Convert leads without creating a new account

[phonedude]

Does anyone have a solution that will allow our users to convert a lead but only be allowed to attach the lead to an existing account. We want to remove the Create Account permission but if we do that then it also removes the convert lead ability.

We don't want users to create accounts but we want them to be able to create and convert prospects.

[Fifedog]

PhoneDude,
To answer your question: no it's not possible.

But why would you want to allow people to convert leads but not give them that access to create Accounts? Let's say the system does allow this let's try and walk through what would happen.

The contact would be created, with no account hence making that contact private only allowing that one user to see that contact, and it creates an opportunity (I'm assuming you want to create an opp). (the contact is not shown on the opp becuase it's a private contact) So all you've done is created an Opportunity without an Account or contact assosicated with it? Is that what you want, just to create an opportuntity?

What about this process, more work for someone, but to have a certian stage that sends an alert/task to a person that has that permission to convert a lead and to create an Account record, if one doesn't exsist, and the associated contact and Opp?

Thought?

[Tom V]

The way this should work IMO is as follows: users should have the permission to convert a lead if their profile says so, whether or not they can create accounts.

If a user wants to convert a Lead, but does not have the Account Create permission, he should only have the option to select "Use Existing Account: xxxxx" if SFDC finds a matching account. If no matching account is found, the user should not be able to proceed with the conversion, i.e he has to change the Acccount name on the Lead so that it matches an existing account, or ask someone with Create account permission to create the account and then proceed.

This would a lot of duplicate accounts being created.