Issue 4 • ACT! 2005/2006 Edition

Dear FIRSTNAME,

In addition to the contact entity, ACT! 2006 offers an additional record type: the company record.

Company records can be viewed in the Companies and Company List views, and you can add as many companies to the database as you require. Best of all, contact records can be linked to companies, so ACT! can now work as a company-centric database system.

Click these links to learn more detailed information about the the tips outlined in this issue:

As always, if you have any questions about ACT!, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me at 800-322-1049.

Best regards,

The staff at

Innovative Solutions
 

  

Brought to you by:

Innovative Solutions
ACT! Certified Consultants
4423 Lehigh Road
Suite 404
College Park, MD 20740
800-322-1049
www.is-crm.com
 

  

L A T E S T   N E W S

This section removed for the newsletter archive.
 

We recommend that you purchase:

Managing Contacts
with ACT! 2006
$24.99   $22.49

Click here to order.
 
 
Creating a New Company
Relevant for ACT! 2005 & ACT! 2006 Users

Adding a new company to the database entails the same general process you use to add a new contact. You should probably go to the Companies view before adding a new company to the database -- in the Companies view you can check to see if the company already exists before adding a potential duplicate.

Veteran add-on developer Stan Smith sells an add-on product that will automatically create company records for all of the contacts that exist in your database. It will also link the existing contacts to the newly created company records. This is a must-have for upgrading users who would like to take advantage of the company entity. Ask us for details about obtaining this product.

To create a new company record:

  1. Click Groups | Companies | New Company. A blank company record will appear in the Companies view.
  2. Enter a name or your company name in the Company field. If necessary, populate the other company fields with information.
 
Linking a Contact with a Company
Relevant for ACT! 2005 & ACT! 2006 Users

With the new company record feature, you can use ACT! 2006 as a company-centric database. You can link contacts with company records, and some key information -- such as the address fields -- can be dynamically linked between the company and contact records.

The first step in using ACT! 2006 as a company-centric database is to link your contact records with company records. Before linking contacts to a company, you must have first set up the company record.

Anytime a contact is linked to a company, you'll notice that the text in the company field becomes highlighted and blue, just like the text in the email address field. If you click anywhere on the blue underlined company text, ACT! will take you directly to the main company record.

To link a contact with a company:

  1. In the Contacts view, click Contacts | New Contact to add a new contact to the database.
  2. Click the button to the right of the Company field for this new contact.
  3. Select a company or division, and then click OK. ACT! will link this contact record to the company you selected.
 
Auto-Updating Company and Contact Data
Relevant for ACT! 2005 & ACT! 2006 Users

If a company moves its offices, you'll probably need to go through all of the contacts at the company and update their address fields. If you have linked your contacts with a main company record, ACT! will automatically update the contacts' address fields when the main company fields are updated.

Some company-specific fields -- such as the Referred by field -- do not auto-update. Only the Address 1, Address 2, Address 3, City, State, Zip, Country, and Web Site fields auto-update.

To automatically update company and contact address information:

  1. Make sure that you have one or more contacts associated with your main company record. (See the previous task for information on linking contact and company records).
  2. Update the main address information in your company record. When you move off the company record, ACT! will ask if you would like to update contacts linked to this company with the changes you made.
  3. Click Yes, and ACT! will update the address in each contact record linked to the company.

Make sure all of your employees are getting
this regular e-mail.  Get signup instructions
at our web site:		 www.is-crm.com

© 2006 Thomson Course Technology.  Text adapted from Managing Contacts with ACT! 2006. Reprinted with permission.