When you first start using your Repfabric instance, it will have four “Company Types” by default. You will find them in “Settings” > “Sub Tables” menu.
The last type “External Account” is mostly used for sales & commissions purposes only. It is ONLY a pass-through account and CANNOT BE USED in Opps/Quotes/POs.
- Manufacturer/Principal – When you use this “Company Type” you are saying this is a company whose products you are selling. As soon as you create a new company with this “Company Type,” you can then add it to the list of other Manufacturers/Principals that show up on the Activity Journal. When creating an Opp/Job/PO/etc. you will only be able to put this company in the “Manufacturer/Principal” fields. “Company Type” is also what sales and commissions reports look at so you can sort/filter by one or more “Manufacturers/Principals.”
You can make a “Manufacturer/Principal” company “inactive” and you won’t be able to use it anymore, but you will still be able to report on it. Later we will talk about using one of the “Custom Company Types” to keep a Manufacturer/Principal’s sales & commission history, but you no longer want to see them on reports.
2. Customer – This “Company Type” requires a “Sales Team” to keep track of sales & commissions numbers. Think of “Sales Teams” like a bucket. If there is more than one person on a sales team, the bucket would have a wallet inside for each of the people that need to split the commissions. Only the people on the sales team will be able to see this company and its contacts/Opps/Jobs/POs/etc. You will also be able to use this company in an AJ (Activity Journal) in the “Company” field indicated by the red arrow in the above image.
You can make a “Customer” company “inactive” and you won’t be able to use it anymore, but you will still be able to report on it.
When creating an Opp/Job/PO/etc. you will only be able to put this company in the “Customer” fields.
3. Distributor – This unique “Company Type” does not require a “Sales Team” be assigned to it, but there is a check box in “Settings” > “Application Settings” > “Allow Distributor Commissions” that can be turned on. If it is NOT checked, you can NOT assign a “Sales Team” to a Distributor. If it is checked, you can assign a “Sales Team” to the Distributor or not. Any company that does NOT have a “Sales Team” assigned to it can be seen by everyone who uses Repfabric. The “Sales Team” is what limits visibility.
You can make a “Distributor” company “inactive” and you won’t be able to use it anymore, but you will still be able to report on it. This applies to Distributors with or without a “Sales Team.”
No Sales Team – If you sell through a Distributor, and you do not pay commissions on that Distributor account, you will NOT assign a sales team. You will also be able to use this company in an AJ (Activity Journal) in the “Company” field indicated by the red arrow in the AJ image near the top of the page.
When creating an Opp/Job/PO/etc. you will only be able to put this company in the “Distributor” fields. When you put the company in the “Distributor” field, it will automatically put “Direct Sales” in the “Customer” field.
With Sales Team – If you do pay commissions on a Distributor account, you WILL assign a “Sales Team.” Only the people on the sales team will be able to see this company and its contacts/Opps/Jobs/POs/etc. You will also be able to use this company in an AJ (Activity Journal) in the “Company” field indicated by the red arrow in the AJ image near the top of the page.
When creating an Opp/Job/PO/etc. you will only be able to put this company in the “Customer” fields. When you put this company in the “Customer” field, it will also duplicate this company in the “Distributor” field.
Custom Company Types
It is possible for you to make your own “Custom Company Types.” Some of our customers use “Manufacturer – Former,” “Manufacturers Rep,” “OEM,” “Vendor,” “Electrician,” “Engineer,” “Hospital,” “Retail,” etc.
You will have only two choices:
- Check “Tagged as Customer” to mandate a “Sales Team” be assigned so that Sales & Commissions numbers can be accumulated accurately.
- Do NOT check to make it act like a “Customer.” This makes this account a ghost. Think about “Manufacturers Rep,” that’s your company type and possibly you have other rep agencies in your system. It is for managing contacts. However, you do not want to see “Manufacturers Rep” companies when you run sales or commissions reports.
You can NOT use it in an Opportunity/Quote/PO/Invoice or an Activity Journal!
