Tip of the Week: Credit Managers Beware
Strict management and updating of your company’s master file is a critical component of credit control and customer care. With proper maintenance, you can continuously track your total exposure with a customer, particularly if there are multiple operations, or AP and “Ship To” locations. By keeping your customer master up to date, as locations and contacts change you can be sure to deliver your products to the right location and reach the right person as issues arise.
Here are eight things to consider for your Customer Master entry and maintenance process:
- Limit Access to the Customer Master File. Depending on your customer onboarding process, it is usually best to assign just one person in the Credit Department to enter and maintain the file. This will keep your records accurate and up to date. There are some fields that may be more efficiently managed at the point of order entry -- “Ship To” and changes to “Ship To” locations for example -- if there is only one cook in the kitchen.
- Start data entry at the beginning of the order entry process.
- Keep the demographics Up-to-Date: Ensure the business structure, company ownership, contact, and billing information are accurate.
- Record the payment terms the customer agreed to in the credit agreement they signed.
- Document resale certificates to ensure sales tax is accurately handled. This will keep your company in compliance and ready for any state sales tax audits.
- Report monthly all changes to the Customer Master, and who entered the change. This necessitates there be a log – if one is not automatically generated by the computer, you will need to keep a manual record.
- Provide read-only access to those outside the credit department who may need to use the information contained in the customer master
- Update “Bill To” addresses immediately. This will prevent unnecessary payment delays due to claims that invoices were not received.
Following is a Sample Customer Master template. Some of the entries listed may not pertain to your business. There may be others you will want to add. This is a good starting point.
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Sample Customer Master File Listing |
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Use this checklist of key components as a starting point for your customer master file. |
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Included |
Not Included |
Required Entry |
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Credit Control Number |
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Customer Legal Name |
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Country Code |
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Trade Style |
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Cross-Reference Name |
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Address Line 1 |
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Address Line 2 |
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Address Line 3 |
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City |
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State |
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Zip |
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Company Telephone
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AP Contact Name |
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AP Contact Phone |
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AP Contact Fax |
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AP Contact email address |
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Secondary Contact Name |
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Secondary Contact Phone |
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Secondary Contact Fax |
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Secondary Contact email address |
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SIC/NACIS Code |
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Date Business Started |
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Legal Organization Code |
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President, Owner's Name |
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Date Our Account Opened |
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Date of Last Sale |
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Date of Last Payment |
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Year-to-Date Sales |
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Credit Limit |
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Credit Risk Code |
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Approved Payment Terms Code |
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Date of Credit Approval |
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Credit Approved By |
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D-U-N-S Number |
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Bureau Rating (DnB, Experian, Equifax etc.) |
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Bureau Report Date (DnB, Experian, Equifax etc.) |
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Interchange Report Number |
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Code Interchange Rating |
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Federal Tax ID/EIN |
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Interchange Report Date |
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High Credit Last Months |
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Owes Now |
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Past Due |
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Past Due Over 30 Days |
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Past Due Over 90 Days |
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Date of Oldest Item |
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Weighted Average Days to Pay |
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Ship To Address(s) |
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Drop ships (Yes, No) |
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Statements (Yes, No) |
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Freight Terms |
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FOB |
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Resale (Yes, No) |
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Sales Tax Exemption Certificate Number |
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Sales Tax Exemption Certificate Expiration Date |
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Responsible Sales Representative |
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