Manage Customers

Learn how to effectively manage your customer database in Digit Tally, including editing information, viewing customer history, and organizing customer records.

Viewing Customer List

Access your complete customer database.

Customer List View

1. Navigate to https://sales.digit-tally.io
2. Click Customers in the sidebar
3. View all customers with key information

Displayed Information:

Column	Description
Customer Name	Full name or business name
Email	Primary email address
Phone	Contact phone number
Outstanding Balance	Amount owed
Total Sales	Lifetime revenue from customer
Last Invoice	Date of most recent invoice
Status	Active, Inactive, Overdue

[SCREENSHOT: Customer list with all columns]

List Actions

For each customer in the list:

• View - Click name to view full details
• Edit - Click edit icon (pencil)
• Invoice - Create new invoice for customer
• Statement - Generate customer statement
• Delete - Remove customer (if no transactions)

[SCREENSHOT: Customer row actions]

Viewing Customer Details

See complete information and history for a customer.

Customer Detail Page

Click any customer name to open their detail page showing:

Summary Section:

• Customer name and type
• Contact information (email, phone, address)
• TIN and RC number (if business)
• Outstanding balance
• Credit limit and available credit
• Total lifetime sales
• Number of invoices
• Average invoice value
• Payment behavior rating

[SCREENSHOT: Customer detail summary]

Customer Tabs

Invoices Tab:

• All invoices for this customer
• Filter by status (Paid, Pending, Overdue)
• Quick actions (view, send, record payment)

Payments Tab:

• All payments received
• Payment dates and amounts
• Payment methods used
• Linked receipts

Credit Notes Tab:

• All credit notes issued
• Refund history
• Applied credits

Activity Tab:

• Complete activity timeline
• Invoices created
• Payments received
• Emails sent
• Notes added
• Changes made

[SCREENSHOT: Customer detail tabs]

Customer Statistics

View performance metrics:

Financial Metrics:

Lifetime Value: NGN 25,000,000
Average Invoice: NGN 500,000
Total Invoices: 50
Paid Invoices: 45
Pending Invoices: 3
Overdue Invoices: 2

Payment Behavior:

Average Payment Time: 35 days
Earliest Payment: 5 days
Latest Payment: 68 days
Payment Reliability: 90% (on-time rate)

[SCREENSHOT: Customer statistics dashboard]

Editing Customer Information

Update customer details as needed.

Edit Customer

From Customer List:

1. Click edit icon next to customer name
2. Customer form opens with current information
3. Modify any fields
4. Click Save Changes

From Customer Detail Page:

1. Click Edit Customer button
2. Update information
3. Save changes

[SCREENSHOT: Edit customer form]

Editable Fields

All fields from customer creation can be edited:

• Basic information (name, email, phone)
• Contact details
• Address
• Business details (TIN, RC)
• Payment settings
• Categories and tags
• Notes

Edit History

All changes are tracked:

• Who made changes
• When changes were made
• What was changed (before/after values)

Access Edit History:

1. Open customer detail page
2. Click History or Audit Log tab
3. View complete change log

[SCREENSHOT: Customer edit history log]

Customer Status Management

Manage customer account status.

Customer Statuses

Status	Meaning	Use Case
Active	Current customer	Regular business
Inactive	Not currently purchasing	Dormant account
On Hold	Credit suspended	Payment issues
VIP	Premium customer	Special treatment
Overdue	Has overdue invoices	Follow-up needed

Changing Status

1. Open customer detail page
2. Click Status dropdown
3. Select new status
4. Add reason (optional)
5. Save change

[SCREENSHOT: Customer status dropdown]

Status Effects

On Hold:

• Cannot create new invoices
• Warning shown when attempting
• Existing invoices unaffected
• Must resolve issues to reactivate

Inactive:

• Can still create invoices
• Appears in "Inactive" filter
• No automatic reminders sent
• Can reactivate anytime

Customer Communication

Track all communications with customers.

Email History

View all emails sent:

• Invoice emails
• Receipt emails
• Credit note emails
• Statement emails
• Custom emails

Email Log Shows:

• Date and time sent
• Subject line
• Recipient
• Delivery status (Delivered, Opened, Bounced)
• Attachments

[SCREENSHOT: Email history for customer]

Adding Notes

Add internal notes about customer:

1. Open customer detail page
2. Click Add Note button
3. Enter note content
4. Set note type:
   • General
   • Follow-up required
   • Payment issue
   • Important
5. Save note

Example Notes:

"Jan 28, 2026 - John: Customer called about discount. Agreed to 5% on next order."

"Jan 25, 2026 - Sarah: Payment delayed due to internal approval process. Expecting payment by Feb 5."

"Jan 20, 2026 - Mike: VIP customer - always give priority shipping."

[SCREENSHOT: Add customer note dialog]

Follow-Up Reminders

Set reminders for customer follow-ups:

1. Add note with "Follow-up required" type
2. Set reminder date
3. Assign to team member
4. Notification sent on reminder date

[SCREENSHOT: Follow-up reminder setup]

Customer Statements

Generate customer account statements.

Statement Generation

1. Open customer detail page
2. Click Generate Statement
3. Select date range
4. Choose statement type:
   • Summary - Totals only
   • Detailed - All transactions
5. Generate statement

[SCREENSHOT: Generate statement dialog]

Statement Contents

Customer statement includes:

• Customer information
• Statement period
• Opening balance
• All invoices in period
• All payments received
• All credit notes applied
• Closing balance
• Aging summary (current, 30 days, 60 days, 90+ days)

Example Statement:

ABC Trading Company Ltd
Customer Statement
Period: Jan 1 - Jan 31, 2026

Opening Balance: NGN 500,000

Invoices:
INV-001 | Jan 5  | NGN 250,000 | Paid
INV-002 | Jan 15 | NGN 300,000 | Pending
INV-003 | Jan 28 | NGN 150,000 | Pending

Payments:
REC-001 | Jan 10 | -NGN 250,000

Credit Notes:
CN-001  | Jan 20 | -NGN 50,000

Closing Balance: NGN 650,000

Aging:
Current (0-30 days): NGN 450,000
31-60 days: NGN 200,000
61-90 days: NGN 0
90+ days: NGN 0

[SCREENSHOT: Customer statement PDF]

Sending Statements

Send via Email:

1. Generate statement
2. Click Send via Email
3. Customize email message
4. Send to customer

Download PDF:

1. Generate statement
2. Click Download PDF
3. Save or print

Automated Statements:

• Set up monthly automatic statements
• Configure in Settings > Customer Settings
• Statements send on specific day each month

[SCREENSHOT: Statement email template]

Customer Categories and Tags

Organize customers for better management.

Categories

Assign customers to categories:

• VIP / Premium
• Wholesale
• Retail
• Corporate
• Government
• SME
• Individual

Managing Categories:

1. Go to Settings > Customer Categories
2. Create new categories
3. Assign colors and descriptions
4. Apply to customers

[SCREENSHOT: Customer categories management]

Tags

Add multiple tags to customers:

Common Tags:

• "quick-payer"
• "requires-reminder"
• "high-value"
• "seasonal"
• "tech-sector"
• "lagos-region"
• "wholesale-pricing"

Tag Benefits:

• Quick filtering
• Bulk actions on tagged customers
• Segment-based reporting
• Targeted communications

[SCREENSHOT: Customer tags interface]

Customer Filtering and Search

Find customers quickly.

Search Function

Search by:

• Customer name (partial match)
• Email address
• Phone number
• TIN or RC number
• Invoice number
• Tag

Search Box: Type any term and results update in real-time.

[SCREENSHOT: Customer search in action]

Advanced Filters

Filter customers by:

Filter	Options
Status	Active, Inactive, On Hold, Overdue
Type	Business, Individual
Category	VIP, Wholesale, Retail, etc.
Payment Terms	Net 7, Net 30, etc.
Outstanding Balance	None, Under 100k, 100k-500k, Over 500k
Last Invoice	Last 7 days, Last 30 days, Last 90 days, Older
Tags	Any assigned tags
Location	By state or city

Applying Filters:

1. Click Filter button
2. Select filter criteria
3. Apply filters
4. Results update automatically

[SCREENSHOT: Advanced filter panel]

Saved Filters

Save frequently used filters:

1. Apply desired filters
2. Click Save Filter
3. Name the filter (e.g., "VIP Customers - Lagos")
4. Quick access from saved filters dropdown

Example Saved Filters:

• "Overdue Customers - Payment Required"
• "VIP Customers - All"
• "New Customers - Last 30 Days"
• "High Value - Wholesale"

[SCREENSHOT: Saved filters dropdown]

Customer Reports

Analyze customer data and performance.

Available Reports

Report	Description
Top Customers	Highest revenue customers
Customer Aging	Outstanding balances by age
Customer Sales	Sales by customer over time
New Customers	Recently added customers
Inactive Customers	Customers with no recent activity
Payment Behavior	Average payment times by customer

[SCREENSHOT: Customer reports dashboard]

Generating Customer Reports

1. Go to Reports in Sales App
2. Select Customer Reports
3. Choose report type
4. Set date range
5. Apply filters if needed
6. Generate report

Report Exports:

• PDF format
• Excel spreadsheet
• CSV file

[SCREENSHOT: Customer report with charts]

Merging Duplicate Customers

Combine duplicate customer records.

Identifying Duplicates

System flags potential duplicates:

• Same email address
• Similar names
• Same phone number
• Same TIN

Duplicate Alert: "Customer 'XYZ Corp' may be duplicate of 'XYZ Corporation Ltd'"

[SCREENSHOT: Duplicate customer warning]

Merge Process

1. Go to customer list
2. Click Find Duplicates
3. Review suggested matches
4. Select customers to merge
5. Choose primary record (data kept)
6. Choose secondary record (data merged from)
7. Confirm merge

What Happens:

• All invoices from both records combined under primary
• Payment history merged
• Contact details from primary kept (unless blank)
• Secondary record archived
• Cannot be undone (backup first)

[SCREENSHOT: Merge customers dialog]

Archiving and Deleting Customers

Manage inactive or incorrect customer records.

Archiving Customers

When to Archive:

• Customer no longer doing business
• Want to hide from active list
• Keep historical data

Archive Process:

1. Open customer detail page
2. Click Actions > Archive
3. Confirm archiving

Archived Customers:

• Hidden from main customer list
• Historical data preserved
• Invoices and payments retained
• Can be unarchived anytime
• Visible in "Archived" filter

[SCREENSHOT: Archive customer confirmation]

Deleting Customers

Deletion Rules:

• Can only delete if NO transactions exist
• No invoices, payments, or credit notes
• Permanent action (cannot undo)

Delete Process:

1. Open customer with no transactions
2. Click Actions > Delete
3. Type customer name to confirm
4. Permanently delete

Permanent Deletion

Deleting a customer is permanent and cannot be undone. Archive instead if you want to keep records.

Bulk Actions

Perform actions on multiple customers at once.

Available Bulk Actions

• Send Email - Email multiple customers
• Change Category - Assign category to many customers
• Add Tags - Tag multiple customers
• Export - Export selected customers to Excel/CSV
• Archive - Archive multiple customers
• Update Payment Terms - Change terms for multiple customers

Bulk Action Process

1. Go to customer list
2. Check boxes next to customers
3. Click Bulk Actions dropdown
4. Select action
5. Configure action details
6. Apply to all selected

[SCREENSHOT: Bulk actions with multiple customers selected]

Customer Import/Export

Manage customer data in bulk.

Exporting Customers

Export all customer data:

1. Go to Customers
2. Apply filters if needed (export filtered list)
3. Click Export
4. Choose format:
   • Excel (.xlsx)
   • CSV (.csv)
5. Download file

Export Contents:

• All customer fields
• Outstanding balances
• Total sales
• Last invoice date
• Payment terms
• Categories and tags

[SCREENSHOT: Export customers dialog]

Importing Updates

Update existing customers via import:

1. Export current customer list
2. Modify data in Excel
3. Import updated file
4. Map columns to customer fields
5. Preview changes
6. Confirm import

What Can Be Updated:

• Contact information
• Addresses
• Payment terms
• Categories
• Tags
• Notes

Best Practices

Customer Management Tips

1. Regular Maintenance - Review and update customer info monthly
2. Clean Duplicates - Merge duplicates as soon as identified
3. Use Categories - Categorize all customers for better organization
4. Add Notes - Document important customer information
5. Monitor Credit - Review credit limits and adjust as needed
6. Archive Inactive - Keep active list clean by archiving old customers
7. Send Statements - Regular statements improve payment collection

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Can't Find Customer

• Solution: Check filters - customer may be filtered out. Use search function. Check if archived.

Issue: Customer Has Wrong Balance

• Solution: Check all invoices are properly recorded. Verify payments applied correctly. Generate statement to review.

Issue: Cannot Delete Customer

• Solution: Customer has transactions (invoices, payments). Archive instead of deleting.

Issue: Duplicate Customers Appearing

• Solution: Use merge function to combine records. Prevent by checking for existing customers before adding new.

What's Next?

Continue learning about customer management:

• Create Invoice - Create invoices for your customers
• Generate Receipt - Record customer payments
• Accounting Reports - Analyze customer revenue

Active Customer Management

Regularly review your customer list to identify high-value customers, slow payers, and opportunities for follow-up. Good customer management directly impacts cash flow.