6. Account

CRM Account section.

6.1. New CRM Account

Accounts are central to the xTuple CRM system. 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 CRM, Account, New option. The following screen will appear.

Create New 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 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:

  1. Attach an existing Contact to the Account

  2. Enter new Contact information

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. If a new Contact is manually entered here, that Contact will be added automatically to the master list of Contacts. For additional documentation related to creating Contacts, see Section 7.1, “ New Contact”.

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. If a new Contact is manually entered here, that Contact will be added automatically to the master list of Contacts. For additional documentation related to creating Contacts, see Section 7.1, “ New Contact”.

All

Select to view the master list of Contacts associated with the Account. To the far right of the screen, the following buttons are available:

NEW

Opens screen for creating a new Contact. If a new Contact is manually entered here, that Contact will be added automatically to the master list of Contacts. For additional documentation related to creating Contacts, see Section 7.1, “ New Contact”.

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.

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

Account Notes

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

Notes

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

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

Account Comments

When adding or reviewing Comments, you are presented with the following options:

Verbose Text

Select to display all Comments in the list in an expanded view which includes the entire text of each Comment. To edit a Comment, simply select the "Edit" link next to the Comment. That link will not be shown for Changelog Comments, which can't be edited. If the "Verbose Text" option is not selected, the Comment list will display only header level information for each Comment.

Comments

Display lists Comments related to the record.

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

NEW

Opens screen for creating a new Comment.

VIEW

Highlight a Comment and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the "Edit" screen.

EDIT

Enables you to edit highlighted Comments—as long as the Comments are not "ChangeLog" Comments. ChangeLog Comments are system-generated and may not be edited. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new Comment—except that when editing, the fields will contain Comment information. Double-clicking on a Comment will also bring you to the editing screen.

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

Create New Comment
Comment Type

Select a Comment Type from the drop-down list to classify the Comment. This is a required step. Comment Types may be system-defined (i.e., "ChangeLog" and "General") or user-defined, as described in Section 13.12, “Comment Types”. Once you have specified a Comment Type, begin typing 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 Comment, returning you to the previous screen.

SAVE

Creates the Comment and adds it to the list of Comments.

SHOW MORE

Select to show the complete list (i.e., "thread") of Comments associated with the record. To hide the list, simply select the SHOW MORE button again. The Comment thread will show the most recent Comment first.

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:

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:

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.

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

Account Opportunities
Opportunities

Display lists Opportunities associated with the CRM Account

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

PRINT

Runs the report associated with this screen.

NEW

Open screen for creating a new Opportunity.

EDIT

Enables you to edit highlighted Opportunities. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new Opportunity—except that when editing, the fields will contain Opportunity information. Double-clicking on an Opportunity will also bring you to the editing screen.

VIEW

Highlight an Opportunity and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the "Edit" screen.

DELETE

Highlight an Opportunity and then select this button to remove the association between the Opportunity and the CRM Account.

You have the ability to track Lot/Serial registrations by CRM Account. In most cases, registrations must be manually entered. However, in the case of Items sold to Customers, the system can be configured to automatically track warranty registrations for you.

Tip

If you select the "Auto Register Lot/Serial at Shipping" option on the Item Site for an Item, then the system will automatically track registrations (by Customer) whenever the Item is shipped. This applies only to sold Items which are Lot/Serial controlled.

To view a list of Lot/Serial registrations associated with the Account, select the "Registrations" tab. The following screen will appear:

Account Registrations

When viewing Lot/Serial registrations associated with the CRM Account, you are presented with the following options:

Registrations

Display lists Lot/Serial registrations associated with the CRM Account

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

NEW

Opens screen for creating a new Lot/Serial registration. The process for creating a new Lot/Serial registration is described in Section 7.1, “Lot/Serial Registration”.

EDIT

Enables you to edit highlighted Lot/Serial registrations. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new Lot/Serial registration—except that when editing, the fields will contain Lot/Serial registration information. Double-clicking on a Lot/Serial registration will also bring you to the editing screen.

DELETE

Highlight a Lot/Serial registration and then select this button to remove the association between the Lot/Serial registration and the CRM Account.

To associate Images and Files with a CRM Account, select the "Documents" tab. The following screen will appear:

Account Documents

When associating Images with an Item, you are presented with the following options:

Images

Display lists information about stored CRM Images.

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

VIEW IMAGE

Allows you the ability to preview Image.

PRINT

Runs the report associated with this screen.

NEW

Opens master list of stored Images.

EDIT

Enables you to edit highlighted CRM Image definitions. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new CRM Image definition—except that when editing, the fields will contain CRM Image information. Double-clicking on a CRM Image definition will also bring you to the editing screen.

VIEW

Highlight a CRM Image and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the "Edit" screen.

DELETE

Highlight a CRM Image definition and then select this button to remove the CRM Image from the list.

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

Files

Display lists the title and URL for any Files related to the CRM Account.

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

OPEN FILE

Highlight a CRM File definition and then select this button to open the URL in a web browser.

NEW

Opens screen for creating a new CRM File.

EDIT

Enables you to edit highlighted CRM File definitions. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new CRM File definition—except that when editing, the fields will contain CRM File definition information. Double-clicking on a CRM File definition will also bring you to the editing screen.

VIEW

Highlight a CRM File definition and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the "Edit" screen.

DELETE

Highlight a CRM File definition and then select this button to remove the CRM File definition from the list.

6.2.  List CRM Accounts

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 access the master list of CRM Accounts, select the "List CRM Accounts" option. The following screen will appear.

CRM Accounts Master List

The "CRM Accounts" screen displays information on all existing CRM Accounts, including Account number, Account name, and the various possible Account relationships.

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

CLOSE

Closes the screen, returning you to the application desktop.

PRINT

Runs the report associated with this screen.

NEW

Opens screen for creating a new CRM Account.

EDIT

Enables you to edit highlighted CRM Accounts. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new CRM Account—except that when editing, the fields will contain CRM Account information. Double-clicking on a CRM Account will also bring you to the editing screen.

VIEW

Highlight a CRM Account and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the "Edit" screen.

DELETE

Highlight a CRM Account and then select this button to remove the CRM Account from the list.

6.3. Search for CRM Account

To search for a CRM Account, select the "Search for CRM Account" option. The following screen will appear:

Search for CRM Account

When searching to retrieve CRM Account information from the database, you are presented with the following options:

Search for

Enter any character or combination of characters you want to match, followed by the TAB key. The "Search for" field supports pattern matching with Regular Expressions.

Tip

Hitting the TAB key activates the search operation.

Search through

Specify which of the following criteria you want to include in the search:

CRM Account Number

Select to search by CRM Account Number.

CRM Account Name

Select to search by CRM Account Name.

Contact Name

Select to search by Primary Contact Name.

Contact Phone #

Select to search by Primary Contact Phone Number.

Contact Email

Select to search by Primary Contact Email Address.

Street Address

Select to search by Primary Contact Street Address.

City

Select to search by Primary Contact City.

State

Select to search by Primary Contact State.

Postal Code

Select to search by Primary Contact Postal Code.

Country

Select to search by Primary Contact Country.

Show Inactive CRM Accounts

Select to show inactive CRM Accounts as well as active CRM Accounts. By default, inactive CRM Accounts are not displayed.

CRM Accounts

Display will show search results for CRM Accounts, using specified parameters.

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

CLOSE

Closes the screen, returning you to the application desktop.

EDIT

Enables you to edit highlighted CRM Account. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new CRM Account—except that when editing, the fields will contain CRM Account information. Double-clicking on a CRM Account will also bring you to the editing screen.

VIEW

Highlight a CRM Account and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the "Edit" screen.