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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 440-944-2281.
Best regards,
Michael Kadlub
ACT! Certified Consultant
CRM Coaching
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CRM Coaching
ACT Certified Consultants
29023 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44092
www.crmcoaching.com
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ACT! 2006 has recently
released an update patch (8.02) for both Standard
and Premium users. You can download the patch
by going to Help | ACT! Update. Be sure to
backup your database prior to any updates.
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We
recommend that you purchase: |
 Managing
Contacts
with ACT! 2006
$24.99
$22.49
Click here to order.
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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:
- Click Groups | Companies | New Company.
A blank company record will appear in the
Companies view.
- Enter a name or your company name in the
Company field. If necessary, populate the
other company fields with information.
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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:
- In the Contacts view, click Contacts |
New Contact to add a new contact to the
database.
- Click the button to the right of the
Company field for this new contact.
- Select a company or division, and then
click OK. ACT! will link this contact record
to the company you selected.
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 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:
- 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).
- 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.
- Click Yes, and ACT! will update the
address in each contact record linked to the
company.
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