Getting Customers Right in SyteLine®

We're kicking off the Back to Basics series, and while this might not be the very first place every finance team starts, it’s where I’m choosing to begin: the Customers form.

Why? Because so much of what happens in SyteLine® starts here. Orders, shipments, invoices, payments—it all ties back to the customer record. And when that record isn’t set up right, the downstream mess can be... well, messy.

So let’s walk through what really matters on the Customers form—and how to set things up in a way that actually works.

Customer Numbers That Make Sense

No matter the size of the company or what you sell—your customer numbers should be easy to understand.

Prefixes or no prefixes? I see a lot of teams use “C” just because... customer. Others use it only for corporate accounts. You can also use the prefix to help organize your customer base (though there are other features in SyteLine® that help with that too). The point is, be thoughtful and choose a pattern that works for the business.

Subordinate customers (SyteLine® calls them that—I call them child accounts) are perfect for setting up branch locations or divisions that roll up to a main customer.

Corporate customers are the parent record. Once they’re set up, you can apply a single payment across all branches, run consolidated aging reports, and more. Huge win for A/R.

➡️ The goal here isn’t fancy. It’s consistency. Know your structure, document your method, and use it.

Terms Matter More Than You Think

So let’s get this one right from the start.

Set your default terms to reflect how you actually expect to be paid. Not the exception—the standard. If your customer always pays Net 30, make that their default. If they always pay upfront, give them a terms code like “PPD” for prepaid.

💡 Pro tip: If you collect a deposit or prebill part of the order, your terms code should reflect how you expect to be paid on the remaining balance. The prepayment itself should be handled as a separate transaction—don’t let the terms field get muddy.

And if you’ve never explored SyteLine’s multiple due dates feature—oh, you’re missing out.

It’s one of the most underused gems in the system. You can split the balance across due dates and align the invoice aging with how you really expect payments to come in. Want 40% due in 30 days, 30% in 60, and the final 30% in 90? No problem. You define the rule once and apply it where it makes sense.

That means more accurate aging, better forecasting, and fewer surprises in A/R.

Let’s Talk Currency

In version 10, SyteLine® lets you define multiple currencies for a customer. Sounds simple, right? Not always.

• Default currency is what the system wants to use every time you create a transaction. And once that first transaction happens? You’re locked in.

• Just because you’re in the U.S. doesn’t mean the default should be USD. If you’ve got a Canadian customer that mostly pays in CAD, that should be the default.

Also worth thinking about: will you allow multiple currencies on one customer record? Some teams do, and it works great—others find it leads to errors and wish they’d just created separate records for each currency.

No perfect answer here. Just know your options and lock in your process before you start transacting.

Credit Limits: Not Just a Checklist Item

SyteLine® gives you two credit limits to work with:

1. Credit Limit – this includes both open invoices and open orders

2. Order Credit Limit – more like a tripwire for unusually large individual orders

In most environments, I see people just set both to the same number. But if you’ve got a customer who typically orders $30K at a time, and one day someone enters a $500K order? That deserves a second look.

And please—don’t just throw $9,999,999 in there so things don’t go on credit hold. If you’re not using the feature, you’re missing a chance to catch errors and protect your A/R.

Don’t Bypass Tax Logic

If you’re using Avalara or Vertex, let them handle tax. That’s what they’re there for.

Make sure your external tax code is set on the customer, and don’t try to cheat the system by marking them non-taxable in SyteLine®.

Trust the integration to do its job.

👉 Hint: I’ll dig deeper into Avalara in next week’s Journal Entry—especially how to handle exempt customers and credits. Stay tuned.

Price Code: Small Field, Big Impact

If you’re managing pricing in SyteLine®, don’t skip this.

Set the right price code on the customer. Whether they get MSRP, distributor pricing, tiered or volume-based pricing, this is what drives it.

If you're using customer contracts to manage pricing, don’t overwrite the same record every time pricing changes. Use the effective date.

Why? Because that date tells SyteLine® which price applies when.

Bill To vs. Ship To: Not Always the Same Thing

Did you know your Bill To address—also known as Ship To 0—doesn’t have to be the default Ship To? Honestly, it’s worth having a quick discussion about whether your Bill To should ever be used as a Ship To at all.

Here’s why: A customer’s billing address might change over time. If you’ve used that Ship To on multiple orders, changing it later will update the address associated with every one of those historical transactions. Not ideal.

Instead, consider creating a dedicated Ship To 1 (even if the address is initially the same). That way, your billing address stands alone, and any updates you make down the road won’t accidentally rewrite your shipping history.

It’s a little thing that saves a lot of confusion—especially when you're digging into past orders during audits or reconciliations.

A Few More Fields That Deserve a Look

Before we wrap, here are a few more fields that are worth getting right:

• End User Type – If it applies to your business, get it on the customer. It’ll flow through to orders, RMAs, and more.

• Customer Status – In version 10, you can set status codes that actually block new orders. Great for keeping inactive customers from slipping back in by accident.

• Corporate customer overrides – For each child customer, you can choose to use the parent’s credit limit and/or billing address. Totally optional—but when it fits, it can simplify things a lot.

This is what I love about the basics—they’re never just “entry-level.” These are the details that drive accuracy, efficiency, and sanity across every downstream process. And while the right setup depends on your business, getting intentional about it always pays off.

This entry is posted. See you in the next journal.
Stacey