Customer Categories

Customer Categories

Customer categories (also called User Groups) help you organize customers into groups for better management, reporting, and applying category-specific settings. This guide explains how to set up and use customer categories in EquiBillBook.

What are Customer Categories?

Customer categories allow you to group customers based on criteria such as:

• Customer type (Retail, Wholesale, Corporate)
• Business relationship (VIP, Regular, New)
• Industry or sector
• Geographic location
• Sales volume or revenue tier

Benefits of Using Categories

• Better Organization: Easily find and manage groups of customers
• Improved Reporting: Generate category-wise sales and customer reports
• Category-specific Settings: Apply different pricing, discounts, or payment terms by category
• Targeted Marketing: Run campaigns for specific customer groups
• Analysis: Analyze performance and behavior by customer category

Creating Customer Categories

To create a new customer category:

1. Navigate to Settings → Sales Settings → Customer Groups or User Groups
2. Or go to Customers → Settings → Customer Groups
3. Click "Create New" or "Add Category"
4. Enter the Category Name (e.g., "Retail", "Wholesale", "VIP Customers")
5. (Optional) Enter a Description for the category
6. Click "Save"

Assigning Categories to Customers

You can assign categories to customers in several ways:

Method 1: While Creating a Customer

• When creating a new customer, select the category from the "Customer Category" or "User Group" dropdown
• The customer will be assigned to that category upon creation

Method 2: Editing Existing Customers

1. Go to Customers → Customer List
2. Find and edit the customer
3. Change the Customer Category or User Group field
4. Save the changes

Method 3: Bulk Category Assignment

• Select multiple customers from the customer list
• Use the bulk action option to change category
• Select the new category and apply to all selected customers

Common Category Examples

Here are some common category structures:

• By Customer Type:
  • Retail Customers
  • Wholesale Customers
  • Corporate Customers
  • Online Customers
• By Relationship:
  • VIP Customers
  • Regular Customers
  • New Customers
  • Inactive Customers
• By Industry:
  • Healthcare
  • Education
  • Retail Business
  • Manufacturing

Editing Categories

To modify an existing category:

1. Go to Settings → Sales Settings → Customer Groups
2. Find the category in the list
3. Click "Edit" or click on the category name
4. Update the category name or description
5. Click "Update" or "Save"

Note: Changing a category name will update it for all customers assigned to that category.

Deleting Categories

To delete a category:

1. Go to the Customer Groups management page
2. Find the category to delete
3. Click "Delete"
4. Confirm the deletion

Important: Before deleting a category, ensure that:

• No customers are assigned to this category, or
• Customers are reassigned to other categories first

Using Categories in Reports

Customer categories are useful in various reports:

• Category-wise Sales Reports: Analyze sales performance by customer category
• Customer List by Category: View customers grouped by category
• Customer Analysis: Compare customer behavior across categories
• Revenue by Category: See which categories generate the most revenue

Category-specific Settings

Some systems allow you to configure category-specific settings:

• Default payment terms for the category
• Default credit limits
• Category-specific pricing or discounts
• Default tax settings

Check if your EquiBillBook version supports these features.

Best Practices

• Clear Naming: Use clear, descriptive category names
• Logical Grouping: Create categories that make business sense
• Don't Over-categorize: Avoid creating too many categories (5-10 is usually sufficient)
• Consistent Assignment: Assign all customers to appropriate categories
• Review Regularly: Periodically review and update category structure
• Document Purpose: Use descriptions to document the purpose of each category

Related Topics

• Creating Customers
• Customer Management
• Customer Reports
• Customer Payment Terms