Customer vs Company

[Retracile]

On Monday 31 March 2003 9:16 pm, Derek Atkins wrote:
> I hate double-responding, but...

No problem.  I appreciate the feed-back. :)

> Retracile <retracile at earthlink.net> writes:
> > Ok, I need to get GnuCash to the point I can have my wife use it for her
> > business.  But I know how open-source works, so rather than making
> > demands, I'm offering to make patches. :)
> >
> > But I need some things clarified, so let's start with this one:
> >
> > Customer vs Company. Which is it?
>
> The difference is that a Customer is a _type_ of Company.  Vendors
> are another type.  So a Customer ID is different than a Vendor ID,
> but both Customers and Vendors are Companies.

I'd argue the other-way-'round.

Hypothetical case:  My company, 'MANtools' sells drill motors.  I have 
companies like, oh, MegaMart buying them from me, so 'MegaMart' is a 
Customer, and is a Company.
But John Doe also bought a drill motor from me.  He isn't a company; he's just 
an Individual do-it-yourself'er.

So I would think that a Company is a type of Customer and an Individual is a 
type of Customer.

Hmm; perhaps I should be asking for a pointer to an object model or 
relationship model of some sort?

> > The "Customer Report" requires you to select a "Company"
> > The "New Customer" dialog asks for a "Customer Number" and a "Company
> > Name" "Customer Search" wants a "Company Name"
> >
> > This confusion appears to be everywhere.  It really looks to me like the
> > right word is "Customer", _not_ "Company".  (Many customers are
> > individuals, not companies.)
>
> In my experience I've never met a customer or vendor that is an
> individual....  But that's just me.

My wife teaches private music lessons.  So all her customers are individuals, 
not companies.  Hmm, perhaps I should use the term 'client'?
I can see vendors always being a company, if only a sole-propietorship.

One of the things that bothers me is that you have to give a company name, and 
a contact name.  When dealing with an individual,

John Doe
John Doe
1234 XYZ Lane
Podunk, AL 12345

Just looks _wrong_.

Thoughts?

Eli