Groups & System Settings

The Groups & System Settings module provides centralized configuration across commercial pricing structures, trading terms, credit risk policies, accounting control accounts, automated email delivery, and Typst PDF printing templates.

---

Configuration Areas

1. Group Management & Analysis Codes

• Customer Groups (/admin/customer-groups): Segment clients by trade type (e.g. Retail, Wholesale, Key Accounts) and assign default Price Scales (1 to 4), default Accounts Receivable control accounts, group credit limits, and default trading terms.
• Supplier Groups (/admin/supplier-groups): Categorize vendors (e.g. Domestic Freight, Raw Material Vendors, Overseas Mills) and assign default Accounts Payable control accounts, payment terms, and spend analytics tags.
• Product Groups (/admin/product-groups): Hierarchical catalogue classifications defining default Sales Income, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), and Inventory Asset accounts.
• Analysis Codes (/admin/settings/system#sales-analysis-codes-section): Configurable multidimensional reporting codes applied to operational transactions for segmental reporting.

---

2. Credit Policy & Trading Terms (/admin/settings/financial#credit-policy)

The Credit Policy & Trading Terms configuration section establishes the commercial settlement rules, due date calculation engines, credit exposure thresholds, and global default terms for all sales and procurement activities.

flowchart TD
    subgraph Configuration ["Admin Financial Settings (/admin/settings/financial)"]
        TT["Trading Terms Dictionary<br/>(Code, Description, Days, Type)"]
        CLB["Credit Limit Behavior<br/>(Hard Block vs. Soft Warning)"]
        DCT["Default Customer Terms"]
        DST["Default Supplier Terms"]
    end

    subgraph ResolutionCascade ["Inheritance Cascade (First Match Wins)"]
        CUST["Customer / Supplier Record Override"]
        GRP["Customer / Supplier Group Defaults"]
        SYS["System Global Default (DCT / DST)"]
        CASH["Immediate / Cash Basis Fallback"]
    end

    subgraph Execution ["Operations & Accounting Impact"]
        INV["Sales & Purchase Invoices<br/>(Auto Due Date Calculation)"]
        AGING["Debtor & Creditor Aging<br/>(Current, 30, 60, 90+ Days)"]
        HOLD["Credit Control OR-Gate<br/>(Sales Order Confirmation Block)"]
    end

    TT --> DCT & DST
    CUST --> GRP --> SYS --> CASH
    DCT & DST -.-> SYS
    CASH --> INV
    INV --> AGING
    CLB --> HOLD

A. Trading Terms Dictionary

The Trading Terms table defines the standardized payment schedules available across customer accounts, customer groups, supplier profiles, supplier groups, sales invoices, and vendor bills:

Setting / Column	Type	Description
Code	Text (Unique)	Short alphanumeric identifier (e.g. NET30, NET7, NET14, NET60, COD, EOM30, EOM0, D3, D4). Entries are sorted in natural alphanumeric order (e.g. D3 is followed by D4, then D10, then D30).
Description	Text	Clear human-readable description displayed in dropdowns and printed on customer/supplier documents (e.g. 30 Days from Invoice Date, Cash on Delivery / Immediate, 30 Days following End of Invoice Month).
Days	Integer	The numeric calendar day offset used in the due date calculation formula (e.g. 0, 3, 7, 14, 30, 60, 90).
Calculation Type	Dropdown	The calculation algorithm used to compute the settlement due date from the invoice date.

B. Calculation Types & Due Date Formulas

The system provides three distinct calculation types:

1. Net (Days from Invoice) (net):

   • Definition: Full payment is due exactly Days calendar days following the statutory invoice date.
   • Formula: Due Date = Invoice Date + Days
   • Examples:
     • NET30 (days = 30): Invoice dated May 10 -> Due Date is June 9.
     • NET14 (days = 14): Invoice dated May 10 -> Due Date is May 24.
     • NET7 (days = 7): Invoice dated May 10 -> Due Date is May 17.
     • NET60 (days = 60): Invoice dated May 10 -> Due Date is July 9.

2. End of Month (EOM) (end_of_month):

   • Definition: Payment is due after the close of the calendar month in which the invoice was issued, plus the specified number of additional Days.
   • Formula: Due Date = Last Day of Invoice Month + Days
   • Examples:
     • EOM30 or 30EOM (days = 30): Invoice dated May 12 -> Last day of May is May 31 -> Due Date is June 30.
     • EOM0 or EOM (days = 0): Invoice dated May 12 -> Last day of May is May 31 -> Due Date is May 31 (settlement due at the end of the current billing month).
     • EOM15 (days = 15): Invoice dated May 12 -> Month end is May 31 -> Due Date is June 15.
     • EOM60 (days = 60): Invoice dated May 12 -> Month end is May 31 -> Due Date is July 30.

3. Cash on Delivery (COD) (cash_on_delivery):

   • Definition: Payment is due immediately upon order delivery or invoice generation. No credit period is extended (days = 0).
   • Formula: Due Date = Invoice Date
   • Example:
     • COD (days = 0): Invoice dated May 10 -> Due Date is May 10. Orders on COD terms require immediate cash, card, or cleared electronic funds transfer before or upon delivery.

C. Credit Limit Behavior Options

Controls how the system responds when a customer’s total financial exposure (unpaid posted invoices + open confirmed/picking/shipped orders) exceeds their approved credit limit:

• Hard Limit Block (hard) (Recommended):
  • Strictly prevents sales operators from moving sales orders to Quoted or Confirmed state if the order causes total financial exposure to exceed the customer’s effective credit limit.
  • An order can only proceed if a credit manager grants a formal, time-limited Credit Hold Override with a mandatory business justification reason.
• Soft Warning (soft):
  • Displays an amber warning banner alerting the operator that the customer has exceeded their credit limit, but allows order progression without requiring a managerial override.

D. Global Fallback Defaults

• Default Customer Trading Terms (defaultCustomerTermsId):
  • The system-wide fallback trading terms automatically assigned to new customers and applied during invoice generation when neither the individual customer record nor their customer group has specific terms configured.
• Default Supplier Trading Terms (defaultSupplierTermsId):
  • The system-wide fallback trading terms automatically assigned to new vendors and applied to purchase orders and supplier bills when neither the vendor profile nor their supplier group has specific terms configured.

---

3. Financial Settings (/admin/settings/financial)

• Base Currency & Multi-Currency: Sets the primary operating currency (baseCurrency) and exchange rate revaluation parameters.
• Control Accounts: Default AR, AP, GRNI Clearing, Inventory Asset, Tax clearing, and Expense accounts.
• Chart of Accounts Import: Upload and deploy standard ERPNext JSON Chart of Accounts definitions.
• Cost Centers & Activities: Multidimensional cost allocation hierarchies.
• FX Revaluation: Period-end unrealized exchange rate adjustments executed via the GL engine (POST /api/gl/fx-revaluation/commit).

4. Email Outbox & SMTP Settings

• Email Settings (/admin/email/settings): Configure outbound SMTP servers (Host, Port, TLS, Username, Password, From Address).
• Email Outbox (/admin/email/outbox): Queue tracking all sent and pending emails with automated exponential retry.

5. PDF Document Templates, Fonts & Hooks (/admin/settings/pdf-templates)

• Settings: Global branding controls for primary colors, accent colors, muted label colors, typography font families, base font sizing, and modular Customer/Supplier header and footer fragments with live PDF preview.
• Templates: Searchable catalog of all 28 seeded Typst document templates with direct editing and custom output filename patterns.
• Hooks: Connect system business event triggers (e.g. sales-invoice, purchase-order, quote) to specific Typst templates.

6. CRM Pipeline & Opportunity Settings (/admin/settings/crm)

• Pipeline Stages (projectStatuses): Define ordered stages representing the sales journey (e.g. Discovery, Proposal, Negotiation, Won, Lost) that populate the CRM Opportunities Kanban board.
• Opportunity Types (projectTypes): Configure classification categories for deals (e.g. New Business, Renewal, Expansion, Consulting).

---

Step-by-Step Workflows

1. Creating and Managing Trading Terms

1. Go to Administration → Settings → Financial (/admin/settings/financial).
2. Switch to the Operations & Compliance tab and scroll to Credit Policy & Trading Terms (#credit-policy).
3. Under the Trading Terms table, click Add Row (or edit an existing entry).
4. Enter the Code (e.g. NET30, EOM30, COD).
5. Enter the Description (e.g. 30 Days from Invoice Date).
6. Enter the Days (e.g. 30 for Net 30, 0 for COD).
7. Select the Type (Net (Days from Invoice), End of Month (EOM), or Cash on Delivery (COD)).
8. Click Save to commit the new trading term.
9. In the dropdowns above the table, optionally select the new term as the Default Customer Terms or Default Supplier Terms.
10. Choose your desired Credit Limit Behavior (Hard Block or Soft Warning).

2. Creating a Customer Group with Terms and Price Scale

1. Go to Administration → Customer Groups (/admin/customer-groups).
2. Click New Group.
3. Enter the Group Name and select the default Price Scale (1–4).
4. Select the default AR Control Account and Trading Terms.
5. (Optional) Set group-level Credit Limit, Early Payment Discount %, and Early Payment Window (Days).
6. Click Save Group.

3. Configuring Outbound SMTP Email

1. Go to Administration → Email → Settings (/admin/email/settings).
2. Enter your SMTP Host, Port, and authentication credentials.
3. Send a test email to verify server connectivity.
4. Click Save Settings.

---

Field Reference

Field	Description
Customer Group	Segment determining default price scale (1–4), default AR account, group credit limits, and group trading terms.
Supplier Group	Procurement category setting default AP account, payment terms, and spend analytics tags.
Product Group	Inventory category setting revenue and COGS accounts.
Trading Terms Code	Alphanumeric identifier sorted naturally (e.g. D3, D4, D30, NET30, EOM30).
Trading Terms Days	Integer numeric day count applied in settlement date calculations.
Trading Terms Type	Calculation mode (net = Invoice Date + Days; end_of_month = Month End + Days; cash_on_delivery = Invoice Date).
Credit Limit Behavior	Enforcement policy when limits are exceeded (hard = strict block requiring managerial override; soft = warning).
Default Customer Terms	Global system fallback trading terms for customer billing when no profile or group term is defined.
Default Supplier Terms	Global system fallback trading terms for vendor procurement when no profile or group term is defined.
Analysis Codes	Financial tags for multidimensional reporting.
Pipeline Stages	Configurable stages for sales opportunities in the CRM Kanban board.