An important aspect in CRM is to keep track of all the tasks, meetings, calls, events, or activity records.You can neatly organize the numerous records along with the activities associated to them such as follow-up, pre sales and post sales activities, phone conversations etc. They can be very useful in initiating and tracking pending action items and in recording the results of meetings or events.
In Zoho CRM, the Activities module is where you can create and associate business tasks, events and calls. Each activity has vital information on the date, time, priority level and notification parameters that can even be accessible from within the record it is associated to.
Working with Tasks & Events
Activities play an important role in daily business operations. Activities can be either time bound calendar events, such as meetings, seminars, appointments, etc., or status bound tasks, such as send status report to manager, send email to customer, etc. In Zoho CRM, most of the records have activities as a related list for a better 360 degree view. You can associate activities with modules, such as leads, accounts, contacts, potentials, campaigns, etc. Under the Activities Module, you can store information related to Tasks, Events, and Calls.
Create Tasks
A task is a specific piece of work required to be done within a given time frame. They are listed in the Zoho CRM's Home page of the user, Activities home page and in other related records.
To create tasks:
- In the Activities module, click New Task. You can also create a task from within a record by clicking the New Task link in the Open Activities related list.
- In the Create Task page, specify the task details.
- Click Save.
Note:
- Tasks will be closed, only when the Status of the task is updated as Completed.
- The status, Completed, is a system defined field. An alternate custom field with the same label will not close the task automatically.
Create Events
An event is an activity that happens at a given place and time. They are listed in the Zoho CRM's Home page of the user, Activities home page, Calendar and in other related records.
To create events:
- In the Activities module, click New Events.
- In the New Event popup, specify the event details.
- Click Save.
To create events from Calendar:
- Click the Calendar icon and select the Day, Week or Month view.
- In the Calendar, click the Create link or click on a time slot in the calendar.
- In the New Event popup, specify the event details.
- Click Save.
Note:
- Events are automatically closed at the specified end date and time. There is no status update for events.
Create Recurring Activities
An activity can be repeated by using the recurring option while creating tasks and events. You can also create recurring tasks in bulk from the list view.
To create recurring activities:
- In the Activities module, click New Task or New Event. You can also create a task from within a record by clicking the New Task/New Event link in the Open Activities related list.
- In the Create Task/Event page, specify the activity-related details.
- Select the Recurring Activity check box and do the following:
- Specify the Start Date and End Date for the activity to be repeated.
- Specify the Repeat Type for the activity and select the options accordingly (Refer to the table below).
- Click Save.
To create recurring activities in bulk:
- Click the [Module] tab.
- From the list view select the checkboxes of the records for which you want to create recurring tasks.
- Click MoreActions > CreateTasks.
- In the popup, specify the task details and click Repeat to specify the recurring details.
- Specify the StartDate and EndDate. Refer to the table given above for more details.
- Daily Repeat Type - Recurrence can be set for maximum 30 days.
- Weekly Repeat Type - Recurrence can be set for maximum 30 weeks.
- Monthly Repeat Type - Recurrence can be set for maximum 30 months.
- Yearly Repeat Type - Recurrence can be set for maximum 10 years.
- Click Done and then Save.
Set Reminders
There are two options for reminders:
- Alert through Email
- Alert through Pop-up
For tasks, you have the option to choose the type of reminder you want. For events, both the reminders options are enabled and cannot be disabled while adding an event from the Activities tab. However, your Calendar may have different reminder options. In your calendar preferences, you can turn off just the Email reminder. The pop-up reminder cannot be disabled.
To set reminders for tasks:
- In the Activities tab, click on the task for which you want to set reminders.
- In the Task Details page, click Edit.
- Select the Reminder check box and do the following:
- Specify the date and time when you want the reminder.
- Specify the recurrence pattern. (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, etc.)
- Choose Alert Through Email or Alert Through Pop-up as required.
- Click Save.
