7.6.1. New CRM Account

Accounts are central to the CRM. An Account holds information about an entity and serves to define it further as a Customer, Prospect, Vendor, Competitor, or Partner. To create a new Account, select the "New CRM Account" option. The following screen will appear.

Create New CRM Account

When creating a new Account, you are presented with the following options:

Account Number

The Account Number uniquely identifies the CRM Account.

Account Name

Enter the name of the Account you do business with (e.g., Customer Name or Vendor Name). This field should not to be confused with the Contact name of an individual at the company.

Active

Select if you are actively doing business with this Account. Not selecting makes the Account inactive.

Parent Account

Enter the Account Number of the CRM Account (if any) which serves as the parent for the Account.

Type

Specify one of the following Account Types:

Organization: Select if the Account is an organization.
Individual: Select if the Account is an individual.

Relationships

Indicate how the Account relates to your business by selecting from the available options. You may select multiple relationships from the list. The buttons located to the right of check boxes will open the corresponding master file records:

Prospect: Select if the Account is a Prospect. The CRM Account serves as the master record for Prospects.
Customer: Select if the Account is a Customer Account. If selected, Account information—including the Account Number, Account Name, and Contact information—will be used to populate a Customer master. You will be prompted to edit the Customer master if no Customer relationship existed previously.
Workbench: Select to open the Customer Workbench for the specified Customer. This option will only be available for Customer Accounts.
Vendor: elect if the Account is a Vendor Account. If selected, Account information—including the Account Number, Account Name, and Contact information—will be used to populate a Vendor master. You will be prompted to edit the Vendor master if no Vendor relationship existed previously.
Tax Authority: Select if the Account is a Tax Authority. The CRM Account serves as the master record for Tax Authorities.
Competitor: Select if the Account is a Competitor. The CRM Account serves as the master record for Competitors.
Partner: Select if the Account is a Partner. The CRM Account serves as the master record for Partners.

When defining or viewing Contacts for the specified Account, you are presented with the following options:

Tip

For Contacts, you have two options:

Attach an existing Contact to the Account
Enter new Contact information

If a new Contact is entered, that Contact will be added automatically to the master list of Contacts.

Primary

Select to enter or view information for the primary Contact. You can manually enter Contact information in the fields shown—or use the browse button to select pre-existing Contact information.

Secondary

Select to enter or view information for the secondary Contact. You can manually enter Contact information in the fields shown—or use the browse button to select pre-existing Contact information.

All

Select to view the master list of Contacts associated with the CRM Account. When choosing to view all Contacts you are presented with the following options:

NEW: Opens screen for creating a new Contact.

Note

If a new Contact is manually entered here, that Contact will be added automatically to the master list of Contacts.
EDIT: Enables you to edit highlighted Contacts. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new Contact—except that when editing, the fields will contain Contact information. Double-clicking on a Contact will also bring you to the editing screen.
DETACH: Highlight a Contact and then select this button to remove the association between the Contact and the CRM Account.
ATTACH: Select to associate a new Contact with the CRM Account.

Right-clicking on a Contact in the Contacts list enables you to select from the following menu options:

New: Opens screen for creating a new Contact.

Note

If a new Contact is manually entered here, that Contact will be added automatically to the master list of Contacts.
Edit: Enables you to edit highlighted Contacts. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new Contact—except that when editing, the fields will contain Contact information. Double-clicking on a Contact will also bring you to the editing screen.
View: Select to view the specified item.
Attach: Select to associate a new Contact with the CRM Account.
Detach: Highlight a Contact and then select this button to remove the association between the Contact and the CRM Account.
Export Contents: Export the data displayed on the screen into a plain-text, TAB-delimited file. This file may subsequently be imported into a spreadsheet or other office tool.

To add Notes to a CRM Account, select the "Notes" tab. The following screen will appear:

CRM Account Notes

When adding Notes to a CRM Account, you are presented with the following options:

Notes: This is a scrolling text field with word-wrapping for entering Notes related to the CRM Account. Any Notes entered on this screen are for internal purposes only.

To add Comments to a CRM Account, select the "Comments" tab at the bottom of the "CRM Account" screen. The following screen will appear:

CRM Account Comments

When adding Comments to a CRM Account, you are presented with the following options:

Comments: Display lists Comments related to the CRM Account, using the specified parameters.

To the far right of the screen, the following buttons are available:

NEW: Opens the screen for creating a new CRM Account Comment.
VIEW: Opens a read-only view of the CRM Account Comment.

To enter a new CRM Account Comment, select the NEW button. The following screen will appear:

Create New Comment

Comment Type: Specify one of the following Comment Types from the drop-down list: ChangeLog or General. Comment Types are used to categorize Comments. Once you have specified a Comment Type, you may type your Comment in the main text area. The text area features word-wrapping and scroll-bar support for longer Comments.

To the far right of the screen, the following buttons are available:

CANCEL: Closes the screen without creating the CRM Account Comment, returning you to the previous screen.
SAVE: Creates the Comment and adds it to the list of CRM Account Comments.

CRM Account Characteristics are user-defined definitions of an Account which may be used to provide additional layers of description. To enter Characteristics associated with a CRM Account, select the "Characteristics" tab. The following screen will appear:

CRM Account Characteristics

When associating Characteristics with a CRM Account, you are presented with the following options:

Characteristics: Displays the Characteristics related to the CRM Account.

To the far right of the screen, the following buttons are available:

NEW: Opens screen for creating a new CRM Account Characteristic.
EDIT: Enables you to edit highlighted CRM Account Characteristics. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new CRM Account Characteristic—except that when editing, the fields will contain CRM Account Characteristic information. Double-clicking on a CRM Account Characteristic will also bring you to the editing screen.
DELETE: Highlight a CRM Account Characteristic and then select this button to remove the CRM Account Characteristic from the list.

To create a new CRM Account Characteristic, select the NEW button. The following screen will appear:

Create New CRM Account Characteristic

When creating a new CRM Account Characteristic, you are presented with the following options:

Characteristic: Select a Characteristic from the list of Characteristics designated as being available for use as CRM Account Characteristics.
Value: Enter a value to associate with the CRM Account Characteristic.

To the far right of the screen, the following buttons are available:

CANCEL: Closes the screen without creating the CRM Account Characteristic, returning you to the previous screen.
SAVE: Creates the CRM Account Characteristic and adds it to the list of CRM Account Characteristics.

To enter or associate To-Dos and/or Incidents with a CRM Account, select the "To-Do List" tab. The following screen will appear:

CRM Account To-Do List

When entering or associating To-Dos and/or Incidents with a CRM Account, you are presented with the following options:

Show To-Do List: Select to include To-Dos in the display. If not selected, To-Dos will not be included.
Show Incidents: Select to include Incidents in the display. If not selected, Incidents will not be included.
Active Only: Select to include only active To-Dos in the display. If not selected, inactive To-Dos will not be included.
Completed: Select to include completed Incidents in the display. An Incident is considered completed when its status is "Closed." If this option is not selected, then completed Incidents will not be included.
To-Do List: Displays To-Dos associated with the Account.

To the far right of the screen, the following buttons are available:

NEW TO-DO ITEM: Opens screen for creating a new To-Do List item.
NEW INCIDENT: Open screen for creating a new Incident.
EDIT: Enables you to edit highlighted To-Do List items or Incidents. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new To-Do List item or Incident—except that when editing, the fields will contain To-Do List item or Incident information. Double-clicking on a To-Do List item or Incident will also bring you to the editing screen.
VIEW: Highlight a To-Do List item or Incident and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the "Edit" screen.
DELETE: Highlight a To-Do List item or Incident and then select this button to remove the association between the To-Do List item/Incident and the CRM Account.

Right-clicking on a To-Do List item or Incident in the list enables you to select from the following menu options:

New To-Do Item: Opens screen for creating a new To-Do List item.
New Incident: Open screen for creating a new Incident.
Edit: Enables you to edit highlighted To-Do List items or Incidents. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new To-Do List item or Incident—except that when editing, the fields will contain To-Do List item or Incident information. Double-clicking on a To-Do List item or Incident will also bring you to the editing screen.
View: Highlight a To-Do List item or Incident and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the "Edit" screen.
Export Contents: Export the data displayed on the screen into a plain-text, TAB-delimited file. This file may subsequently be imported into a spreadsheet or other office tool.

To view a list of Opportunities associated with the CRM Account, select the "Opportunities" tab. The following screen will appear:

CRM Account Opportunities