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Sales & Customers

Customers who owed you before SmartShop (balances brought in)

Enter what each customer owed you - or you owed them - before you started SmartShop, one by one or from Excel, so their balance and statement are right from day one.

When you start with SmartShop, some customers already owe you from your old book — or you are holding money for them (an advance, a deposit, change you kept). Record that once as a balance brought in so their balance, statement and the Customers Who Owe report are right from day one.

Where to find it: the Balances brought in button on the Customer Center, the Balances brought in card on Upload Data, or the link in a customer's panel (section 9).

One customer

  1. Pick All customers and find the customer (or open it from their panel).
  2. Choose They owed me (they bought on credit and had not paid) or I owed them (they paid in advance, or you had their change or deposit).
  3. Type How much and On what day it was true — not a day in the future. Add a Note if it helps.
  4. Save. The customer's balance now includes it.

To correct it, open it again and change the amount; to take it away, use Remove it. Every change is recorded and shown under Changes in the same box.

Many customers from Excel

  1. Press Upload from Excel. Download a ready-made sheet if you want a start.
  2. One row per customer: Name, Phone, Amount owed, and optionally As at date and Note. Write a minus in front of the amount (e.g. -2000) when you owe the customer.
  3. Choose the sheet, set a Date for rows with no date, then Check the sheet. Each row says what will happen. Customers already in SmartShop are found by phone number, then by name; anyone not found is added as a new customer.
  4. Save.

When you add a new customer

The Create Customer form has an optional Balance brought in box and On what day. Write a minus (-2000) if you owed them.

Payments clear the old balance first. When a customer with a balance brought in pays you, the payment clears that amount before any newer invoice. On their account and statement it shows as a BROUGHT IN row (payment mode Before SmartShop ), first on its day.

Seeing balances brought in needs the right to view customers. Changing them is for the owner, and for staff given the Customers – Set Balances Brought In permission (the Store manager role has it). Balances brought in show on the web portal; the Android and Desktop apps don't show them yet.

The full illustrated guide: Sales & Customers guide
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