Hopefully customers are lining up for your product or service, but now you need to figure out a way to manage them effectively. The QuickBooks customer list may not seem like a big deal, but if set up improperly you may regret it later. Entering a new customer into QuickBooks is a simple step that almost any new QuickBooks user can easily figure out. However, by thinking about your customer list a little bit before entering them into QuickBooks you can save yourself a lot of time down the road. You can access your customer list by clicking on the Customer Center button on the main QuickBooks icon bar. Here is my advice on effectively setting up the customer database:
The Name
The customer name seems pretty straightforward right? Let me offer this piece of advice: if you primarily sell to individuals enter the Customer Name field in this format: Last Name, First Name. As your customer list grows you will be happy it is by last name and not first name. If you primarily sell to businesses then enter your customers by business name.
Enter all customer information from the very beginning
If you enter as much of the customer information as possible from the beginning you will have many advantages down the road. You will be building a customer database that is functional. Rather than looking through other programs for contact information, phone numbers, email addresses etc you will have everything in one database. It makes sense to use QuickBooks as your customer information database if you will be using it as your billing software. Also, by entering all the contact information from the beginning you will be able to take advantage of some other features that QuickBooks offers.
Email invoices and statements to reduce Accounts Receivable
By entering an email address for each customer you can quickly email invoices and statements directly from QuickBooks to your customers. This is not only a healthy choice for the environment by reducing paper use, but this may also prove to be a healthy choice for your business. I have found that by emailing invoices and statements the amount of money due from you customers decreases much faster than using other billing methods. Your customers will be more likely to pay in a timely manner if you email them the bills. Using the email function from QuickBooks also makes it easy to send follow up reminders on overdue invoices and balances. You can get a more detailed explanation on emailing invoices and statements from QuickBooks here.
If you have any questions on setting up an effective customer list or any other QuickBooks questions feel free to email me.