Table of Contents

Customer Management Enhancements

The Customer Management Enhancements provide comprehensive extensions to Business Central's standard customer functionality, enabling better customer relationship management, enhanced data quality, and regulatory compliance.

🎯 Overview

This feature set extends the Customer master data with additional fields for better customer management, enhanced credit management capabilities, and configurable validation controls to ensure data quality and business process compliance.

✨ Key Features

Enhanced Customer Data

  • Mobile Phone Number: Dedicated field with phone number validation
  • Foreign Currency Credit Limits: Track credit limits in foreign currencies
  • Credit Insurance Limits: Monitor credit insurance coverage in FCY
  • Finance Provider Linking: Connect customers to vendor records for financing relationships
  • Related Business Entity Management: Link customers to business entity codes for corporate structures

BBBEE Compliance (South African Business)

  • BBBEE Scorecard Tracking: Comprehensive scorecard fields for compliance reporting
  • Ownership Percentage Monitoring: Track various ownership percentages for BEE compliance
  • Compliance Reporting: Generate reports for regulatory submissions

Sales Process Controls

  • Zero Sales Price Prevention: Configurable controls to prevent zero-price sales
  • Currency Enforcement: Mandatory same-currency validation with configurable warning levels
  • Bill-to Customer Pricing: Use bill-to customer for pricing and discount calculations
  • Document Scheduling: Enhanced mail scheduling for sales documents

📋 Setup Instructions

1. Basic Configuration

Enable Customer Enhancements

  1. Open Linc Setup from the search
  2. Navigate to the Customer Management section
  3. Configure the following options:
    • Allow Dim. Val. Quick Add: Enable dimension value quick addition
    • Prevent Zero Sales Prices: Set default behavior for zero price prevention

Configure Sales & Receivables Setup

  1. Open Sales & Receivables Setup
  2. Set the following enhanced fields:
    • Same Currency Mandatory: Choose enforcement level (Default/No/Yes/Warning)
    • Prevent Zero Sales Prices: Set organization default
    • Document Mail Scheduling: Enable automatic scheduling options

2. Advanced Features Setup

BBBEE Configuration (if applicable)

  1. Set up Linc Lookup Values for BBBEE categories:
    • Go to Linc Lookup Value table
    • Create entries with Lookup Field Name = 'BBBEE Category Code'
    • Add relevant BBBEE categories and codes
  1. Configure Related Business Entity codes:
    • Create business entity records for corporate structures
    • Link customers to appropriate business entities

3. User Permissions

Ensure users have appropriate permissions to:

  • Modify customer cards
  • Access BBBEE fields (if applicable)
  • Configure validation settings

🔧 Configuration Options

Zero Sales Price Prevention

Option Description Behavior
Default Use system default Follows Sales & Receivables Setup
No Allow zero prices No validation applied
Yes Prevent zero prices Error message if zero price detected

Currency Enforcement Levels

Level Description User Experience
Default Follow system setting Based on company setup
No No enforcement Allow any currency combination
Yes Strict enforcement Error if currencies don't match
Warning Soft enforcement Warning message, user can proceed

💡 Business Benefits

Enhanced Data Quality

  • Complete Contact Information: Mobile phone numbers ensure complete customer contact details
  • Validation Controls: Prevent incomplete or invalid customer records
  • Standardized Data Entry: Consistent data capture across all customer records

Improved Credit Management

  • Multi-Currency Support: Track credit limits in customer's trading currency
  • Insurance Tracking: Monitor credit insurance coverage for risk management
  • Finance Provider Links: Better understanding of customer financing arrangements

Regulatory Compliance

  • BBBEE Reporting: Comprehensive tracking for South African regulatory requirements
  • Audit Trail: Complete change tracking for compliance purposes
  • Standardized Classifications: Consistent business entity relationship management

📊 Usage Examples

Example 1: Setting Up a Foreign Customer

Customer: ACME Europe Ltd
Currency Code: EUR
Credit Limit (FCY): 50,000.00
Credit Insurance Limit (FCY): 45,000.00
Mobile Phone No.: +44 20 7123 4567
Same Currency Mandatory: Warning

Example 2: BBBEE Tracking Setup

Customer: Local SA Company
BBBEE Category Code: GEN001
Black Ownership %: 51.00
Related Business Entity: HOLDING001
Scorecard Type: Generic

Example 3: Zero Price Prevention

Sales Order Line:
Item: WIDGET001
Quantity: 10
Unit Price: 0.00
Result: Error message "Zero sales prices not allowed for this customer"

🔍 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Zero Price Validation Not Working

Problem: Zero prices are allowed despite prevention setting Solution:

  1. Check customer-specific setting overrides
  2. Verify Sales & Receivables Setup configuration
  3. Ensure user has appropriate permissions

Currency Validation Issues

Problem: Currency enforcement not working as expected Solution:

  1. Verify customer's Same Currency Mandatory setting
  2. Check document currency vs customer currency
  3. Review Sales & Receivables Setup defaults

BBBEE Fields Not Visible

Problem: BBBEE fields not showing on customer card Solution:

  1. Check user permissions for BBBEE field access
  2. Verify Linc Lookup Values are set up correctly
  3. Confirm South African localization requirements

🔗 Related Features

For additional support or feature requests, contact Linc Communications technical support.