Customers vs Companies

In CloudFFL, you can create contacts as Individuals (people) or Companies (businesses). Understanding when to use each — and how to link them — helps you keep your records organized.

When to Use Individual

Use Individual for most walk-in customers and private buyers. They are single people purchasing for themselves.

When to Use Company

Use Company when you deal with a business or organization:

A local police department ordering duty weapons
A security company buying firearms for their guards
A shooting range purchasing targets and ammo in bulk

Linking People to Companies

Often you deal with a specific person at a company. CloudFFL handles this by linking Individual contacts to Company contacts:

Create the Company contact first (e.g., "Springfield Police Department").
Create an Individual contact (e.g., "Officer Mike Davis").
On the Individual form, find the Company field and select the company you created.
Save.

Now Officer Davis is linked to Springfield PD. When you create a sales order for the department, you can select the company as the customer and choose the specific contact person.

Tip: On a Company contact record, you will see a Contacts & Addresses tab that lists all individuals linked to that company. This is a quick way to see everyone at an organization.

Practical Example

Your shop sells 10 Glock 17s to the Springfield Police Department. Sergeant Lisa Park placed the order.

Create "Springfield Police Department" as a Company
Create "Sgt. Lisa Park" as an Individual, linked to the company
On the sales order, set Customer to "Springfield Police Department" and Contact to "Sgt. Lisa Park"