Managing Customer Addresses

The Addresses tab on the Customer form lets you store multiple shipping and billing addresses for each customer. Many businesses need to send goods to different locations or bill to a separate corporate office. AccuArk handles this by maintaining two lists of addresses per customer, one for shipping and one for billing, and letting you link them to invoices when orders are created.

This article covers the layout of the Addresses tab, how to add new addresses, how to edit or delete existing ones, and how addresses connect to the invoicing process.

Addresses Tab Overview

The Addresses tab is the second tab on the Customer form. When you click the Addresses tab, you see a sub-tab control with two sub-tabs:

1. Shipping — Manages shipping (delivery) addresses
2. Billing — Manages billing (invoicing) addresses

Both sub-tabs follow the same layout pattern. The top portion of the sub-tab contains a form for entering a new address, and the bottom portion contains a grid displaying all saved addresses of that type.

The Shipping Sub-Tab

The Shipping sub-tab is selected by default when you first click the Addresses tab. It is divided into two areas: the new address form at the top and the address grid below.

New Shipping Address Form

The top portion of the Shipping sub-tab is a group box labeled "New Shipping Address" that contains the following fields:

Below the address fields is an action area with two controls:

• Is Also A Billing Address checkbox — When checked (this is the default), the address is automatically copied to the billing address list as well. This saves time when a customer's shipping and billing address are the same.
• Add To Shipping Addresses button — Saves the address to the database and adds it to the grid below. After saving, the form fields are cleared so you can enter another address.

Shipping Address Grid

The lower portion of the Shipping sub-tab contains a data grid that displays all saved shipping addresses for this customer. The grid columns are:

The grid is read-only, meaning you cannot edit cells directly in the grid. Instead, you interact with addresses using the following methods:

• Double-click a row to open the address for editing. A hint label at the top of the grid reads "Double click to edit" to remind you of this feature.
• Right-click a row to open a context menu with two options:
  • Edit Address — Opens the address for editing (same as double-click)
  • Delete Address — Removes the address from the customer's records after a confirmation prompt

The grid supports full-row selection and auto-sizes columns to fill the available width. Rows are sorted by name in ascending order.

The Billing Sub-Tab

The Billing sub-tab has an identical layout to the Shipping sub-tab, with one difference in the checkbox label.

New Billing Address Form

The top portion of the Billing sub-tab is a group box labeled "New Billing Address" with the same fields as the shipping form: Name, Phone, Address 1, Address 2, City, State, and Zip Code.

The action area contains:

• Is Also A Shipping Address checkbox — When checked, the billing address is automatically copied to the shipping address list as well. This is the mirror of the "Is Also A Billing Address" checkbox on the Shipping sub-tab.
• Add To Billing Addresses button — Saves the billing address to the database and adds it to the billing grid.

Billing Address Grid

The billing address grid has the same columns and behaviors as the shipping grid: ID, Name, Phone, Address, City, State, ZipCode, and Type. Double-clicking opens the address for editing, and right-clicking shows the Edit Address and Delete Address context menu.

Adding a New Address Step by Step

Follow these steps to add a new shipping address (the process is the same for billing addresses):

1. Open the customer record from the Customers list
2. Click the Addresses tab
3. Make sure the Shipping sub-tab is selected
4. In the "New Shipping Address" form, fill in the Name field with a descriptive name (for example, "Downtown Office" or "John Smith")
5. Enter the Phone number if applicable
6. Fill in Address 1, and optionally Address 2
7. Enter the City, State, and Zip Code
8. If this address should also be saved as a billing address, leave the Is Also A Billing Address checkbox checked. If not, uncheck it.
9. Click Add To Shipping Addresses
10. The address appears in the grid below, and the form fields are cleared for the next entry

Editing an Existing Address

To edit a saved address:

1. Navigate to the Addresses tab and select the appropriate sub-tab (Shipping or Billing)
2. Locate the address in the grid
3. Double-click the row, or right-click and select Edit Address
4. The address details load into the form at the top of the sub-tab
5. Make your changes
6. Save the updated address

Editing an address updates it in the database immediately. If the address was originally created with the "Is Also A" checkbox, the copy in the other list is a separate record and must be edited independently.

Deleting an Address

To remove an address from a customer's records:

1. Navigate to the Addresses tab and select the appropriate sub-tab
2. Right-click the address row in the grid
3. Select Delete Address from the context menu
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted

Deleting an address removes it permanently from the customer's address book. If the address was copied to both shipping and billing lists, deleting it from one list does not remove it from the other.

How Addresses Connect to Invoices

When you create an invoice for a customer, AccuArk allows you to select a shipping address and a billing address from the customer's saved address lists. The invoice records which addresses were selected so they appear on printed or emailed invoices.

This is why it is important to keep customer addresses up to date. If a customer moves or opens a new location, adding the new address to their address book ensures that future invoices reference the correct destination.

If no addresses are saved for a customer, the invoice will use the customer's mailing address from the Customer Info tab as a fallback.

Mailing Address vs. Shipping and Billing Addresses

It is important to understand the distinction between the mailing address on the Customer Info tab and the shipping/billing addresses on the Addresses tab:

• Mailing Address (Customer Info tab) — The customer's primary correspondence address. This is a single address stored directly on the customer record. It is used for general correspondence and as a fallback when no shipping or billing address is selected.
• Shipping Addresses (Addresses tab > Shipping) — One or more delivery addresses where goods are sent. Multiple shipping addresses let you handle customers with several delivery locations.
• Billing Addresses (Addresses tab > Billing) — One or more addresses where invoices are sent. A customer might have a central accounts payable office that differs from their delivery locations.

Tips for Managing Addresses

1. Use descriptive names — Name each address with something meaningful like "Main Office," "Warehouse," or "Corporate Billing." This makes it easy to pick the right address when creating invoices.
2. Use the "Is Also A" checkbox — For most small customers, the shipping and billing address are the same. Leave the checkbox checked to create both records in one step.
3. Keep addresses current — When a customer notifies you of an address change, update it immediately on the Addresses tab. Old addresses on invoices can cause delivery problems and payment delays.
4. One address per purpose — While you can have many addresses per customer, each address should represent a distinct physical location. Avoid creating duplicates of the same address.
5. Check both sub-tabs — After adding or editing addresses, click both the Shipping and Billing sub-tabs to verify that the correct addresses appear in each list.

What to Read Next

• Customer Invoice History — How to view and manage invoices on the Invoices tab
• Customer Payments and Credits — Understanding the Payments and Credits tab