Customer master file definition

What is the Customer Master File?

The customer master file is used to maintain information in the accounting database that is unique to each customer . Examples of the information contained within the file are as follows:

  • Customer name

  • Customer identification number

  • Customer address

  • Contact name and phone number

  • Sales representative name

  • Customer tax identification number

  • Customer credit limit

  • Customer credit score

  • Customer payment terms

  • Customer ship-via settings

  • Past due notification flag

  • Monthly statement flag

  • Taxable flag

  • Tax exempt ID number

The information contained within this file is used to automatically populate fields in new transactions , such as customer sales orders . Access to this file should be restricted, in order to preserve the integrity of the stored data.

Related AccountingTools Course

Accounting Information Systems