Customers are the most important master data role in the ERP. Every order, every quote, and every invoice is based on a correctly created customer record. In Xentral, the address module serves as the central location where customer data is maintained. A clean setup saves time and prevents errors in all downstream processes.
This determines how smoothly your sales, accounting, and shipping can operate later on. Every error or gap in master data leads to rework — whether it is incorrect VAT, a missing billing address, or a contact person that cannot be found.
When creating addresses, it is important to distinguish whether you are dealing with a business customer (B2B) or a private customer (B2C). Both types have different requirements and required fields.
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B2B (Business-to-Business): Company / organization as the main address, contact persons (e.g. purchasing, accounting) required, required fields: company name, address, VAT ID (for EU customers), typical usage: invoices, collective orders, individual payment terms, credit notes.
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B2C (Business-to-Consumer): Private individual as the main address, fewer master data fields required, required fields: first and last name, address, email, typical usage: individual orders, online shop integration, prepayment or PayPal.
Hinweis
Examples:
B2B customer: "Sample Corp" (customer 10001) with contact Max Sample (Purchasing). Invoice is issued net with 14-day payment term, VAT is checked based on VAT ID.
B2C customer: "Anna Miller" as a private customer. Order is placed in the online shop with immediate payment via PayPal, no VAT ID required, invoice automatically includes VAT.
This guide describes how to create a new address in Xentral and set it up as a customer — including the required data maintenance depending on customer type (B2C or B2B).
Steps:
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Create a new address:
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Navigate to Sales > Addresses and click on + New.
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Enter basic data:
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Enter the master data (name, phone, email, VAT ID if applicable, tax number).
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Add an alternative delivery and/or billing address if needed.
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Project assignment: Enter the relevant project — to assign a customer number from the number range and to assign the customer to a channel.
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Save the address:
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Click on Save to create the record.
Note
Only after the first Save can you assign a role (e.g. customer) to an address. This automatically assigns it a customer number from the predefined number range.
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Mark the address as a customer:
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Select the Is customer checkbox in the Roles section and save.
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A customer number is assigned automatically (globally or project-specific).
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Maintain data based on customer type:
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B2C customer: Maintain only basic data such as payment method, shipping method, etc.
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B2B customer: Fill in extended fields such as payment terms, early payment discounts, price group, currency, etc.
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Optional: add further information
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Add notes, CRM data, or attachments (e.g. contracts).
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When creating a new customer, you select the type "Customer" in the address module. Required fields are name/company, street, postal code/city, and country. These details are sufficient to generate a first document — for example a quote.
In addition, further fields are available that you can fill in as needed: contact persons with title and department, an address supplement (e.g. "Building B, 2nd floor"), or for international customers the state/province. For B2B customers, a GLN (Global Location Number) may also be relevant if you work with EDI.
Tip
For B2B customers, always enter the registered address (company headquarters) in the master data. Branch offices or warehouse locations belong in delivery addresses. This ensures that quotes and orders are issued in a legally correct manner.
Email, phone, and fax are not required fields, but they are extremely important for day-to-day work. In particular, you should enter the email address right away, as Xentral uses it by default for sending documents. Without a valid email address, accounting has to send paper invoices — which costs time and money.
The salutation field is used for B2B customers: here you store the standard greeting (e.g. "Dear Mr. Sample"). This is automatically inserted in quotes and other documents. If you maintain it correctly, you save yourself tedious manual corrections later on.
A common error in master data management is putting everything into the master data. Xentral deliberately distinguishes between three address types:
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Master data: Basic details used by default for quotes and orders. If only master data is maintained, this address is also used for invoices, credit notes, and delivery notes.
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Alternative billing address: Used exclusively for invoices and credit notes. Typical case: orders are placed through the Munich branch office, but invoices go to the headquarters in Berlin.
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Delivery address(es): Used on delivery notes and shipping documents. In B2B in particular, it is common for goods to be delivered directly to a warehouse or branch.
Note
If your customer has only master data maintained, that master data is used in all documents.
Hinweis
Example: "Sample Corp" has master data in Munich, a billing address in Berlin, and a warehouse in Augsburg. Quotes and orders are issued to Munich, invoices go to Berlin, and the delivery goes to Augsburg. All controlled through clean address management.
Payment terms determine how your invoices look. The standard is usually "invoice, 14 days net". In Xentral you can enter alternative terms or early payment discounts.
The tax logic is particularly important:
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Domestic customer with no special requirements → standard VAT
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EU customer with valid VAT ID → intra-community supply, tax-exempt
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EU customer without VAT ID → treated like a private customer → VAT applies
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Third country → export, tax-exempt, possibly with customs documentation
Tip
B2B best practice: Always enter the VAT ID directly and verify it online. This way you avoid subsequent corrections or legal issues.
For customers, bank details are only relevant when you use direct debit. Fields such as IBAN, BIC, and mandate reference are then required — otherwise automatic debiting cannot run. If you work exclusively with invoices, you can leave this section empty.
Here you control how documents are sent: by email, fax, or paper. You can store a default recipient for each document type (quote, order, invoice, reminder, etc.). Additional recipients can also be defined — for example if accounting needs a copy of the invoice.
Hinweis
Example: Quotes go to purchasing@sample.com, invoices go to accounting@sample.com. This way every document goes directly to the right contact person.
If you do not configure any shipping options, the email addresses you have entered in the master data, the alternative billing address, or the delivery address are used.
If your customer has only master data maintained, the email address from the master data is used in all documents.