Method Community

I changed a bunch of sales reps for customers by exporting the customer table and then re-importing.

At the time, I looked at a few of the customers and the sales reps for the "Main Account" job types seemed to have changed fine.

However, looking at the accounts/file export today, it's clear that these changes didn't take and they have all reverted to the old sales reps.

Is this something that has to be changed in QuickBooks by exporting the customer table, changing it and then re-importing it? iI thought if I made the changes to the customer table in Method then the changes would take.

Why are these changes not reflected in Method?

Some further clarification:

I need the Sales Rep field for the Main Account contact in the Contact section of the customer detail screen to reflect my changes. I also need the new sales rep to be populated in a new invoice/sales order.

Which table do I have to change? There's Customers, Customers and Leads, Entity, etc. I made the changes to the Customers table. Do I need to change all 3? Or just Entity?

Thanks

MikeB:

Which table do I have to change? There's Customers, Customers and Leads, Entity, etc. I made the changes to the Customers table. Do I need to change all 3? Or just Entity?

Hi Mike, 

I just want to clarify our table structure - Customer, Customer Lead and Customer and Lead are all views on the Entity table.  There's no need to change all three, you'll want to import into whichever view fits your criteria.

MikeB:

Which table do I have to change?

This depends on which records you want to update, if it's all records across the board (customers and leads) then you'll select Customer and Lead.  

Follow these steps to update your SalesRep through an export/import:

1. Export the customer and lead table and select the following fields - FullName, ParentFullName, RecordID and SalesRep.
2. Open your data in excel and make changes to your SalesRep field only (I exported the names so I know who I'm looking at).
3. Select import to the customer and lead table, select your file then click Import data...
4. Make sure you select update existing records and your key is RecordID.
5. For FirstName and ParentFullName click Do Not Import.
6. For RecordID click To Existing Field.  Even though we're not really importing this field again it needs to be selected.
7. For SalesRep click To Existing Field.  Click Import.
8. The next screen will give you a warning that the values for RecordID does not support edit, this is fine.  Click Begin Import now.
9. This should finish successfully and your SalesRep field will be updated.
10. I would follow this up with initiating a full sync so your data in QB get's updated.
    
    

Thanks, I followed that procedure before (although I exported all fields - no matter, I only imported Sales Rep and RecordID) and it worked at the time, but then reverted.

1 question though: If Customer/Lead/Customer and Lead are all views of the Entity table, shouldn't I change the records in the Entity table and not in the Customer and Lead table?

MikeB:

but then reverted.

Does it revert after a sync?  What are your conflict settings?  Under QuickBooks > Synchronize do you have this set to QuickBooks wins?  I changed my reps several times today and had no problems with the records reverting.  Do you have any custom actions which might be flipping the SalesRep back?

MikeB:

shouldn't I change the records in the Entity table and not in the Customer and Lead table?

You can use Entity but it doesn't matter, the data is all going into the same table regardless of your choice.

~C

I went through the steps, which I'm pretty sure I went through last time and which led to a successful update last time.

Looking at some accounts in Method, and exporting the Customers and Leads table,  see the changes are there (just like before).

But when I do a Changes Only Sync, the time doesn't change. It should read 1:32 or something and it still says 1:22, even after I log out and/or refresh.

The editing conflict setting is: Mot Recent Wins, and no one changes the reps in QB. In fact, it's impossible to do without exporting/importing the QB Cutomers table anyway for the Main Accounts.

I hope when the sync actually does happen that the changes will remain.

MikeB:

I hope when the sync actually does happen that the changes will remain.

There's no reason why they wouldn't.  I flipped my sales reps several times today and they sync'd to QB everytime.

Post back up your results.

~C

Well, after waiting until 2:57 and pressing the Sync Changes button, the sync time ended up being 2:26PM. I think it's set to check every 60 minutes. So, first off, the manual sync doesn't seem to work.

And my Sales Rep changes were no longer there. I exported the Customers and Leads table and checked a few customers manually in Method and it's back to before my changes.

This is really frustrating.

MikeB:

This is really frustrating.

I'm a bit stumped on this one - where are you not seeing the change?  For example, if you're just changing the sales rep on the customer records and you trying to see the changes on an invoice, you won't.  You may need to update another table depending?

~C

I'm not seeing changes in the following situations:

• Creating a sales order for Customer:Main Account
• Going into the customer main page, going to the Contacts section/tab, selecting Main Account and going to the detail page for the Main Account job type for that customer.

In both cases, the original sales reps are still there. My uploaded changed were present in both scenarios, but I guess when the sync kicked in they were wiped out.

Have you tried to change the SalesRep data in QB?  Does this sync over correctly to Method and does it have the same effect of switching back shortly after?  This is a longshot but are you changing to a valid SalesRep?  You would get an error on the import if the SalesRep didn't exist but I'm just trying to figure out what might be causing this for you.

~C

I don't think any of the sales rep cahnges are implemented, but I'd have to go through all of them.

The problem in QB is that when you create a new customer, you pick a sales rep. That sales rep is automatically assigned to each job type (eg. Main Acocunt). It can't be changed unless you export/change/re-import. I thought method would do that. Anecdotally, changing an individual one in Method will not save to the new rep.

MikeB:

The problem in QB is that when you create a new customer, you pick a sales rep.

Are you able to change the sales rep in QB and have that change stay?  I'm confused with how your sales reps change on sync - that really shouldn't be happening.  I know of no automatic process in QB that locks a sales rep to a customer.  You should be able to change the sales rep in QB.  Likewise in Method you should be able to change the sales rep without a problem unless there's some customization.

~C

MikeB:

I don't think any of the sales rep cahnges are implemented, but I'd have to go through all of them.

Hi MikeB,

I've exhausted anything I can think of with regards to why your sales reps are reverting back.  I know of no SDK limitation or anything inside stock Method screens which would revert these changes on a sync.  You could book a 1/2 hour session with a consultant on staff here to review your import process and see why the changes are not staying after a sync.  As with any paid support session, if this ends up being a platform bug then you won't be billed for it.  

~C

I tested something this morning:

I found one customer that had the new rep at the "Account Name" parent level, but the old rep at the "Main Account" contact level. I changed the rep, went to the QB tab and pressed the "Sync" changes only button. The time changed, reflecting a sync, and I went back to the account and the new rep was updated.

However, I found another customer in the same situation and after updating the rep to the newer rep in the "Main Account" contact, I pressed the "Sync" button and no time was updated. Also, the rep change I made went away.

I'm not sure if those issues are related, but that's what happened.