Activity Templates for Opportunities
To create a new entry in an Opportunity Activity Template, go to the Entries tab of the template and click on the New button in the bottom-left corner. A pop-up menu now appears where you can select either “Task” or “Appointment.”
Note: There is no option here to create a Ticket entry. The system does not allow for a ticket within a ticket.
To edit an existing entry, simply select it from the Entries List in the Entries tab.
After making your selection, a window opens, allowing you to enter detailed information about the Task or Appointment. Tasks and Appointments have different Detail windows. To learn more about these Detail windows, see the sections that immediately follow, or click on the appropriate link below. These windows are explained in the sections immediately below.
Task Entries for Opportunity Activity Template
After choosing to create or edit a Task entry for a Ticket Activity Template, the following window opens:
In this window you should enter the information that the system can use to create the task when the template is applied.
Below is an explanation of the fields/buttons in this window:
Employee
Each task is the RangerMSP system must be assigned to an employee. When assigning a Task entry in a template, you should select the employee who you want assigned to the task once the template is applied to a specific opportunity and the task is “created.”
You can choose the “Employee” from any of the following options:
- Opportunity Manager: By selecting this option, the task will be assigned to the Opportunity Manager of the ticket to which the template is applied. (The Opportunity Manager is defined in the Opportunity details window > General tab > Manager field.)
- Account Manager: By selecting this option, the task will be assigned to the Account Manager of the opportunity to which the template is applied. (The Account Manager is defined in the Account details window > General tab > Account Manager [“Acct Mgr.”] field.)
- Specific Employee: When applying the template and creating the task, the employee specified in this option is assigned to the task. If the specified employee is no longer an active employee at the time the template is applied, the task is automatically assigned to the user applying the template. The system makes note of this change when applying the template.
- The user applying the template: By selecting this option, the task will be assigned to the user who actually applies the template to a specific ticket.
- Shared: By selecting this option, the task will be set as “Shared,” rather than assigned to a specific employee, when the template is applied to a specific ticket.
Task Date and Time
Each task in the RangerMSP system needs to be assigned a date. In an Opportunity template, the Task Date is defined as a certain number of days before or after—or the day of—a reference date that is defined in the "Copy From" field.
The "Copy From" field allows the user to define the date to copy from as any of the following:
- Opportunity Open Date
- Opportunity Close By Date
- Opportunity Close date
- The current date when applying the template
These choices appear in a drop-down menu from this field.
Users can then adjust the date to be a certain number of days earlier or later than this day.
Using each type of date can be convenient for different purposes. For example, you may want some Tasks to be performed seven days after the opportunity's 'Close By' date, like calling the customer for a follow-up call.
In addition, you can select the Move to next workday flag. This flag takes effect if the date that is calculated when applying the template falls out on a weekend. If this box is checked, the system automatically moves the Task Date to the next available business day. For example, if according to the information you enter in the template the Task Date falls out on a Saturday (and Monday through Friday are defined as working days in your RangerMSP Calendar), then Task Date is calculated to be the following Monday. When applying the template, a comment is displayed if such a move is made.
Note: In order to apply the template successfully, the information in field "Copy From" must be defined in the opportunity to which you wish to apply the template. If the "Copy From" field refers to the Open, Close By, or Close date, and this is not defined in the opportunity for which you apply the template, applying a template to it will fail
Task Time
You can set the task’s Time as you wish. This field may also be edited when applying the template to a specific ticket.
Details Tab
In this tab you can enter a value to additional fields of the Task. These are the Task’s user-defined fields, which can be used as you wish. Setting the values in the template entries will set these values to the fields when the task is created from the template
Note: If you have enabled Field3, Field4, and Field5 in your system, they will be displayed here as well.
Description
In this box you should enter a description of the task. When the template is applied to a specific ticket, this field appears as the Task Description. If you would like the Account information to be automatically added to this field when the template is applied, you can check the Add Account/Contact info box. Including this information in this field can be helpful when exporting the task to Outlook.
You can also specify whether the Account/Contact information should appear before or after the Task Description. To do so, check either the Before Description box or the After Description box.
Appointment Entries for Opportunity Activity Template
After choosing to create or edit an Appointment entry for a Ticket Activity Template, the following window opens:
In this window you should enter the information the system can use to create the appointment when the template is applied.
Below is an explanation of the fields/buttons in this window..
Employee
Each appointment is the RangerMSP system must be assigned to an employee. When assigning an employee to an Appointment entry in a template, you should select the employee who you want assigned to the appointment once the template is applied to a specific opportunity and the appointment is “created.”
You can choose the “Employee” from any of the following options:
- Opportunity Manager: By selecting this option, the appointment will be assigned to the Opportunity Manager of the ticket to which the template is applied. (The Opportunity Manager is defined in the Ticket details window > General tab > Manager field.)
- Account Manager: By selecting this option, the appointment will be assigned to the Account Manager of the opportunity to which the template is applied. (The Account Manager is defined in the Account details window > General tab > Account Manager [“Acct Mgr.”] field.
- Specific Employee: When applying the template and creating the appointment, the employee specified in this option is assigned to the appointment. If the specified employee is no longer an active employee at the time the template is applied, the appointment is automatically assigned to the user applying the template. The system makes note of this change when applying the template.
- The user applying the template: By selecting this option, the appointment will be assigned to the user who actually applies the template to a specific ticket.
- Shared: By selecting this option, the appointment will be set as “Shared,” rather than assigned to a specific employee, when the template is applied to a specific ticket.
Appointment Date and Time
Each Appointment in the RangerMSP system needs to be assigned a date. In an Opportunity template, the Appointment Date is defined as a certain number of days before or after—or the day of—a reference date that is defined in the "Copy From" field:
- Opportunity Open Date
- Opportunity Close By Date
- Opportunity Close date
- The current date when applying the template
The "Copy From" field allows the user to define the date to copy from as any of the following:
Users can then adjust the date to be a certain number of days earlier or later than this day.
In addition, you can select the Move to next workday flag. This flag takes effect if the date that is calculated when applying the template falls out on a weekend. If this box is checked, the system automatically moves the Appointment Date to the next available business day. For example, if according to the information you enter in the template the Appointment Date falls out on a Saturday (and Monday through Friday are defined as working days in your RangerMSP Calendar), then Appointment Date is calculated to be the following Monday. When applying the template, a comment is displayed if such a move is made.
Note: In order to apply the template successfully, the information in field "Copy From" must be defined in the opportunity to which you wish to apply the template. If the "Copy From" field refers to the Open, Close By, or Close date, and this is not defined in the opportunity for which you apply the template, applying a template to it will fail
Appointment Time
You can set the appointment’s Time field as you wish. This field may also be edited when applying the template to a specific ticket
Details Tab
In this tab you can enter a value to additional fields of the Appointment
These are the appointment’s user-defined fields, which can be used as you wish. Setting the value in the template entry will set this value to the field when the appointment is created from the template.
Note: If you've enabled Field3, Field4, and Field5 in your system, they will be displayed here as well.
Appointment Color
These buttons allow the user to determine what color the Appointment appears in when it is shown on the RangerMSP Calendar. You can choose from the following options:
- Employee Default Color: This option sets the color according to the color of the employee assigned to the Appointment. (The default color for Appointments can be defined for each employee in the Employee window.)
- Fixed Color: This option allows you to choose a specific color to be used for the Appointment once the template is applied to a ticket.
Description
In this box you should enter a description of the appointment. When the template is applied to a specific opportunity, this field appears as the Appointment Description. If you would like the Account information to be automatically added to this field when the template is applied, you can check the Add Account/Contact info box. Including this information in this field can be helpful when exporting the task to Outlook.
You can also specify whether the Account/Contact information should appear before or after the Appointment Description. To do so, check either the Before Description or After Description box.