Is there a difference between creating a new customer and new account?

[Colin Law]

On 20 July 2015 at 14:12, L. D. James <ljames at apollo3.com> wrote:
> ...
> When showing my client to use Gnucash, I used the words, create a new
> customer.  The client used "Gnucash's" procedure to create a new customer to
> enter a name, "John Doe" in the system.  Then she said, I created a new
> account.  My question was, can that word "account" be used in that sense.  I
> don't know if anyone fully understands what my question was.  But I tried to
> clarify it to the people giving input.

I think your initial question may have been misunderstood, I think it
was taken to mean that your client had actually created a new gnucash
account rather than a gnucash customer.  I believe the confusion here
shows that you are definitely better off keeping the word account to
mean a gnucash account, not a customer, at least in the context of
gnucash.

Colin

>
> I understand that different people and business types will use Accounting in
> different ways.  But in this particular case, that wasn't the scope of my
> question.  My question was solely about nomenclature when actually
> performing the procedure that is provided in Gnucash.
>>
>>
>>> I gave the secretary the steps for creating a new customer.  When she did
>>> it and acknowledged it was done, she told me she created the new account and
>>> gave me the customer's information.
>>
>>
>> Who you think the "Customer" is has nothing to do with the legal
>> relationship!
>
>
> You are so right.  It also has nothing to do with the scope of this
> particular question/thread.  I appreciate you taking the time to give input.
> But I'm trying to clarify what I was hoping to have help with... which in
> this case, nomenclature.
>>
>>
>>> I was just trying to be accurate in saying, the step she did wasn't the
>>> creation of a new account, even though now the customer has an account in
>>> the system.  She created a new customer.  I was trying to get verification
>>> from that group of the nomenclature for that particular step.  Was I wrong
>>> to not refer to the customer entry in the accounting system as a customer,
>>> and not an account.
>>>
>>> I'll use the same nomenclature for my clients who rent appointments if I
>>> introduce them to Gnucash.
>>>
>>> By the way, I recently became active in my block club.  I don't know what
>>> accounting system they are using.  But I might introduce them to Gnucash
>>> also.
>>
>>
>> You are, in my opinion, a salesman before anything else and I think gnc
>> should disassociate itself from you if possible.
>>
>> Liz: this is getting *very* strange, if you refuse this we must talk
>>
> I don't understand the latter.  I hope the community will continue to accept
> me and share experiences two ways.
>
> I don't know where the word salesman come in.  I do try to be many things,
> but salesman is one of the last things in my list that I have ever aspired
> to be.  I look at myself as a consultant.
>
> -- L. James
>
> --
> L. D. James
> ljames at apollo3.com
> www.apollo3.com/~ljames
>
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