The Limit To Hardcode Setting (also known as the Limit-To Flag, or Limited Customer setting) is designed to allow you to control whether the Hardcoded Salesperson or Territory Salesperson takes priority for customer assignment. This checkbox can be found when editing any customer and navigating to the assignments tab in MarketTime:
If enabled, The Hardcoded Salesperson(s) will be considered for order assignment before any Territory Reps are considered. If a Hardcoded Salesperson has no division restriction, no Territory Reps can/will be considered for order assignment. If the Limit To Hardcoded setting is enabled, you will only be able to assign one such salesperson that has no division restriction. MarketTime will prompt you to select a Division for one of your Hardcoded salespeople when assigning more than one of them to a Limited Customer. If one Hardcoded Salesperson has a Division, and the other has none, the Hardcoded Salesperson with a division will only receive the order assignment if the Manufacturer is within their Hardcoded division(s) for the customer. If the Manufacturer is not within those divisions, the order would be assigned to the other Hardcoded Salesperson (with no division).
Additionally, you will see a red flag icon next to the customer's name when you see them on the "View Customers" page.
This interactive icon is known as the "Limit-To Flag", and if clicked, will give you a brief description of the order assignment scenario for this customer.
The Limit-To Flag will change as the scenario changes. In the above paragraph, we described a scenario where there was a Limited Customer with 2 Hardcoded Salespeople. One to a Division, and the other with no division. Here is how that scenario looks when interacting with the Limit-To Flag
If a Territory Salesperson is to be considered, due to the Hardcoded Salespeople being assigned to divisions that do not compass all of your Manufacturers, The Limit-To Flag notification will appear like the below. In this scenario, the Salesperson would be able to see this customer on their own "View Customers" page or Customer List report. In the above scenarios, the customers would not appear for Territory Salespeople, even if their zip code falls within that salesperson's territory.
Common Examples of Limited Customers:
- Key or Strategic Accounts: large customers that are intentionally owned by a specific salesperson or small sales team, regardless of normal territory coverage.
- National Accounts: customers with many locations where a dedicated account manager should normally receive the business instead of whichever territory rep covers each store.
- Buying Groups or Large Chains: customers where salesperson ownership is managed centrally rather than by geography.
- House-Managed VIP Customers: Important customers that leadership has intentionally assigned to specific salespeople.
- Legacy / Relationship-Based Accounts: Long-standing customers that should remain with an established salesperson even if the customer's location falls inside someone else's territory.
- Customers with Contractual Salesperson Ownership: Accounts where a specific salesperson must handle the relationship because of an agreement or internal ownership rule.