Does your customer order basically the same items each time?  If so, you can set up a Standard Order for the customer.

Note: Standard orders can also be used if you want to offer special pricing to a customer OR if you want to limit which items a particular customer can access via the portal.  Read on for more info on this.

A "standard order" is essentially a default order for a customer.  If a customer has a standard order defined, when any user creates a new order for that customer, the standard order will be copied into the new order and any necessary changes can be made.

By clicking the Make Standard button on an order, you are making that order the standard order for that customer.  The "Make Standard" button will then change to orange and just say Standard so you'll know this is a Standard Order.

General Notes about Standard Orders

• Only one order per customer can be designated the standard order.  If there is already a standard order for a customer and you click the Make Standard on a different order for that customer, the new order will replace the old one as the standard order.
• Tip: Don't submit the standard order.  If you do, you will no longer be able to make changes to it. By not submitting it, you will be able to edit it as needed. Also, disable the Send alert if I forget to submit it by unchecking that checkbox. Otherwise you'll be getting pesky emails telling you that you forgot to submit it!!  If you can't see the checkbox, click the Show Header link that will show in the area circled below in purple.

• No longer want this as a Standard Order?  Click on the orange button and this order will no longer be the standard order for the customer.  In fact, there will now be no standard order set up for that customer. 
• Want to access a Standard Order for a customer?
  • From the Customers Tab on the Main Page, click on the Company Name

• • Then click on the Orders Entered in Portal tab, and then click on the word Standard.  The Standard Order will come to the top. 
  • If the order has not been submitted, the Submitted On field will be empty. You'll be able to make changes by clicking on the Edit link in the left hand column.

• • If the Standard Order has already been submitted, you won't be able to edit it.
  • You'll be able to tell if it's been submitted if there's a date in the Submitted On field.
  • If it has already been submitted, you can easily create a new standard order by creating a new order for that customer (which will essentially be a copy of the existing Standard Order), make changes, save it, then click the Make Standard button. This order will become the customer's new Standard Order.

Special Pricing for a Customer

When you make an order the standard order, you will be given a choice: should orders created from this order use the prices entered on the standard order OR use the current product prices (based on the current QuickBooks item pricing).  Make sure you review this setting and change, if needed.  If you are setting up a standard order for the purpose of giving the customer special pricing, you should select the "Use prices from this order" option.  Otherwise select the "Use current prices" option.  

Notes about Special Pricing:

• If there is a standard order for a customer with "Use prices from this order" selected, ALL pricing information throughout the portal for that customer will use the prices from the standard order for any item on that order.  This includes the cost that shows on the Items tab for that customer, the cost on the Price List report that is available to customer users, and the price used when entering an order.  In other words, for any item on the standard order, the pricing entered on the standard order overrides the price that comes from QuickBooks and overrides any non-volume special pricing that you may have uploaded from a spreadsheet.
  • Note about "volume pricing" or "quantity-based pricing":  if an item on a standard order with "Use prices from this order" selected uses volume pricing, when a new order is created for this customer, the volume-priced item will use the quantity and price as entered on the standard order.  Note that a user cannot change the quantity for a volume-priced item, so if a different quantity is required, the user must delete the item and re-add it.  When the item is re-added, Crik-IT will use the current volume pricing in effect at that time, based on the quantity being ordered.  This means that the special pricing for a volume priced item will only be effective if the quantity ordered is the same as that on the standard order.
• When a customer user creates a new order, if you have set up a standard order for that customer with "Use prices from this order" selected, the prices used on the order being created will be the prices from the standard order.  If you have set up a standard order for that customer with "Use current prices" selected, the prices used on the order being created will be the current pricing in effect for that customer.  Note that a customer user cannot change prices on an order.
• When an in-house or rep user creates a copy of a standard order, the user will be asked for whom they wish to create the copy for--it can be for the customer who's standard order is being copied, or for another customer. If any of the prices on the standard order are different than the current product prices, the user will be presented with a dialog box asking whether to use current prices or prices from the standard order. (Customer users are not given this option). Reps and in-house users can change prices on an order.

This dialogue box only appears when a standard order is copied.

Limit items that a customer user can access in their portal

When you make an order the standard order, you will be able to tell Crik-IT if this customer should be prevented from seeing items NOT on this order anywhere throughout the customer's portal.  If this is checked, when a customer user logs into their portal, they will not be able to see items that are not on the standard order in the inventory report, price list, items tab, or when entering an order.

If you want to prevent a customer from accessing or seeing any items not on the standard order, click the "Should a customer user be prevented from accessing items not on the standard order throughout the portal?" checkbox.

• Note: If the 'See quote/order line images' feature is turned on for a customer in Crik-IT

• • And that customer cannot purchase a particular item, but that item is part of a bundle that they can purchase, the results might be unpredictable. 

Prevent a customer from being able to add lines to an order

Some companies want to set up a specific order for the customer and they do not want the customer to be able to add items to the order.  When you make an order the standard order, you will be able to tell Crik-IT if a customer user should NOT be permitted to add any new lines to an order.  The customer will be able to update the quantities on the existing lines (i.e. the lines that are copied to a new order from the standard order), but they will not be able to add any other lines or items to the order. [Note: customer will not be able to change the quantity on "volume priced" items.]

If you want to prevent a customer from being able to add lines items to an order, click the "Should a customer user be prevented from adding lines to an order?" checkbox.

Notes about Preventing a customer user from adding lines to an order:

• If a customer user deletes a line from an order, they will not be able to add that line back to the order.  The user will have to create a new order and start over.
• Note that the user will not be able to change the quantity on a "volume priced" or "quantity-based priced" item.  If a volume-priced item is on a standard order, the customer user will be able to delete that item, but will not be able to order a different quantity of that item.