diff --git a/INSTRUCTIONS.md b/INSTRUCTIONS.md
index 1f2299b..a567a82 100644
--- a/INSTRUCTIONS.md
+++ b/INSTRUCTIONS.md
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ This repository implements the platform foundation milestone:
 3. Add Prisma models and migrations for all persisted schema changes.
 4. Keep uploaded files on disk under `/app/data/uploads`; never store blobs in SQLite.
 5. Reuse shared DTOs and permission keys from the `shared` package.
-6. Any UI that looks up items by SKU or item name must use a searchable picker/autocomplete, not a long dropdown.
+6. Any non-filter UI that looks up records or items must use a searchable picker/autocomplete, not a long static dropdown.
 7. Maintain the denser UI baseline on active screens; avoid reintroducing oversized `px-4 py-3` style controls, tall action bars, or overly loose card spacing without a specific reason.
 
 ## Operational notes
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ This repository implements the platform foundation milestone:
 - Prefer Node 22 locally when running Prisma migration commands to match the Docker runtime.
 - Branding defaults live in the frontend theme token layer and are overridden by the persisted company profile.
 - Back up the whole `/app/data` volume to capture both the database and attachments.
-- Treat searchable SKU lookup as a standing UX requirement for inventory, BOM, sales, purchasing, and manufacturing flows.
+- Treat searchable lookup as a standing UX requirement for inventory, BOM, sales, purchasing, manufacturing, customer, vendor, and other operational record-picking flows. Filter-only controls can still use dropdowns.
 
 ## Next roadmap candidates
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index cd3dff7..1ef371c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ The current inventory foundation supports:
 
 This module introduces `inventory.read` and `inventory.write` permissions. After updating the code, restart the server against the migrated database so bootstrap can upsert the new permissions onto the default administrator role.
 
-Moving forward, any UI that requires searching for an item by SKU or item name should use a searchable picker/autocomplete rather than a static dropdown.
+Moving forward, any UI that requires searching for records or items should use a searchable picker/autocomplete rather than a static dropdown. Filter controls can remain dropdowns, but non-filter lookup fields such as SKU pickers, customer selectors, vendor selectors, and similar operational search inputs should not be implemented as long static selects.
 
 ## UI Density
 
diff --git a/STRUCTURE.md b/STRUCTURE.md
index d1405ea..858ded8 100644
--- a/STRUCTURE.md
+++ b/STRUCTURE.md
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 - Keep reusable UI primitives in `src/components`.
 - Theme state and brand tokens belong in `src/theme`.
 - PDF screen components must remain separate from API-rendered document templates.
-- Any item/SKU lookup UI must be implemented as a searchable picker or autocomplete; do not use long static dropdowns for inventory-scale datasets.
+- Any non-filter lookup UI must be implemented as a searchable picker or autocomplete; do not use long static dropdowns for operational datasets such as items, customers, vendors, or document-linked records.
 - Preserve the current dense operations UI style on active module pages: compact controls, tighter card padding, and shorter empty states unless a screen has a clear reason to be more spacious.
 
 ## Backend rules
diff --git a/client/src/modules/sales/SalesFormPage.tsx b/client/src/modules/sales/SalesFormPage.tsx
index 1e4cc52..a9986af 100644
--- a/client/src/modules/sales/SalesFormPage.tsx
+++ b/client/src/modules/sales/SalesFormPage.tsx
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ export function SalesFormPage({ entity, mode }: { entity: SalesDocumentEntity; m
   const [form, setForm] = useState<SalesDocumentInput>(emptySalesDocumentInput);
   const [status, setStatus] = useState(mode === "create" ? `Create a new ${config.singularLabel.toLowerCase()}.` : `Loading ${config.singularLabel.toLowerCase()}...`);
   const [customers, setCustomers] = useState<SalesCustomerOptionDto[]>([]);
+  const [customerSearchTerm, setCustomerSearchTerm] = useState("");
+  const [customerPickerOpen, setCustomerPickerOpen] = useState(false);
   const [itemOptions, setItemOptions] = useState<InventoryItemOptionDto[]>([]);
   const [lineSearchTerms, setLineSearchTerms] = useState<string[]>([]);
   const [activeLinePicker, setActiveLinePicker] = useState<number | null>(null);
@@ -54,6 +56,7 @@ export function SalesFormPage({ entity, mode }: { entity: SalesDocumentEntity; m
             position: line.position,
           })),
         });
+        setCustomerSearchTerm(document.customerName);
         setLineSearchTerms(document.lines.map((line: SalesDocumentDetailDto["lines"][number]) => line.itemSku));
         setStatus(`${config.singularLabel} loaded.`);
       })
@@ -67,6 +70,10 @@ export function SalesFormPage({ entity, mode }: { entity: SalesDocumentEntity; m
     setForm((current: SalesDocumentInput) => ({ ...current, [key]: value }));
   }
 
+  function getSelectedCustomerName(customerId: string) {
+    return customers.find((customer) => customer.id === customerId)?.name ?? "";
+  }
+
   function updateLine(index: number, nextLine: SalesLineInput) {
     setForm((current: SalesDocumentInput) => ({
       ...current,
@@ -152,18 +159,73 @@ export function SalesFormPage({ entity, mode }: { entity: SalesDocumentEntity; m
         <div className="grid gap-3 xl:grid-cols-4">
           <label className="block xl:col-span-2">
             <span className="mb-2 block text-sm font-semibold text-text">Customer</span>
-            <select
-              value={form.customerId}
-              onChange={(event) => updateField("customerId", event.target.value)}
-              className="w-full rounded-2xl border border-line/70 bg-page px-2 py-2 text-text outline-none transition focus:border-brand"
-            >
-              <option value="">Select customer</option>
-              {customers.map((customer) => (
-                <option key={customer.id} value={customer.id}>
-                  {customer.name}
-                </option>
-              ))}
-            </select>
+            <div className="relative">
+              <input
+                value={customerSearchTerm}
+                onChange={(event) => {
+                  setCustomerSearchTerm(event.target.value);
+                  updateField("customerId", "");
+                  setCustomerPickerOpen(true);
+                }}
+                onFocus={() => setCustomerPickerOpen(true)}
+                onBlur={() => {
+                  window.setTimeout(() => {
+                    setCustomerPickerOpen(false);
+                    if (form.customerId) {
+                      setCustomerSearchTerm(getSelectedCustomerName(form.customerId));
+                    }
+                  }, 120);
+                }}
+                placeholder="Search customer"
+                className="w-full rounded-2xl border border-line/70 bg-page px-2 py-2 text-text outline-none transition focus:border-brand"
+              />
+              {customerPickerOpen ? (
+                <div className="absolute z-20 mt-2 max-h-64 w-full overflow-y-auto rounded-2xl border border-line/70 bg-surface shadow-panel">
+                  {customers
+                    .filter((customer) => {
+                      const query = customerSearchTerm.trim().toLowerCase();
+                      if (!query) {
+                        return true;
+                      }
+
+                      return (
+                        customer.name.toLowerCase().includes(query) ||
+                        customer.email.toLowerCase().includes(query)
+                      );
+                    })
+                    .slice(0, 12)
+                    .map((customer) => (
+                      <button
+                        key={customer.id}
+                        type="button"
+                        onMouseDown={(event) => {
+                          event.preventDefault();
+                          updateField("customerId", customer.id);
+                          setCustomerSearchTerm(customer.name);
+                          setCustomerPickerOpen(false);
+                        }}
+                        className="block w-full border-b border-line/50 px-4 py-2 text-left text-sm transition last:border-b-0 hover:bg-page/70"
+                      >
+                        <div className="font-semibold text-text">{customer.name}</div>
+                        <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted">{customer.email}</div>
+                      </button>
+                    ))}
+                  {customers.filter((customer) => {
+                    const query = customerSearchTerm.trim().toLowerCase();
+                    if (!query) {
+                      return true;
+                    }
+
+                    return customer.name.toLowerCase().includes(query) || customer.email.toLowerCase().includes(query);
+                  }).length === 0 ? (
+                    <div className="px-2 py-2 text-sm text-muted">No matching customers found.</div>
+                  ) : null}
+                </div>
+              ) : null}
+            </div>
+            <div className="mt-2 min-h-5 text-xs text-muted">
+              {form.customerId ? getSelectedCustomerName(form.customerId) : "No customer selected"}
+            </div>
           </label>
           <label className="block">
             <span className="mb-2 block text-sm font-semibold text-text">Status</span>