“Customer not found” when taking an order: why, and what to do at the counter

Short answer: customer databases in order tools are built from your processed order history. A customer with no processed orders yet simply is not in there — and there is a clean way to serve them anyway.

Why they are missing

Most likely: they are genuinely new, or their only order is still unprocessed, or their previous orders came through a channel that recorded a different name (marketplace pseudonyms are a common culprit). Spelling variants — Ltd vs Limited, ampersands, trading names — split one customer into several near-misses too.

Search smarter before concluding

Try a fragment rather than the full name, search by postcode or email instead, and check for the account under a parent company name.

The counter workaround

Do not stall the sale. Type the delivery address directly into the address block and take the order. Once that order is processed, Linnworks indexes it and the customer appears in lookup from then on — the database heals itself.

Prevention

Keep customer naming consistent at the point of first order, and process counter sales promptly so new accounts enter the index quickly.

In Trade Order POS the customer database is rebuilt continuously from your last three years of Linnworks orders, so new accounts surface automatically after their first processed order.

Questions, or want a tool we don't have yet? Email hello@grafto.co.uk — a real person replies.