Regions and account categories
The region answers "where is this customer", the category answers "what kind of customer are they, and at which prices do they buy".
On this page
Two small references with a big effect
Under the Accounts menu there are two independent reference screens: Regions and Account categories. Both are optional, but setting them up once saves you repeating settings on every customer and lets you filter reports by them.
Regions
A region is the geographic location of a party or one of its addresses: a city, a neighbourhood, or a delivery route. A region can belong to another region, so you can build a hierarchy such as "Ramallah, then Al-Bireh, then Jerusalem Street".
- Open Accounts, then Regions and click New area.
- Enter the Name, and when needed choose Parent area to make it a sub-region.
- Save. The region now appears in the Region field on the party form and on each of its addresses.
A region used on parties is not deleted; disable it by clearing the Active flag so it disappears from pick lists and stays on old records.
When regions pay off
When you have salesmen visiting delivery routes, home delivery, or you want the report builder to group sales by city. See Report builder.
Account categories
A category groups parties that are treated alike: "Wholesale customers", "Retail customers", "Restaurants", "Local suppliers". It has one directly practical benefit: the category price list.
- Open Accounts, then Account categories and click New category.
- Enter the Name.
- Optionally choose a Price list. As the hint under the field says: it is inherited by every account in this category unless it has its own list.
- Save, then pick the category in the Classification field of each party.
How the price is chosen on an invoice
When you add an item to an invoice for a customer, the system looks for its price in this order:
- The price list set on the customer themselves.
- The price list of the customer's category.
- The company default list.
So it is enough to set the "Wholesale prices" list on the "Wholesale customers" category once for everyone in it to buy at those prices. Details in Price lists.
Mind the list currency
If the category's price list is in dollars and the invoice currency is shekels, pricing is refused with a message that the list currency differs from the document currency. Keep the list currency matching the transaction currency of the customers in that category.
Region or category?
| Question | Use |
|---|---|
| Where is the customer? Who visits them? Which delivery route? | Region |
| At which prices do they buy? What kind of customer are they? | Category |
| I want a sales report per city | Region |
| I want wholesale versus retail sales | Category |
Permissions
Both screens sit under the "Regions and categories" permission with view and update actions, separate from the parties permission itself. A data-entry clerk can view and edit parties without touching the references.
Frequently asked questions
I changed the category price list. Do old invoices change?
No. A posted invoice keeps its prices. The change affects new invoices only.
Can a party belong to more than one category?
No. One category per party. If you need another grouping, use the region or the salesman.
Why can I not delete a region?
Because it is used on a party or an address. Disable it instead of deleting it.