Add a New Customer

One of the most important things to learn how to do well is entering new customer information into your database. You may access the entry screen by selecting Utilities, then Customer Screen which will display in the 3 tab file maintenance view. You save a customer record with their vehicles and then repeat the process to go on to the next customer entry.

Once you’ve begun using the program, you’ll need to enter new customer information on-the-fly in the 5 tab view. You’ll start by clicking on NEW or pressing F6 to begin a new estimate or repair order. By typing a few letters of the last name, you validate this name against your existing customer records. When not found, click on New Customer and access the customer input screen. The main difference here is that when customer & vehicle entry is completed in the 5 tab view, you’ll go to the Order screen and get to work on the repair or service details.

Enter as much customer information as possible now as that’s always helpful later on. The curser is blinking in the Last Name field ready to accept your input. The Tab key moves you forward from field to field; Shift + Tab will throw it into reverse. This means the mouse can be used less or not at all during entry work. Add Spouse name if applicable.

Once the names are recorded, fill in the street address and then enter the Zip Code and press Tab; this fills in city and state automatically. If you need to change the telephone area code, you may backspace over it and enter the one you need. It is also possible to customize which phone numbers display by these checkboxes. Be sure that you enter at least one email address as this has become the preferred method of contact; it’s also valuable for marketing purposes in the future.

To add a new Customer:

1. In the Customer Screen, enter available customer information. Use the hypertext jumps below for information on the various data entry fields and additional data entry options.

2. Press Enter to enter the customer information and switch to the Vehicle Screen where you can enter vehicle(s) for the customer.

OR

Select the Vehicle thumb-tab to save the customer information and switch to the Vehicle Screen where you can enter vehicle(s) for the customer.

OR

Select the Exit button (lower-right corner of your display) to save the customer information and exit to the Work in Progress screen.

For details, see also...

• Buttons which bring up additional, related, dialog boxes.
• Customer Screen Fields into which you can enter and edit customer information, and status boxes in which you can view credit and vehicle information.