Commercial accounts: contacts, PO numbers, not-to-exceed and tax exemption

Overview#

Commercial customers need more than a name and an address. TradesWork lets you keep their contacts by role (billing/AP, site contacts, decision makers), require a PO number before invoicing, cap each job with a not-to-exceed (NTE) amount, give them their own payment terms, and store tax-exempt certificates that make their invoices untaxed. Technicians see the PO, NTE and site contact on their jobs.

Before you start#

• These cards appear on the customer page when the customer's type is Commercial, or once anything commercial is on file.

• Adding contacts needs customers.write (Owner, Admin, Dispatcher, Customer service).

• Account terms, job PO numbers and NTE changes need commercial.manage (Owner, Admin, Dispatcher, Customer service, Accounting).

• Tax-exempt certificates need tax_exempt.manage (Owner, Admin, Accounting).

• Choose Commercial as the customer type when you book their first job.

Steps#

Add contacts#

1. Open the customer and find Contacts.

2. Enter Name, Title, Phone and Email.

3. Pick the Site, or Whole account if they cover everything.

4. Tick Roles: Billing / AP, Site contact, Decision maker, Property manager or Other (at least one). Tick Primary for the main contact.

5. Click Add contact. Site contacts show to technicians at that site.

Set account terms#

1. In Account terms, tick PO number required on invoices if the customer won't pay without one.

2. Enter Default not-to-exceed ($). It's applied to new jobs.

3. Enter Net terms (days), such as 30. Leave it empty to use your company's terms.

4. Pick the Billing contact.

5. Tick One monthly invoice for all agreements to combine their agreement billing into one invoice.

6. Click Save terms.

Work PO and NTE on a job#

1. On the job, the Commercial card shows Customer PO ("Required, missing" in amber if needed), Not-to-exceed (used of the limit, with At limit in red), Site contact, the Agreement and an SLA countdown.

2. To update, enter Customer PO and/or Not-to-exceed ($). When you raise or remove the limit, fill Approval for a higher limit (for example "Approved by J. Ruiz, email 10/14").

3. Optionally change the Site contact, then click Save.

Add a tax-exempt certificate#

1. In Tax exemption, enter the Certificate number (required), State, Issued and Expires dates.

2. Pick the Site, or All sites.

3. Click Add certificate. While it's Valid, new invoices and estimates for those sites are untaxed. Expired or revoked certificates stop applying.

4. To withdraw one, click Revoke.

Settings that change this#

• Settings › Your Account › Company Profile & Business Hours: your default invoice terms, used when a customer has no net terms.

• Settings › Operations › Branches › Rules: Hold invoices without a required PO.

Tips#

• Get the PO before the technician finishes. An invoice can't be sent to a PO-required customer until the PO is on the job.

• Write down who approved a higher NTE. The reason is kept on the record for disputes.

• Add a site contact for every store or building, so technicians know who to ask for on arrival.

Troubleshooting#

• "This customer requires a PO number. Add the PO to the job before sending the invoice." → PO required and missing → enter the Customer PO on the job's Commercial card, then send.

• Raising the NTE fails → the approval reason is empty → fill Approval for a higher limit.

• Invoice still shows tax → the certificate is expired, revoked or for another site, or the invoice existed before the certificate → check the certificate's dates and site.

• I don't see the commercial cards → the customer is residential with nothing commercial on file → the customer type is set at booking; contact support to change it.

FAQ#

Can residential customers have extra contacts? Contacts appear for commercial customers. Residential customers keep the phone and email on the customer.

Do technicians see the NTE? Yes. The Field app shows PO, NTE and site contact on their commercial jobs.

What does net terms change? When you send an invoice, its due date is set from the customer's net terms.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

• Same: contacts with roles, PO-required customers, NTE on jobs, tax-exempt customers.

• Different: tax exemption is a certificate with dates and an optional site, not a simple flag. NTE raises need a written reason.

• Where it lived: ServiceTitan's customer Contacts, Tax and Job › PO/NTE fields; in TradesWork they're cards on the customer page and the job page's Commercial card.