Business Activity Configuration
The Business Activity section of the Configuration Manager (File → Configuration Management → Business Activities) covers all configuration options related to Business Activities.
Business Activity Options
Activity Options
Print Preview
If this option is enabled, clicking the printer icon on a Business Activity will open the print preview window. If disabled, clicking the printer icon will send the print job to your printer.New activities are unassigned by default
If this option is enabled the Assigned to field will default to unassigned for a new Business Activity. If disabled, the Assigned to field will default to the user who created the Business Activity.Message Template
This is the default email message template used when emailing from a Business Activity.
Customer Type Alert Section
This section lists all the Customer Types that exist in Acctivate. When you add a customer to the Related Items section of a Business Activity, Acctivate will also display the customer's customer type in red with a warning icon if the Customer Type is checked off in this list.
Activity Lookup Defaults
The Business Activity Lookup Defaults option will apply to users the first time they use the activity lookup in Acctivate. If the user makes changes to the lookup options, Acctivate will remember those options per user.
Log Changes To
This section contains a list of Business Activity fields. Acctivate will log changes to any field that is checked off. The changes are logged on the Log tab of the Business Activity. The data logged includes:
| Log information | Description |
|---|---|
| Date Time | The date and time of the change. |
| Changed By | The user who made the change. |
| Data Changed | The data field that was changed. |
| Changed From | The value that the field was before to the change. |
| Changed To | The value that the field was change to. |
| Note | A note that can be entered in manually by the user to explain the log changes. |
Activity External Links
A Business Activity can include related items from Acctivate, such as Customers, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, etc. You can also create custom External Links to computer file paths and URLs.
| Field | Field Length | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Description | 50 Characters | When using the Add Related Items menu, you will see this text displayed |
| Icon | Numeric | An external link in the Related Items section of the Business Activity can have a corresponding icon. Enter the number that appears next to the icon in the Icons section |
| Prompt | 50 Characters | After selecting the External Link from the Add menu, a pop-up window will appear with this text label, prompting you to enter your data. E.g. the window would read "Enter Keyword" if that's what was in the Prompt field. |
| Display Template | 100 Characters | The text that will appear in the Related Items section. Use <key> as a variable for the data entered in the prompt screen |
| Link Template | 200 Characters | Use <key> as a variable for the data entered in the Prompt window. |
| Active | Boolean | If checked the link is active and available for use |
For example, if in the related items section of a Business Activity you wanted to link to a Google Map search, you could enter the following:
| Description | Icon | Prompt | Display Template | Link Template | Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Map | 20 | Enter Address | Google Map | https://www.google.com/maps/place/<key> |
True |
Alternatively, a link to a PDF located in a shared network location could be:
| Description | Icon | Prompt | Display Template | Link Template | Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Specs | 14 | Enter Product Name | <key>.pdf |
\\Server\ProductDocs\<key>.pdf |
True |
Activity Type
Business Activities can be assigned various attributes that are used to track and manage the Business Activity, include the Type, Status and Resolution. The Business Activity Type section of the Configuration Manager allows defining the distinct list of values available for a Business Activity.
Business Activity Type
Required The Business Activity Type is the main way to classify a Business Activity. The Type selected on a Business Activity will filter the options for the other Business Activity fields.Status
Required The Status is used to indicate the current status of a Business Activity. Statuses can be used to complete a Business Activity as well as trigger automatic email messages.Priority
Used to indicate the priority of the Business activity. Priorities can automatically set the due date of an Activity.Code
An additional classification of the Business Activity.Resolution
Used to track the final resolution of the Business Activity.Scheduling Class
Used in conjunction with Business Activity Scheduling. Allows Activities of a certain Business Activity Types to be grouped into 'Classes' for filtering.Custom Fields
Custom fields for Business Activities can be configured to display based for certain Business Activity Types.
Business Activity Type
The Business Activity Type is the primary way to classify the Business Activity. Setting the Business Activity Type will also determine what other Business Activity attribute values are available. When configuring Business Activities, you should setup the distinct list of Business Activity Types first.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | The unique internal code for the Type. 3 Character limit. |
| Description | The text that appears in the Type field of the Business Activity. 30 Character limit. |
| Can Edit Due Date | If enabled, the user can edit the Due Date. If disabled the user cannot edit the due date. |
| Active | Only active Business Activity types can be selected. |
Once the Business Activity Type is setup, you can setup the additional Business Activity attributes and relate them back to the Type.
To relate the additional attributes (Status, Priority, Code, Resolution, Scheduling Class, Custom Fields) to an Activity Type, click on the Type in the upper data grid and then check the Included checkbox in in the lower data grid.
Status
The Status is used to indicate where in the process the Business Activity is. The status is also used to close a Business Activity.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Included | If checked, this Status will be an available option for the Activity Type that is selected in the upper grid (denoted by an arrow to the left of the row) |
| Default | One Status can be designated as a Default Status per Type. |
| Code | The unique internal code for the Status. 3 Character limit. |
| Description | The text that appears in the Status field of the Business Activity. 30 Character limit. |
| Sequence | Status can be displayed in a user defined sequence on the Business Activity. 0 would be the first status in the list |
| Closed | In a Business Activity, selecting a Status with the Closed checkbox checked will complete the Activity |
| Active | Only active statuses will appear in the Business Activity window. |
| Icon | When viewing Business Activities in Business Activity Scheduling module, a different icon can appear based on the current status. To associate an icon with a status, enter the numeric value that is next to the icon in the upper portion of this configuration window. |
| On Toolbar | If enabled, a button for the Status will appear at the top of the Business Activity Scheduling window. This allows you to click a button to update the Activity to this status |
| Send Msg | If enabled, changing a Business Activity to this status will open the Email Message window if the following conditions are met:
|
Priority
The Priority is used to indicate the urgency of the Business Activity, allowing for prioritization. Priorities can be used to default the Due date field.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Included | If checked, this Priority will be an available option for the Activity Type that is selected in the upper grid (denoted by an arrow to the left of the row) |
| Default | One Priority can be designated as a Default Priority per Type. |
| Code | The unique internal code for the Priority. 3 Character limit. |
| Description | The text that appears in the Priority field of the Business Activity. 30 Character limit. |
| Hours Till Due | Enter a numeric value representing the hours until this is due. E.g. 72 would set the due date to be 72 hours (3 days). Leaving it blank will not set the due date. |
| Active | Only active Priorities will appear in the Business Activity window. |
| Icon | When viewing Business Activities in Business Activity Scheduling module, a different icon can appear based on the current Priority. To associate an icon with a Priority, enter the numeric value that is next to the icon in the upper portion of this configuration window. |
Codes
Codes allow for a more specific classification of the Business Activity in relation to the Type. For example, if the Type is "RMA" the Code options may be something like "Quality Issue", "Wrong Item", etc.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Included | If checked, this Code will be an available option for the Activity Type that is selected in the upper grid (denoted by an arrow to the left of the row) |
| Default | One Code can be designated as a Default Code per Type. |
| Code | The unique internal code for the Code. 3 Character limit. |
| Description | The text that appears in the Code field of the Business Activity. 30 Character limit. |
| Active | Only active Codes will appear in the Business Activity window. |
Resolution
The Resolution is used to identify the outcome of the Activity.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Included | If checked, this Resolution will be an available option for the Activity Type that is selected in the upper grid (denoted by an arrow to the left of the row) |
| Default | One Resolution can be designated as a Default Resolution per Type. |
| Code | The unique internal code for the Resolution. 3 Character limit. |
| Description | The text that appears in the Resolution field of the Business Activity. 30 Character limit. |
| Active | Only active Resolutions will appear in the Business Activity window. |
Scheduling Class
Assigning a Business Activity Type to a Scheduling Class allows you to filter quickly filter on Business Activities with a particular Scheduling Class in the Business Activity Scheduling (Service Scheduling) window.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Included | If checked, this Business Activity Type will be included in this Scheduling Class |
| Class | The unique internal code for the Class. 3 Character limit. |
| Description | The text that appears in Class Filter of the Business Activity Scheduling window. 30 Character limit. |
| Active | Only active Scheduling Classes will appear in the Business Activity Scheduling window. |
Custom Fields
Business Activity custom fields must first be setup in the Custom Fields section of the Configuration Manager. Then, custom fields can be configured to display for specific Activity Types.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Included | If checked, this custom field will be an available option for the Activity Type that is selected in the upper grid (denoted by an arrow to the left of the row) |
| Custom Field | The Caption for the custom field setup in the Custom Fields section of the Configuration Manager |