Create or import customer or vendor contacts
Description
Cause
Resolution

 NOTE: You need to add your clients' customer and vendor contacts before adding their opening balances.

Create a customer or vendor contact

  1. From Contacts, select either Customers or Vendors, then New Customer or New Vendor.

  2. Enter the contact’s details.
    Default CategoryChoose the default sales or purchase category for transactions.
    VAT NumberEnter their VAT registration number, if applicable.
    Account Default

    Choose the default sales/purchase ledger account for transactions.

    Tax RateSelect the contact’s tax rate.
    The supplier is an import agentIf the supplier is an import agent who will deal with import VAT and duty on your behalf, select this check box to correctly record their invoices.
  3. If the contact is a customer and their delivery address is different to their invoice address, select the Delivery Address tab and enter their details.
  4. Select the Payments Details tab, then enter the details.

    Set Credit Limit

    Select this check box and enter the credit limit value.

     TIP: The credit limit is displayed on the aged debtors and aged creditors reports. 

    Set Credit Terms

    Select this check box and enter the number of days credit this contact will have.

     TIP: If the contact is a customer, you can also enter any custom terms and conditions. These appear on the invoices you send your customer. 

    Account NameEnter the contact's bank account name.
    Sort CodeEnter the contact's bank sort code.
    Account NumberEnter the contact's bank account number.
    BIC/SwiftIf applicable, enter the Bank Identifier Code (BIC) or Swift Code.
    IBANIf applicable, enter the International Bank Account Number (IBAN).
     
  5. Select the Defaults tab, then complete the details.

    Price Default

    Choose the product pricing level for the customer. For example, Sales PriceTrade or Wholesale. You can set these up in your Default settings.

     TIP: This option is only available for customer contacts. 

    CurrencyChoose the required currency.
  6. If you want to record notes for this contact, select the Notes tab and enter the relevant details.
  7. Select Save.

Import a customer or supplier contact

To import a contacts file, it must:

  • contain only customers or suppliers. To import both, you need two separate files.

  • be saved in comma-separated value (CSV) format.

  • use the same column headings and formatting as in the contacts CSV template file.

Step 1: Download the CSV template file

  1. Go to Contacts, and then select New Customer, Import Customers or New Supplier, Import Suppliers.
  2. Select the download CSV hyperlink.
  3. Go to the downloads folder on your computer to find the file.

Step 2: Preparing the contacts file

If you already have a file, compare it to the template file before importing your contacts. The column headings and data format in your file must match the template.

If you don't have a file, you can add your contacts to the template file. Leave the column headings as-is and then replace the sample data with your contacts, using the same format.

 NOTE: The maximum file size you can import is 500KB. If your file is larger, split it into another file. 

When preparing your file, ensure that your file format is correct. Remember the file's column headings must match those in the table.

ColumnField nameTypeCompulsoryNotes
AReferenceTextYesMaximum 10 characters and must be unique to this record.
BCompany NameTextYes
CCurrencyTextNo

This is the currency code, for example, for euros, the code is EUR for pound sterling it’s GBP. To use your default currency, leave this blank.

To import a foreign currency, you must first enable foreign currency transactions (opens in a new window or tab).

DCredit LimitNumberNo
EMain Address TypeTextNoTo use the default of Delivery, leave this blank. Alternatively, enter one of the following:

* Delivery
* Accounts
* Sales
* Purchasing
FMain Address Line 1TextNo
GMain Address Line 2TextNo
HMain Address TownTextNo
IMain Address CountyTextNo
JMain Address Post CodeTextNoMaximum 10 characters.
KMain Address CountryTextNoThis is the country code, for example, GB for Great Britain (UK) or IE for Ireland. Maximum 2 characters.
LMain Contact NameTextYesEnter the name of the contact at this company, alternatively to use the default of Main Contact, leave this blank.
MMain Contact PhoneNumberNoMaximum 50 characters.
NMain Contact TypeTextNoTo use the default of Accounts, leave this blank. Alternatively, enter one of the following:

* Delivery
* Accounts
* Sales
* Purchasing
OMain Contact MobileNumberNoMaximum 50 characters.
PMain Contact EmailTextNoThis must be a valid email address, for example, email@email.com.
QMain Contact FaxNumberNoMaximum 50 characters.
RAddress 2 TypeTextNoTo use the default of Delivery, leave this blank. Alternatively, enter one of the following:

* Delivery
* Accounts
* Sales
* Purchasing
SAddress 2 Line 1TextNo
TAddress 2 Line 2TextNo
UAddress 2 TownTextNo
VAddress 2 CountyTextNo
WAddress 2 Post CodeTextNoMaximum 10 characters.
XAddress 2 CountryTextNoThis is the country code, for example, GB for Great Britain or IE for Ireland. Maximum 2 characters.
YVAT NumberTextNoThis must be a valid VAT number. For more information about VAT number formats, please see our VAT numbers article.
ZLedger AccountNumberNoThis is the same as a category in Start. To use the default category, leave this blank.

For customers, the default sales category is 4900 and for suppliers, the default purchase category is 5000.
AAPayment termsNumberNoThe number of credit days this contact has. To use the default payment terms, leave this blank.
ABNotesTextNoMaximum 500 characters.
ACBank Account NameTextNo
ADBank Account Sort CodeNumberNoThis must be a valid sort code, for example, 11-22-33.
AEBank Account NumberNumberNoMaximum 25 characters.
AFBank Account IBANNumberNo
AGBank Account BICNumberNoMaximum 11 characters.

Step 3: Import the contacts file

  1. Go to Contacts, and then select New Customer, Import Customers or New Supplier, Import Suppliers.
  2. Select Choose File. Browse to your contacts CSV file and then select Open.
  3. In the CSV Format field, select Sage Instant Accounts if you’re importing from that application. If not, select Accounting.
  4. Select Upload
  5. Select OK.
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