Automatic Customer Assignment

Automatically assign customers to pricelists based on their attributes - no manual assignment needed.

Overview

Automatic assignment eliminates manual customer-to-pricelist mapping. Define matching rules on each pricelist using customer and address attributes. When customers log in or update profiles, the system evaluates all active pricelists and auto-assigns matching ones.

Benefits

• Zero manual work: Customers automatically get correct pricing
• Real-time updates: Changes apply immediately on login
• New customer ready: First-time customers get pricing instantly
• Attribute-driven: Business logic encoded in rules
• Scalable: Works with 10 or 10,000 customers

How It Works

Evaluation Trigger

System evaluates pricelists when:

1. Customer logs in
2. Customer updates profile/address
3. Customer group changes
4. Admin manually triggers re-evaluation
5. Cron job (if configured)

Evaluation Process

1. Get all ACTIVE pricelists for customer's website 2. Filter by date validity (from_date <= today <= to_date) 3. For each pricelist, check matching attributes: - Customer group matches? - Company name matches? - Tax ID matches? - Postcode matches? - Region matches? - Country matches? 4. If ALL filled attributes match → Assign customer to pricelist 5. Apply priority/merge logic for conflicts

Important: ALL filled attributes must match (AND logic, not OR).

Configuration

Enable Auto-Assignment

Path: Stores > Configuration > Pricesystem > Pricelist > Enable Auto Assign Customers

Setting: pricesystem/pricelist/enable_auto_assign_customers_to_pricelist

Values:

• Yes (Required): Auto-assignment enabled
• No: Only manual assignments work

Critical: Must be enabled for attribute-based matching!

Match Type

Path: Stores > Configuration > Pricesystem > Pricelist > Match Exact Type

Setting: pricesystem/pricelist/match_exact_type

Values:

Loose Matching (No - Default)

Partial string match, case-insensitive.

Examples:

• Pricelist company: "ACME"
• Customer company: "ACME Corporation" → MATCH (contains "ACME")
• Customer company: "AcMe Corp" → MATCH (case-insensitive)

Use Case: Flexible matching, forgives typos/variations.

Exact Matching (Yes)

Strict equality, case-sensitive.

Examples:

• Pricelist company: "ACME"
• Customer company: "ACME Corporation" → NO MATCH (not exact)
• Customer company: "ACME" → MATCH (exact)
• Customer company: "acme" → NO MATCH (case-sensitive)

Use Case: Precise matching, security-sensitive scenarios.

Matching Attributes

Customer Group ID

Field: customer_group_id

Source: Customer entity → group_id field

Example:

• Pricelist: group_id = 2 (Wholesale)
• Customer: group_id = 2
• Result: MATCH

Use Cases:

• Wholesale/retail pricing
• VIP tiers
• Member-only pricing

Multi-Group: Customers belong to exactly ONE group at a time. Match is simple equality check.

Company Name

Field: customer_company

Source: Customer entity → company attribute (default or custom)

Example:

Pricelist: customer_company = "ACME Corporation" Customer: company = "ACME Corporation" Match: Yes (exact) or Yes (loose if contains "ACME")

Use Cases:

• B2B contract pricing
• Enterprise customers
• Corporate accounts

Best Practice:

• Use loose matching for flexibility
• Standardize company names in CRM
• Document approved variations

Tax/VAT Number

Field: customer_tax

Source: Customer entity → taxvat attribute

Example:

Pricelist: customer_tax = "DE123456789" Customer: taxvat = "DE123456789" Match: Yes

Use Cases:

• EU VAT-registered businesses
• Tax-exempt organizations
• Verified business accounts

Notes:

• Usually exact match (even with loose mode)
• Format-sensitive (include dashes, spaces as stored)
• Verify data quality

Postcode

Field: address_postcode

Source: Customer billing or shipping address → postcode

Example:

Pricelist: address_postcode = "90210" Customer billing: postcode = "90210" Match: Yes

Use Cases:

• ZIP code-based regional pricing
• Local delivery zones
• State-specific pricing

Notes:

• Checks both billing and shipping addresses
• Match if either address matches
• Loose mode: "9021" matches "90210"

Region

Field: address_region

Source: Customer address → region text field

Example:

Pricelist: address_region = "California" Customer billing: region = "California" Match: Yes

Use Cases:

• State/province pricing
• Regional campaigns
• Tax jurisdictions

Data Quality:

• Magento stores region as text (not ID)
• "California" vs "CA" might not match
• Standardize or use loose matching

Country

Field: address_country

Source: Customer address → country_id (2-letter ISO code)

Example:

Pricelist: address_country = "US" Customer billing: country_id = "US" Match: Yes

Use Cases:

• Country-specific pricing
• Currency localization
• Regulatory compliance

Notes:

• Always 2-letter ISO codes (US, DE, GB, FR, etc.)
• Exact match even in loose mode
• Most common matching attribute

Multi-Attribute Matching

AND Logic

All filled attributes must match simultaneously.

Example 1: Two Attributes

Pricelist: - customer_group_id: 2 (Wholesale) - address_country: US Customer: - group_id: 2 (Wholesale) ✓ - country: US ✓ Result: MATCH (both match)

Example 2: Partial Match Fails

Pricelist: - customer_group_id: 2 (Wholesale) - address_country: US Customer: - group_id: 2 (Wholesale) ✓ - country: DE ✗ Result: NO MATCH (country doesn't match)

Example 3: More Attributes

Pricelist: - customer_group_id: 2 - customer_company: "ACME" - address_country: US - address_region: "California" Customer: - group_id: 2 ✓ - company: "ACME Corporation" ✓ (loose match) - country: US ✓ - region: "California" ✓ Result: MATCH (all 4 match)

Empty Attributes Ignored

Null/empty attributes are not checked.

Example:

Pricelist: - customer_group_id: 2 - address_country: NULL (not filled) Customer: - group_id: 2 ✓ - country: DE (doesn't matter, pricelist doesn't check country) Result: MATCH (only group is checked)

Strategy: Leave attributes empty to broaden matching.

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Wholesale Customers Only

Goal: All wholesale customers get this pricelist.

Pricelist:

• customer_group_id: 2 (Wholesale)
• All other attributes: NULL

Result: Any customer in Wholesale group matches, regardless of location/company.

Scenario 2: US Wholesale Customers

Goal: Wholesale customers in US only.

Pricelist:

• customer_group_id: 2 (Wholesale)
• address_country: US
• All other attributes: NULL

Result: Must be wholesale AND in US.

Scenario 3: California Wholesale for ACME Corp

Goal: Very specific targeting.

Pricelist:

• customer_group_id: 2 (Wholesale)
• customer_company: "ACME"
• address_region: "California"
• address_country: US

Result: Only wholesale ACME employees in California, USA.

Scenario 4: EU VAT-Registered Businesses

Goal: EU businesses with VAT number.

Pricelist:

• customer_tax: "DE%" (if using wildcards) OR specific VAT
• address_country: DE/FR/IT (create multiple pricelists per country)

Result: VAT-registered businesses in target countries.

Note: Might need one pricelist per country or use group assignment instead.

Scenario 5: Regional Postcode Ranges

Goal: Specific ZIP codes get special pricing.

Challenge: Postcode ranges not directly supported.

Workaround 1: Multiple Pricelists

• Create pricelist for "90210"
• Create pricelist for "90211"
• Create pricelist for "90212"
• Assign same products/prices

Workaround 2: Custom Attribute

• Create custom customer attribute: "pricing_zone"
• Set via import/automation based on postcode
• Match on custom attribute instead

Manual Override

Group Assignment

Assign entire customer groups to pricelist, overriding attribute matching.

Path: Pricelist Edit > Groups Tab

Use Case: "All VIP members get this pricelist, regardless of attributes."

Combines with automatic: Customer can match via attributes AND be in assigned group.

Direct Customer Assignment

Assign specific customers to pricelist manually.

Path: Pricelist Edit > Customers Tab

Use Case: "Customer #12345 gets this contract pricelist (special exception)."

Overrides automatic: Manually assigned customers always get pricelist, even if attributes don't match.

Testing Automatic Assignment

Test Plan

1. Create test pricelist:

   • Name: "Test - Wholesale US"
   • customer_group_id: 2
   • address_country: US
   • Active: Yes

2. Create test customer:

   • Group: Wholesale (2)
   • Country: US
   • Company: "Test Co"

3. Test assignment:

   • Log in as test customer
   • Check assigned pricelists (admin or API)
   • Verify pricelist appears

4. Test exclusion:

   • Change customer country to DE
   • Log out, log back in
   • Verify pricelist NOT assigned

5. Test re-assignment:

   • Change customer back to US
   • Log out, log back in
   • Verify pricelist re-assigned

Troubleshooting

Customer Not Assigned to Pricelist

Checklist:

1. ✓ Auto-assignment enabled? (enable_auto_assign_customers_to_pricelist = Yes)
2. ✓ Pricelist active? (is_active = Yes)
3. ✓ Date range valid? (from_date <= today <= to_date)
4. ✓ Website matches? (customer on correct website)
5. ✓ All attributes match? (check each filled attribute)
6. ✓ Customer logged in recently? (triggers evaluation)
7. ✓ Cache cleared?

Debug:

-- Check customer attributes SELECT entity_id, group_id, email FROM customer_entity WHERE entity_id = 123; SELECT company, taxvat FROM customer_entity_varchar WHERE entity_id = 123 AND attribute_id IN (...); -- Check pricelist matching attributes SELECT * FROM pricesystem_pricelist WHERE id = 456; -- Check assignments SELECT * FROM pricesystem_pricelist_customer WHERE customer_id = 123;

Wrong Pricelist Assigned

Causes:

1. Multiple pricelists match (check priority)
2. Manual assignment overriding automatic
3. Group assignment in addition to automatic
4. Outdated cache

Resolution:

1. Review all pricelists customer matches
2. Check priority values
3. Clear customer pricelist assignments (if testing)
4. Re-login to trigger fresh evaluation

Loose vs Exact Matching Issues

Symptom: Customer matches when they shouldn't (or vice versa).

Check: match_exact_type configuration

Example:

• Pricelist company: "ACME"
• Customer company: "ACME Corporation"
• Loose: Matches
• Exact: Doesn't match

Fix: Choose appropriate mode or standardize data.

Best Practices

Data Quality

• Standardize company names
• Validate tax IDs on registration
• Use consistent region naming
• Encourage complete profiles

Attribute Selection

• Start with simple (group + country)
• Add attributes only when needed
• Document matching logic
• Test edge cases

Performance

• Don't create too many pricelists (100s are fine, 10,000s might be slow)
• Use group assignment for large segments
• Consider caching strategies

Documentation

• Document which attributes each pricelist uses
• Explain business rules to team
• Maintain matching logic reference

Related Documentation

• Creating Pricelists
• Named Pricelists
• Priority Resolution