Creating a customer

A customer is a buyer contact to whom you issue quotes and invoices. Every time you create a customer, SynkriaOps simultaneously creates a contact record and a dedicated 411xxx SYSCOHADA sub-account — both are linked atomically in a single transaction.

Accessing the form

In the main menu, click Contacts → Customers → New customer button at the top right.

Creating a customer step by step

1. Enter the company name

   Enter the exact name of your customer as it will appear on quotes, invoices, and financial statements. For a legal entity, use the full registered name (e.g. SARL Maison des Épices).

2. Fill in tax and contact information

   Field	Required	Description
   Company name	Yes	Customer name or registered company name
   Tax ID (NIU)	No	Unique Identification Number (Cameroon) — leave blank for foreign customers
   Email	No	Main email address (pre-filled on quotes)
   Phone	No	Contact number
   Address	No	Physical or postal address
   Foreign identifier	No	For customers outside the OHADA zone — replaces the NIU (RCCM, foreign VAT number, etc.)

   Tip

   For a foreign customer (outside the OHADA zone), leave the NIU field blank and use the Foreign identifier field to enter their European VAT number or any other local tax reference.

3. Confirm creation

   Click Save. SynkriaOps performs in a single transaction:

   • creation of the customer record
   • creation of the 411xxx sub-account (e.g. 411025) in your SYSCOHADA chart of accounts

   The 411xxx number is assigned sequentially — the next available number is calculated automatically. You cannot choose the number manually.

Viewing the associated SYSCOHADA sub-account

From the customer record, click View SYSCOHADA account to open the 411xxx sub-account in your chart of accounts. You can then navigate to the general ledger for this account to view all accounting entries posted for this customer.

Note

The 411xxx sub-account is a child of the root account 411000 “Customers” included in your SYSCOHADA revised 2019 base plan. You cannot delete this sub-account as long as entries exist against it.

Editing customer information

Open the customer record (Contacts → Customers → click the name) then click Edit. You can update all contact and tax information. The 411xxx sub-account number does not change after creation.

Searching for a customer

The search bar at the top of the Contacts → Customers list accepts:

• The name or part of the name (e.g. Maison)
• The tax ID (NIU)
• The SYSCOHADA account number (e.g. 411025)

Archiving a customer

1. Open the customer record.
2. Click the ··· menu (actions) → Archive.
3. Confirm the archiving.

Archiving has the following effects:

• The customer no longer appears in selection lists on quotes and invoices
• The associated 411xxx sub-account is deactivated in the chart of accounts
• History is fully preserved — all past accounting entries, invoices, and quotes remain accessible in read-only mode

Caution

An archived customer cannot be selected for new transactions. To reactivate an archived customer, open their record (via the list filtered on “Archived”) and click Reactivate.

Bulk importing a customer list

If you have a CSV file of customers to import (migration from another software, Excel list), use the bulk import:

1. Go to Contacts → Customers → Import.
2. Download the CSV template provided by SynkriaOps.
3. Fill in your data in the template (one row per customer).
4. Upload the completed file and check the preview.
5. Click Import to confirm.

Expected CSV format:

Column	Required	Example
nom	Yes	SARL Maison des Épices
type	Yes	CLIENT
niu	No	M123456789012A
email	No	contact@maisondesepices.cm
telephone	No	+237 691 234 567
adresse	No	BP 1234, Douala

Tip

For foreign customers in the CSV, leave the niu column blank and add a foreign_identifier column with the corresponding foreign tax number.

When a duplicate is detected (same NIU or exact same name), SynkriaOps flags the row in the import report. You can choose to skip the duplicate or force creation.

Special case: foreign customer

For a customer based outside the OHADA zone (France, European Union, etc.):

• Do not fill in the NIU field
• Use the Foreign identifier field to enter their intra-community VAT number (e.g. FR12345678901) or any other local tax reference
• The 411xxx sub-account is created in the same way
• On export invoices, VAT may be 0% depending on your configuration (see Configuring VAT)

Common errors

Error	Cause	Solution
”Name already in use”	A customer with this exact name exists	Check the list, or refine the name (e.g. add the city)
“Invalid NIU”	Format does not match Cameroon standard	Check format (letter + 12 digits + letter) or leave blank
”Unable to create sub-account”	Technical error creating the 411xxx account	Refresh and try again, or contact support
”Missing column in CSV”	CSV file does not match the template	Use the template downloaded from SynkriaOps

Further reading

• Creating a supplier — add a supplier contact with a 401xxx sub-account
• Managing SYSCOHADA sub-accounts — understand the chart of accounts hierarchy and contact sub-accounts
• Creating a quote — use a customer in a sales cycle
• Creating a customer invoice — invoice directly without going through a quote