Register a channel partner and its people

A channel partner (a broker) is a company with people you deal with. Register it once, with its RERA agent registration and the commission it usually earns; then opportunities can name the partner and one of its people, commissions can be worked out from its default rate, and payout runs can pay it.

Before you start

• Company types come from Lookups. Choosing one needs the View permission on Lookups; without it the form warns "Choosing a company type needs the Lookups permission." and no company can be created.
• Permissions, in the role editor's words: the Create permission on Companies to register the company and Edit to attach people (in the default roles the Administrator, Finance Lead, Project Manager, Accountant and Sales Manager); the View permission on Contacts to pick an existing person; the Create permission on Bank Accounts for the payout account (Administrator, Finance Lead and Accountant).

Steps

1. In the sidebar open Masters, choose Companies and click New company at the top right. The New company page opens with "Only the name and type are required; add registrations and people later."
2. Under Identity, type the Company name and choose Channel Partner as the Company type (the hint reads "Picks which details are asked for below."). The last section of the form changes to Channel partner: "RERA agent registration, its validity and the commission this partner earns by default."
3. Fill what you know: RERA agent registration no., Agent registration valid until, Default commission in % (0 to 100; "Applied to new opportunities brought by this partner."), Authorized signatory and Signatory designation. Under Registrations add the PAN and GSTIN (turned into capitals), and under Contact & address the Phone, Email, Address, State, City and PIN code. Add Legal name if it differs and the Entity structure.
4. Click Create company. You see “Company "<name>" created.” and the company's page opens (see Company), with a Channel Partner badge beside the name and the details under Channel partner.
5. On the People card ("Directors, sales heads and other contacts at this company.") click Attach. The panel "Attach a person" opens.
6. Under Person, choose New person and fill First name and Phone (and Prefix, Last name, Email, Alternate phone, PAN if you have them), or choose Existing contact and search "by name, phone or email" for someone already in Contacts. Type the Designation (placeholder "e.g. Director, Sales head") and tick Primary contact for the person to reach first ("The person to reach first for this company.").
7. Click Attach. You see "<name> attached." and the person is listed on the card with their designation and "<phone> · <email>", and a blue Primary badge if you ticked it. A new person is created in Contacts with the type Channel Partner. Repeat from step 5 for the others.
8. To record where the partner is paid, on the Bank accounts card ("Where this owner is paid, or pays from.") click Add. The panel "New account for <company>" opens with the owner fixed to this company. The card shows only if you hold the View permission on Bank Accounts; the same panel opens from Masters > Bank Accounts > New bank account with Owner set to Company.
9. The Purpose is already Channel Partner Payout, filled in from the company type; fill Account holder name ("Exactly as printed by the bank (used to match cheques)."), Bank, Account number and the 11-character IFSC (placeholder "HDFC0001234"), tick Primary account ("Default for payouts to this owner.") and click Add account. You see "Bank account added." and the account is listed with a Primary chip. See Bank accounts for the other fields.

What happens next

• When a lead comes through this partner, the opportunity form offers the company in its channel partner picker, and its people as the partner's contact. See New opportunity.
• A commission for the partner is worked out from Default commission when no other basis is given; the opportunity itself doesn't read it.
• Payout runs pay the partner's Primary active account, or any active account when none is primary. Tick Verified on the account once the cancelled cheque or penny drop is checked; the flag is for your control only and isn't enforced.
• The people you attached are ordinary contacts: correct them under Masters > Contacts (see Add, edit and retire contacts); on the company page the pencil changes only the designation and the primary flag, and the trash icon Detach removes the listing but keeps the contact.
• To change the partner's details later, click Edit on its page (see Edit company). A partner you stop working with is retired by unticking Active there; a company named on an opportunity, or with a bank account recorded, can't be deleted.

If something goes wrong

• "A company with this name already exists." on Company name: names are compared without regard to capitals; find the existing company in the list instead. See Company name already used.
• "Choosing a company type needs the Lookups permission." on the form: ask for the View permission on Lookups. See Lookups permission needed.
• "This person is already attached to the company." when attaching: a person is linked to a company once, so edit the existing row (its designation or role) instead of adding it again.
• "The 'Tenant' contact type is not configured. Ask an administrator to add it under Lookups." when attaching a new person: despite the wording, it is the Channel Partner contact type that is missing from your lookups. See Required lookup missing.
• "Enter the 11-character IFSC, e.g. HDFC0001234" or "Enter a valid 11-character IFSC code." on IFSC: a 10-character code you were given is missing a character, usually a zero. See Bank account cannot be saved, changed or deleted.
• "An account with this number and IFSC already exists" on Account number: the account is already recorded, possibly under another owner; search for it on Bank accounts.

Related

• New company
• Company
• Edit company
• Companies
• Contacts
• Bank accounts
• Lookups
• New opportunity
• Commissions
• Payout runs
• Add, edit and retire contacts