be shown here.  You have multiple options to show what you want to see.  You may review old correspondence as well as resend any items.

 

Having entered the customer, you’re now ready to enter a quote or job!