Individual Who Is a A Lead/Contact, Later an Account

[Logan Summers]

So I'm using Outlook with Business Contact Manager 2007, integrated with
Office Accounting Express 2008.

Now "Accounts" in BCM correspond to "Customers" in Accounting (i.e. they are
the same). And "Business Contacts" are associated with "Accounts" in BCM and
they correspond as "Contacts" under "Customers" in Accounting.

Now this is all well and good if all the clients you deal with are
companies, and you have contacts within them.

But a lot of my clients are individuals, like they might do landscaping or
something, and they don't even have a company name. So when I am trying to
get their business, and they are a "Lead" I list them under "Business
Contacts". But then when it comes time to make them a real customer, in order
to do any billing with them, I have to then add them to "Customers" in
Accounting and that makes them popup as "Accounts" in BCM.

So now, in BCM, John Smith is listed as both "Account" and "Business
Contact". Is this right? Seems redundant. It might make sense if John Smith
INC was the company name (thus an "Account") and John Smith was the "Business
Contact", but this is just an individual with whom I am doing business.

But if i delete the "Business Contact", will it break the association of all
the files/emails/notes/appointments that were associated with that "Contact"
that should now be associated with the "Account"?

Am I going about this all wrong? If so, please share how you do it. Thanks
in advance.

 

[Luther]

So I'm using Outlook with Business Contact Manager 2007, integrated with
Office Accounting Express 2008.

Now "Accounts" in BCM correspond to "Customers" in Accounting (i.e. they are
the same). And "Business Contacts" are associated with "Accounts" in BCM and
they correspond as "Contacts" under "Customers" in Accounting.

Now this is all well and good if all the clients you deal with are
companies, and you have contacts within them.

But a lot of my clients are individuals, like they might do landscaping or
something, and they don't even have a company name. So when I am trying to
get their business, and they are a "Lead" I list them under "Business
Contacts". But then when it comes time to make them a real customer, in order
to do any billing with them, I have to then add them to "Customers" in
Accounting and that makes them popup as "Accounts" in BCM.

So now, in BCM, John Smith is listed as both "Account" and "Business
Contact". Is this right? Seems redundant. It might make sense if John Smith
INC was the company name (thus an "Account") and John Smith was the "Business
Contact", but this is just an individual with whom I am doing business.

But if i delete the "Business Contact", will it break the association of all
the files/emails/notes/appointments that were associated with that "Contact"
that should now be associated with the "Account"?

Am I going about this all wrong? If so, please share how you do it. Thanks
in advance.

Yes, as a general rule, deleting a BCM entity will delete its children
(e.g. deleting a Business Contact will delete its Opportunities, and
so on).

BCM considers Accounts to be legal entities with whom you have
transactions, and Business Contacts to be people. To a BCM user the
differences may only show up in subtle ways; e.g., an account may not
have Home Phone.

The usual recommendation, in the case of a single person customer, is
to create create an Account from the Business Contact when the
Business Contact changes from a lead to a customer, and make the
Business Contact a child of the Account.

 

[Logan Summers]

Thanks again Luther

Yes, as a general rule, deleting a BCM entity will delete its children
(e.g. deleting a Business Contact will delete its Opportunities, and
so on).

BCM considers Accounts to be legal entities with whom you have
transactions, and Business Contacts to be people. To a BCM user the
differences may only show up in subtle ways; e.g., an account may not
have Home Phone.

The usual recommendation, in the case of a single person customer, is
to create create an Account from the Business Contact when the
Business Contact changes from a lead to a customer, and make the
Business Contact a child of the Account.