diff --git a/src/components/customer-form.tsx b/src/components/customer-form.tsx
index c4c4050..aef7845 100644
--- a/src/components/customer-form.tsx
+++ b/src/components/customer-form.tsx
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import {
   CheckCircle2,
   XCircle,
 } from "lucide-react";
+import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
 import getPocketBase from "@/lib/pocketbase";
 import { getAllCompanies, findCustomerDuplicates } from "@/lib/pb-helpers";
 import { CompanySearch } from "@/components/ui/company-search";
@@ -384,6 +385,68 @@ export function CustomerForm({ open, onOpenChange, customer, onSaved }: Customer
                 />
                 <DuplicateWarning matches={duplicateMatches} entityLabel="Customer" />
               </div>
+              {/*
+                Active/Inactive customer toggle — lifted to the top of the
+                form (2026-09) so the operator can flip the flag without
+                scrolling past company / sales rep / description. State
+                semantics: `status` is a PB bool, true = active, false =
+                inactive; legacy rows that pre-date the field come back
+                as `undefined` and collapse to `true` via `?? true` in
+                `buildCustomerFormState`, so untouched existing customers
+                read as Active on first edit.
+
+                Visual: the switch has a coloured background that flips
+                with state — green when active, muted when inactive — so
+                the answer is one glance from across the room, not "did
+                I read the trigger label right?". The icon (Check /
+                X-circle) reinforces the same answer for screen-reader
+                users.
+              */}
+              <div
+                className={cn(
+                  "flex items-center justify-between gap-4 rounded-md border px-3 py-3 transition-colors",
+                  form.status
+                    ? "border-success/40 bg-success/10"
+                    : "border-muted-foreground/30 bg-muted/40"
+                )}
+              >
+                <div className="min-w-0 flex items-start gap-2.5">
+                  {form.status ? (
+                    <CheckCircle2
+                      className="h-4 w-4 text-success shrink-0 mt-0.5"
+                      aria-hidden
+                    />
+                  ) : (
+                    <XCircle
+                      className="h-4 w-4 text-muted-foreground shrink-0 mt-0.5"
+                      aria-hidden
+                    />
+                  )}
+                  <div className="min-w-0">
+                    <Label
+                      htmlFor="customer-status"
+                      className="text-sm font-medium leading-none"
+                    >
+                      {form.status ? "Active customer" : "Inactive customer"}
+                    </Label>
+                    <p className="mt-1 text-[11px] text-muted-foreground">
+                      New customers are active by default. Flip this
+                      off when the customer stops working for the
+                      mine — historical quotes and orders stay
+                      attached, but the customer drops off the
+                      active pickers.
+                    </p>
+                  </div>
+                </div>
+                <Switch
+                  id="customer-status"
+                  checked={!!form.status}
+                  onCheckedChange={(checked) =>
+                    setForm({ ...form, status: checked === true })
+                  }
+                  aria-label={form.status ? "Active customer" : "Inactive customer"}
+                />
+              </div>
               <div>
                 <FieldLabel icon={Building2} label="Company" />
                 <CompanySearch
@@ -542,42 +605,13 @@ export function CustomerForm({ open, onOpenChange, customer, onSaved }: Customer
                 />
               </div>
               {/*
-                Active-customer toggle (added 2026-09). PB `status` is a
-                bool: true = active, false = inactive (e.g. the mine
-                stopped trading, customer moved to a different mine).
-                Existing customers the operator creates without touching
-                this row will land as `true` — see `?? true` in
-                `buildCustomerFormState`. The icon flips with state so
-                the meaning is clear even without the label colour.
+                Active/Inactive toggle used to live here, but it was
+                buried past company / rep / description and easy to
+                miss. It's now the second row of the form (right
+                under the customer name) so flipping the flag is one
+                tap. Keeping the Save layer in `performSave` unchanged
+                — `status: !!form.status` already shipped 2026-09.
               */}
-              <div className="flex items-start justify-between gap-4 rounded-md border border-input/40 px-3 py-2.5">
-                <div className="min-w-0">
-                  <Label
-                    htmlFor="customer-status"
-                    className="flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-medium"
-                  >
-                    {form.status ? (
-                      <CheckCircle2 className="h-3.5 w-3.5 text-success" aria-hidden />
-                    ) : (
-                      <XCircle className="h-3.5 w-3.5 text-muted-foreground" aria-hidden />
-                    )}
-                    {form.status ? "Active customer" : "Inactive customer"}
-                  </Label>
-                  <p className="mt-1 text-[11px] text-muted-foreground">
-                    Turn off when this customer no longer works for
-                    the mine. Historical quotes and orders are kept;
-                    the customer stops appearing on active pickers.
-                  </p>
-                </div>
-                <Switch
-                  id="customer-status"
-                  checked={!!form.status}
-                  onCheckedChange={(checked) =>
-                    setForm({ ...form, status: checked === true })
-                  }
-                  aria-label="Active customer"
-                />
-              </div>
               <div>
                 <FieldLabel icon={FileText} label="Description" />
                 <Textarea