Introduction to Customer Relationship Management
AccuArk's Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is built directly into the Customer form and gives you a 360-degree view of every customer interaction. Rather than being a separate application, the CRM lives where you already manage your customers, so every phone call, meeting, deal, support ticket, and follow-up task is linked to the customer record it belongs to.
This article introduces the CRM concepts, walks through the ten tabs on the Customer form, explains the CRM Dashboard, and outlines the steps to get up and running.
What CRM Means in AccuArk
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. In AccuArk, it refers to the tools that help you track all interactions with a customer beyond basic buying and selling. While the first six tabs on the Customer form handle profile data, addresses, invoices, payments, loyalty, and marketing, the last four tabs are the CRM-specific tabs that manage the relationship over time:
- Activities — A chronological timeline of every call, email, meeting, and note logged against the customer
- Deals — Sales opportunities that move through configurable pipeline stages from initial contact to close
- Tickets — Support issues and requests tracked from creation to resolution
- Tasks — Follow-up reminders and action items, including tasks auto-created by pipeline stage transitions
These four tabs, combined with the CRM Dashboard accessible from the CRM menu, form the core of AccuArk's CRM system.
The Ten Tabs on the Customer Form
When you open a customer record (from the Customers menu or by searching for a customer), the Customer form displays a tab control across the top. There are ten tabs in total, and each one provides a different perspective on the customer.
Tab 1: Customer Info
The first tab contains all of the customer's profile data: name, company, phone, mobile, email, fax, website, tax ID, notes, mailing address, location assignment, and account type. It also contains two important groups of fields:
- CRM Settings — Lead Source, Assigned Rep, Next Follow-Up date, Preferred Contact Method, Best Contact Time, Do Not Contact flag, and Tags
- Credit Settings — Credit Limit and Enforce Credit Limit toggle
The CRM Settings group is where you configure how this customer entered your business and who is responsible for the relationship. For a detailed field-by-field guide, see Customer Profile and Information Tab.
Tab 2: Addresses
The Addresses tab has two sub-tabs: Shipping and Billing. Each sub-tab shows a grid of saved addresses and provides a form for adding new ones. An address can be flagged as both a shipping and billing address to avoid duplicate entry. For a complete guide, see Managing Customer Addresses.
Tab 3: Invoices
The Invoices tab displays a grid of all invoices for this customer. Each row shows the invoice number, total, amount paid, balance, status, and date. A summary panel at the top shows the total invoiced amount, total paid, and total outstanding balance. A toolbar lets you filter to show or hide cancelled invoices.
Tab 4: Payments and Credits
The Payments and Credits tab is split into two sections. The top section shows all payment records linked to this customer with date, invoice number, amount, payment method, and who received the payment. The bottom section shows credit records. A summary panel displays total payments and total credits at a glance.
Tab 5: Loyalty
The Loyalty tab shows the customer's enrollment status in the loyalty program, their current point balance, and a transaction history grid with date, type (earned, redeemed, adjusted), points, and balance after each transaction. If the customer is not enrolled, a message is displayed instead.
Tab 6: Marketing
The Marketing tab shows the customer's marketing preferences and any campaigns or promotions they have been associated with. This tab is controlled by the MKT_VIEW_REPORTS permission.
Tab 7: Activities
The Activities tab is the first of the four CRM tabs. It shows a chronological timeline of all interactions logged against this customer. Each row displays the activity type (Call, Email, Meeting, Note, or any custom type you define), the date, the user who logged it, and a summary. A toolbar at the top provides buttons to add a new activity. Activities cannot be edited after creation, which preserves an accurate historical record.
Activities are the foundation of CRM. Every time you speak with a customer, send an important email, or hold a meeting, logging an activity creates a permanent record that any team member can review later.
Tab 8: Deals
The Deals tab shows all sales opportunities linked to this customer. Each deal has a name, a dollar value, a pipeline stage, an assigned representative, and an expected close date. A summary panel at the top shows the total pipeline value and deal count. A toolbar provides buttons to create a new deal.
Deals move through configurable pipeline stages, such as Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won, and Closed Lost. When a deal advances to a new stage, the transition is recorded in the deal history. If a pipeline stage has auto-task creation enabled, a follow-up task is automatically created and assigned to the deal's representative.
Tab 9: Tickets
The Tickets tab shows all support tickets for this customer. Each ticket has a subject, a category, a priority, a status (Open, In Progress, Resolved, Closed), and the assigned representative. A toolbar provides buttons to create a new ticket. Tickets support threaded notes so multiple team members can collaborate on resolving an issue.
Tab 10: Tasks
The Tasks tab shows all follow-up tasks linked to this customer. Each task has a title, a due date, a priority, a status (Pending, In Progress, Completed), and the assigned user. A toolbar provides buttons to create a new task. Tasks can be created manually or generated automatically when a deal transitions between pipeline stages.
The CRM Dashboard
In addition to the customer-level CRM tabs, AccuArk provides a CRM Dashboard accessible from the CRM menu on the main menu bar. The dashboard gives you an executive-level view across all customers:
- Active Deals — A grid of all open deals across all customers, showing deal name, customer, value, stage, rep, and expected close date
- Open Tasks — All pending and in-progress tasks with due dates and assignees
- Open Tickets — All unresolved tickets with priority, status, and age
The dashboard respects CRM permissions. Users with CRM_VIEW_ALL_DEALS can see deals across all reps, while users with only CRM_VIEW_OWN_DEALS see only their own. The same pattern applies to tasks and tickets.
Key CRM Concepts
Activities and Activity Types
An activity is a logged interaction with a customer. AccuArk ships with four built-in activity types: Call, Email, Meeting, and Note. You can add custom activity types through the CRM Settings form (CRM menu > CRM Settings) to match your business processes. For example, you might add Site Visit, Demo, or Follow-Up Call.
When you log an activity, you select the type, write a summary, and save. The activity is automatically timestamped and linked to your user account.
Sales Pipeline and Stages
The sales pipeline is a series of stages that a deal moves through from initial interest to closing. Each stage has a name, a display order, and an optional auto-task flag. When auto-task is enabled for a stage and a deal enters that stage, the system automatically creates a follow-up task for the deal's assigned representative.
You configure pipeline stages through the CRM Pipeline Settings form (CRM menu > Pipeline Settings). You can add, reorder, rename, and remove stages to match your sales process. Common stage progressions include:
- Lead — Initial contact or inquiry
- Qualified — Interest and budget confirmed
- Proposal — Quote or proposal sent
- Negotiation — Terms being discussed
- Closed Won — Deal completed successfully
- Closed Lost — Deal did not close
Support Tickets
A ticket represents a customer issue or request. Each ticket has a subject describing the problem, a category for classification, a priority (Low, Medium, High, Urgent), and a status. Tickets support threaded notes that create a conversation history, so multiple team members can collaborate to resolve the issue. Ticket categories are configurable through CRM Settings.
Tasks and Auto-Task Creation
Tasks are action items with a due date and an assigned user. You can create tasks manually on any customer, or the system can create them automatically when a deal transitions between pipeline stages. For example, if the Proposal stage has auto-task enabled, moving a deal into Proposal automatically creates a task reminding the rep to prepare and send the proposal.
Client Tags
Tags are colored labels you can apply to customers to classify them. Examples include VIP, At Risk, New Customer, and High Value. Tags are managed through CRM Settings and applied to individual customers through the Tags button on the Customer Info tab. Tags appear as colored badges on the customer record.
Lead Sources
Lead sources track how a customer first found your business. The Lead Source dropdown on the Customer Info tab is populated from configurable values you define in CRM Settings. Common lead sources include Referral, Website, Walk-In, Social Media, and Trade Show. Tracking lead sources helps you measure which marketing channels bring in the most customers.
Location-Based Visibility
CRM data follows AccuArk's multi-location model. Customers are assigned to a location, and users can only see customers at locations they have access to. This means a manager at Location A sees only activities, deals, tickets, and tasks for customers assigned to Location A, unless they have access to additional locations.
Role-Based CRM Permissions
AccuArk provides 19 CRM-specific permissions that control who can view, create, edit, and delete CRM data. These permissions are organized into four groups:
| Permission Group | Permissions | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Activities | View Activities, Create Activity | Controls who can see the Activities tab and log new activities |
| Deals | View Own Deals, View All Deals, Create Deal, Edit Deal, Delete Deal | Controls deal access with a split between own deals and all deals (manager override) |
| Tickets | View Own Tickets, View All Tickets, Create Ticket, Edit Ticket, Delete Ticket | Controls ticket access with the same own vs. all split |
| Tasks | View Own Tasks, View All Tasks, Create Task, Edit Task | Controls task access with the own vs. all split |
| Administration | Manage CRM Settings, View CRM Dashboard, View CRM Reports | Controls access to configuration, the dashboard, and reports |
Permissions are assigned to roles through the Roles and Permissions screen. By default, all roles can view activities and their own deals, tickets, and tasks. Manager and above roles can view all deals, tickets, and tasks. Only Super Admin and Location Admin can delete deals and tickets or manage CRM settings.
Getting Started with CRM
Follow these steps to configure the CRM system and begin tracking customer relationships.
Step 1: Configure Pipeline Stages
Open CRM > Pipeline Settings and review the default pipeline stages. Add, rename, reorder, or remove stages to match your sales process. Enable auto-task on any stage where you want the system to automatically create a follow-up reminder when a deal enters that stage.
Step 2: Set Up Lead Sources and Activity Types
Open CRM > CRM Settings and configure your lead sources (Referral, Website, Walk-In, Social Media, etc.) and any custom activity types beyond the built-in Call, Email, Meeting, and Note. Also set up ticket categories that match the types of support issues your business handles.
Step 3: Open a Customer and Explore the Tabs
Open an existing customer from the Customers menu and click through all ten tabs to familiarize yourself with the layout. Pay particular attention to the CRM Settings group on the Customer Info tab, where you set the Lead Source, Assigned Rep, and tags.
Step 4: Log Your First Activity
Click the Activities tab and use the toolbar to log a new activity. Select the activity type (for example, Call), write a brief summary of what was discussed, and save. The activity appears in the timeline immediately.
Step 5: Create Your First Deal
Click the Deals tab and create a new deal. Give it a name (for example, the project or product being discussed), set the value, select the pipeline stage, assign a representative, and set an expected close date. As the opportunity progresses, you can move the deal to the next stage and watch the pipeline in action.
What to Read Next
- Customer Profile and Information Tab — Detailed guide to every field on the Customer Info tab
- Managing Customer Addresses — How to manage shipping and billing addresses
- Sales Pipeline Overview — In-depth guide to deals, stages, and pipeline management