The customer list in Dext holds the customers you've sold to, so Dext can match your sales invoices to the right customer. To open it, go to Sales > Customers. What you can do there depends on whether your account is connected to accounting software.
Important: Only Admin users can open and manage the customer list. This includes accountants and bookkeepers working in a client account.
How Dext matches customers on sales invoices
When you upload a sales invoice, Dext checks the customer name on the document against your customer list:
If the name matches a customer in your list, Dext sets that customer on the item.
If there's no match, Dext leaves the Customer field empty. It shows the extracted name as a suggestion under the field, for example Use Acme Corp.
When there's no match, the item also shows the message "We were unable to find an existing customer in your customer list."
To add the customer to your list, select the suggestion. Dext sets the customer on the item and adds them to your list. To use a customer that's already in your list instead, choose them from the Customer drop-down.
After a customer is in your list, Dext sets that customer on future documents automatically.
What you can do with and without accounting software
The actions available in the customer list depend on whether your account is connected to accounting software.
Action | Connected to accounting software | Not connected |
Add customers | Customers sync from your accounting software. You can also add them from a sales invoice, manually or from a CSV file | Add them from a sales invoice, manually or from a CSV file |
Edit a customer's name | Change it in your accounting software, then reload the list in Dext | Change it in Dext |
Delete a customer | Delete it in your accounting software, reload the list, then delete it in Dext | Delete it in Dext |
Hide a customer | Turn off the Visible toggle, for customers that exist in your accounting software | Not available |
Ways to add customers
You can add customers to the customer list from a sales invoice, manually or from a CSV file, whether or not your account is connected to accounting software.
Add a customer from a sales invoice
To add a customer from a sales invoice, select the customer suggestion on the item's details page:
Open the sales item from your Sales inbox.
Under the Customer field, select the Use suggestion, for example Use Acme Corp.
Add a customer manually
To add a customer manually, select Add new customer in the top right of the customer list:
Go to Sales > Customers.
Select Add new customer.
Enter the Company name.
Select Add.
Import customers from a CSV file
To add several customers at once, import them from a CSV file:
Go to Sales > Customers.
Select Import from CSV.
Upload your file.
A customer CSV file has a header row and these columns: Name, Currency code, Category code, Category name, Tax ID, Tax code and Tax name.
If your account is connected to accounting software
If your account is connected to accounting software, your customer list syncs from your accounting software, and you manage customer details there.
Dext pulls in changes from your accounting software every 48 hours. When you publish a document with a customer that isn't in your accounting software yet, Dext also creates that customer there.
To pull in changes sooner, reload the list:
Go to Sales > Customers.
Select Reload.
Updates can take a few minutes to appear. For other ways to sync, go to How to refresh your accounting software data in Dext
Edit a customer's name
To edit a customer's name when you're connected to accounting software, change it in your accounting software, then reload the list in Dext:
Open your accounting software and update the customer's name there.
Save the change, then go back to Dext.
Go to Sales > Customers and select Reload so the new name appears in your customer list.
This keeps both systems in sync and avoids duplicate or mismatched entries.
Delete a customer
Deleting a customer in your accounting software doesn't delete them in Dext. After a reload, Dext keeps the customer and labels them "Not present in" followed by your accounting software's name.
To remove them from Dext, delete them in both places:
Delete the customer in your accounting software.
Go back to Dext, go to Sales > Customers and select Reload.
Tick the checkbox next to the customer.
Choose Delete from the Actions drop-down.
Dext can block deleting a customer that's linked to an accounting software or has associated sales quotes or invoices.
Important: Deleting a customer removes them from all existing items in Dext. Items you've already published to your accounting software stay the same.
Hide a customer from the Customer drop-down
To stop a customer appearing in the Customer drop-down on items, turn off the Visible toggle next to them in the customer list. The Visible toggle is only available if your account is connected to accounting software.
The toggle is also only available for customers that exist in your accounting software. It's not available for customers marked "Not present in" your accounting software's name. It's also not available for a customer you add in Dext until that customer exists in your accounting software.
Go to Sales > Customers.
Find the customer you want to hide.
Turn off the Visible toggle next to the customer.
To show the customer again, turn the toggle back on. Bulk edit doesn't include the Visible toggle, so you turn it off for each customer separately.
Important: Hiding a customer applies to every user in your account. You can't hide a customer for specific users only, because list visibility groups don't include customers. For details, go to How to manage list visibility groups in Dext
If your account isn't connected to accounting software
If your account isn't connected to accounting software, you edit and delete customers directly in Dext.
Edit a customer's name
To edit a customer's name when you're not connected to accounting software, update it directly in Dext:
Go to Sales > Customers.
Select the name of the customer you want to edit.
Update the Name field, then select outside the field to save your change.
Delete a customer
To delete a customer when you're not connected to accounting software, remove them from the customer list:
Go to Sales > Customers.
Find the customer you want to remove.
Tick the checkbox next to their name.
Choose Delete from the Actions drop-down.
Confirm the action.
Dext permanently removes the customer from your list. It also removes them from all existing items in Dext. Dext can block deleting a customer that has associated sales quotes or invoices.
What’s different in Dext Solo
In Dext Solo, the customer list has Income source, Rental property, Projects 1, Projects 2, and Category columns. You can set these for each customer straight from the list, without opening the customer's rules page. The Rental property field only appears for UK Property income sources.
To update several customers at once, tick their checkboxes, then choose Bulk edit from the Actions drop-down. In Dext Solo, bulk edit also includes Income source and Rental property.
For details, go to How to add and manage rental properties in Dext Solo
How do I set rules for a customer?
To set default values for a customer, such as category, tax rate or payment method, select the customer's name in the customer list. This opens their rules page.
To update several customers at once, tick their checkboxes, then choose Bulk edit from the Actions drop-down. Bulk edit doesn't change items already in your inbox.
For fields, limits and how rules are applied, go to How to use supplier and customer rules in Dext
Can I hide a customer from some users only?
No, you can't hide a customer for specific users only. List visibility groups limit categories, tax rates, products and services, payment methods and projects, but they don't include customers.
If your account is connected to accounting software, you can hide a customer from the Customer drop-down for every user at once. Go to the Hide a customer from the Customer drop-down section in this article for the steps.
Can I merge duplicate customers?
No, you can't merge customers in Dext the way you can merge suppliers. What you do instead depends on your account type:
Connected to accounting software: Merge or remove the duplicates in your accounting software, then select Reload in Dext. Customers that no longer exist in your accounting software stay in your list, so delete them in Dext too.
Not connected: Delete the unwanted customers from the customer list.