Sugar Express User Guide Version 5.5.0 Beta 2

Activities Module

An activity can be any interaction with colleagues and customers such as a phone call, a meeting, or an email. Use the Activities module to schedule and manage calls, meetings, and tasks.

Typically, an activity is related to a record such as an account or contact. For example, you can schedule a meeting with one or more contacts to discuss a specific account or opportunity. When you create the activity, you can specify the record to which it is related. This allows you to view the scheduled activities from the specified record. For example, an account’s detail page displays all scheduled activities. When you schedule an activity, you can also create notes and attachments if necessary.

The Shortcuts menu displays the following options:

Schedule Call. Click this option to schedule a call as described in “Scheduling Calls and Meetings” on page 41

Schedule Meeting. Click this option to schedule a meeting as described in “Scheduling Calls and Meetings” on page 41.

Create Task. Click this option to create a task as described in “Creating Tasks” on page 44.

Create Note or Attachment. Click this option to create a note or an attachment for a call, a meeting, or a task as described in “Creating Notes and Attachments” on page 45.

Create Archived Email. Click this option to copy inbound and outbound emails for archival as described in “Archiving Emails” on page 89.

Calls. Click this option to view and manage calls as described in “To manage calls and meetings” on page 43.

Meetings. Click this option to view and manage meetings as described in “To manage calls and meetings” on page 43.

Tasks. Click this option to view and manage tasks as described in “To manage tasks” on page 45.

Notes. Click this option to create or view notes as described in “Creating Notes and Attachments” on page 45.

Emails. Click this option to view and manage your inbound and outbound emails as described in “To view and manage emails in the Sugar inbox” on page 81.

Today. Click this option to view your daily appointments in the calendar as described in “To create an appointment” on page 39.

Import Notes. Click this option to import external data into a note as described in “To import data” on page 132.

Scheduling Calls and Meetings

You can schedule calls and meetings with users, contacts, and leads. When you schedule a call or a meeting, you are creating a record about the subject of discussion, the participants, the time period, and the status. After you save this information, you can send out an invitation to all the participants immediately or at a later date. You can create a note or add attachments before or after a call or a meeting occurs. After you complete a call or meeting, or if you cancel it for any reason, you can update its status for the record.

When you create the call or a meeting, the Calls page or the Meetings page displays the following sub-panels:

Scheduling. The Scheduling sub-panel displays details such as the name of the attendees, the day, and the time of the call or meeting. If other calls or meetings are already scheduled, the busy time is blocked out and colored blue. If there are scheduling conflicts, the busy time displays as a brown block.

Add Invitees. You can use the Add Invitees sub-panel to find users that you want to invite as described in “To add invitees” on page 42.

To schedule a call or a meeting

1.	In the Shortcuts menu of the Calendar Home page, click Schedule Call or Schedule Meeting. Alternatively, you can use the Create Appointment quick form below the Shortcuts menu.

The screenshot below shows the Meetings page.

2.	Enter information in the following fields:

Subject. Enter the subject of discussion.

Status. From the drop-down lists, select one of the following:

Inbound. This option is for Calls only. Choose this option if it is an inbound call.

Outbound. This option is for Calls only. Choose this option if it is an outbound call.

Planned. Choose this option if the call or meeting is scheduled to take place.

Held. After a call or meeting is completed, change the status from Planned to Held.

Not Held. If a call or meeting did not occur for any reason, change the status from Planned to Not Held.

Location. For meetings, optionally, enter the meeting location.

Start Date and Time. Click the Calendar icon and select the date; from the adjoining drop-down lists, select the time (hours and minutes).

Assigned to. Specify the user who is responsible for the call or meeting.

By default, it is assigned to you. To assign a different user, click Select to view the user list, and click the desired user name.

Duration. Enter the number of hours in the adjoining box and select the number of minutes from the drop-down list.

Related to. Optionally, enter or select the name of the related record such as an account, opportunity or contact from the drop-down list.

Reminder. Select this box and specify the default time from the drop-down list below to send a reminder when a call or meeting is due. The system will send out a reminder to all participants at the specified time.

If you set a default time for reminders on your My Account page, Sugar will implement it in the event that you do not set a reminder when you create a call or meeting. The default time will display in the Detail View after you save the record. You can change it in the Edit View.

Description. Optionally, enter a brief description for the purpose of the call or meeting.

3.	Click Save to save the call information; click Cancel to return to the Calls home page or Meetings home page without saving the information.

4.	Click Send Invites to send out an invitation to the participants.

5.	To create a copy of the call or meeting, click Close and Create New.

The system closes the original call or meeting and changes its status to Held. The new call or meeting that displays on the page retains all the information of the original record except for the status, which by default is set to Planned.

To add invitees

1.	In the Add Invitees sub-panel, enter all or any of the following information for a user, contact, or lead:

First Name. You can add a letter, a whole name, or a partial name.

Last Name. You can add a letter, a whole name, or a partial name

Email. You can add a letter, a whole address, or a partial address.

2.	Click Search.

The system displays the search results below with Add adjacent to each name on the list.

3.	Click the appropriate Add button to send an invitation to the user.

The list of invitees display in the Scheduling sub-panel.

To manage calls and meetings

 

•	To sort a list view, click any column title which has the icon beside it; to reverse the sort order, click the column title again.

•	To update information for some or all calls or meetings, use the Mass Update panel as described in “Editing and Deleting Multiple Records” on page 19.

•	To import a list of calls or meetings, click Import in the Shortcuts menu of the Call Home page or the Meeting Home page respectively. For more information on importing data, see “Importing Data” on page 129.

•	To view the details of a call or meeting, click its name on the list. Alternatively, point your cursor on the down-arrow next to the subject to view the Additional Details pop-up window. Click the View icon to view the details or the Edit icon to edit the details.

•	To edit a call or a meeting, on the detail page, click Edit, revise the information and click Save; click Cancel to exit the page without saving your changes. Associated information such as contacts, users, and notes are displayed in sub-panels.

•	To edit or delete multiple calls and meetings, use the Mass Update sub-panel as described in “Editing and Deleting Multiple Records” on page 19.

•	To duplicate a call or meeting, click Duplicate in the detail view. Duplication is a convenient way of creating a similar activity. You can change the information in the duplicate record to create a new activity.

•	To delete a call or meeting, on the detail page, click Delete, and then click OK to confirm the deletion.

•	To find a specific call or meeting in the list, enter the subject or the contact name in the Search sub-panel above and click Search. To search only your records, select the Only my records box.

•	To perform an advanced search with additional search filters such as status, click Advanced.

•	To edit an association, click the Edit icon in the sub-panel, make the changes, and click Save.

•	To remove an association, select it and click the rem icon; click OK to confirm the removal.

Creating Tasks

Based on your work-related activities, you can create tasks and assign them to yourself or to other users. When you create a task, you can relate it to a specific record such as an account or an opportunity. You can also revise the task status and priority at any time to keep your records up-to-date.

To create a task

1.	In the Shortcuts menu of the Activities Home page, click Create Task.

2.	On the Tasks page, enter information in the following fields:

Subject. Enter the subject of the task.

Due Date. Optionally, click the Calendar icon and select the completion date for the task; enter the time in the adjoining box. If there is no specific deadline for the task, select the None box.

Enter the due date information if you want to add the task on your calendar to receive a reminder when it is due.

Start Date. Optionally, click the Calendar icon and select the start date for the task; enter the time in the adjoining box.

If there is no specific start date for the task, select the None box.

Priority. From the drop-down list, select a priority that reflects the importance of completing the task.

Assigned to. Click Select to select the individual who is the lead. By default, it is assigned to you.

Status. From the drop-down list, select the current status of the task, such as Not Started, In Progress, and Completed.

Related to. Enter the name of the related account or click Select to search for one. Instead of an account, you can choose another related record such as an opportunity or contact from the drop-down list.

Contact Name. Click Select to select a specific individual who is the contact for the task. By default, it is assigned to you.

Description. Enter a brief description of the task.

3.	Click Save to create the task; click Cancel to exit the page without creating the task.

4.	To change the status of the task to Completed and create a new one click Close and Create New. The status of the new task, by default, is set to Not Started.

To manage tasks

•	To edit or delete multiple tasks, use the Mass Update panel as described in “Editing and Deleting Multiple Records” on page 19.

•	To view the details of a task, click its subject. The Tasks page displays details such as the subject, due date, and status.

•	To edit the information, on the detail page, click Edit, revise the information, and click Save; click Cancel to exit the page without saving your changes.

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To duplicate the information, on the detail page, click Duplicate, make modifications if needed, and click Save; click Cancel to exit the page without duplicating the task. Duplication is a convenient way of creating a similar task. You can change the information in the duplicate record to create a new task.

•	To import tasks, click Import in the Shortcuts menu of the Tasks Home page. For more information on importing data, see “Importing Data” on page 129.

•	To delete the task, on the detail page, click Delete and click OK to confirm the deletion.

Creating Notes and Attachments

You can create or import notes related to a specific call, meeting, or task for distribution to participants. Notes enable you to add comments on a subject and maintain a record of discussions pertaining to a call, meeting, or task. You can also attach supporting documents to a note.

To create a note or attachment

1.	In the Shortcuts menu, click Create Note or Attachment.

2.	On the Notes page, enter information for the following fields:

Contact. Enter the name of the contact. Click Select to choose one from the Contacts list or to search for a contact in the list.

Account. Optionally, enter the name of the related account or click Select to search for one. Instead of an account, you can choose another related record such as an opportunity or contact from the drop-down list.

Subject. Enter the subject of the note.

Attachment. To attach a document that is located on your machine, click Browse, navigate to the location of the file, and select the file.

Note. Enter the text of the note in this box.

3.	Click Save to create the note or attachment; click Cancel to return to the Notes home page without saving your changes.

To manage notes

•	To edit or delete multiple notes, use the Mass Update panel as described in “Editing and Deleting Multiple Records” on page 19.

•	To view the details of a note, click its subject. To edit the information, click Edit, revise the information, and click Save; click Cancel to return to the Notes detail page without saving your changes.

•	To duplicate the information, click Duplicate, make modifications if needed, and click Save; click Cancel to return to the Notes list without duplicating it. Duplication is a convenient way of creating a similar note. You can change the information in the duplicate record to create a new note.

•	To import tasks, click Import in the Shortcuts menu of the Tasks Home page. For more information on importing data, see “Importing Data” on page 129.

•	To delete the note, click Delete and click OK to confirm the deletion.The system deletes the note and returns to the Notes list.