Customers Resource
The Customers resource allows you to store customer and authority information for use in estimates and final bid forms.
Customer resources allow you to create and store your customer and authority information. Each estimate you create will reference one or more customers from this database when you print your final bid form.
Like other resources, the Customers resource is broken up into a listing tab and a detail tab. The Customer Listing tab allows you view your entire list of customers, or a filtered subset of that list. The Customer Detail tab allows you to edit specific information for an individual customer, and includes a list of contacts.
Configuring the Customer Listing Tab
There are many columns of information that you can choose to display on the Customer Listing tab. Following the steps below, you can select the columns you want to see, and specify the order in which they should appear. Since these preferences are associated with your user account, they will be "remembered" the next time you log in to B2W Estimate.
Use the Columns Manager to choose which columns you want to see:
- Select the Views & Displays menu, then select Customize Columns. You may also right-select the column header area, and select Customize Columns....
- Use the Columns Manager to configure your column settings.
- Select OK to return to the Customer Listing tab.
Using the Search Feature
The Customers listing grid includes a dynamic search feature that allows you to search the list for any text string. As you type, the list will re-filter with each keystroke.
In the search text box, start typing the letters of the term you're looking for. To restart your search, you can use the Clear Search icon, type over existing text, or backspace.
- Searching for dates requires entering an entire date string (e.g., “9/5/2017”).
- Multi-word searching is performed through spaces. The row must contain all criteria entered.
- Searching for calculated costs requires using decimal precision and does not include the “$” symbol.
- Using the Search feature returns matching results from visible columns. Add more columns to include them in your search.
- Search terms are cleared when customizing columns or navigating to the detail of a resource.
- Search terms persist per Resource type or Item Database when toggling between tabs.
Create a new customer
- In Resources, navigate to the Customer Listing tab or the Customer Detail tab.
- Select New Record on the toolbar.
- Enter a customer name, city and state. The combination of name and city must be unique for each customer.
- Select the Customer Detail tab to enter more detailed information.
Information on the Customer Detail tab
To enter or modify information on the Customer Detail tab, select into any field which has a white background and type a new value:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Company name | A customer's name will appear in the header of many bid level reports. |
| Address | A customer address will also appear in the header of many bid level reports. |
| City, State, Zip | Information printed in the header area of estimate reports. State text is automatically forced to uppercase. |
| Country | A customer's country. Text is automatically forced to uppercase. |
| Phone | Displayed in estimate report headers. 10+ digits are automatically formatted as (nnn) nnn-nnnn. |
| Web address | Use CTRL + select to open the address in your internet browser. |
| Category | A filtering mechanism which helps you organize your customer list. |
| Accounting # | An accounting number for internal use. |
| Job Cost ID | An accounting number for use during exports to supported accounting packages. |
| Notes | An open text field for miscellaneous information. |
| Created | A read only field storing the creator's initials and entry date. |
| Modified | A read only field displaying the last modification date and editor's initials. |
