Before you can quote a job you need two records: the customer and the site where the work happens. This guide shows how to add a customer with their payment terms, discount and credit limit, check the record, and then add the site.
Click People › Customers (/app/customers/directory). Use the search box first, so you do not create a duplicate, and read the money columns (Net owed, Overdue, Limit used) to see who owes what. Then click Add customer. Fill in Name (Tariq Mehmood), Email (tariq.mehmood@example.com), Phone with the country code (+923214455667) and National ID (35202-8812345-7).
Choose Credit terms from the list: Due on receipt (0 days), Net 15 (15 days), Net 30 (30 days) or Net 45 (45 days). Tariq gets Net 30. Type Discount (%) as 5, and Credit limit as 5000000.
In Notes write what your team should know, for example "10 marla house, DHA Phase 6. Referred by Saeed Contractors." Click Save customer. Later, open the row menu and choose View: the Details tab shows the name, code CUS-0002, email, phone, a masked national ID (ending 3457), the notes and when the record was created.
The new customer appears with a generated code (CUS-0002), Net 30 (30 days) and a 5% discount. Net owed, Overdue and Limit used show a dash until the customer has invoices. Each row has an actions menu: view, edit or archive the customer. Edit changes any field. Archive hides the customer without deleting their history.
In View, the tab Credit & Terms shows the terms, discount and limit, with the outstanding and overdue amounts and the credit used. The tab Portal Access shows Not set up · No password yet, the one login address that every customer of your company uses, and the Portal login email. The buttons are Copy login URL, Save portal access and Send invite. Customer portal access is explained in full in BF-S05.
Open the Invoices tab. A new customer shows No invoices yet. Issued invoices for this customer appear here once their project is billed.
Open People › Credit terms (/app/customers/credit-terms). Four terms are ready and active. The same list feeds the Credit terms choice on every customer form, so change a term here and every form offers it. Credit terms are explained in full in BF-S04.
After you invite the customer, they open the portal link. The company is already chosen, so they only type an email and a password. In the portal they can review and approve quotations, follow the progress you make visible, and see their payment schedule.
A quotation needs a site, so click Add site (Delivery › Sites). Give the Site name (Tariq Mehmood Residence, DHA Phase 6), pick the Customer (Tariq Mehmood), enter Plot area 10 and choose the Area unit Marla (the choices are Square foot, Square metre, Square yard (Gaz), Marla and Kanal).
Switch on Use manual coordinates, which you need when no map key is set up. Enter Latitude 31.4697 and Longitude 74.4073, then click Save site.
| Mistake | What you see | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Quoting before a site exists | The quotation cannot be sent or approved without a site | Add the site first, then pick it on the quotation |
| Expecting the discount to change old quotations | Existing quotations keep their own copy | Change the discount on the quotation itself |
| Choosing terms that are not in the list | The list offers only the credit terms you have defined | Add or activate the term under People › Credit terms |
| Item | Meaning / rule |
|---|---|
| Credit terms | How long the customer has to pay an invoice |
| Discount (%) | Starting discount for new quotations; each quotation keeps its own copy |
| Credit limit | Most the customer may owe at once |
| National ID | Stored securely; only the last digits show after saving |
| Plot area and unit | Size of the site; the estimator reads it |
| Manual coordinates | Type latitude and longitude when no map key is set |
Why do I need to add a site before I quote a customer? A quotation cannot be sent or approved without a site. Add the site first (Delivery › Sites), then pick it on the quotation. The plot area you enter also feeds the estimator, which suggests quantities from the size of the site.
Does the customer discount change quotations I already made? No. The discount on the customer is only a starting point for new quotations, and each quotation keeps its own copy. To change an existing quotation, change the discount on the quotation itself.
What do the credit terms and the credit limit control? The credit terms decide how long the customer has to pay your invoices: Due on receipt, Net 15, Net 30 or Net 45. The credit limit is the most the customer may owe at once, and the directory shows how much of it is used.
How is the customer's national ID kept? It is stored securely. After you save, only the last digits show, and it also helps the system recognise the same person if they are added twice.
BuildFlow runs this whole workflow. See what BuildFlow does and what it costs, or browse all step-by-step guides.