Contacts

This page of the manual describes all settings that are available in the CRM » Contacts menu as well as the settings that are carried out in the Setup » CRM menu.

Go to Setup » CRM to carry out preparatory settings such as creating customer classes and types. Go to CRM » Contacts to create and edit data records for your contacts and manage all relevant information there such as addresses, orders, scheduled orders, tickets, notes, account balance, bank details and documents.

1. Carrying out the preparatory settings

Go to Setup » CRM to carry out the preparatory settings such as creating customer classes and types. Furthermore, you set up discounts for your customers.

1.1. Setting up the address layout for delivery notes

In the Setup » CRM » Address layout menu, you can individually set up address layouts for your countries of delivery for the order document Delivery note. The address layouts for the countries of delivery German, France and the United Kingdom are already available in your plentymarkets system by default. You can edit these 3 address layouts if you have the corresponding rights to do this.

Assigning rights for back end users

Users of the type Back end can only access limited areas and menus in the plentymarkets back end. Thus, their access to the system is limited. If users of this type should be able to see and edit address layouts, a user of the type Admin has to assign at least the rights listed in Table 1 to users of the type Back end.

Assigning rights for back end users:

Go to Setup » Settings » User » Rights » User.
Use the search function () and open the account that should be edited.
In the Authorisations area, activate the rights as listed in Table 1.
Save () the settings.

Table 1. Assigning rights for the address layout
Setting	Explanation
CRM > Address layout > Show	Authorises back end users to see address layouts.
CRM > Address layout > Create	Authorises back end users to create address layouts.

REST API rights to create, delete and update address layouts

In order that persons with the access Back end can also create, update and delete address layouts in the Setup » CRM » Address layout menu, the rights have to be set in the user account.

Setting up the address layout for delivery notes:

Go to Setup » CRM » Address layout.
Click on New layout ().
Carry out the desired settings. Note Table 2.
Save () the settings.

Table 2. Setting up the address layout
Setting	Explanation
Basic settings
Layout name	Enter a name for the layout.
Use as standard address layout	Activate the toggle button if this layout is to be used as standard layout. In the overview on the left side, the standard address layout is marked with an asterisk.
Field list	If required, enter English and German names for the field names in order that this names can be displayed when designing the address layout.
Save	Save the settings. The list of the field names closes and the areas Countries, Layout and Fields are displayed.
Countries	Select one country or multiple countries from the list to which the address layout should apply.
Layout / Fields	Drag the address fields from the Fields area to the Layout area. By doing so, you individually design the address layout for each country. *Tip:* It is possible to add further rows (maximum number of rows: 6) and to remove individual fields and complete rows. Blank rows can also be used. The number of fields per row is not limited.

In order that the address layouts are automatically displayed on delivery notes, you have to carry out a setting in the delivery note. Your plentymarkets system automatically checks the country of delivery saved in the order and displays the delivery note in the layout listed in the Setup » CRM » Address layout menu. Proceed as described below.

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Documents » Delivery note.
Select the option New address layout in the Basic settings: Delivery note area.
→ The option above Structure of the invoice/delivery address is hidden and the delivery notes are displayed in the address layouts listed in the Setup » CRM » Address layout menu.
Save () the settings.

How to create delivery notes is described on the Generating delivery notes page of the manual.

Currently, this setting is only available for delivery notes. This setting will follow for further documents.

1.2. Creating a customer class

Use customer classes to categorise your customer base according to specific criteria. For example, you can create a customer class for consumers (B2C) that displays gross prices for the items in your online shop. For sellers (B2B), you create another customer class that displays net prices for the items in your online shop. Further options are discounts based on the net value of your items, discounts based on the payment method or discount scales for a selected customer class.

Note: If a contact registers in your plentyShop and selects the salutation Company, the customer class that you created for B2B contacts will apply automatically.

Tip: Create types and classes

It is recommended to create a concept for organising your customer base into types and classes before saving customer data. By doing this, you will save time later on. For example, types and classes are automatically assigned when the initial configuration is missing. Decide which types and classes you need, create them and assign them to the customers.

You can create and individually configure as many customer classes as you like in the Setup » CRM » Classes menu. An ID is automatically assigned to customer classes. This ID is displayed to the left of the customer classes' name in the overview. However, customer classes are not ordered by ID. Instead, the order is set using the option Position.

If a new customer class is created, the customer class is available in the detail view of the contact in the CRM » Contacts » [Open contact] menu.

Creating a customer class:

Go to Setup » CRM » Customer classes.
Click on the New customer class tab.
Carry out the desired settings. Note Table 3.
Save () the settings.

Table 3. Creating a customer class
Setting	Explanation
Minimum order value	Enter the minimum order quantity if you want to require customers to order a specific quantity of items or if you want to require them to order a minimum quantity to get a discount.
Name	Enter a name for the new customer class, e.g. wholesaler or premium customer.
Position	If you do not enter a position, the next available position number is assigned automatically. The position is primarily used to sort the customer classes in the menu. It is relevant e.g. in combination with the visibility of item prices in the online shop. This can be set under Display of the prices in the online store.
Payment due date, percentage for early payment discount, days for early payment discount and valuta	Payment due date, percentage for early payment discount, days for early payment discount and valuta are the terms of payment. *Important:* The terms of payment that are saved in the contact data record have priority over the values entered here. The terms of payment are saved in the order settings. The values in the contact data record have also priority over the values in the order settings. The values can be manually adjusted or entered in the order if no values are saved in the contact data record or in the customer class. The terms of payment saved in the order are then shown on the documents. Pay attention to the expandable box Example: terms of payment below Table 6 in the Editing a contact chapter. You can find an example regarding the terms of payment there.
Customer ID	Enter the ID of the contact who should receive the multi-invoices that are created from multi-orders. Multi-orders are generated for this customer class and the invoice is sent to that contact.
Discount type	Select the discount type. The number of options that are visible depends on which discount type was selected. If you do no want to offer a discount, select the option No discount. Further information and explanations about the discount types in plentymarkets can be found in the Using the discount system chapter.
Volume discount	Select whether the value entered in the Setup » Item » Sales prices menu under Minimum quantity should be taken into account or not.
Allowed payment methods	Select which of the payment methods that are available in the online shop should be permitted for this customer class. All of the available payment methods are selected by default. When you integrate new payment methods, you have to permit them here. This is because new payment methods are not automatically included in this list. *Important:* Pay attention to which payment methods are blocked in the shipping profiles that you want to use for this customer class. Check those settings to make sure that they are compatible with the settings you make here. If you want to permit a payment method for a customer class, you should make sure it is not blocked in the shipping profiles. Make sure that the corresponding customer class is not blocked either.
Payment instruction	The payment instructions that are saved here are displayed on invoices. For example, you could enter payment information that relates to a specific customer class.
Display of the prices in the online store	Select whether gross or net prices are displayed in the online shop. *Important:* This option only sets how prices are displayed. It does not influence the way prices are calculated for the customer class. This option is particularly important for the customer class with position 1\. This customer class is automatically assigned to contacts if no customer class was selected in the contact data record.

You can link sales prices with customer classes. Go to Setup » Items » Sales prices and select one of the customer classes that you created under the setting Class. For further information, refer to the Sales prices and price calculation page.

1.3. Creating a type

Types are used to classify and differentiate contacts. Some types are available by default in your plentymarkets system and cannot be deleted. These types are Customer, Sales representative, Supplier, Partners, Manufacturer and Interested party. The types that you created are available in the Filter area in the Type drop-down list in the CRM » Contacts menu.

When creating a new contact data record, the type Customer is automatically set by default. Customers who were assigned to the type Supplier are available in certain drop-down lists, e.g. in a variation’s Supplier tab.

Proceed as described below to create types.

Creating a type:

Go to Setup » CRM » Types.
Click on Add type.
Enter a name.
Save () the settings.

Deleting a type

Proceed as described below to delete types if they are no longer needed. Note that you cannot delete types that are already available in your plentymarkets system by default.

Deleting a type:

Go to Setup » CRM » Types.
Click in the line of the type that you have just created on Delete ().
Confirm your decision.

1.4. Creating tags

You can assign tags to your contacts and filter them by tags in the contact overview. Tags are keywords that you can assign to your contacts.

First of all, you have to create the tags in the Setup » Settings » Tags menu and activate the area Contacts in the Availability area. For further information, refer to the Tags page of the manual.

Tags for contacts

Only those tags can be selected in the contact data record that were created in the Setup » Settings » Tags menu for the area Contacts.

1.5. Using the discount system

In plentymarkets, you have various possibilities for offering discounts. You may give your customers a customer class discount, a discount based on the method of payment or a discount scale based on the net value of items. Furthermore, you can save sales prices as discounts and manually enter discounts. Go to Setup » CRM » Customer classes to carry out the settings for the types of discounts. The following sub-chapters describe which settings you need to carry out in order to give discounts.

1.5.1. Setting up a customer class discount

In a customer class, you determine discounts that are only effective for this customer class. Furthermore, you have further configuration possibilities, such as activating the sales price’s volume discount. Make sure that the discounts can be added for each configuration.

Proceed as described below to save a discount for customer classes.

Setting up a customer class discount:

Go to Setup » CRM » Customer classes.
Expand the customer class that the discount should be applied to ().
Select the option Customer class discount as Discount type.
→ A further area to carry out settings opens.
Under Discount in %, enter the percentage that you would like to have deducted.
Select whether the Volume discount should be taken into consideration.
Select which of the payment methods that are available in the online shop should be permitted for this customer class.
Enter payment instructions.
→ These payment instructions are displayed on invoices.
Select whether the prices in the online shop should be displayed as gross (including VAT) or net (excluding VAT) prices.
Save () the settings.

You find information about how to create customer classes in the Creating a customer class chapter.

1.5.2. Setting up a discount scale based on the net value of items

If you would like to reward your customers with discounts when they make large purchases in your online shop, you can determine amounts that should be discounted based on the net value of items in the order.

Setting up a discount scale based on the net value of items:

Go to Setup » CRM » Customer classes.
Expand the customer class that the discount scale should be applied to ().
Select the option Discount scale based on net value of items as Discount type.
→ A table with further settings opens.
Enter monetary amounts under the words Minimum net value of items in an ascending order.
Under Discount in %, enter the percentage that you would like to have deducted in ascending order.
→ If you enter 50, e.g. in the field Minimum net value of items and 2 in the field Discount in %, a 2% discount is offered for orders totalling £50 or more.
Select whether the Volume discount should be taken into consideration.
Select which of the payment methods that are available in the online shop should be permitted for this customer class.
Enter payment instructions.
→ These payment instructions are displayed on invoices.
Select whether the prices in the online shop should be displayed as gross (including VAT) or net (excluding VAT) prices.
Save () the settings.

You find information about how to create customer classes in the Creating a customer class chapter.

What the customer sees when making a purchase

The discount is calculated and displayed once the customer has finished putting items into their shopping cart and has gone to the checkout. Initially, only the total discount is displayed in the shopping cart. When the customer completes the order and clicks on Go to cashier, the discount is calculated for the individual variations in addition to the total discount and displayed accordingly.

1.5.3. Setting up a discount based on the method of payment

With the discount type Discount based on the method of payment you offer customers a discount if they use one or more payment methods.

Directly saving a discount based on the method of payment

Instead of configuring the settings in this menu, it is also possible to directly save a global discount for a payment method. An example is a discount in percent for the payment method Cash in advance. For further information, refer to the Managing payment methods page of the manual. You are not able to completely customise the settings if you save a discount directly for a payment method. It is only possible to completely customise the settings when using the option Discount based on the method of payment in the Setup » CRM » Customer classes menu.

Proceed as described below to set up a discount based on one or more payment methods.

Setting up a discount based on the method of payment:

Go to Setup » CRM » Customer classes.
Expand the customer class that the discount should be applied to ().
Enter a Payment due date in days, which you would like to permit for this customer class.
Select the option Discount based on method of payment for the discount type.
→ A table with further settings opens.
Select one or several payment methods that the discount should be applied to.
Under Discount in %, enter the percentage that you would like to have deducted.
Select whether the Volume discount should be taken into consideration.
Select which of the payment methods that are available in the online shop should be permitted for this customer class.
Enter payment instructions.
→ These payment instructions are displayed on invoices.
Select whether the prices in the online shop should be displayed as gross (including VAT) or net (excluding VAT) prices.
Save () the settings.

You find information about how to create customer classes in the Creating a customer class chapter.

1.5.4. Saving sales prices as discounts

A volume-related discount is created as own price in the Setup » Item » Sales prices menu. Using the option Minimum quantity in the Settings area, you specify for the sales price from which item quantity the discounted price should be valid. You can realise graduated prices by creating multiple sales prices accordingly and entering the desired minimum quantities.

The discounted sales price is activated once you set the option Volume discount in the customer class to Include. A customer receives the discount in case they belong to the customer class and in case they order at least the quantity saved for the sales price.

Saving sales prices as discounts:

Go to Setup » Item » Sales prices.
Open the sales price.
Enter a number in the Settings tab in the field Minimum quantity. This number determines from which item quantity the discounted price is valid.
Activate the customer classes in the Class area for which the sales price should be valid.
Save () the settings.

For further information about sales prices, refer to the Sales prices and price calculation page.

1.5.5. Manually entering a discount

Not only is it possible to automatically assign discounts, but it is also possible to manually assign a discount to some or all of the variations contained in an order. There are 2 ways to manually enter discounts: in the list view of the order search and in the editing window of an order.

Entering a discount for individual items in the order search

If you would like to quickly assign discounts to individual variations within an order, you can do that directly in the order search. Proceed as described below to enter or edit a discount for individual items in the order search.

Entering a discount for individual items in the order search:

Go to Orders » Edit orders.
→ The order search appears.
Click on Discount on the right-hand side of an order (default value: *0%*).
→ A window for entering the percentage opens.
Enter the desired percentage of discount.
Save () the settings.
→ The discount value appears and the discount is deducted from the variation.

Entering a discount for individual items in an order

The variations are displayed at the very bottom of the order overview. You can also assign discount values to individual variations here or you can edit discount values. Proceed as described below to enter or edit a discount for an item in the order.

Entering a discount for individual items in an order:

Go to Orders » Edit orders.
Open the order that you want to discount. This is done by clicking on the order number.
Click on Edit () in the lower area of the order’s Overview tab.
Select the percentage of discount from the Discount drop-down list.
Save () the settings.

Entering a discount for all items of an order

Proceed as described below to enter or edit a discount for all variations of an order.

Entering a discount for all items of an order:

Go to Orders » Edit orders.
Open the order that you want to discount. This is done by clicking on the order number.
Click on Edit () in the lower area of the order’s Overview tab.
Click on the link Give discount on all items below the variation list.
Select the percentage value from the displayed drop-down list.
Click on Save to the right of the drop-down list.
Save () the settings.

2. Assigning rights for back end users for the contact menu

Users of the type Back end can only access limited areas and menus in the plentymarkets back end. Thus, their access to the system is limited. If users of this type should be able to see the CRM » Contacts menu, a user of the type Admin has to assign at least the rights listed in Table 4 to users of the type Back end.

Assigning rights

The following describes which rights have to be at least activated in order that the menu is visible. Activate further rights accordingly.

If you want that the user to create account data records, for example, go to the CRM > Accounts area and select the options Show and Create.

Assigning rights for back end users:

Go to Setup » Settings » User » Rights » User.
Use the search function () and open the account that should be edited.
In the Authorisations area, activate the rights as listed in Table 4.
Save () the settings.

Table 4. Assigning rights for back end users
Setting	Explanation
CRM > Address > Show	Authorises back end users to see addresses.
CRM > Contact > Show	Authorises back end users to see contacts.
Setup > Property > Show	Authorises back end users to see properties.
Setup > Tag > Show	Authorises back end users to see tags.

3. Managing contacts and accounts

In the following sub-chapters, you learn, for example, how to create new contacts and accounts, link contacts to an account, search for existing contacts using the filter settings as well as edit and delete existing contacts. On this page of the manual, “account” refers to a “company”.

3.1. Creating a contact

Do you want to easily and quickly create new contacts with an individually adjustable user interface, e.g. during a phone call?

The user interface to create a new contact opens in a default view that you can easily edit afterwards. This individually adjustable user interface allows maximum flexibility. You can choose exactly those fields that are most appropriate for you and your everyday work.

More features and functions will be added

We continue to work on the implementation of new features and functions and will add them here step by step.

Input fields can be freely positioned, regardless of the currently associated component, e.g. address details within the contact details
Further address components will be added to allow creating multiple addresses at once.

You will find a small insight into the default view of the user interface as well as into the editing mode in the following video:

Proceed as described below to create a new contact. Link the contact to an existing account or create a new account. Add contact details such as email addresses and telephone numbers.

Note: The following instruction describes the default view with the 3 components Account, Address details and Contact details. Depending on how you later adapt your user interface, the settings described here may vary from the view in your plentymarkets system.

Figure 1. Editing mode

Creating a contact:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Click on Create new contact ().
→ The default view appears. This consists of 3 components: Account, Address details and Contact details.
Click in the Account field to search for existing account data records by entering at least 3 characters of the name, town, street or country of the account.
→ The account data records that are already saved and that correspond to the criteria entered, are displayed.
Click on the account to select it.
→ The account is directly added to the Account (Name 1) field in the Address details area.
Note 1: If you want to create a new account, type the account name into the field. Once you save the contact data record, also the account is created and automatically assigned to the contact.
Note 2: If you do not enter the account name in the account component, but in the Account (Name 1) field in the Address details area, no new account data record is created, but only the account name is saved for the address.
Carry out the settings in the Address details and Contact details areas. Note also Table 6.
Save () the settings.
→ The contact is created.

Fields that are automatically filled when creating a new contact

When you click on Create new contact, some fields are already filled. You can of course adjust these fields before saving the new contact data record. The following lists the pre-filled fields:

In the address details:
- the address type Invoice address
- the country Germany (this depends on the selected default setting in the system)
In the contact details:
- the type Customer (this is the type with the lowest ID in the Setup » CRM » Types menu)
- the customer class with the lowest position that you saved in the Setup » CRM » Customer classes menu
- the default client (shop)
- the language German (this depends on the selected default setting in the system)

Adjusting the user interface

Various functions are available in the editing mode:

add further fields to the components by using drag-and-drop
remove fields from the components
move components to another position by using drag-and-drop
remove components
reduce column size
enlarge column size

To do so, click on Edit view () in the top right.

Editing single components

Afterwards, you can edit () or delete () the individual components. When you edit the component, you can see in the Elements area on the right side which elements have not been used yet and are therefore still available. Elements that are already in use are disabled and cannot be used a second time.

Showing fields next to each other

For better usability, you can place certain elements next to each other; these are for example first name and last name as well as postcode and town. To do so, click on next to these fields and activate in the Settings area the option Show fields next to each other. You can also determine the relation how the fields are displayed. The following values are available:

50% - 50%
60% - 40%
70% - 30%
75% - 25%

Afterwards, click on to close the editing mode for these fields.

Adding and removing columns and enlarging and reducing column sizes

Click on between the components to add or remove columns or to reduce or enlarge the column sizes.

Figure 2. Editing mode: Add and remove columns and enlarge and reduce column sizes

Closing the editing mode

You can leave the editing mode at any time by clicking on Close editing mode (). If you have not saved the changes yet, a security inquiry appears saying that all unsaved changes will be lost.

Restoring the previously saved state

Click on Restore previously saved state () to get back to the previous state.

Saving the view

Click on Save view () to save the view under the current name. By doing so, you can save as many different views as you like. When you want to manually create a contact data record the next time, you can open your preferred view via the drop-down list in the top right and start creating a new contact. Also via this drop-down list, you can create a new view by clicking on Create new preset.

For further information about linking a contact to an account at a later point in time and creating a new account, refer to the Linking an existing contact to an account and Creating an account chapters.

3.2. Searching for a contact

In the Filter view, you can search for contacts according to specific criteria. The contacts found are listed in the Overview view. The overview currently displays the following information: ID, guest, actions (), account, rating, first name, last name, email address, telephone number, customer class, number of orders, postcode and country. How you edit contact data records is described in the Editing a contact chapter.

You can also use the quick search to display all data that is saved for a contact including addresses, orders, notes and tickets. How to proceed is described on the Quick search page in the Finding data records via the quick search chapter.

Sending emails directly from the overview

Send an email to your contact directly from the contact overview. Click on the email address to automatically open your email programme.

In order to search for specific contacts, enter a search term in the search fields or select the drop-down list settings. You can enter multiple search terms into the search fields at one time. This makes your search run quicker and be more accurate.

Searching for a contact:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
In the Filter view, enter the search term in the search field or set the filter options in the drop-down lists. Note the explanations about the filters in Table 5.
Click on Search ().
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Or: Open certain areas of the context menu such as New order or Messenger with a right click.
→ For further information, refer to the Messenger page.

Table 5. Filters for contacts
Setting	Explanation
Search	Click on Search () without selecting any filter settings to display all contacts. *Or:* Limit the search results by using filters and click on Search (). → The contacts that correspond to the search criteria are listed in the overview.
Reset	Click on to reset the filter criteria set.
ID	Each contact automatically receives a consecutive and unique ID that cannot be changed. It doesn’t matter if the data record was saved manually or automatically. 2 contacts never have the same ID. The ID is always a real number. 00521 or ADG8354 e.g. are invalid. *Note:* Click on the arrows () next to the ID in the overview to sort the contact data records found in ascending or descending order according to their ID.
Name	Enter the first name and/or last name or the name of the account to search for the contact(s) with this name or account name. The search is also carried out for names and account names that are saved in the address data records of the contact. It is also possible to search only for parts of the name or account name. *Note:* Click on the arrows () in the columns First name and Last name in the overview to show the contact data records found in alphabetical order.
Contact data	In this field, you can search for the name, address, account, customer number and eBay name. *Note:* In order to search for the eBay name, first enter the parameter ebay: followed by the eBay name that you search for.
Address	Enter the name of the street and/or house number as saved in the contact data record. It is also possible to search only for parts of the street and parts of the house number.
Postcode	Enter the postcode that is saved in the contact data record. The search is also carried out for postcodes that are saved in the address data records of the contact. It is also possible to search only for parts of the postcode.
Town	Enter the town that is saved in the contact data record. The search is also carried out for towns that are saved in the address data records of the contact. It is also possible to search only for parts of the town.
Email	Enter the complete email address to search for the contact with this email address.
Phone	Enter the telephone number to search for the contact with this number. You can also search for parts of the telephone number. Enter at least 3 numbers.
Country	Select a country to only display contacts from this country. The country is saved within the contact data. Select the setting All except Germany to only display contacts from all countries except Germany.
Owner	Select the owner to only search for contacts that are linked to this owner. The owner has to be saved in the contact data record. *Important:* Only owners for whom the Customer option has been activated in the Owner tab can be selected from the drop-down list.
Type	Select the type to only search for contacts with this type.
Customer class	Select the customer class to only search for contacts with this class.
Rating	Select the rating to only search for contacts with this rating. 5 yellow stars are the best rating, 5 red stars are the worst rating.
Tags	Select a tag in order to display all contacts with this tag. You can select one or multiple tags.
Client	Select a client to only display contacts that correspond to this client. The client is saved within the contact data record. *Important:* Back end users can only select those clients that they have a right to access. Go to Setup » Settings » User » Accounts and set the rights in the user account in the Rights tab.

3.3. Linking an existing contact to an account

If you have created the contact without linking them to an account, you can link the account afterwards as well. In order to avoid confusion with accounts having the same name, the town, street and country of the account are also displayed next to the account name.

Enter at least 3 characters of the account name, town, street or country. Your plentymarkets system suggests account data records that have already been saved.

Linking an existing contact to an account:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Enter the name of the account, town, street or country in the input field of the Account area.
→ Once you have entered 3 characters, account data records that have already been saved are suggested.
Select the account data record from the drop-down list.
Save () the settings.
→ All account-related data is displayed in the detail view of the contact.

3.4. Creating an account

Create the account and save data such as the VAT number, payment due date and percentage for early payment discount.

Creating an account:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
In the Account area, click on Add new account ().
Or: Enter the name of the account in the suggestion list and click on Save.
Carry out the desired settings. Note also Table 6 in the Account area.
Save () the settings.
→ The account is created and the detail view of the contact opens.

Loading already existing account data records

Account data records that have been already saved are only loaded when clicking in the suggestion field once you have entered at least 3 letters of the account name.

3.5. Editing the account

If you have edit account data that is already saved, the data of the existing account data record is overwritten.

Editing the account:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
In the Account area, click on Edit ().
Carry out the desired changes. Note also Table 6 in the Account area.
Save () the settings.
→ The data of the edited account is overwritten and the data of the newly created account displayed in the detail view of the contact.

3.6. Deleting the link between account and contact

You can delete the link between the account and the contact in the detail view of the contact. Note that you only delete the link and not the account data itself. The account data is still displayed as a suggestion in the drop-down list after you have entered at least 3 characters of the account name, town, street or country.

Deleting the link between account and contact:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click in the entry field in the Account area.
Select the empty option.
Save () the settings.
→ The link between the account and the contact is deleted.

3.7. Editing a contact

Search the contact by means of the filter settings. Open the contact by clicking in the line of the contact to edit the contact’s data such as the date of birth, telephone number and email address, for example, or to add further information. Click on Delete contact option () to delete the contact option.

Editing a contact:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Or: Open certain areas of the context menu such as New order or Messenger with a right click on Actions ().
→ For further information, refer to the Messenger page.
Carry out the desired changes. Note Table 6.
Save () the settings.

Table 6. Editing a contact
Setting	Explanation
Details
Form of address	Select a form of address from the drop-down list. This selection is optional. Ms. = Female form of address Mr. = Male form of address Diverse = Form of address for the gender option "Diverse"
Title	Enter the title of the contact, if required.
First name, Last name	Enter the first name and last name of the contact. These are mandatory fields, if no account is selected.
Client	Select the client from the drop-down list in order to assign the contact to this client. Only those clients are displayed that have a name entered for them in the Setup » Client » [Select client] » Settings menu.
Language	Select the language for the contact. If you have created a template in the Setup » Client » [Select client] » Email » Templates menu in the same language that you have selected here, email templates are sent to the contact in this language.
Type	Select a type. The Customer, Sales representative, Supplier, Partners, Manufacturers and Interested party types can be selected by default. Create further types in the Setup » CRM » Types menu. *Note:* Depending on which setting is selected, different fields are visible in the Account area. Further information can be found in this table in the Account area.
Class	Select a class. Classes serve as an internal distinction between customers and determine which discount is granted this class, for example. Customer classes are created in the Setup » CRM » Customer classes menu. If you want to offer different prices to end customers and sellers in the online shop, this can be done with the Display of the prices in the online store option in the settings of the customer class. It is very common that gross prices are shown for end customers (B2C) in the online shop and net prices for sellers (B2B).
Rating	Use this setting to give your customers a rating. For internal purposes only. Select 5 red stars for the worst and 5 yellow stars for the best rating.
Customer number	Enter the customer number of the contact, if required. Customer numbers can be assigned for internal purposes. They are not saved automatically. You decide whether and how you would like to use customer numbers.
Owner	Select the owner for the contact. If you do not want to select an owner, select the empty option. Only owners for whom the Customer option has been activated can be selected from the drop-down list. Go to Setup » Settings » User » Account » [Open user] in the Owner tab to activate owners.
Debtor account	Enter additional, separate customer numbers, if required. Generally, this number corresponds to the customer number or the debtor number in your financial accounting. It can be helpful to you or your tax accountant when further processing your receipts. This field can also be filled in automatically, if required. For further information about the debtor account, refer to the Accounting page of the manual.
Sales representative	With this setting, a sales representative is assigned to a contact. Enter the first 3 letters of the name or enter the ID. Matching representatives are automatically displayed in a list. By clicking on the name or the ID of the sales representative, the sales representative is assigned to the contact.
Allow invoice / Allow debit	If you have already allowed these two payment methods in the customer class, you don’t need to carry out any settings here. Because: The settings in the customer class have priority over the settings in the contact data record. Place check mark = The contact can pay using this payment method, even if you do not offer this payment method in your online shop. *Example:* A contact who has bought in your online shop multiple times, should be allowed to buy items on invoice. Necessary settings: - Go to Setup » Orders » Payment » Payment methods and activate the payment method so it is available in the order. *Important:* Make sure that no countries of delivery were saved in the settings of the payment method. Otherwise, the payment method would be available to all customers in the online shop, which is not desired in this case. - The second requirement is that the payment method Invoice or Debit has to be available in at least one shipping profile, i.e. the payment method may not be blocked. - Activate the shipping profile for the items. Check the necessary settings that are listed here and activate the payment method. This allows the contact to use the payment method.
Date of birth	Enter the date of birth of the contact in the format yyyy-mm-dd or select it from the calendar ().
Newsletter	Shows if the contact receives the newsletter. It is not possible to activate this option manually. In order to exclude the contact from receiving the newsletter, click on Delete newsletter ().
Contact blocked	Select whether or not the contact should be blocked for the specific client. If the option is activated, the contact is blocked and can no longer log into the online shop. If the option is deactivated, the contact is able to log into the online shop.
Assigned tags
Click into the field in order to display all tags that are available for the Contacts area and that you have created in advance in the Setup » Settings » Tags menu. *Or:* Click into the field and enter the first 3 letters of the tag name. For further information about tags, refer to the Creating tags chapter.
Account
Name	Enter the name of the created account in the suggestion list to assign this account to the contact. Or click into the field and enter the first 3 letters of the company name. *Important:* This is a mandatory field when there is no entry for first name and last name. Once an already existing account has been selected from the suggestion list, the data fields that belong to the account are displayed. These data fields are described in the following. How to create a new account is described in the Creating an account chapter. How you edit an existing account is described in the Editing an account chapter.
Vat number	Enter the VAT number of the contact. The VAT number needs to be specified if you are sending items to a commercial customers in another country within the EU (intra-community delivery) and you want net totals to be calculated for the order. After having entered the VAT number here, go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Accounting and select the setting Net invoice for the option VAT number. This causes invoices to be issued without VAT for contacts who have a VAT number saved in their data record. *Important:* The net setting does not go into effect if you saved tax rates for the customer’s country of delivery.
Valuta	Enter the time period (starting when the invoice is created) when you wish for an additional time period before the payment due date time period begins. Pay attention to the expandable box Example: terms of payment below the table. *Important:* The valuta in the contact data record can only be selected for accounts, but not for private persons. It is, however, possible to define valuta in the terms of payment of a customer class. The value that is saved here in the contact data record has priority.
Payment due date	Enter the payment due date for the contact in days. Pay attention to the expandable box Example: terms of payment below the table. *Important:* The payment due date in the contact data record can only be selected for accounts, but not for private persons. It is, however, possible to define a payment due date in the terms of payment of a customer class. The value that is saved here in the contact data record has priority.
Days for early payment discount	Enter the number of days (starting when the invoice is created) in which the contact can pay the pending amounts at a discounted price. Pay attention to the expandable box Example: terms of payment below the table. *Important:* The days for early payment discount in the contact data record can only be selected for accounts, but not for private persons. It is, however, possible to define days for early payment discount in the terms of payment of a customer class. The value that is saved here in the contact data record has priority.
Percentage for early payment discount	Enter the value in percent that the contact may subtract if he or she makes the payment within the time period Days for early payment discount. Pay attention to the expandable box Example: terms of payment below the table. *Important:* The percentage for early payment discount in the contact data record can only be selected for accounts, but not for private persons. It is, however, possible to define a percentage for early payment discount in the terms of payment of a customer class. The value that is saved here in the contact data record has priority.
Delivery time	Only visible if the type Supplier was selected. Enter the delivery time in days.
MOV	Only visible if the type Supplier was selected. MOV stands for minimum order value. Enter the minimum order value in the currency of the system.
Currency	Only visible if the type Supplier was selected. Select the currency from the drop-down list. This currency is primarily considered for the respective items and orders.
Owner	Select the owner from the drop-down list.
Sales representative
Country of postcode area sales rep	Only visible if the type Sales representative was selected. Select a country from the drop-down list that the postcode area of the sales representative refers to. *Tip:* If a sales representative is working in multiple countries, create one contact data record per country.
Postcode area sales rep	Only visible if the type Sales representative was selected. Enter the sales representative’s postcode area. Use commas to separate multiple areas, e.g.: 33, 34. The more numbers per postcode area, the more this area is limited.
Contact options Click on Add contact option () to add further contact options. Click on Delete contact option () to delete the contact option.
Type	Select the type from the drop-down list. All available types are listed in Table 7.
Sub-type	Select the sub-type from the drop-down list. All available sub-types are listed in Table 7.
Value	Enter a value.
History
Shows the history of the contact data record. The history contains for example the date when the contact has been logged into your online shop for the last time and when the last order was generated. For further information, refer to the Showing the history chapter.
Addresses
All addresses saved for the contact data record are shown here.

Example: terms of payment with valuta, payment due date, days for early payment discount and percentage for early payment discount

You can use the options Valuta, Payment due date, Days for early payment discount and Percentage for early payment discount to set up the following terms of payment:

60 days valuta, 30 days net (payment due date), 10 days with a 2 % early payment discount

Explanation: The contact receives a 2% discount if they pay within 10 days. The payment is late after a total of 91 days. When incoming payments are imported and assigned, they are automatically checked internally to see whether the contact’s early payment discount is valid. If the early payment discount time period has expired, the order receives the status Partial payment received. The terms of payment listed above are automatically applied to the order and the documents. It is possible to manually adjust or enter the order settings, terms of payment in the order, if no values have been saved yet in the contact data record and in the customer class.

Available types and sub-types in the contact options

Table 7 lists all available types and sub-types in the contact options that can be already added in the contact details when creating a new contact and those that can be added for an existing contact data record.

Table 7. Available types and sub-types in the contact options
Type	Sub-type	Can already be added when creating a new contact	Can only be added in an existing contact data record
Telephone	Private
Telephone	Work
Telephone	Mobile private
Telephone	Mobile work
Email	Private
Email	Work
Email	PayPal
Telefax	Private
Telefax	Work
Website	Private
Website	Work
Marketplace	eBay
Marketplace	Amazon
Identification number	Klarna
Identification number	DHL
Payment	PayPal
Payment	Klarna
Payment	Standard
User name	Private
User name	Work
User name	eBay
User name	Forum
Group	Forum
Access	Guest
Access	Marketplace partner
Addition	Contact person
Salutation	Private
Salutation	Work

3.8. Converting a guest account into a regular account

If the guest order came from a marketplace, for example eBay, or the contact ordered as a guest in your old online shop, the account type Guest account is saved as contact option in the detail view of the contact. Guest accounts have the value 1. Delete the contact option with the value 1 in order to convert the guest account into a regular account.

Send an email to the contact and inform them that the guest account was converted into a regular account. They can then create a password to be able to log into your plentyShop.

If a contact ordered as a guest in your plentyShop (Ceres), no contact ID will be created for this guest order (GDPR conformity). Only the address data from the order will be saved. You can recognise a guest order by the check mark () in the Guest column in the overview of the CRM » Quick search menu.

Converting a guest account into a regular account:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
In the Contact options area, click in the line of the account type (type: Account, sub-type: Guest, value: 1) on Delete contact option ().
Save () the settings.
→ The account type is changed from Guest account to Regular account in the history of the contact.

Guest accounts via the plentyShop can only be found in the quick search

In order to be able to work GDPR-compliant, no contact data record is created in case of guest orders via the plentyShop (Ceres). Orders that were placed as a guest via a plentyShop can therefore not be found via the CRM » Contacts menu. The data of the guest can only be found via the address data in the CRM » Quick search menu.

Further information about converting plentyShop guest orders into regular contact data records can be found on the Quick search page in the Converting a guest account into a contact data record chapter.

3.9. Deleting a contact

You can delete individual contacts. Also all addresses that are saved for the contact will be deleted when they are not linked to an order. A contact data record can only be deleted when it is not linked to an order or to a ticket.

When linked to an order or ticket: anonymise data record

When the contact is linked to an order or to a ticket or when the contact is a supplier who is linked to a reorder or redistribution, it is not possible to delete the data record.
In this case, you have, however, the possibility to anonymise the data record. How to proceed is described on the Quick search page in the Anonymising a data record chapter.

Deleting the contact in the overview:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Open the context menu with a right click in the line of the contact.
Click on Delete contact in the list.
→ A window appears and you need to confirm your decision.
Click on Delete ().
→ The contact is deleted and removed from the overview.

You can delete the contact also in the detail view. Proceed as described below.

Deleting the contact in the detail view:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Delete contact on the left side in the context menu.
→ A window appears and you need to confirm your decision.
Click on Delete ().
→ The contact is deleted and removed from the overview.

Delete addresses without orders, contacts, POS and warehouses (guest accounts)

Go to Setup » Settings » Hosting » Cleansing and determine the time period after which unused addresses are automatically deleted from your plentymarkets system. Unused addresses are those addresses that do not have any relation to a contact, an order, a POS and a warehouse.

For further information about data cleansing, refer to the Data cleansing page of the manual.

3.10. Duplicate check for contact data records with identical email address

When creating new and updating existing contact data records, the email address is checked in order to avoid duplicate entries in the system.

The logic works in the following way:

When creating a new contact, the system searches for an existing regular contact with identical private email address. If a contact is found, this contact is updated with the new data. If no contact is found, a new regular contact is created.
When updating the private email address of an existing regular contact, the system searches if another regular contact with the same private email address exists. If this is the case, the private email address of the current contact is not updated. All other data, however, is updated.

3.11. Exporting the vCard

You can export the data of a contact as business card in VCF format.

Exporting the vCard:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Download contact as vCard ().
→ A window opens. Select the storage location on your computer.
The vCard is available at the selected storage location.

3.12. Reloading the contact data record

You can reload the data of the contact data record with one click.

Reloading the contact data record:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Reload data ().
→ The contact data record is reloaded.

4. Showing the history

When creating the contact data record, the history of a contact is saved. The history includes e.g. how long the contact has been registered and when they have been logged into your plentyShop for the last time and when the last order was generated. This data is automatically updated and cannot be changed.

Showing the history:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens and the history is displayed in the right area below the Contact options.
Note the explanations about the history in Table 8.

Table 8. History in the contact data record
Setting	Explanation
Registered since	Date and time when the contact has first registered.
Updated	Date and time when the data record of the contact has been updated for the last time.
Access type	Account via which the contact has registered. Regular account = The contact has newly registered in your online shop or the data record has been manually created in the back end. Guest account = The order came into your system via a marketplace or the contact logged in as a guest into your old online shop and placed an order.
Last order	Date and time when the last order was placed. If no order has been placed, No data is displayed in this field.
Last login	Date and time when the contact was logged in for the last time. If the contact was not logged in, No data is displayed in this field.

5. Carrying out the group function

Use the group function to send an email template, print address label or add a contact to a newsletter folder. This can be done simultaneously for one or multiple contacts.

Carrying out the group function:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact(s) by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click on Group function.
Activate one or multiple procedures and select the options from the drop-down lists. Note Table 9.
Activate the contact(s) that you would like to carry out the procedure for.
Click on Group function to carry out the selected procedures for the activated contacts.

Table 9. Using the group function for contacts
Setting	Explanation
Print address label	Prints the label selected from the drop-down list for all activated contacts. *Important:* The address label template has to be created in the Setup » Orders » Documents » Address label menu in advance. Whether the primary invoice address or the primary delivery address of the contact is printed, depends on the setting in the address label template.
Send email template	Sends the template selected from the drop-down list to all activated contacts. *Important:* The email template has to be created in the Setup » Client » [Select client] » Email » Templates menu in advance.
Add to newsletter folder	Copies the email addresses of the activated contacts to the email folder selected from the drop-down list. The email addresses are listed in the Setup » CRM » Newsletter » plentymarkets » Email folder menu.
Save payment due date	Saves the entered payment due date in the contact data record of all activated contacts. *Note:* If you activate this option and do not enter a value, the saved values are deleted for the activated contacts.

6. Managing addresses

In the following sub-chapters, you learn how to add new addresses for your contact, display all addresses that are saved for the contact as well as edit and delete existing addresses.

6.1. Adding an address

You can add as many addresses and as address options as you like. An address option is, for example, the telephone number of the contact.

This chapter explains how to add addresses to an already existing contact data record. How to add an address directly when creating a new contact data record is described in the Creating a contact chapter.

Adding an address:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on New address on the left side in the context menu.
Carry out the settings in the New address area. Note Table 10.
In the Address options area, select the type from the drop-down list and enter the value. Note Table 10.
→ By clicking on Add address option, you can add further address options.
Save () the settings.
→ The address is added to the overview in the Addresses area.

Display of the primary invoice and delivery address

After you saved the primary invoice address and the primary delivery address, these addresses are directly displayed when opening the contact data record. You can find them on the right-hand side in the Addresses area. Click on Edit () to open the detail view of the address and to edit the address.

If neither an invoice address nor a delivery address was defined as primary address, the invoice address and the delivery address that were last added are displayed.

Table 10. Adding an address
Setting	Explanation
New address
Invoice address / Delivery address	Activate one or both options in order to determine the address type. The new address can either be the invoice address only, the delivery address only or both the invoice address and the delivery address. If both options are activated, an address with a new ID and 2 address types is created. If one ore both options are activated, you can select for one or both options if the address is the primary address.
Primary	Select the option if the new address is the primary invoice address or the primary delivery address. It is possible to activate both options if the new address is the primary invoice address as well as the primary delivery address. *Note:* If you click on New order to create a new order, the primary invoice address and the primary delivery address are automatically transferred to the new order.
Form of address	Select the form of address from the drop-down list, if required.
Name 1 (Account)	Enter the company name. This is a mandatory field when there is no entry under First name and Last name.
Name 2 (First name)	Enter the contact’s first name. This a mandatory field when there is no entry under Account and Last name.
Name 3 (Last name)	Enter the contact’s last name. This is a mandatory field when there is no entry under Account and First name.
Name 4 (Additional information)	If required, enter additional information, e.g. c/o Mr. John Doe.
Address 1 (Street) Address 2 (House number)	Enter the street and house number. Street is a mandatory field when there is no entry for House number and Additional address information. House number is a mandatory field when there is no entry for Street and Additional address information.
Address 3 (Additional address information)	If required, enter additional address information, e.g. apartment 12a. This is a mandatory field when there is no entry for Street and House number.
Address 4 (free)	You can enter whatever you want.
Postcode Town	Enter the postcode, if available, and the town of the contact. Town is a mandatory field. This data is used for the invoice address, for example. The order of the options Postcode and Town is reversed for certain countries, e.g. Germany.
Country Region/County	Select the values from the drop-down list. *Important:* The drop-down list Region/County is not available for all countries.
Address options (optional)
Type	Select the type from the drop-down list and enter values for the preselected options Email and Telephone. *Note:* The types Email and Telephone are statically displayed. Further available types in the drop-down list: VAT number, External address ID, Entry certificate, Post number, Personal ID, age rating, Birthday, Title, Contact person.
Value	Enter a value.

6.2. Showing addresses

From the open contact, you can display all addresses that are saved for the contact. Besides the ID, account name, first and last name as well as address, additional address information and country, you can see the address type – invoice address or delivery address – and whether the address is a primary address or not.

If multiple addresses are open, the IDs of the addresses are also displayed in the drop-down list of the open address data records.

Initially, the addresses of your contact are displayed in the card view. By clicking on Switch to table view, the addresses are displayed in a table. Your plentymarkets system recognises which of the 2 views you selected. When opening the context menu Addresses the next time, the view that was selected last is displayed.

Up to 25 address data records saved for the contact are displayed per page. If more than 25 addresses are saved for the contact, you can use the toolbar to browse between the pages, select a certain page and to change the number of address data records per page to 50, 75 or 100. Your plentymarkets system recognises the number of address data records you selected per page. When opening the view Addresses the next time, the setting that was selected last is shown.

Showing addresses:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Addresses on the left side in the context menu.
→ All addresses that are saved for the contact are displayed.
Click on Edit () in order to open the detail view of the address.
→ If you selected the table view, click in the line of the address in order to open the detail view.

6.3. Editing the address

You can edit addresses as well as address options at any time. Note the explanations in the Adding an address chapter. Click on Delete address option () to delete the address options.

Not possible to edit addresses that are linked with orders

If the address is linked with an order, you cannot edit the address. You can, however, create a new address of course.

Editing the address:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Addresses on the left side in the context menu.
→ All addresses that are saved for the contact are initially displayed as cards.
Click on Edit () in the address card that you want to edit.
→ The detail view of the address opens.
Carry out the desired changes. Note Table 10 in the Adding an address chapter and the information about the toolbar given in Table 11.
Save () the settings.

Table 11. Editing the address
Setting	Explanation
Save	Saves () the settings.
Invoice address
Derive new invoice address	Click on Invoice address () to select this option. By clicking on Derive new invoice address, a new invoice address based on the currently selected address is created. In order to create a new address with a new ID, changes have to be made to the data of the new invoice address.
Add invoice address type	Click on Invoice address () to select this option. By clicking on Add invoice address type, the type Invoice address is added to the address. The ID does not change. *Note:* If the type Invoice address has already been added for the address, this option is not visible.
Delete invoice address type	Click on Invoice address () to select this option. By clicking on Delete invoice address type, the type Invoice address is deleted from the address. If the type Invoice address has not been added for the address, this option is not visible.
Define as primary invoice address	Click on Invoice address () to select this option. By clicking on Define as primary invoice address, the currently selected invoice address is set as primary invoice address. The ID does not change. If the Invoice address type is not selected, this option is deactivated. *Note:* If the invoice address has already been defined as primary, this setting can be undone by clicking on Reset primary invoice address.
Convert to invoice address / Convert to delivery address	Click on to convert the currently selected address into the invoice address respectively the delivery address. The ID does not change. If both address types are selected, this option is deactivated.
Delivery address
Derive new delivery address	Click on Delivery address () to select this option. By clicking on Derive new delivery address, a new delivery address based on the currently selected address is created. In order to create a new address with a new ID, changes have to be made to the data of the new delivery address.
Add delivery address type	Click on Delivery address () to select this option. By clicking on Add delivery address type, the type Delivery address is added to the address. The ID does not change. *Note:* If the type Delivery address has already been added for the address, this option is not visible.
Delete delivery address type	Click on Delivery address () to select this option. By clicking on Delete delivery address type, the type Delivery address is deleted from the address. *Note:* If the type Delivery address has not been added for the address, this option is not visible.
Define as primary delivery address	Click on Delivery address () to select this option. By clicking on Define as primary delivery address, the currently selected delivery address is set as primary delivery address. The ID does not change. *Note:* If the Delivery address type is not selected, this option is deactivated. If the delivery address has already been defined as primary, this setting can be undone by clicking on Reset primary delivery address.
Delete address data record	Click on to completely remove the address data record.

6.4. Deleting an address

If the address is not an invoice address that is linked to an order, you may delete the address. This may be necessary, if the delivery address of the contact is outdated, for example.

Not possible to delete addresses that are linked with orders

If the address is linked with an order, you cannot delete the address. An error message appears.

Deleting an address:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Addresses on the left side in the context menu.
→ All addresses that are saved for the contact are initially displayed as cards.
Click on Delete () in the address card that you want to delete.
→ A window appears and you need to confirm your decision.
Click on Delete.
→ The address is deleted and removed from the overview.

7. Managing properties

Properties are frequently occurring information that you can use to further characterise your contacts. For example, you can save in every contact data record how the contact wants to be contacted by you and if they want to have your new product catalogue.

You can show most of the properties also on your order documents.

You can also create property groups to get a better overview in case you are working with a large number of properties.

The following sub-chapters describe how to create, link, search for and delete properties and how to group as well as import and export them.

7.1. Creating new properties

Go to Setup » Settings » Properties » Configuration and create properties. Afterwards, link them with the contact. Proceed as described below to create a property.

Creating a new property:

Go to Setup » Settings » Properties » Configuration.
Click on Create property.
Customise the settings to meet your needs.
Save () the settings.

7.1.1. Details

Setting

Explanation

As soon as you save the property, it automatically receives a consecutive and unique ID. This ID cannot be changed.

Section
(Mandatory field)

What do you want to use the property for? Choose the appropriate section from the drop-down list. Depending on which section you choose here, the rest of the settings in the menu will change.

Note: This setting can no longer be changed after saving.

Note: This page explains properties of the section Contact. Such properties are used, e.g. to display contact properties on your documents. But properties can also be used to characterise items or storage locations. Click on the links to learn more about these other use cases.

Property type
(Mandatory field)

What sort of property do you want to create? Select this property type from the drop-down list.

Note: This setting can no longer be changed after saving.

Type

What is the type useful for?

None

Select this option if properties are to be used in areas other than Item, Storage location and Contact, e.g. for the faceted search.
Note: This property type cannot be shown on your documents.

Whole number

Enter a whole number.

Decimal number

Enter a number with decimal places. 8 places before and 4 places after the decimal point are permitted.

Selection

This option allows to enter values and then select one of these values from a drop-down list.
Note: This property type cannot be shown on your documents.

Multi selection

This option allows to enter values and select one or multiple options.
Note: This property type cannot be shown on your documents.

Text

Enter a short text. You cannot format this text.

Note: The type of property is language-specific. In other words, the text is saved separately for each language.

HTML

Enter a text. You can format this text.

Note: The type of property is language-specific. In other words, the text is saved separately for each language.

Character string

An alphanumeric character string can be displayed in the plentyShop. Unlike the types HTML and Text, the character string is not language-specific. In other words, the character string is not saved separately for each language.

Date

Select this option to allow to enter a date or to select the date from a calendar.

File

Select this option to allow to upload a file.

Position
(Mandatory field)

Enter a position number for the property. Properties are sorted by the position number in ascending order.

Tip: Count by tens when creating position numbers. This allows you to easily add new properties in between.

7.1.2. Names

Setting	Explanation
Name (Mandatory field)	Enter a name for the property in the specified language. *Note*: Click on to translate the name into other languages.
Description	Enter a description of the property in the specified language. *Note*: Click on to translate the description into other languages.
	Is your plentyShop available in multiple languages? Click on and select a language version from the drop-down list. Enter translations for the name and description.

Setting

Explanation

Name
(Mandatory field)

Enter a name for the property in the specified language.

Note: Click on to translate the name into other languages.

Description

Enter a description of the property in the specified language.

Note: Click on to translate the description into other languages.

Is your plentyShop available in multiple languages?

Click on and select a language version from the drop-down list.
Enter translations for the name and description.

7.1.3. Selection values

Not visible for every type of property

You will only see this area if you are working with a property of the type Selection or Multi selection. This area is invisible for all of the other property types.

Here you’ll define the individual values that can be selected.

Click on Create selection value ().
→ The Create selection value window opens.
Enter a name for the value in the specified language.
Select a position number if needed.
Save the settings.
→ The value is created and displayed in the overview. The value automatically receives a consecutive and unique ID that cannot be changed.
Is your plentyShop available in multiple languages? Then click on the value to open a detailed view. There you can enter translations and descriptions for the value.

7.1.4. Groups

Mandatory field

Every property must belong to at least one group. Select the appropriate groups from the drop-down list. The selected groups are displayed here as so-called “chips”. Click on to remove a group again.

Note: This drop-down list only includes property groups that were already created.

Assigning multiple properties to a group

plentymarkets includes a function, which you can use to simultaneously assign multiple properties to a group.

Assigning multiple properties to a group:

Go to Setup » Settings » Properties » Configuration.
Select the properties () that you want to assign to the group.
Click on Link groups ().
→ The Link groups window opens.
Select one or more property groups ().
Click on Link.
→ The selected properties will be assigned to the groups.

7.1.5. Visibilities

Setting	Explanation
Client	Should the property only apply to specific clients (stores)? If so, then select all of the clients () that this property should apply to. Enter a word into the search bar to narrow down the results in real time. *Background info*: With plentymarkets, you can manage several online stores, i.e. several clients, with only one software. Consequently, it is possible to manage several different areas of business with one plentymarkets system. That’s a great advantage. But it also means that you’ll always need to tell plentymarkets which online store the property applies to.
Visibility	Select the customer types that should be able to see the property.

Setting

Explanation

Client

Should the property only apply to specific clients (stores)? If so, then select all of the clients () that this property should apply to. Enter a word into the search bar to narrow down the results in real time.

Background info: With plentymarkets, you can manage several online stores, i.e. several clients, with only one software. Consequently, it is possible to manage several different areas of business with one plentymarkets system. That’s a great advantage. But it also means that you’ll always need to tell plentymarkets which online store the property applies to.

Visibility

Select the customer types that should be able to see the property.

7.1.6. Options

Setting	Explanation
Required	Select this option to make sure that the property is a mandatory input. Mandatory fields are displayed in bold in the detail view of the contact in the Properties area and in the order process in the plentyShop.
Order process	Select this option to make sure that the property is displayed in the order process in the plentyShop.
Customer registration	Select this option to make sure that the property is displayed in the customer registration in the plentyShop.
Contact search	This option is currently without function. Later, it should be possible to filter for properties in the CRM » Contacts menu.

Setting

Explanation

Required

Select this option to make sure that the property is a mandatory input. Mandatory fields are displayed in bold in the detail view of the contact in the Properties area and in the order process in the plentyShop.

Order process

Select this option to make sure that the property is displayed in the order process in the plentyShop.

Customer registration

Select this option to make sure that the property is displayed in the customer registration in the plentyShop.

Contact search

This option is currently without function. Later, it should be possible to filter for properties in the CRM » Contacts menu.

7.2. Linking properties with the contact

After you have created the property in the Setup » Settings » Properties » Configuration menu, you can link the property with the contact. To do so, proceed as described below.

Linking the property with the contact:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Properties on the left side in the context menu.
→ All properties that are available for the contact are displayed and you add them there.

7.3. Showing properties on documents

You can show the contact properties on your order documents, such as on your offers.

Go to Setup » Client » [Select client] » Locations » [Select location] » Documents » [Select document] to create the template. In the document’s Customer properties area, you can see all properties that are available for the Contact area.

In order that the property is shown on your documents exactly as you want it, you have to rename the property in the text field right next to it. You could, for example, enter the text Sales contact person for the property type Short text and your phone number for any queries for the property type Whole number.

Note: Do not forget to enter the coordinates for the X and Y axis in the field below to ensure that your content is correctly positioned on your document. Fur further information, refer to the Order documents page of the manual.

Check how the properties are positioned on your document

You can easily check whether all properties are positioned as you want it:

Open the contact data record in the CRM » Contacts menu.
Click on Orders on the left side.
→ The order opens in the Orders » Edit order menu.
In the order, click on the Receipts tab.
Select the document template that you used to set up the customer properties, e.g. Offer from the drop-down list.
→ The template opens.
Check the correct positioning of the customer properties on the document.

7.4. Grouping properties

If you have lots of properties, then you can group them together so that it’s easier to keep track of them in your plentymarkets back end.

7.4.1. Creating a new group

Creating a new group:

Go to Setup » Settings » Properties » Groups.
Click on Create group.
Customise the settings to meet your needs.
Save () the settings.

Details

Setting

Explanation

As soon as you save the group, it automatically receives a consecutive and unique ID. This ID cannot be changed.

Position

Enter the position number for the property group. Properties are sorted by the position number in ascending order. When a contact has properties from several groups, the groups are displayed in ascending order.

Tip: Count by tens when creating position numbers. This allows you to easily add new property groups in between.

Group type

Select the group type from the drop-down list.

None

Properties are not grouped by default.

Select

One of the grouped properties can be selected from the drop-down list.

Multiselect

Multiple properties can be selected.

Surcharge type

Do you plan on offering extra services or options for an additional fee? If so, then decide whether the surcharge should be treated as a percentage or as a fixed price, e.g. 5% or 5 EUR.

Name

Setting	Explanation
Name	Enter a name for the property group in the specified language. *Note*: Click on to translate the name into other languages.
Description	Enter a description of the property group in the specified language. *Note*: Click on to translate the description into other languages.
	Is your plentyShop available in multiple languages? Click on and select a language version from the drop-down list. Enter translations for the name and description.

Setting

Explanation

Name

Enter a name for the property group in the specified language.

Note: Click on to translate the name into other languages.

Description

Enter a description of the property group in the specified language.

Note: Click on to translate the description into other languages.

Is your plentyShop available in multiple languages?

Click on and select a language version from the drop-down list.
Enter translations for the name and description.

7.4.2. Assigning properties to a group

plentymarkets includes a function, which you can use to simultaneously assign multiple properties to a group.

Go to Setup » Settings » Properties » Configuration.
Select the properties () that you want to assign to the group.
Click on Link groups ().
→ The Link groups window opens.
Select one or more property groups ().
Click on Link.
→ The selected properties will be assigned to the groups.

7.4.3. Searching for existing groups

Previously created property groups are displayed in an overview.

Go to Setup » Settings » Properties » Groups.
Option 1: Click on Search to see a list of all the groups.
Option 2: Click on to narrow down the search results with filters.
Click on a group in the search results to open a detailed view. There you can modify the group’s settings.

Setting	Explanation
ID	Enter an ID to search for the group with this exact ID. *Background info*: Each group automatically receives a consecutive and unique ID when it is created.
Name	Enter a name to search for groups with this name. It’s also possible to search for parts of the name.
RESET	Resets the selected filter criteria.
SEARCH	Starts the search. The groups found are listed in the overview. *Tip*: Don’t choose any filters if you want to see all of the groups in the overview.

Setting

Explanation

Enter an ID to search for the group with this exact ID.

Background info: Each group automatically receives a consecutive and unique ID when it is created.

Name

Enter a name to search for groups with this name. It’s also possible to search for parts of the name.

RESET

Resets the selected filter criteria.

SEARCH

Starts the search. The groups found are listed in the overview.

Tip: Don’t choose any filters if you want to see all of the groups in the overview.

7.4.4. Deleting groups again

Previously created groups are displayed in the menu Setup » Settings » Properties » Groups. Groups can also be deleted here.

Select the groups () that you want to delete.
Click on Delete property groups () in the upper left corner.
Confirm your decision.

Note: Properties that are assigned to groups remain unaffected.

7.5. Working with existing properties

7.5.1. Searching for properties

Searching for properties:

Go to Setup » Settings » Properties » Configuration.
Option 1: Click on Search to see a list of all the properties.
Option 2: Click on to narrow down the search results with filters.
Click on a property in the search results to open a detailed view. There you can modify the property’s settings.

Setting	Explanation
ID	Enter an ID to search for the property with this exact ID. *Background info*: Each property automatically receives a consecutive and unique ID when it is created.
Name	Enter a name to search for properties with this name. It’s also possible to search for parts of the name. *Example*: By entering “start”, you would find properties called “starting date” and “starter pack”.
Groups	Select one or more groups () to search for the properties within this group. *Note*: This list only includes groups that have already been created. If you haven’t created any property groups yet, then you won’t see any group names here either.
Section	Select one or more sections () to search for the properties that are used for this section.
Type	Select one or more property types () to search for the properties with this type.
RESET	Resets the selected filter criteria.
SEARCH	Starts the search. The properties found are listed in the overview. *Tip*: Don’t choose any filters if you want to see all of the properties in the overview.

Setting

Explanation

Enter an ID to search for the property with this exact ID.

Background info: Each property automatically receives a consecutive and unique ID when it is created.

Name

Enter a name to search for properties with this name. It’s also possible to search for parts of the name.

Example: By entering “start”, you would find properties called “starting date” and “starter pack”.

Groups

Select one or more groups () to search for the properties within this group.

Note: This list only includes groups that have already been created. If you haven’t created any property groups yet, then you won’t see any group names here either.

Section

Select one or more sections () to search for the properties that are used for this section.

Type

Select one or more property types () to search for the properties with this type.

RESET

Resets the selected filter criteria.

SEARCH

Starts the search. The properties found are listed in the overview.

Tip: Don’t choose any filters if you want to see all of the properties in the overview.

7.5.2. Importing properties

Use the import tool and the import type Properties to import properties into your plentymarkets system. The fields that you can use for mapping and matching are described on the page of the manual of the import type Properties.

For general information about importing data into your plentymarkets system, refer to the Using the import tool page of the manual.

7.5.3. Exporting properties

Do you want to export property information out of your plentymarkets system? This is done in two steps:

First you’ll use the FormatDesigner to create a so-called data format.
- Use the format type Properties if you want to export the actual properties and property groups.
- Use the format type contact along with the data fields ContactProperty if you want to export the links between properties and contacts.
In a second step, you’ll use the Elastic Export tool to export the data format that you just created.

7.5.4. Deleting properties again

Previous created properties are displayed in the menu Setup » Settings » Properties » Configuration. Properties can also be deleted here.

Deleting a property:

Select the properties () that you want to delete.
Click on Delete properties () in the upper left corner.
Confirm your decision.

8. Managing orders, offers and subscriptions

The following sub-chapters describe how you display all orders, multi-orders, offers and subscriptions that are available for your contact and how you create new orders, multi-orders, offers and subscriptions for your contact.

8.1. Managing orders

Use the new logic to generate orders

Click on New order (beta) to generate orders with the new logic. For further information, refer to the beta: Creating an order or an offer in the contact overview chapter on the Managing orders page.

Showing orders

Within the open contact, you can access an overview of all orders of the contact.

Showing orders:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Orders on the left side in the context menu.
→ All orders that are saved for the contact are displayed. Determine via the pagination whether 25, 50, 100 or 250 orders are displayed.
Click in the line of the order to open the order in the Orders » Edit orders menu and display further information about the order.

You can also edit the order. Orders can be edited as long as no document has been generated for this order. Further information about orders can be found on the Managing orders page of the manual.

Creating an order

Use the new logic to generate orders

Within the open contact, you can create a new order for the contact with only one click. If the contact has ordered in your plentyShop, the order is automatically saved in your plentymarkets system. In case of orders via telephone, for example, you create the order manually. Proceed as described below.

Creating an order:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on New order on the left side in the context menu.
→ You directly access the New order area in the Orders » Edit orders menu.
Note: If an invoice address and/or delivery address were defined as primary, these addresses are automatically transferred to the new order.
Carry out the desired settings. Note the information on the Managing orders page.
Save () the settings.

8.2. Creating an offer

Refer to the beta: Creating an order or an offer in the contact overview chapter to learn how to create an individual offer for your contact.

8.3. Creating a subscription

Refer to the Subscription page to learn how to create a subscription for your contact.

8.4. Creating a multi-order

The multi-order function makes it possible for you to take all of the unpaid orders that belong to a contact and then compile them into one multi-order. This might be useful if you have agreed upon with your contact that they do not pay each invoice individually, but pay all invoices per month or per quarter, for example.

As usual, the orders are processed and the items are sent, but left unpaid. Creating a multi-order is only possible for orders that have not been paid yet.

Click on New multi-order to summarise all orders of the contact into one multi-order. In advance, you determine which conditions such as the order type and the order status have to be fulfilled to allow for a multi-order to be created. Carry out this setting in the Setup » Orders » Order types » Multi-order menu.

Creating a multi-order:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on New multi-order on the left side in the context menu.
→ The multi-order is created.

After you have successfully created the multi-order, the multi-order opens automatically in the Orders menu. Open the Receipts tab in the multi-order to create a multi-invoice.

For further information, refer to the Order type Multi-order on the Managing orders page of the manual.

8.5. Showing the scheduler

Use the new subscription module

Click on New subscription (beta) to use the new subscription module. For further information, refer to the Subscription page.

In the Scheduler view, subscription orders of the contact are displayed. Moreover, you can create new scheduled orders here. The scheduler allows your customers to subscribe to certain items in your online shop. The menu is only visible in your plentymarkets system if you booked it. Go to plentymarkets logo (Start) » Service centre and book the scheduler in the Contracts tab. Go to Setup » Orders » Scheduler to carry out the settings for your online shop.

Showing the scheduler:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Scheduler on the left side in the context menu.
→ All scheduler orders that are saved for the contact are displayed.

For further information, refer to the Scheduler page of the manual. The filter options are also described there. You can use the filter options both in the open contact data record in the Scheduler area and in the Orders » Scheduler » Scheduled orders menu.

9. Managing tickets

In the following sub-chapters, you learn how to create tickets and display all tickets that are available for your contact. Depending on which plentymarkets edition you use, you may have to book the ticket system before you are able to use it.

9.1. Creating a ticket

Use the ticket system in plentymarkets to manage your customer communication. The following chapter explains how you can create a new ticket directly from the open contact.

Creating a ticket:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on New ticket on the left side in the context menu.
→ You directly access the New ticket area in the CRM » Ticket system menu. The contact ID is already pre-filled.
Carry out the desired settings. Pay attention to the information given on the Ticket system page of the manual.
Save () the settings.

9.2. Showing tickets

From the open contact, you can display all tickets that are saved for the contact.

Showing tickets:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Tickets on the left side in the context menu.
→ All tickets that are saved for the contact are displayed. Determine via the pagination whether 10, 25, 50 or 100 tickets are displayed.
Click in the line of the ticket to open the ticket in the CRM » Ticket system menu and display further information about the ticket.

You have the possibility to edit and delete tickets. For further information, refer to the Ticket system page of the manual.

10. Managing documents

In the following sub-chapters, you learn how to upload, display, download and delete documents. The documents that you have uploaded in this menu are only visible in your plentymarkets back end and cannot be accessed by your contacts.

10.1. Uploading customer documents

In the Documents view, you can upload documents that relate to your contact. For example, this document could be an age check that you have performed before sending items to the contact for the first time. Either you upload the files by clicking on Upload file or via drag-and-drop. You can also create folders to group documents in a clearly structured way.

You can upload the data formats JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, PDF, DOC, ODC, OTH, XLS, XML, HTML, HTM, CSS, ZIP and GZIP.

Uploading customer documents:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Documents on the left side in the context menu.
Click on Upload file ().
Select further documents.
Click on Open to upload the files.
Or: Add the documents to the tab with drag-and-drop.

Creating a folder

In the Folder area, you can create folders. This is useful if you have already uploaded or plan to upload a lot of files about your contact. This allows to group the documents and have a better overview.

10.2. Showing documents

In the Documents view, you see all documents related to the contact that you have uploaded. In the overview, you can see the file name, the size of the file as well as the date and the time of the last change.

Showing documents:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Documents on the left side in the context menu.
→ All documents that are saved for the contact are displayed.

10.3. Downloading a document

You can download all files that you have uploaded for the contact.

Downloading a document:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Documents on the left side in the context menu.
→ All documents that are saved for the contact are displayed.
Click on Download () in the line of the document that you want to download.
Note: Some browsers save the file automatically in the download folder that you have determined before. For other browsers, you download the file with a click. In this case, follow the instructions on your computer. Pay attention that these instructions may vary depending on the browser and programme used.

10.4. Deleting a document

If you do not need a document any longer, you can delete the document. How to delete multiple documents at the same time is described in the box at the end of this chapter.

Deleting a document:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Documents on the left side in the context menu.
Click on Delete () in the line of the document that you want to delete.
→ A window appears and you need to confirm your decision.
Click on Delete ().
→ The document is deleted and removed from the overview.

Deleting multiple documents or all documents

In the Documents view, activate the documents that you want to delete or select the option next to File name to activate all documents and save them afterwards. After you have confirmed your decision by clicking on Delete (), the activated documents are deleted and removed from the overview.

11. Displaying the account balance

The Account balance view lists all the revenues of a contact. Proceed as follows to have the account balance of a contact displayed.

Displaying the account balance:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Account on the left side in the context menu.
→ All data that is available for the account of the contact is displayed.
Note Table 12 and Table 13.

The revenues of the contact are displayed in detail above the table. Apart from Balance also information about invoices and credit notes. Note Table 12. You can also go directly to the AR list by clicking on Open AR list ().

Table 12. Amounts in the account balance of a contact
Setting	Explanation
Balance	Shows the customer’s account balance. + = Total of the contact’s outstanding payments. - = Total of payments that still have to be paid to the contact if the contact has paid too much or if a credit note still has to be paid out. 0,00 = No outstanding amounts.
Invoices	Total invoice amounts of all orders. Outstanding: The amount the contact still has to pay. Paid: The amount paid by the contact.
Credit notes	Total amounts of all credit notes. Outstanding: This amount still has to be paid to the contact. Paid: The amount paid to the contact.
Credit note amounts ÷ invoice amounts	Ratio of credit notes to the invoices. 0 % means that no credit note has been paid out to the customer yet. 100 % means that every amount paid by the customer has been paid back in form of credit notes.

Orders and credit notes for this contact are listed as processes in the table. The table rows Payment status, Paid and Outstanding each refer to an individual process. If a payment for an order is listed in the Outstanding column, the contact still has to pay the amount. If a payment for a credit note is listed in the Outstanding column, you still have to pay this amount to the contact.

This table is customisable. This means that you can decide which information is displayed in the table columns. To do so, proceed as follows:

Customising the table in the catalogue overview:

Click on Configure columns ().
→ The window Configure columns opens.
Select which columns are to be displayed. Note Table 13.
Move () the columns so they are displayed in the order you need them in.
Click on Confirm to save your settings.

When you have adapted the table once, these settings are saved. A list of the available columns can be found in Table 13. There, it is also stated whether the column is a default column. Default columns are shown when tables are not customised.

Table 13. Information in the **Account balance** area of the contact data record
Setting	Explanation
Payment status colour	The payment status of a process is depicted by colours. Cancelled orders are not highlighted by a colour because no payment status has to be displayed for them. Green = The payment is paid or overpaid. Orange = The process is only partially paid. Red = The process is not paid yet and payment os overdue. This is a default column.
Event	Order type, for example order or credit note order. This is a default column.
Order ID	ID of the order. Click on the ID to open the detailed view of the order. This is a default column.
Date	Date when the order was created. This is a default column.
Status	Status of the order. This is a default column.
Payment method	Payment method of the order. This is a default column.
Document no.	Document number, e.g. invoice number, of the current main document of the order.
Payment due	Date on which payment is due for the order To have a payment due date displayed here, the payment terms of the corresponding order have to be filled in and an invoice has to be created. This is a default column.
Value	Total invoice amount of the order. This is a default column.
Outstanding	Remaining amount that is due before the order is completely paid for. This is a default column.
Payment status	Displays the payment status of a process. Outstanding = The whole amount is still open. Prepaid = The amount has been paid in advance, either in full or partially. Partly paid = The amount has been partially paid. Paid = The amount has been paid in full. Overpaid = It has been paid more than the outstanding amount. This is not a default column.

Filtering account balance data

You can use various filters to retrieve specific information about your contact’s account balance. Set these filters in the filter () area of the account balance of a contact and click on search (). You can combine several filters. The filter settings are explained in the table below.

Table 14. Filter settings in the **Account** area of the contact data record
Setting	Explanation
Order ID	Search for a specific order by entering an order ID.
Order type	Narrow down the processes by searching for specific order types.
Date from and Date to	You can set a time range, for example to have only the data of the current month displayed. To do so, select the dated in the date picker to narrow down the time range.
Status from and Status to	Use this filter to search for processes with a specific order status or in a status range. Set both filters to the same status to search for processes with this order status. Alternatively, you can enter different order statuses to search for processes in this selected status range.
Dcoument no.	Search for a specific process by entering a document number.
Payment status	Search for all processes in a specific payment status. For example, you can search for all orders which are only partially paid. The payment statuses unpaid, prepaid, partly paid, paid and overpaid are available.
Search	Click on to list the account balance data that match the search criteria.
Reset	Click on to reset the filter criteria set.

12. Managing bank details

In the following sub-chapters, you learn how to add new bank details for your contact as well as edit and delete existing bank details.

12.1. Adding bank details

In the Bank details view, you can add the bank details of your contact. Add as many bank details records as you like.

After saving, the bank details are displayed as cards. Beside the name of the holder and the IBAN, a tag is displayed that shows whether the SEPA direct debit mandate is activated for the contact. If the BIC is saved in the bank details, this is also displayed on the card.

Adding bank details:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Bank details on the left side in the context menu.
Click on Add.
→ The New bank details view opens.
Carry out the desired settings. Note Table 15.
Save () the settings.

Table 15. Settings in the **Bank details** area of the contact data record
Setting	Explanation
IBAN, BIC, Holder, Account number, Bank code	Enter the bank details of the contact. IBAN and Holder are mandatory fields.
Name, street, postcode and town of the bank	Enter the name and address of the bank.
Country of the bank	Select the country from the drop-down list.
SEPA direct debit mandate	Select this option once the contact has signed the SEPA direct debit mandate. *Important:* This option needs to be selected before pain.008 formats can be retrieved for SEPA payments.
SEPA direct debit mandate granted on	Only visible when the option SEPA direct debit mandate has been activated. The date when the contact agreed to the SEPA direct debit mandate is displayed. Or select the date from the calendar.
Type of mandate	Only visible when the option SEPA direct debit mandate has been activated. Select an option from the drop-down list: SEPA core direct debit = Allows a biller to collect funds from a payer’s account, provided that a signed mandate has been granted by the payer to the biller. SEPA business to business direct debit = Enables business customers (B2B) in the role of payers to make payments by direct debit.
Payment frequency	Only visible when the option SEPA direct debit mandate has been activated. Select an option from the drop-down list: One-time payment = Is typically used for standard orders. Recurring payment = Is typically used for regularly occurring orders such as subscription orders, etc.

12.2. Editing bank details

You can update the bank details of your contact at any time.

Editing bank details:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Bank details on the left side in the context menu.
Click on Edit () in the card of the bank details that you want to edit.
→ The bank data record opens.
Carry out the desired settings. Note Table 15.
Save () the settings.

12.3. Deleting bank details

Delete the bank details of your contact if the data is outdated.

Deleting bank details:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Bank details on the left side in the context menu.
Click on Delete () in the bank data record that you want to delete.
→ A window appears and you need to confirm your decision.
Click on Delete ().
→ The bank details are deleted and removed from the overview.

13. Editing login details

In the Login details view of the contact data record, you can manually change the password for your contact, send a link to your contact to change the password, unblock the login and open the My account area of the contact using the login URL.

13.1. Changing the password

Manually change the password for your contact in the Change password area.

Changing the password:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Login details on the left side in the context menu.
Enter the password in the Change password area.
Click on Save password ().

13.2. Generating new passwords for all contacts

Go to Setup » CRM » Passwords to generate new password for your contacts. This can be necessary, e.g., if someone hacked into your plentymarkets system or if you are the victim of data theft.

Emails with newly generated passwords are not sent automatically

Note that your contacts do not receive the newly generated passwords or any other information automatically. You have to e.g. actively send your contacts an email informing them about the current situation and encouraging them to change their passwords in the My account area of your online shop.

Proceed as follows to generate new passwords for all of your contacts.

Generating new passwords for all contacts:

Go to Setup » CRM » Passwords.
Click on Generate new passwords for all customers.
→ The new passwords are generated.

13.3. Sending a link to change password

Send your contact an email template containing a link in order that he or she can change the password in your online shop. It is required that you have linked an email template containing the template function {% Link_ChangePassword() %} to change the password with the event Send customer email to change password. Carry out this setting in the Setup » Client » [Select client] » Email » Automatic menu.

For further information about sending emails automatically, refer to the Emails page of the manual.

Sending a link to change password:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Login details on the left side in the context menu.
Click on Send link to change password.
→ The contact receives an email containing the link to change the password in your online shop.

13.4. Unblocking the login

Once your contact has entered the incorrect password in your online shop several times in succession, the login is blocked for the contact for a certain time. By clicking on Unblock login, you unblock the login and your contact is able to log into the your online shop again.

Unblocking the login:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Login details on the left side in the context menu.
Click on Unblock login.
→ The contact is now able to log into your online shop.

13.5. Opening the My account area of the contact

In the Login URL area, you can see the URL for directly accessing the contact’s My account area in the online shop. If you use this URL, you are no longer required to enter login details (email address and password) in the online shop.

In order that the login URL is automatically created, both the email address in the Contact options area of the CRM » Contacts » [Open contact] menu and the password in the CRM » Contacts » [Open contact] » View: Login details menu have to be saved. The login URL is generated after the data has been saved. Make sure to use a secure password. Otherwise an error message is displayed.

Opening the My account area of the contact:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Login details on the left side in the context menu.
Click on Open link in the Login URL area or copy the login URL to the clipboard by clicking on Copy to clipboard () and insert the link into the browser.
→ The My account area of the contact in the online shop opens.

14. Managing commissions

In the Item commissions tab, you can save item-specific commissions for the type Sales representative. Proceed as described below to enter values for commissions.

Saving a commission:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Commission & Cost units on the left side in the context menu.
Open the Commissions tab.
Open the Item commission tab.
Expand the New commission area ().
Enter the item ID of the item for which you want to save one or more commission(s).
Enter the commission(s) in percent.
→ Enter up to 4 commissions per entry.
Save () the settings.
→ The commission is saved. The name matching the item ID is displayed. This way you recognise the corresponding item right away. The name is displayed after you have reloaded by clicking on the Settings tab.

15. Managing cost units

Create cost units in the Cost units area. You also have the possibility of editing cost units here. A cost unit, also known as a cost centre, is part of an organisation that does not produce direct profit and adds to the cost of running a company.

Creating a cost unit:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Commission & Cost units on the left side in the context menu.
Click on the New cost unit tab.
Enter the name, the budget and the remaining budget.
Select the year or the month as budget period.
Save () the settings.
→ The cost unit is added to the overview.

16. Creating a statistic

Create contact-specific statistics in the Statistics area. This allows you to analyse data related to the contact and display this data as a statistic. For example, you could create a statistic that displays the contact’s total revenue development during a particular time period. You can also edit existing statistics in this area. For further information, refer to the Customer statistics chapter.

Creating a statistic:

Go to CRM » Contacts.
Search () the contact by means of the filter settings as described in the Searching for a contact chapter.
→ The contacts that correspond to the search criteria entered are displayed.
Click in the line of the contact.
→ The detail view of the contact opens.
Click on Statistics on the left side in the context menu.
Click on New sheet.
Enter a name.
Save () the settings.
→ A tab with the name that you have just entered opens.
Click on Add.
→ The New statistic window opens.
Select the type of statistic from the drop-down list.
Save () the settings.
→ The data is loaded and displayed.

Depending on which type of statistic you selected, you find further information in the following chapters of the Managing statistics page of the manual:

For further information, refer to the Statistics page of the manual.

17. Showing the change history for contact data

Via the change history you can track which user has changed data of a contact data record at which time in your system. Furthermore, it is displayed if the contact have made changes in the My account area of your online shop.

Showing the change history for contact data:

Go to Data » Change history.
Select an option from the drop-down list Reference type.
Enter the reference ID, e.g. the ID of the contact.
Click on Search ().
→ A list of changes with the old and new values, the change date as well as the name and ID of the user who did the changes appears.

For further information, refer to the page of the manual Change history.

18. Checking the VAT number

The value added tax identification number (VAT number) is an exclusive identification number and serves to designate VAT registered individuals. Within the EU, tax offices need this number for VAT accounting purposes. The VAT check via the European Commission allows you to verify German and international VAT numbers. These checks can be carried out daily from 5:00 a.m. to 11 p.m. CET.

Checking the VAT number in the plentymarkets back end is not possible. You can, however, download a plugin in the plentyMarketplace, e.g. the plugin VAT ID Check to carry out the VAT ID check.

18.1. Checking the VAT number in the online shop

The VAT number is automatically checked in the online shop during the order process. If an invalid VAT number was entered, the customer is only able to complete their order once a valid VAT number has been entered or once the entry has been deleted.

18.2. Exporting check data

You can export a list of all the check data or the data for the current month. For further information about exporting the VAT number check data, refer to the Data section.

19. Exporting, importing and updating contact data

Go to Data » Elastic export to export the data of your contacts. To do so, it is required to install and deploy the plugins FormatDesigner and Elastic Export. Both plugins are available in the plentyMarketplace .

Create the format for the export in the Data » FormatDesigner menu. Create a new export in the Data » Elastic export menu. Select the format that you have just created via the FormatDesigner from the drop-down list. Afterwards, export the data to a CSV file.

Various filter options are available for the export. You can export, for example, only contacts that you have rated with 3 stars or only contacts that are assigned to a certain owner.

Import or update the data of your contacts including address options, contact options and account data via the import tool. For further information, refer to the Using the import tool page.