> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bumara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Customers and vendors

> Building your customer and vendor directories, and using statements to manage what is owed.

Your customer directory is who you sell to. Your vendor directory is who you buy from. Both are
worth building properly — a good directory turns invoicing from data entry into a few clicks.

## Adding a customer

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Sales, then Customers">
    Choose **New customer**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter their identity">
    | Field                   | Notes                                                                               |
    | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Name**                | The legal name they trade under — this appears on the invoice                       |
    | **Type**                | Business or individual                                                              |
    | **TPIN**                | Required if you transmit to ZRA Smart Invoice, and for business customers generally |
    | **Registration number** | For business customers                                                              |
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter contact details">
    Primary contact name, email, phone. The email is where invoices are sent, so use the one that
    actually pays bills — often accounts@, not the person you deal with day to day.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter addresses">
    Billing address, and a shipping address if it differs. Both can appear on the invoice.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set payment terms">
    Their default due date. This overrides your global default for this customer.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set a credit limit if you want one">
    Optional. Useful for customers with a habit of stretching.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    They are now selectable on any invoice, quote or credit note.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  For business customers, collect the TPIN when you open the account, not when you first need it.
  Chasing a TPIN to transmit an invoice to ZRA is a conversation nobody enjoys.
</Note>

## Adding a vendor

Vendors work the same way, with two additions that matter:

| Field            | Why                                                                                            |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Bank details** | So you can pay them without asking every time                                                  |
| **TPIN**         | Required if payments to them are subject to [withholding tax](/regulators/zra/withholding-tax) |

## Keeping the directory clean

A directory with three entries for the same customer produces three statements, none of which is
right.

| Habit                        | Why                                             |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| Search before adding         | Prevents duplicates                             |
| Use the legal name           | Not the nickname you use in conversation        |
| One record per legal entity  | Not one per contact person at that entity       |
| Update rather than duplicate | When a customer moves, edit the record          |
| Archive rather than delete   | Deleting breaks the link to historical invoices |

## Customer statements

A statement lists every transaction with one customer and shows what is outstanding. It is the
single most effective collection tool you have.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the customer">
    From Sales → Customers.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Statement">
    Set the period you want covered.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review it">
    Invoices, credit notes, payments and the running balance, with aging.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Send it">
    Download as PDF, or email directly to the customer.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Sending statements monthly to every customer with a balance is more effective than chasing
individual invoices. It is also harder to argue with — the customer sees the whole position.

## Aging

Aging groups what a customer owes by how late it is:

| Bucket         | Meaning          | Typical action                                    |
| -------------- | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **Current**    | Not yet due      | Nothing                                           |
| **1–30 days**  | Recently overdue | A polite reminder                                 |
| **31–60 days** | Genuinely late   | A phone call, not an email                        |
| **61–90 days** | Seriously late   | Stop supplying, escalate                          |
| **90+ days**   | At risk          | Formal demand; consider whether it is collectable |

The [aging report](/invoicing/reports-and-statements) shows this across all customers at once.

## Vendor statements

The same in reverse: every transaction with one vendor, and what you owe. Use these to reconcile
against the vendor's own statement before paying — it is the reliable way to catch a bill you were
invoiced twice for, or a credit note the vendor never applied.

## Customer and vendor history

Open any customer or vendor to see:

| Panel            | Shows                                           |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| **Summary**      | Total invoiced, total paid, outstanding balance |
| **Transactions** | Every invoice, credit note and payment          |
| **Aging**        | What is outstanding, by bucket                  |
| **Contacts**     | Everyone you deal with there                    |
| **Documents**    | Anything attached to this relationship          |

## Practical habits

* **Set terms per customer.** A customer who always pays in 45 days should have 45-day terms, so
  your aging report reflects reality.
* **Send statements on a fixed day.** The first working day of each month, without exception.
* **Act at 30 days, not 90.** Debt recovery rates fall sharply with age.
* **Record what you promised.** If a customer commits to paying on a date, note it on the invoice
  so the next person chasing knows.

<Note>
  Related: [Recording payments](/invoicing/recording-payments) and
  [Reports and statements](/invoicing/reports-and-statements).
</Note>