Lead are the first phase in establishing a customer relationship. Your company may get leads from marketing activities such as trade shows, advertisement or press releases. At this phase you do not know whether this first contact will lead to a business opportunity.

	Important
	Usually or unfortunately, most of your Leads will not generate any business transactions. The CRM system considers this by treating Leads different from all other contact information stored in the CRM. It is sensible to avoid useless Leads loading the CRM system unnecessarily. For this reason Leads are not linked to other account or contact information.

If you create a Lead, you can capture the following customer related data:

These data will be stored as master lead data within your CRM. Your administrator may modify the type and amount of master data necessary for your business. As explained in section: New Leads, a lead is most likely the best starting point for you to enter customer data into your CRM system. Please refer to this section if you want to create a new lead. Use the lead copy function as a practical tool if you have to create multiple leads which do not differ much.

If you want to find a lead in your CRM or to add information to an existing lead, go to the Sales > Leads menu at the navigation area. A list of all your existing leads will be shown as illustrated in figure: Leads - List View.

Figure 2.23. Leads - List View

With the magnifying glass icon, the lead list offers you a powerful tools to search and quickly finding any particular information as further explained in section: List Search. At this list view you can also delete leads, or change the owner or status.

	Important
	Contents of this list can be configured freely to fit your needs. In addition, the CRM can use these list for an automatic analysis. Please refer to section: Customize Lists for further information.

Lead Details

In figure: Leads - List View, some sample leads are already included. To see more information about a particular Lead click [Last Name]. A new window will open as shown in figure: Lead Detail View - Master Data. At this site you see the master data of a lead.

Figure 2.24. Lead Detail View - Master Data

Once you have provided the full address information, you may want to use the Locate Map function of the CRM system to see a map of the location. Please note that the default country is the USA. If you want to use the system for a different country, you have to provide the country information with the address information. It can, however, be that your country is not fully covered.

After clicking the [More Information] tab you have the possibility to work with the lead as shown in figure: Lead Detail View - More Information.

Figure 2.25. Lead Detail View - More Information

Table 2.3. More Information at Leads

Activities:	You may link this Lead with activities such as calls, meetings or tasks. Here you get a list of all activities related to this lead and you can create new activities.
Emails:	Here you see a list of all e-mails you have sent to the contact of this lead or you may use the Email button to send e-mails
History:	Unless they have been deleted, all activities of the past are listed in history and marked as held at the calendar.
Attachment and Notes:	You may add notes or attachments to leads. An attachment can be any type of file such as data sheets, contracts etc.
Products:	You may add information about the products or services which a lead refers to.
Campaign:	You may select a campaign to which a lead is related.

In the sales process, sales potentials are the logical successors of leads. Therefore, you may create a sales potential from a lead and transfer all information available for the lead to the new sales potential. In addition, you may create a sales potential directly. Sales potentials are characterized by the fact that an obvious interest of a potential customer in an offer of your company exists. The sales department expects that an offer can be made for this potential customer in the future.

Direct Entry of Potentials

If a sales potential arises from a new customer it is recommended that you create a potential from a lead as described in section: Creating Potentials from Leads. For a business opportunity which is not based on a lead you can directly enter a new sales potential. Click the [plus icon] at the potential list view. A new window will open as shown in figure: Potential - Edit View.

Figure 2.26. Potential - Edit View

Now you can enter your data to the sales potential. The following listing refers to the default input mask, which can be changed by your administrator according to your requirements. Please consider the mandatory entries.

Table 2.4. List of default master data entry fields for potentials

Potential Name:	You must give each potential an unique name. For a better overview it is recommended to include the account name.
Amount:	You set an amount of the expected business. Note that this amount will be used by the CRM to decide automatically whether this potential has to be listed at Home / My Top Open Potentials.
Account Name:	Select an account name already stored in your CRM by clicking the [folder icon] at the end of this line. Note that you cannot make a direct entry.
Expected Close Date:	Select a expected close date for this business.
Type:	Select a type of this potential. The type definition can be configured freely by your system administrator.
Next Step:	Enter the next step you want make to get closer to the conclusion of the deal.
Lead Source:	Select a lead source. The source definition can be configured freely by your system administrator.
Sales Stage:	Select a sales stage. The stage definition can be configured freely by your system administrator. Every time you are making progress in selling, you should update this entry.
Assigned To:	Select an owner of this potential. Usually this will be the selling co-worker or a group.
Probability (%):	Here you can enter the probability of the success of the selling activities. You can enter any value from 0-99. 100 should be reserved for a concluded deal.
Campaign Source:	You may enter a reference to an existing campaign.
Description:	You may enter additional information to this potential here.

	Tip
	Be careful in defining sales stages for your company. If you define too many stages, not all your co-workers might be able or willing to maintain a valid data base.

Use the extensive possibilities in this input window to store as much information as you have for this potential. Come to an agreement with your co-workers on how to use the entry fields.

Additional Information for Potentials

In order to assign further information directly to a sales potential, click the name of a potential at the potential list view, as displayed at the Sales > Potentials menu. You will reach the detail view of the master data as shown in figure: Potential Detail View - Master Data.

Figure 2.27. Potential Detail View - Master Data

If you click the [More Information] tab, you have the possibility of working with the potential and to add further information as shown in figure: Potential Detail View - More Information.

Figure 2.28. Potential Detail View - More Information

Table 2.5. List of more information entry fields for potentials

Activities:	Here you will see a list of all your activities such as calls, meetings and tasks related to this potential. You may create here also new activities.
Contacts:	Here you see a list of contacts related to this potential. You may select additional contacts already stored in the CRM system.
Products:	Here you can see a list of all products or services this potential is related to. You may select additional products or services from the data base or you can transfer a new product or service to the CRM system.
Sales Stage History:	Every time you change the sales stage, a new entry at this history list will be created.
Attachments and Notes:	You may attach notes or attachments to the sales potential.
Quotes:	Here your quotes related to this potential are listed. If you create a new quote from here, all the potentials master data required for the quote will be transferred automatically.
Sales Order:	Here all your incoming sales orders related to this potential are listed. You might use the CRM's capability of creating sales orders to keep your CRM up to date. This is especially helpful if quotes and sales orders are different.
History:	Here you see a list of all your past activities if they have been marked as held.

The CRM system supports you in the creation of quotes for potential customers. You may use one of the following ways:

The figure: Quote - Edit View for quote and address information shows the quote and the address information of the edit view for a quote entry.

Figure 2.29. Quote - Edit View for quote and address information

You may enter the following information:

Quote information

Address information

Product Details

For quotes, the CRM system considers all type of taxes or discounts which may apply to the offer of products or services. These may include local, state or federal taxes as well as special taxes. These taxes can be calculated individually for each product or service, or calculated for the whole. Before you select products for your quote, you need to decide what tax mode applies to your offer. The CRM system supports an Individual and a Group tax mode.

The figure: Product Details for Individual Tax Mode displays an example for the entry details for products calculated with the Individual tax mode.

Figure 2.30. Product Details with Individual Tax Mode

With this tax mode you may set different taxes for each individual product or service you offer.

In figure: Product Details with Group Tax Mode you see the entry details with the Group tax mode. Here the overall tax is calculated after all products or services has been entered.

Figure 2.31. Product Details with Group Tax Mode

You may add further products or services by clicking the [Add Product] button.

Finally the CRM will add up all your entries and will calculate the Sub Total. You may add further taxes or adjustments. Note that the terms and conditions can be defined if you hit the [More Information] tab. Your CRM administrator may define default terms and conditions as described in section: Inventory Terms & Conditions.

Click [Save] to transfer your quote to the CRM.

	Important
	If you want to have a PDF copy of your quote, you must have set your company information in advance as described in section: Company Details.

Sales orders are orders you receive from customers. Such orders of goods or services are usually presented as a paper copy received by fax or mail. It makes sense to capture such orders also in the CRM. A sales order may differ from your quote and you should have such information available at the CRM system.

You may create a sales order from a previous quote by opening the detail view of the corresponding quote and clicking the [New Sales Order] button. This will automatically transfer your quote information to the new sales order. You may also create a new sales order by clicking the plus icon at the sales order list view.

	Note
	To enter sales orders in your CRM system, you must have the services or products ordered in you product catalogue and in your price book.

In both cases a new window will open as shown in figure: Sales Order - Edit View for sales order and address information. If you have used a quote before, you will note that all entry fields have been filled automatically.

Figure 2.32. Sales Order - Edit View for sales order and address information

	Note
	At the current release, you will not be able to select your sales order number.

Sales Order Information

Address Information

As soon you pick an account name, the address information is taken from the account and included automatically. You may change it if necessary.

Product Details

Here the ordered goods and services ordered are listed. Please refer to Product Details in Quotes for more information.

	Note
	Your system administrator may customize the entry fields.

	Important
	If you want to have a PDF copy of your order, you must have set your company information in advance as described in section: Company Details.

The CRM supports you in purchasing goods or services. That might be helpful if you have to order something to fulfill a customer sales order or to maintain your company operation.

	Note
	Before you can enter any purchase orders, you must have the vendor in the vendors list. This is explained in section: Vendors. You must have also the products or services to be purchased in your product catalogue as well in a price book.

To enter a new purchase order, click the [plus icon] at the Inventory > Purchase Orders menu. As another option, you may click the [Add New Purchase Order] button at the detail view of a vendor at the Inventory > Vendors menu. By using this option the CRM will transfer the vendor information to the new purchase order automatically. A new window will open as shown in figure: Purchase Order - Edit View for purchase order and address information.

Figure 2.33. Purchase Order - Edit View for purchase order and address information

Now you may enter the following information to your purchase order:

	Note
	At the current release, you will not be able to select your own purchase order number.

	Note
	Your system administrator may customize the entry fields.

The meaning and the function of the other purchase order entry fields are identical to the fields in quotes as described in section: Quotes.

	Important
	If you want to have a PDF copy of your order, you must have set your company information in advance as described in section: Company Details.

You may use the CRM system to create customer invoices. Click the [plus icon] at the Sales > Invoice menu or, preferably, use the [Create New Invoice] button at the detail view of a sales order. A new window will open as shown in figure: Invoice - Edit View for invoice and address information.

Figure 2.34. Invoice - Edit View for invoice and address information

You may add the following information to your invoice:

Invoice Information

	Note
	Your system administrator may customize the entry fields.

The meaning and the function of the other invoice entry fields are identical to the fields in quotes as described in section: Quotes.

	Important
	If you want to have a PDF copy of your invoice, you must have set your company information in advance as described in section: Company Details.

You may send the PDF copy of invoices as an e-mail to customers directly from the invoice detail view as displayed in figure: PDF output for invoices. If you click Send Email With PDF the mail edit window will open which contains the invoice as an attachment allows you to add the receiver and additional text to the e-mail.

Figure 2.35. PDF output for invoices