Handle's Calendar Drag and Drop connects tasks to your CRM dashboard. Save time with direct scheduling.
To work more efficiently, your CRM needs to connect users’ dashboard and tasks directly to the calendar. That’s why we built Handle’s Calendar Drag and Drop. Using it in your everyday workflow and automation can save lots of steps in managing accounts.
For example, if you want to follow up on expired quotes, you only need to drag the quote into the calendar and schedule a call for it. Or let’s say you have ten overdue customers. You can drag them into the calendar and quickly schedule those calls.
In this article, we walk you through the process of setting up and using tiles in the calendar. These tiles can be pinned to the calendar and will display a list of items, such as quotes or inventory. We also explain how to create new records/follow-ups and the rules behind what they can create.
Work Directly in the Calendar
By adding tiles directly to the calendar, you can simplify the process of scheduling tasks and calls. For instance, after creating a search for overdue accounts or pipelines without a scheduled follow-up, you’ll create a tile within that search. You can then pin the tile to the calendar, allowing you to drag specific records into the calendar to schedule calls and follow-ups.
If any calendar item isn’t performed on the scheduled day, It will display an orange icon so it’s easy to see it hasn’t been completed yet. Past-due activities can also be added to a tile that lists past-due calls.
Note: When working in the calendar, it’s a good idea to create searches that are specific to the tile, so you can minimize the amount of data that’s loading in the background to get that tile.
Pin Tiles to the Calendar
You can pin tiles to the calendar by selecting “Add to Calendar” in any record.
When tiles are added to the calendar, they appear in the left sidebar of the calendar view under “Pinned.”
Configure Drag and Drop Defaults
When you drag and drop, a popup opens (below), which can be configured however you like.
You can choose to pre-fill certain fields by configuring defaults. This minimizes the amount of data entry needed by your users while still allowing them to edit the data later.
You can also configure specific types of activities. For example, if your service people perform tasks rather than sales calls, you can add an entity called “Tasks.”
Default fields will not be editable by the users. But if users need to overwrite defaults, they can do that from the New Entities dropdown.
Drag and Drop Records into the Calendar
When you drag and drop records into the calendar, a popup will open. There, you can select what you want to create and add any additional details. Be aware, you can only create one record at a time.
Start by selecting the entity type: Account, Action, Delivery Request, or Sales Call. Based on your selection, the data fields will change. For instance, for a sales call, you’ll be prompted to enter:
- End date and time
- Owner
- Stage
- Description
- Start date and time
For Deliver Request, you’ll be prompted to enter details about the customer, billing, delivery or pick-up location, equipment type, branch, and more.
Automation – Advanced Use Cases
The Handle Automation Engine can be used to automatically create records as reminders while including requirements for those follow-ups. For example, most dealers generate an after-sale record that triggers a warranty 90 days after the sale. With Calendar Drag and Drop, you can create a tile that allows your team to quickly schedule follow-ups when it makes sense for the situation.
Sold Process: Some dealers are using this feature with Paperless Workflow. When the paperwork isn’t done yet on something marked sold, they can pull the record into the calendar to follow up with the customer and finalize the deal.
Quoting Automation: You can automatically send a templated quote. When certain types of lead or quote requests are generated from your website, you can send a templated quote and create follow-up records for your team members.
Lifecycle Campaigns: You could trigger a workflow for certain types of equipment based on their lifecycles and purchase dates. This would add the record to the calendar and assign it to the appropriate person. For combines, for instance, you could automatically schedule winter and spring inspections.
Get Started with Drag-and-Drop Calendar Tiles
If you’d like to enable an entity type to be visible in the calendar, you only need to follow the instructions in this guide. Feel free to reach out to us if you need help or have any questions: https://texadasoftware.com/support/ .