What this page is for
A house account lets a customer buy on credit and settle later, instead of paying at the time of sale. This page opens one for a customer who does not yet have one, or amends the credit limit and payment terms of one that is already open. A customer may hold only one house account.
The account's currency is fixed once it is opened and can never change; to deal with a customer in a different currency, settle and close the account first. A new limit applies to charges made from now on; a charge already made keeps the limit it was made under, so raising the limit later never quietly erases a past breach.
A house account carries no stored balance: what a customer owes is always the sum of what is still open on their statement, never a single number that could drift from it.
Only people whose role can manage customers see this page.
Before you start
- The customer must already exist (New customer).
Fields
Credit limit
The most the customer may owe before a sale is flagged as over the limit. Zero is a real limit, not unlimited: a zero-limit account still trades, and every charge on it is flagged as over the limit from the first one.
Example: 100000
Currency
What the limit and every charge on this account are counted in. Fixed once the account is opened.
Example: KES
Payment terms
How many days the customer has to pay a charge, counted from when it was raised. Read once, when each charge is made, and never recalculated if you change it later.
Example: 30
How to…
How to open a house account
- On the customer's page, press Open account.
- Fill in Credit limit and Payment terms; Currency is set for you.
- Press Open account.
How to change the limit or terms
On the customer's page, press Amend limit and terms, change Credit limit or Payment terms, and press Save limit and terms. The currency cannot be changed here.
A sale that takes a customer over their credit limit is never silently blocked, and never silently allowed. It is flagged on the statement and, with the right role, still goes through; only Block credit on the customer's page stops credit sales outright.
Worked examples
Restaurant and bar
The Acacia Grill & Bar opens a house account for Coastal Logistics Ltd: Credit limit 100000, Currency KES, Payment terms 30, so its monthly catering bill is invoiced and paid at month end rather than at each event.
Supermarket
Tumaini Supermarket opens a house account for a small shop that restocks weekly: Credit limit 0, Payment terms 7. Every charge is flagged as over the limit, which is deliberate: the manager reviews every one individually before extending real credit.