Classic - Customer Service - Call Taking

The customer service components of Successware handle all of your direct customer interactions, to include finding existing customer records, creating new customers, taking phone calls, creating and scheduling jobs, in addition to maintaining your dispatch board.

In Successware, customer's information is stored in two separate files:

• Service location, and
• Billing account.

 

Service Locations vs. Billing Accounts

The service location pertains to WHERE you perform services, while the billing account establishes WHO will be paying for that service.

The Service Location is where the service and phone call history, equipment, warranties, agreement and marketing information "live".

The Billing Account is the party that is responsible for paying for any charged work that occurs at a service location. The Billing Account maintains a history of all invoices, payments, adjustments, finance charges etc. related to that account.

Each location MUST have at least one billing account associated with it, but may have more than one. Alternately, a single billing account may be financially responsible for services performed at more than one service location.

Where Does the Bill Go?

When creating a new customer record, a detail that helps to dictate where the bill goes is the service location’s owner occupied status. In essence, does the person who owns the property live at the location? If the property is owner occupied, you can just copy the location information to the billing account section. This is referred to as making a carbon copy.  Once you've done this, any time you make a change to the service location the carbon copy billing account will be updated as well.

If the property is not owner occupied, but the job is such that the tenant is not responsible for the payment of service, you can either create a new billing account, or assign an existing billing account to the location.

Even if you have used the carbon copy function to establish a billing account for a location, you can still create an alternate billing account for the location. This would be useful in situations where the tenant is responsible for service inside the unit, while the owner is responsible for service to community or shared equipment. In this situation, one of the billing accounts must be set as the default billing account.

A benefit of a carbon copying accounts is that changes made to information in either record is automatically updated and saved in both places.

Billing accounts may also be responsible for more than one location. If a party owns a number of properties, each of those properties may be listed as a service location on a particular billing account.

Carbon Copy Locations/Accounts

To accommodate the fact that often the residents at a service location are responsible for paying their own bill, Successware allows you to automatically create a billing account with the same name/address information as the location.  These accounts and locations are called Carbon Copy locations or accounts.  With a Carbon Copy account, if you change the name or address information in the Service Location form, the related Billing Account is updated appropriately. Changes made on the Billing Account side do not however, automatically carry over to the Service location.

The Carbon Copy relationship between a Service Location and Billing account can also be deactivated. This will result in a separate Location and Billing Account, each of which can be edited and changed without affecting the other account. This ability to disassociate the accounts when the owner of a service location moves and you wish to move the billing account to the new location or if a new owner moves into an existing location and you don't wan the new owner's information to be copied to an existing billing account.

Creating a Carbon Copy Billing Account from the Location Form

1. If the Location form is not in Edit Mode, press Ctrl+Enter or click the Edit
2. From the Location Form, right-click in the Billing Account area of the form and select New 'carbon copy' account.  

Note: If a Carbon Copy account already exists for the location, you will be notified and given the choice of changing the ‘carbon copy’ account to the new account you are creating, or keeping the existing ‘carbon copy’ account.

Creating a Carbon Copy Location from the Billing Account Form

3. If the Billing Account form is not in Edit Mode, press Ctrl+Enter or click the Edit
4. From the Billing Account Form, right-click in the Locations area of the form and select New 'carbon copy' account.  

Note: If a Carbon Copy account already exists for the location, you will be notified and given the choice of changing the ‘carbon copy’ account to the new account you are creating, or keeping the existing ‘carbon copy’ account.

Activating or Deactivating a Carbon Copy Account

5. Open the Location form or Billing Account form for which you want to remove the Carbon Copy Account.
6. Click the Edit button or press Ctrl+Enter to put the form into Edit
7. Right click on the desired account and select Activate/Deactivate Carbon Copy.

• You will be asked to confirm the action to make the selected account the Carbon Copy account.  If a Carbon Copy  account already exists for the location, you will be notified and given the choice of changing the Carbon Copy  account to the selected account, or keeping the existing Carbon Copy  account.
• If the selected account is already the Carbon Copy account, you will be asked if you would like to turn the Carbon Copy status Off for the selected account.

Carbon Copy Mismatches

Under certain circumstances, it is possible to make changes that cause a carbon copy billing account to become "out of sync" with its associated location.  This can happen, for example, if certain billing accounts are merged, or changes are made to a carbon copy billing account instead of its associated service location.  

Successware contains feature that are intended to help prevent the mismatch situation from occurring and will also help avoid unintentionally overwriting needed billing account information.

• When attempting to merge billing accounts which may result in a carbon copy mismatch, a warnings will be displayed which allows you to cancel or continue the merge. 
• Warnings are now displayed any time location or billing account details is opened and there is an existing carbon copy mismatch. At that time you will be asked to review each account and make any necessary corrections. Warnings have also been added when modifications to a billing account result in a carbon copy mismatch. 
• Making a change to and saving a Service location with a carbon copy billing account will cause the billing account to be updated with all name, address and phone information currently in the service location. When this carbon copy update is about to take place and the name/address information on the location does not currently match the billing account data, the user will be presented with the two names and addresses and prompted for confirmation that the carbon copy update should take place.  The user can allow the update to continue, or cancel the carbon copy update.
  

Note: If the address information SHOULD be different for the Service Location and Billing Account, the Carbon Account setting should be TURNED OFF.

General Billing Accounts

There are times when there is an billing account that needs to be billed for work that is performed at a service location, where there is no reason for there to be a continuing (and therefore attached) relationship between the billing account and service location.

For example, if you are doing work as a subcontractor for a general contractor, the work is occurring at the service location, but the bill will go to the general contractor. At the end of the job, there is no continuing billing responsibility for the general contractor at that service address. To accommodate this situation you can create a billing account and designate it as a General Billing Account.

By definition, a General Billing Account can be selected as the responsible billing party on any invoice, with no prior relationship between the billing account and service location required.

Other examples might include third party warranty companies, utility companies, finance companies or insurance companies.

General Billing accounts are created by checking the General Billing Account checkbox when creating or editing a billing account.

A General Billing Account can be selected as the responsible billing party on an invoice, by selecting the Billing Account dropdown on the invoice, pointing to General Accounts and selecting the appropriate General Billing Account. 

Searching for Customers

Successware allows you to find existing customers using following fields:

• Address
• Address 2
• Lot ID
• Subdivision
• Phone Number (Field also searches the Phone 2 field)
• Last Name,
• Company Name,
• Location ID Number, and
• Billing ID Number.

NOTE: Search fields are not cumulative. The only field you are searching by is whichever field your cursor is in when you initiate the search.

There are two ways you can search a field.

• Contains - Searches for all records that contain the search criteria that you enter. For example, entering 123 in the address field would generate all records that have 123 somewhere in the address such as 341234 Main Street.  A “contains” search is performed by typing a “%” before the search criteria and then pressing Enter, or by typing the search criteria without the percent sign and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
• Begins with- Searches are for all records whose entries begin with what you have typed. For example, entering 123 in the address field would return 123 Main Street, but not 3123 Main Street.  A “begins with” search is performed by typing the criteria you want to search for in the respective field and pressing Enter.

Performing a Customer Search

1. In order to search for an existing customer (or to see whether or not someone is a current customer) click on the Customer Search button or press Ctrl+F12.                                     

Note: if you plan to search for an open multiple customers, remove the Close after Selection checkbox. This will allow to search for and open customers, while leaving the Customer Search window open as well. Otherwise the Customer Search will close as you open a customer.

2. Tab to the field you want to search by and select the appropriate circle button to identify by which field you wish to search.

3. Enter your search criteria in the field.
4. Press Enter to perform the search. (You can also press Ctrl+Enter to find all records that contain the characters you entered.)
5. If your search has generated results, they will display in the lower portion of the Customer Search

6. Click on the customer result you are searching for and click Open to open the customer’s record.(You can also press Enter with the customer selected or double click the displayed customer). If you wish to record a phone call from the customer you have searched for, be sure they are highlighted and click the Take a Call

If your search result does not list the customer you are looking for, it is recommended that you perform another search using new criteria.

Customer Information Screen

When you open a customer’s record, the Customer screen will display. The Customer screen contains numerous pieces of information about the service location, billing account and service history, in addition to allowing you to create new jobs.

Indicator	Function
	The Standard button will be illuminated if the customer has been marked as a priority customer in the Location Detail form (F2). If not, the button will read Standard.
	The Notepad button can be selected to read and create location notes, location directions and billing account notes (you can also press F11 to activate this feature).
	The Zone button displays the Zone the customer’s location is in. The color and text of the button is dependent upon the Zone setup.
	Double-clicking on the New Job button will initiate the process of creating a new job. (you can also press Insert to activate this feature).
	Double-click the History button (or press F5) to view the customer’s call and job history. If the button is bright green the customer has an past history. If the customer has Open Jobs, the indicator will be illuminated in Yellow and contain the text "Open Job". The Open Job text will remain illuminated until all jobs related to the customer have been closed or cancelled. For each item, reports the sum of quantities and values for all requisitions/returns over a specified time period from the list of all items or all stock items.  Can be used to find slow moving parts in your inventory. Note, Sales jobs will not "automatically" close as service Jobs do, therefore, they must be closed manually.
	The Installations button will be illuminated if your company has installed equipment for this customer. Double-clicking on it (or pressing F6) will take you to the Equipment and Warranties screen.
	The Warranties button will be illuminated if the customer has equipment that is covered by a warranty. Double-click on it (or press F6) to open the Equipment and Warranties screen.
	If a there is an active agreement, the Agreements button will illuminate, displaying Next Visit: and a date if the customer has a maintenance agreement (the date displayed is the date the customer is next due for an agreement visit) or just Next Visit if the customer has a service agreement.. If the agreement is expired, the word “expired” will appear in red. Double-clicking on it (or pressing F7) opens the Agreement form.
	If the M&R button is illuminated, there is marketing activity associated with the customer. Double-clicking on it (or pressing F8) displays the Customer’s Opportunity Profile.

NOTE: Moving the mouse over different sections of the Customer screen will bring up pop-up tips that tell you what information is being displayed in that section.

Notes

Use Notes to enter additional job or customer information. There are 2 classes of notes available to you, Customer Related notes and Job Related notes. Notes can be open by pressing F11 on the keyboard. Customer related notes are available to you from any screen where you are selected on a Service Location or Billing Account. Job Related notes are only available to you when you have selected (highlighted) a specific job.

Note: When a job is selected all Job related notes are available as well as all of the Customer related notes.

Notes fields are unlimited in terms of their size limit. You can enter notes without needing to delete earlier notes. This is especially helpful Locations Notes for example. These Locations notes, if typed to include an entered date and the user's id or initial serve a nice "note history" for the location. This note history could include special information about the customer such as special discounts that have been offered to the customer, the fact that a promised discount was given and when.

When you open the Customer Information screen you will see an icon that displays the notes status of the location.

• A Notes Icon with a filled note page indicates that a note (or notes) exist for this customer.  Selecting the Notes Icon opens a menu of Topics (listed below), with  indicating the topics which currently have a note.
• A Notes Icon with a blank not page indicates that no notes exist for this customer.

Note Types

• Location Notes- These are note that identify any information about the customer that you feel important to record. Location notes appear by default in the lower right hand corner of the Phone Call form when taking a phone call from a customer.
• Location Directions- Use this note to record driving directions or cross streets
• Billing Account Notes- Record any necessary regarding the specific billing account
• Job Instructions - Only available when a specific job is selected. Record job instructions and any other important information related to the service job.
• Work Done- Only available when a specific job is selected. This note can be used to record a detailed summary of what work was performed on the job. These location notes will forever remain part of the job history, will print on a printed invoice for the job, will appear in Location History (F5) when the job is selected and will display, along with the Job Instructions in the Job Manager when a job is highlighted, and in the past job history area of a Work Order. Work Done notes can be recorded in the Job Summary form or while completing the invoice for a job.
• Work Suggested- Only available when a specific job is selected. Use this note to identify any recommendations that were made to the customer. These notes will appear by default in the past job history area of the Work Order

To Enter or View Notes:

1. With a Service Location, Billing Account or Job selected, press F11, or right-click and select Open>Notes.                                            

   

2. Enter the text you want to add, and press Esc to exit. There is no Save button on notes.

In the Notes screen, the topic name and the currently-selected record number (Job #, Invoice #, etc.) are shown in the upper-left corner.   

Sequence through the topics by selecting  in the lower-right corner or pressing the Tab key.

Location History Form

By pressing F5 from the Customer Information Screen (or double clicking the History indicator) you can open the Location History form. The Location History form displays information regarding a customer's:

• Job History
• Equipment Records
• Agreements
• Marketing Lists
• Customer Opportunities
• Past Concern phone calls from the customer
• Archived History

Once you have opened the Location History form. Click on the items listed in the specified area and view the detail information about the item in the top half of the form.

Different items will allow you different right click options pertaining to the listed items.

Archived History

You can track service provided for customers which was performed before you began using Successware. The information is maintained in an area of the Location  History form called Archived History. The information is stored for reference purposes and is not available to current company financials.

When the Location History form is open (F5), you will see a notification in the upper right corner that tells you whether the customer has archived history or not.

Whether the customer has history and you want to review it or you want to add history, press Ctrl+H to open the Archived History screen.

To add new history to a customer, right-click and select Add History or press Ctrl+Insert. Because these records are for reference purposes, normal rules not allowing duplicate Job numbers and Invoice numbers are not enforced.

When you are finished adding the information, click OK to save the changes.

Note: Existing archived history can be edited or deleted using the right-click menu.

Press Ctrl+H to toggle back to the standard customer history. The Customer History will display a yellow indicator identifying that the customer has archived history.

Archived history recorded for a service location can be reported using the Location History report and can be included when Work Orders are printed for technicians.

Reporting Archived History

Information listed in a customer's archived history can be reported in 2 ways:

• Grid Report- A grid report will allow you to quickly print a list of the items listed in a customer's archived history.
  • Right-click in the archived history and select Report.
  • Choose the columns you want to display and click OK.
  • Click the Printer button to print the displayed list.
• Location History Report- This report will allow you to display either archived history or standard history when running the report. It is found in the Report Gallery, in the Master Lists. When running the Location History report, be sure to select the Archived option at the top.
• Service Location List Report- The Location History Report will look at both current and archived history. The Service Location List report is found in the Report Gallery, in the Master Lists.

Adding Marketing Information for a Customer

The Customer Opportunity Profile screen permits you to keep track of customer needs. This can aid in the identification of possible future sales opportunities and the tracking of multiple sales opportunities for a single customer. The items displayed in the Customer Opportunity Profile can also be converted to a mailing list by accessing the Customer Opportunity Report.

1. From the Customer form (or any other form that selects a customer record) press F8.    
2. Press Insert to display the Opportunity
3. Enter the date you became aware of the opportunity in the Opportunity Date
4. Choose the opportunity code from the drop down in the Opportunity As with any drop down list, it can be modified by first pressing Ctrl+Enter.
5. If desired, select the employee who identified the Opportunity in the Referred By field. 
   
6. Check the Notified box if customer has been notified of the Opportunity.
7. Check Lead Required indicating that a sales job needs to be created for this Opportunity.
8. Choose the Sales Person assigned to the Opportunity.
9. Checking Sold will mark the Opportunity as sold.
10. Click OK to save the Opportunity.

Creating a New Customer

If you search for a record and cannot find the service location or billing account then you will have to create a new record.  New service locations can be created from the Customer search form.  When you are entering the customer’s information in the New Location form, Successware will automatically search the database for matching records, starting with the last name. If a match is found, you will be given the option of selecting the existing location to prevent the entry of duplicate records.  If no matches are found, continue entering all customer information. Service Locations and Billing Accounts can also be added and edited through the Call Taking form when taking a phone call.

Creating a New Location

1. Open the Customer Search screen by clicking the Customer Search button or by pressing Ctrl+F12 on your keyboard.

   

2. Click New to open the New Location.                                                         
3. Fill in the appropriate fields. Tab will move you forward through the fields Shift/Tab will move you backward through the fields. 

NOTE: As you enter information in the Service Location form, Successware will search the database for matches as you tab out of each field. If you enter information (address, name) that matches an existing customer, Successware will prompt you to choose the existing location or continue entering a new location. If the customer you are entering is in the list, select their name and click Enter to open the customer’s information screen.

Sample search results for "Smith".

NOTE: Unless you have identified the customer as a prospect, you must enter a billing account for the location before you can save the customer/location information.

4. Right-click in the Billing accounts area and choose Add billing account (Ctrl+Insert) to search for and choose or add an alternate billing account, or select New ‘carbon copy’ account (Ctrl+C) to create a Billing account using the location information.
   

If you have chosen to Add a Billing Account, the Billing Account search will open.

• Enter any available information in the search fields of the form (Use the Tab key to move through the fields).
• If searching by Last Name or Company, select the appropriate radio button, or press Alt+N for Last Name or Alt+C for Company.
• If searching by Location ID or Billing ID, select the appropriate radio button, or press Alt+L for Location or Alt+B for Billing ID.
• After entering the search information, press the Enter key to perform a “begins with” search, or the Ctrl+Enter keys to perform a “contains” search.
• The records that match your search criteria will appear in the Search Results table.
• Highlight the account you wish to attach to the Service Location and press Enter. You will be returned to the Service Location for
• If the Billing Account is not found, press New or hit Insert to add a new billing Account
• Complete the Billing Account and Save to be returned to the Service Location

If you Have Chosen to Add a Carbon Copy Account

• Make any necessary editing changes to the new Carbon Copy Billing account and click Save to return to the Service Location

5. Once you enter the Billing accounts form, the new location is saved. 
   

The Location Form

The Location form is used to enter information for a service location or customer as well as view information once it has been entered. The New Location form also allows you access to the billing accounts that are associated with the service location.

The Location form can be accessed when creating a new location from the Customer Search form. The Location form can also be opened for an existing customer by double-clicking on their location information in the Customer screen.

Field Descriptions

Field	Description
Name	Enter the Last Name, First Name and Title (i.e Mr, Mrs.) of the customer.
Company	Enter a Company Name if applicable. If you enter a company name, the name you enter will display on Work Orders, printed invoices as well as statements instead of the customer name.
Address	You cannot tab past this field without entering an address.
Address 2	Use this field to enter a secondary address such as an apartment or suite number.
City	Entering City or the Zip Code will either auto-complete the Zone and Tax Code fields or prompt you with a drop-down list of available choices.
Phone Number and Phone Number 2	Enter phone number with or without area code. This field will auto-format if no punctuation is entered.
Ext.	Enter the extension for the phone number, if known.
Source	Choose the customer source from the drop-down list.
Zone	This field will be populated automatically based upon city chosen. The value can also be chosen from the associated drop-down list.
Type	Choose the type of location from the drop-down list, e.g., residential, commercial, etc.
Owner Occupied	Checkmark if owner lives at location.
Serv. Contact	Enter the name of the person you should contact when calling the location if it is different from the name on the account.
Email	Enter the email address, if known.
Previous Owner	Enter the name of any additional owners of the location. Press Enter to add additional names.
Tax Code	Choose from the drop-down list. This may be filled automatically based upon the City and Zip Code fields.
Map Code	If your company uses Map Codes, pick or enter the code for this location.
Referral	If someone referred the customer, type his or her name here.
Directions	Enter directions to the location or notes about the location in this field. This field will populate the Service Location's Driving Directions Note (F11)
Priority	Check to mark the customer as priority. If selected, the Priority light will appear illuminated whenever the customer's record is opened or a call is taken from the customer. All jobs created for the customer will also be marked as "Priority" by default.
Prospect	Checking here allows you to save the location without a billing account.
Subdivision	Use this optional field if applicable to identify the Subdivision where the Service Location is located. You can select and existing subdivision from the list or press Ctrl+Enter from the drop down followed by insert to add a new subdivision to the list.
Lot ID	Use this optional field to identify a Lot ID for locations that may currently be under construction and therefore do not yet have a street address.
Preferred Tech	Choose a preferred technician from the drop-down list of technicians. If you try to assign a call for this customer to a technician other than the one defined as the Preferred Tech, you will be warned that you have not chosen the preferred employee for this customer.
Invoice Type	Choose the format for printed invoices generated for the service location. This will default based upon the setting in Company Setup, but can be changed at the customer level and individually at the invoice level.

Successware will complete the Date Added, Last Call and Added By fields automatically.

Editing a Service Location

1. From the Customer screen, double-click on the location address or press F2. This will open the Location
2. Click Edit.
3. Make any necessary changes.
4. Click Save.
5. To cancel your changes without saving, click Undo and confirm you want to cancel your changes.
6. Click Close to leave the Location

Changing the Owner of a Service Location from the Location Form

In Successware, the service location holds the equipment and service history. If an existing location has a new owner, we DO NOT recommend creating a new location in the system as this will cause you to lose any relationship between the location and information you have previously collected regarding the location.

These steps will be necessary if the previous owner of the location was responsible for the billing and a carbon copy account had been created. 

The owner of a Service Location can be changed both directly through the Service Location form as well as well as during the process of taking a phone call from a customer.

1. Use the Customer Search form to find the existing service location in your system.
2. Highlight the location and press Enter to open the location.
3. Press F2 to open the Location Form, which contains the location detail.

4. Press Ctrl+Enter or click the Edit button to edit the location.
5. In the lower right corner of the screen, right click on the listed carbon copy billing account and select Account ‘carbon copy’ on/off.

6. Click Yes or press Enter to confirm turning off the carbon copy feature.
The billing account will now display the name on the billing account instead of ‘carbon copy’.
7. Edit the FIRST and LAST NAME as well as PHONE and EMAIL information of the location to match the information for the new owner.
8. In the PREVIOUS OWNER field you may choose to enter the name of the previous owner and old billing account ID# for reference purposes.

9. Once the information has been updated, right click in the billing accounts area of the form and select New ‘carbon copy’ account.
10. This will open a new billing account for the new owner. Make any changes necessary such as adding payment terms, recording payment information or establishing a credit limit.

11. Click Save to save the changes.
12. Both the original billing account as well as the new carbon copy account will now be listed in the Billing Accounts area of the Location Form.

The last step will be to make the new carbon copy account the default billing account for the location and remove the old billing account.
13. Press Ctrl+Enter or click the Edit button to return the location to edit mode.
14. Click the open checkbox in front of the carbon copy account to set it as the default billing account.
15. Select the old billing account.
16. Right click on the old billing account and choose Remove billing account.

17. Click Save at the bottom of the location form.
18. Click Enter to confirm the updating of the carbon copy account.
The Location Form now displays the new owner for the location and the new carbon copy billing account.

Creating a New Billing Account

The Billing Account form allows you to create, edit and view information about any billing account. The same form can be used to create individual billing accounts or to create a general billing account.

Billing Accounts can be added at the time that a new Service Locations is created, either through the Customer Search or through Call Taking or can be added through the Receivables Manager.

The Billing Account form can be accessed by:

• Pressing F3 from any customer screen,
• Creating a new billing account from the Location form,
• Double-clicking on the billing account in the Location form,
• Double-clicking on the default billing account information in the Customer screen, and/or
• Searching for the billing account or creating a new billing account in the Receivables Manager.

Billing Account Form

Field	Description
Acct#	The account number will be filled in by default. If you want to change it, the new account number must contain a letter.
Name	Enter the Last Name, First Name and Title (i.e Mr, Mrs.) of the customer.
Company	Enter a Company Name if applicable. If you enter a company name, the name you enter will display on Work Orders, printed invoices as well as statements instead of the customer name.
Address	Enter the address of the billing account.
Address2	Enter any additional address information such as an apartment or suite number.
City	Entering City or the Zip Code will auto complete the Zones and Tax Codes fields or prompt you with a drop-down list of available choices.
Service Contact	Name of person to contact regarding service.
A/P Contact	Name of person to contact regarding payment questions.
Location	Right-click in the location field to add another location to the billing account.
Phone 1 and Phone 2	Enter phone number with or without area code. Field will auto-format if no punctuation is entered.
Cell	Enter cell number.
Fax	Enter fax number.
Email	Enter email address.
Rating	Choose the customer rating from the drop-down list. This rating will be displayed in the upper right corner of there Customer Information Screen as well as the Call Taking screen when the customer is selected.
Tax ID#	Enter the Tax ID# if applicable.
Terms	Choose the payment terms for the account from the drop-down list. Every customer is assumed to be COD by default. It is only necessary to select a Payment Term if the terms are other than COD.
Pmt Mthd	If you select a credit card type or bank draft, enter the card or account number in the following fields. This information will automatically carry over to the Payment Method fields of AR Invoices created for the Billing Account. See Credit Card Security for further information.
C/Card#	Enter the customer’s credit card number.
Name	Enter the name as it appears on the credit card.
Expiration	Enter the expiration date of the credit card.
Salesperson	Choose the salesperson from the drop-down list.
Credit Limit	Enter the customer’s credit limit.
General Billing account	Place a check in the box if this billing account will be available as a general billing account.
Other Checkboxes	Check the additional boxes to determine whether or not this account should receive finance charges or statements, is a bad risk, should receive solicitations or happy checks (follow up calls). Note: The Bad Risk checkbox will cause the Customer's Rating, whether it is good or bad, to blink in red at the top of the Customer Information screen and at the top of the Call Taking form.

Creating a New Billing Account from the Receivables Manager

Typically, you will add billing accounts as you add customer locations to the system; either as a carbon copy of the location or by adding  different billing accounts

1. Right-click in the grid area of the Receivables Manager and select New Account, or press Insert. The New Billing Account form will open in add mode.

2. Enter the information in the appropriate fields.

Field Descriptions

Field	Description
Acct #	Displays the account number for the selected billing account.  You can accept the assigned number or enter your own number.  If you change the assigned number, it must contain at least one alpha character.
Service Cont	Displays the name of the person who typically contacts you for service.
A/P Contact	Displays the name of the person you contact regarding their invoices from you.
Locations	Displays a listing of locations associated with the selected billing account.  If you wish to identify or add locations for the billing account, right-click and select either Add location, or New carbon copy location.
Rating	Allows you to assign a rating to your customer accounts.
Tax ID#	Enter Tax ID numbers in this field.
Terms	Enter the payment terms for the account in this field.
Pmt Mthd	If you select a credit card type or bank draft, enter the card or account number in the following fields. This information will automatically carry over to the Payment Method fields of AR Invoices created for the Billing Account. See Credit Card Security for further information.
Salesperson	If you assign a salesperson to the account, select the assigned salesperson from the drop-down list.
Credit Limit	If you assign a credit limit to the account, enter that limit here.
No Finance Charge	Check the additional boxes to determine whether or not this account should receive finance charges or statements, is a bad risk, should receive solicitations or happy checks (follow up calls). Note: The Bad Risk checkbox will cause the Customer's Rating, whether it is good or bad, to blink in red at the top of the Customer Information screen and at the top of the Call Taking form.
No Statement
Bad Risk
Do Not Solicit
No Happy Checks
General Billing Account	Mark this checkbox to indicate that the new account is a general billing account.  A general billing account is one that is not assigned to a particular location and can be selected for jobs and invoices for any location.  Examples would be equipment manufacturers or insurance companies.
Alternate Address	Click the alternate Address button if a you wish to add a separate Billing address for the customer which will be used in certain situations. The system will open a data entry form where you can add enter the alternate address. If you wish to use this address on billings, be sure that the Alternate Address checkbox is selected. This is helpful for customers who may live in a location part of the year and want billing sent to another address during other parts of the year.

3. Click Save to save the new billing account.

Adding an Alternate Address to a Billing Account

You can add an alternate billing address while you are editing or adding a billing account. This should be done if the address that the bill is sent to is different than the physical address of the billing account, such as a home owner who maintains a winter residence or a resident who is living elsewhere while renovations are being performed in their home.

1. While editing the billing account, click the Alternate address button at the bottom of the window. 
   
2. In the Alternate billing address form, fill in the appropriate information.

3. Click OK to save.

Credit Card Security

Credit Card information that is gathered from customers is securely stored in SuccessWare®21. Credit Card numbers are encrypted at the database level. This means that if the database were to be accessed directly, the credit card number would not be displayed in a readable format. When credit card numbers are displayed in SuccessWare®21 fields, such as the payment method field in a customer agreement, only the last four digits of the credit card number is displayed. The remaining characters are masked (replaced with asterisks ). This prevents unauthorized users from having access to sensitive customer credit card information, but still gives enough information for the user to be able to confirm which credit card is being used. See Recording Customer Credit Card Information for further information.

Unmasking Credit Card Numbers

In certain areas of the Classic, or Gen1 software, where the credit card number may be needed for billing purposes, there is a right click option that will allow you to unmask the and display the entire credit card number. The unmask option is not available in the Platform, or Gen2 version of Successware.

The only areas of the software where credit card numbers can be unmasked are:

• The Apply Payment screen on and Accounts Receivable Invoice- This is so credit card numbers that may have been recorded in the Job Summary screen or have been set as default payment methods on a Customer Billing Account can be displayed and charged at the time the invoice is processed.
• The Periodic Invoices view of the Agreement Manager- This is so the credit card numbers that are stored for periodically billed agreements can be listed (and printed if necessary) and charged in accordance with the agreement.
• The Billing Account Detail screen- If a customer has a credit card number recorded on their billing account as their default payment method, the credit card number can be unmasked in the Billing Account Detail
• The Undeposited Funds account in the Account Register. Highlight the credit card item either in the current period or a past reconciliation then press Enter to open the Register Item review form. Right click on the masked card number to unmask.

In order to unmask credit card numbers, the user must have appropriate permission. The user attempting to unmask the credit card number must be a member of a User Group that has, on the Receivables Tab on the User Group form, the View Credit Card Numbers permission selected.

To modify User Group permissions, open the Main Menu and select Setup. Click the User Manager button, then right click in the background and select User Groups.

Whenever a credit card number is unmasked, an entry is made in the Event Log that records the User ID, date and time that the credit card number(s) was unmasked.

To Unmask a Credit Card Number

1. Open the form where the masked credit card number appears.
2. Right click in the background of the form and select Unmask Credit Card (or Unmask Credit Card Numbers in the Periodic Invoices view of the Agreement Manager).    

The card number will be fully displayed. Once the form the is closed the credit card number will automatically be re-masked.

Note: No field has been created for the credit card security code (CVV2 or CVC2) found on the back of most cards.  Credit card industry standards do not currently allow for permanent storage of the security code. For further information regarding credit card security visit the PCI Security Standards Council web site.

Recording Customer Credit Card Information

When recording credit card information for a customer, whether it be taking a payment, recording a default credit card on a customer billing account or adding a credit card as the method of periodic payment on an agreement, certain data entry requirements will be enforced.

Credit card numbers that are entered will be checked to determine the  number is a valid credit card number or not.  A valid credit card number must begin with valid starting digits ('30', '34', '37', '4', '5', or '6') and must be 14, 15, or 16 digits in length, depending on what kind of credit card you are entering.  In addition, a calculation is performed to verify that the digits entered make up a valid credit card number. If the credit card number is determined to be invalid, you will receive a warning.

You may still enter partial numbers or other information into the credit card number field, but the warning message is presented so that the number can be corrected in case the intent was to enter a full credit card number for later billing.

Once the credit card is entered and saved, it will be masked from view in the form and encrypted at the database level.

Note: No field has been created for the credit card security code (CVV2 or CVC2) found on the back of most cards.  Credit card industry standards do not currently allow for permanent storage of the security code.

Creating a Job

What is a Job in Successware?

A job is the work (service, install, sales, maintenance) that you perform at a Service Location. A job created based upon a combination of values taken from 2 Reference Tables; The Job Class and The Job/Call Type.

The Job Class generally defines the major area of work that a job falls within, for example, Repair, Installations and Maintenance would be examples of Job Classes. Once you select a Job Class, it will filter the available choices in the next table, Job/Call Types.

Job/Call Types identify the SPECIFIC type of work that you will be performing for the customer. For example, if you select a Job Class of Installation you would be able to select from a list of Job/Call Types limited to just types of installations such as Furnace Installs, AC Installs and such. The Job/Call Type defines three very important values related to the job you are creating:

• The Default Department who will perform the Job. This is the Department that will be responsible for the cost of the labor associated with the job and will appear as the default department on the invoice, receiving credit for the revenue generated on the job.
• The Expected Number of Hours. This will define the length of the bar that will represent the appointment on the dispatch board. This is an estimate, the appointment on the dispatch board can be manually lengthened or shortened as necessary.
• The Expected Number of Appointments or Trips that will be required to complete the Job. These appointments or trips in Successware are referred to as Calls (Thus the dispatch board in Successware is called the Call Center). Additional Calls can be created as necessary for a Job.

Jobs can be created from the Customer Information Screen or through the Call Taking Form.

What Happens When a Job is Created?

When a job is created two things happen immediately:

• An Invoice is created for the job
• A Call is created.

Additionally the Customer for whom you created the Job now shows an Open Job attached to their Service Location. A Service Location can have more than one open job in progress at the same time.

Calls

When jobs are created, they automatically create calls. Calls are appointments (scheduled or unscheduled) to perform service, and are restricted to one-day events, therefore whenever jobs may take more than one day to complete, several calls may be created (each call is associated with the master job).  If in Successwareyou have predetermined that a particular job takes several calls to complete( through the Job/Call Type used to create the job), the system will automatically create the correct number of calls for the job.

A Call contains 3 main attributes

• A Date
• A Time
• A Technician

Once a Call has been given a Date and a Time it is considered Scheduled. If it is missing either of those values it is considered Unscheduled.

Once a Call has been given to a technician it is considered Assigned.

In order for a call to be run and therefore completed, it must be both scheduled and assigned.

The Job Form

Required Job Form Fields

Field	Description
Job#	The job number will default. You can enter your own job number, but it must contain a letter.
Class	Choose the Job Class from the drop-down list.
Billing Acct	Choose the billing account attached to this location that will be responsible for payment. All billing accounts associated with the current location will be available in the drop-down list. If you are billing to a general billing account then chose General Billing Account and select the specific account.
Job Type	Choose the job Type from the drop-down list.

Other Tab-Ordered Job Form Fields

Field	Valid Input/Edit Options
Payment Method	1. Select from the drop-down list of previous payment methods for that billing account. 2. Select from drop-down list of standard payment methods.
Contact	1. Accept default contact from the Location Details form. 2. Leave field blank. 3. Type contact name into field.
Lead Source	1. Accept default from incoming call input. 2. Select from a drop-down list of valid lead sources.
Salesperson	1. Key in salesperson’s name. 2. Select from a drop-down list of valid employees.
Prime Employee	1. Key in prime employee (the system will automatically input the first employee assigned to this job). 2. Select from a drop-down list.
Equipment (Must be selected in order for the information to be paged to the technician)	1. Leave field blank. 2. Type in a brief description of equipment. 3. Select from drop-down list of existing equipment for the location. See Equipment section of Invoicing lesson for more information. 4. Select from drop-down list of standard equipment.
(Equipment) Age (Must be selected in order for the information to be paged to the technician)	1. Leave field blank. 2. Type in equipment age. 3. Accept default from selected equipment record.
Warranty (Must be selected in order for the information to be paged to the technician)	1. Leave field blank. 2. Type in brief description of any warranties. 3. Select from drop-down list of existing warranties for the equipment. See information on entering warranties in the Invoicing lesson.
Agreement (Must be selected in order for the information to be paged to the technician)	1. Leave field blank. 2. Type in brief description of any agreements. 3. Select from drop-down list of existing agreements for the equipment. See information on creating agreements in the Agreement lesson.
Sched Date/Time	1. Leave field(s) blank. 2. Enter “/” to insert current date. 3. Type date and time in the appropriate fields.
AM/PM/Any	If you have only entered a scheduled date you can choose any of these three choices as opposed to a specific time.
Call Duration	1. Accept default estimated time from Job Type 2. Key in new estimated time.
Call Status	1. Leave blank. 2. Select from drop-down list of valid Call Status codes.

 

Other Available Fields

Field	Valid Input/Edit Functions (other than blank)
Customer PO#	Enter the purchase order number if you received one from the customer.
Call Status	1. Type in Job Status. 2. elect from drop-down list.
Skill	1. Type in required skills for job. 2. Select from drop-down list of valid Skill codes.
Priority	Allows you to assign a Priority level to the job between 1 and 5. 5 is the lowest level priority and is assigned to each job by default. If a higher level of priority is selected the priority level will be displayed on the bar representing the Call on the dispatch board.
Ticket #	Enter technician’s ticket number.
# Calls	Will default based on Job Type (If greater than 1, the system will prompt you to automatically create the remaining calls after the 1st call is scheduled.).

Job Form Icons

Icon	Description
	If illuminated, the customer has upcoming Agreement visits due. Use the Visit button to attach any of those upcoming visits to the current job.
	Will open the Call Calendar
	Will take you to the Call Center to the date of the Call if the Call is scheduled. If the Call is not scheduled you will be taken to the Call Center with the Call in the Browse window in the lower left corner. From here it can be dragged to a technician to schedule and assign the call.
	Allows you to open notes related to the Service Location, Billing account and the Job
	Allows you to open the Call Progress window to record job related timecard entries.
	Will allow you to print a work order for the current job
	Will allow you to create Job related Purchase Orders, Requisitions and Returns
	When clicked will create a new job which is defined as a callback for the originally selected job.

Job Form Right Click Options

The Job Form contains a number of right click options which will allow you to more efficiently work with the job.

Menu Option	Description
Assignments...	Will open the Scheduling Assistant allowing you to add or modify technician assignments related to the job
Edit Schedule	Places the Job in edit mode and places your cursor in the Date field
Schedule via Call Calendar	Opens the Call Calendar allowing you to choose a date on which you want to schedule the currently selected call.
Schedule Via Call Center	Open the Call Center with the call in the Call Clipboard in the lower left corner. From here the call can be dragged and dropped to the dispatch board, thus giving it a date, time and technician.
Record Deposit	Allows you to open the AR Receipt form with the option to record a deposit already selected. This deposit will show as a credit balance on the customer's account.
Visits...	Use this option to open the Visits window. This will allow you to attach an upcoming agreement visit due to the current job.
Close Job/Reopen Job/Finalize Job/Unfinalize Job	Allow to set or modify the status of a job to closed or finalized.
Open	Allows you to open other customer related screens
Equipment History	Allows you, if a particular piece of equipment has been selected for the job, to open the service history of that piece of equipment.
Job Materials/Purchases	Allow you to create, job-related POs, Vendor Invoices, Inventory Requisitions or Inventory Returns or access those that have already been created.
Job Summary	Allows you to open the Job Summary (Tech Debriefing) form for the selected job.
Permits	Allows you to access the Permits window which will allow you to add a new permit to a job or manipulate permits which already are attached to the job.
Send a Page	Allows you to page job related information to technician who have been assigned to the job.
Edit	Places the Job form in Edit mode.
Cancel Call	Allow you to cancel the currently selected Call. If this is the only Call associated with the job, the Job will be cancelled as well.
Delete Call	Allows you to delete a Call that has been added to a Job. A call can only be deleted if there is no Call Progress that has been recorded against the call the  Call Progress must be removed if it has been entered in order to Delete the Call.
Print Call Sheet	Allows you to print a Call Sheet (Job Information Sheet) related to a Sales job. Only available for Jobs with a Job Class marked as "IsSaleEst"
Preview Call Sheet	Allows you to preview a Call Sheet (Job Information Sheet) related to a Sales job. Only available for Jobs with a Job Class marked as "IsSaleEst"
Print Work Order	Allows you to print a Work Order (Job Information Sheet) related to the job
Preview Work Order	Allows you to preview a Work Order (Job Information Sheet) related to the job
Add Call	Allows you to add an additional call or appointment to the job
Cancel Job	Allows you to cancel the current job. All calls will also be cancelled. A job cannot be cancelled if there is recorded Call Progress.
New Job	Allows you to create a new job for the selected customer.
Close	Closes the Job Form

Creating Jobs from the Customer Information Screen

You must create a new job in order to schedule a call for your customer.  Enter all the applicable information for the new job.

1. Using the Customer Search, find the customer you want to add a job to, or create a new customer.
2. Open the Customer screen for the customer by double-clicking on their name in the search result.
3. In the Customer screen, click New Job or press Insert. The Job window will open.

4. Fill in the appropriate fields for the job. Entry will be comprised of billing information, job information and information about the scheduling and assigning of the call, or calls associated with the job. For a complete description of the Job form fields see the Job form section of this lesson.
5. Schedule and assign the job at this point if you wish. For further information on scheduling and assigning see the appropriate sections in this lesson.
6. Click Save.

Creating a Callback Job

If you have performed a job for a customer and there is a problem with the installation or repair which requires you to return to the service location and perform work to correct the situation (Perhaps at no charge) you can create a Callback Job in Successware.

Callback jobs create a relationship between the original job and the new job you are creating. Callbacks do not require you to (and we do not recommend that you) reopen the original job.

Creating a Callback job will allow you to track Callbacks based upon the job itself, the tech responsible for the original job and the tech who performs the callback job. This information is then all available to you, including an analysis of additional sale and expense related to the Callback in the Callback Report.

A Callback Job can be created in 3 Ways:

• When booking a job using the Call Taking form, go to the Service Portion of the form (page down) and checkmark the Callback checkbox. This will display a dropdown which contains a list of past jobs for the customer. Select the job you are being called back on. 
  
• When creating a Job through the Job Form, checkmark the Callback checkbox. This will display a dropdown which contains a list of past jobs for the customer. Select the job you are being called back on.
  
• Select the job for which you are being called back from the Call Center or in the Customer's History and press F9 to open the Job Form. In the Job Form click the Callback button to create a new job which will already be marked as a Callback for the Job you first opened.

The Callback Job should be completed as you would any normal job.

Printing a Work Order

A Work Order is in essence a Job Information sheet. The Work Order allows you to give the technician assigned to a job a document which outlines the essential information related to the Service Location and the Job itself.

The Work Order contains:

• Address, Driving Directions and Billing information for the Service Location
• Information about the job itself, including Job Instructions.
• A list of equipment, warranties and agreements for the Service Location
• Past service history for the Location, including Job instructions and the Work Done notes which were recorded at the time the jobs were completed in Successware.

You can print a work order for a Job or Call from:

• The Job Form- Click on the Print Work Order button (or right click and select Preview Work Order to view it.)
• The Job Manager- Right click on the desired job and select Print Work Order or Preview Work Order.
• The Call Center- Right click on the call for which you want to generate a Work Order and select Print Work Order or Preview Work Order.

Much of the information in the Work Order can be paged directly to technicians.

The items that print on the Work Order can be controlled on the Work Order Printing Tab of Company Setup

Taking a Phone Call

The Phone Call is the main source of initial contact that you have with your customer. The Call Taking form should be your main source of customer addition and job creation in Successware. The Call Taking form will allow you to add and edit information related to the customer that will be recorded to the Service Location Form, the Billing Account Detail Form and the Job Form.

The Call Taking form can be used to create jobs for both new and existing customers as well as allow you to schedule and assign the appointment (call) related to the job.

There are 4 types of phone calls that you can record:

• Service- A service phone call results in the creation of a job. The job can be scheduled and assigned to a technician. Service (in the context of a phone call) refers to any call that will create a job. This could be a repair, installation, maintenance or any other type of job. In order for a Service phone call to be posted, you must gather required customer information (name, address, billing account data) and Job information (Job Class, Job Type, Lead Source).
• Concern- Any call that does not result in the creation of a job, but does require some sort of trackable follow up, such as a complaint, is recorded at a Concern call. When a concern call is posted, an unresolved concern is created in the customer's history. This Concern call can then be marked as resolved and have resolution notes recorded with it. A concern call does not require that you add new customer data or search and existing customer. If you do however, a record of the call will be added to the location history.
• Other- When a customer calls with a question that does not require follow up, or simply is asking for information, an "Other" type of phone call can be recorded. "Other" phone calls do not require you to gather customer information.
• Sales- Sales calls are a special type of Service call. When a Job is created using a Job Class which has been marked as "isSaleEst", a Sales/Service call is created. This job will generally be run by a salesperson who is giving a customer a quote for new equipment. Sales jobs are not billable jobs in Successware.

When a phone call is taken, a Call Reason is selected by the Call Taker. The Call Reason is set up to identify the "type" of phone call that is being recorded.

Call Reason Codes

Call Reason Codes are used to track why your phone is ringing.  You will use the Call Reason Codes to specify whether a phone call is for service, for an estimate, is a solicitor, or any other reason.

Try not to be too specific when adding these codes, but certainly add enough codes to allow you to run meaningful phone call reports.  For instance, you may have a code for “Needs Plumbing Service” but not “Has Water Heater Leak” or “Toilet Stoppage”.  You will use the Job/Call Types to specify the type of service needed.

Column Name	Description
ReasonCode	Enter a code that you will recognize as a representation of the description for the reason.
ReasonDesc	Enter a description of the reason
JobType	If the type of phone call you are recording will result in a Job, and it is always the same type of job, you may enter the Job Type here.
JobClass	If the type of phone call you are recording will result in a Job, enter the Job Class for the type of work here.  For instance, if the Call Reason is “Needs Plumbing Service” the Job Class will be Pservice (Plumbing Service).
IsService	Place an X in the column if the call requires you to add a job.  Even though it is labeled “Is Service”, it may be a job for an installation, estimate or other type of job.
IsConcern	Place an X in the column if the call does not require you to add a job, but you may want to look up specific system information.  For instance, if a customer calls with a question on his or her invoice, you can find the customer record and look up the Invoice Number, Job Number or Technician without adding a job.  This information is especially helpful if you place the call on hold as forward it someone else in your office.
IsOther	Place a X in the column if the call does not require that you add a job or look up other information.  An “Other” type call will only include a brief description.  These type calls may be “Needs Directions” or “Personal Call”.
IsActive	Enter an X in this field to make the item active. If an item is not marked active, it will not be visible or available for users to choose from the list.

Call Taking Form

The Call Taking form is opened by pressing the F12 key on the keyboard. Pressing the insert key will allow you to take a new phone call.

Once a new phone call is started the timer in the upper left hand corner will begin to count a call taking script will be displayed on the right side of the Call Taking window.

Required fields in the call taking form are highlighted with a red box. These fields must be populated before you can finish the phone call.

Note: While the Last Name and Company field may both be indicated as required, only one or the other is actually required in order to post the call.

The Call Taking form consists of a main form as well as 3 "Sub forms". Each of the three call types (Service/Sales, Concern, Other) each have their own sub form which gathers information specific to the type of phone call. The fields within these 3 "sub forms" are identified in the sections of the manual related to taking a Service call, Concern call, or Other Call.

Main Call Taking Form Fields

Field	Description
Reason	This field allows you to choose the reason for the phone call using the Call Reason reference table. This field will control the default "type" of phone call you are taking.
Male/Female	Choose whether the call is coming from a Male or a Female
Service/Concern/Other/Sales Call	This determines the type of phone call and will control the type of information will gather in the sub form which is made available to you once you have tabbed (or pressed page down) through the main Call Taking Form fields.
Details	This notes are will record "Job Instructions" for Service/Sales phone calls, "Concern Notes" for Concern phone calls and "Notes" for Other phone calls.
Name (f,l,t)	Enter Last Name, First Name and Title of the person with whom you are on the phone. The Last Name field will search your customer list for existing customers.
Company	Enter the name of the company from which a caller is calling. The Company name will search your customer list for existing customers.
Address	Enter the Address information for the customer. Both Address lines will search your customer list for existing customers.
City	Enter the City, State and Zip Code of the customer.
Phone	Enter the Phone number of the customer. The Phone field will search your customer list for existing customers.
Zone	Enter the Zone in which the customer is located. This will be auto filled when the City/Zip is entered if the City/Zip reference tables have been fully set up.
Work Phone	Enter a Work phone number for the customer. This field relates to the Phone2 in the Service Locations and Billing Account form. The Phone2 field will search your customer list for existing customers.
Tx Cd	Choose the Tax Code of the customer. The Tax Code will be auto filled when the City/Zip is entered if the City/Zip reference tables have been fully set up.
Email	Enter the email address of the customer
Contact	Enter any additional contact information that may be helpful
Source	Choose the Lead Source from the Lead Source reference table. This field is filled based upon where the customer heard about you if they are an existing customer or where they found your number if they are a returning number.
Ref	Allows you to add any additional related information to the Lead Source, such as the specific name of a Professional Referral
Owner Occupied	Check this box is the location is Owner Occupied. Marketing reports can be filtered based upon whether or not a location is Owner Occupied.
Loc #	This field will be populated based upon the existing customer. This field can be used to search for an existing customer in the database.
Loc Type	Identifies the type of location (Residential, commercial etc.) This field allows you to filter and group reports for only certain types of locations.
Pref Emp	Choose a preferred technician from the drop-down list of technicians. If you try to assign a call for this customer to a technician other than the one defined as the Preferred Tech, you will be warned that you have not chosen the preferred employee for this customer.
Map Code	If your company uses Map Codes, pick or enter the code for this location.
Subdivision	Use this optional field if applicable to identify the Subdivision where the Service Location is located. You can select and existing subdivision from the list or press Ctrl+Enter from the drop down followed by insert to add a new subdivision to the list.
Lot ID	Use this optional field to identify a Lot ID for locations that may currently be under construction and therefore do not yet have a street address.

Searching for Customers in the Call Taking Form

While you are in the Call Taking form you can search the database for an existing customer. Searches can be performed from a number of field by either typing the beginning characters of the value you are searching or entering a "%" sign followed by the search term to find any entries which contain the clue you are looking for. For example, typing 123 Main in the Address field would return only customers with an address beginning with 123 Main. Typing "%Main" in the Address field would return any customers with "Main" in their address.

 The Call Taking form searches the existing customer list based upon the following fields:

• Last Name
• Company
• Address 1
• Address 2
• Phone
• Work Phone (Phone 2)
• Location Number

As entries are made in these fields and then the field is exited, Successware will search the existing database of customer. If a match (or matches) is found, the results will be displayed on the right hand side of the screen as a list. If the customer you are on the phone with appears in the list of results, highlight their name in the list and press Enter to populate the Call Taking form with their data.

If you have completed data entry in each of the searchable fields and the customer is not in the database, they will be added as a new customer in the system.

Call Taking Form Keystrokes

At the bottom of the Call Taking form, a number of keystrokes are identified. These keystrokes allow for the quick movement to other information in the Call Taking form.

Keystroke	Result
Ctrl+D	Opens a new pane in the Call Taking window that allows you to choose equipment, warranty and agreement information for existing customers as well as giving access to driving directions to the location.
PgUp/PgDown	Toggles you between the address information for the selected customer and the service, concern or other information screen in the call taking form (The information screen would be dependent on the type of call.)
Ctrl+S	Opens the Call Scheduler, allowing you access to employee’s schedules and the ability to schedule from right inside the Call Taking form.
Ctrl+C	Open the Call Center with the current Service call in the Call Clipboard
F8	Only available if call is from an existing customer. Opens the Customer Information window.
F9	Toggles the Scripts on and off
F5	Only available if call is from an existing customer. Opens the customer’s service history as a list.
F11	Opens the Phone Call Review form
Esc	Ends the call, prompting you to Post, Post Pending, Hold or Abort.
Ins	Opens a new call
Ctrl+H	Opens the help screen related to the Call Taking form.
Ctrl+P	If you are creating a Service Call or Sales Call or have opened a call during which a Service Call or Sales Call was created, Ctrl+P will allow you to print the Work Order or Sales Call Sheet

Finishing a Phone Call

After a phone call is taken and the appropriate information has been recorded, it must be finished in one of the four ways. To finish a phone call, press the Esc key on the keyboard and then choose from one of the four choices listed above.

• Post- will save the new job/call and, if new location information was entered, will add the new location.
• Post Pending- will save the new information and indicate that other information must be entered (i.e. management must authorize an alternate billing account).
• Hold-  will place the phone call on hold and make available for “pick-up” by other users.
• Abort- Will Cancel all data entry.

Adding a Billing Account Through the Call Taking Form

When taking a phone call for a customer which will result in the generation of a job, the Customer must have an associated billing account. The billing account can be added to a new service location while taking a phone call or the billing account associated with a service location can be modified if necessary.

The option to add or edit a billing account is located in the Service sub form of the Call Taking form.

You have two choices available to you:

• Bill Service Location- This will allow you to create/bill a Carbon Copy billing account
• Bill Alternate Account- This will allow you to create/associate a third party billing account with the service location.

Carbon Copy Accounts and Call Taking

When a phone call is taken from a customer who will be paying their own bill and the Service address and billing address will be the same, a Carbon copy billing account can be created as part of the phone call.

To create a carbon copy account for a new service location or add a carbon copy account for a service location that previously only had a third party billing account, choose Bill Service Location in the Service portion of the Call Taking form.

Phone Calls from the New Owner of an Existing Service Location

When a phone call is taken from an existing service location with a carbon copy billing account, and it is discovered that the location now has a new owner, simply changing the name of the owner will also change the name on the associated billing account.

In the Call Taking form, if you change the name associated with an existing Service Location you will be prompted to answer whether the change is just a name change or if you are creating a new owner for the Service Location.

1. Take a phone call as you normally would.

It is best to search for the existing location using the Address field.

2. Search for and select the current address.
3. Modify the name of the account to match the person now residing at the address. When you tab out of the Last Name field you will receive the following prompt.

4. Select New Owner (or Occupant) and click OK.
5. Be sure to update the phone number and email address for the new owner of the location.
6. If the new Owner has an existing billing account with you or a third party will be responsible for payment press page down on the keyboard.
7. Select Bill Alternate Account.

8. Once you have selected Bill Alternate Account press Page Down and in the form that display either search for and select the existing account or enter the new third party account information.
9. Complete the rest of the information in the phone call.
10. Press Esc to end the phone call.
11. Confirm the changes to the customer accounts are as you expect and click Yes.

Adding an Alternate Billing Account through Call Taking

If a customer calls to book a job and wants to bill a third party for the work, an Alternate Billing Account will need to be added to the service location.

When a alternate billing account is added to a service location from the Call Taking form, you can either search for an existing billing account or add a brand new one.

To Add an Alternate Billing Account

1. In the Service portion of the Call Taking form, select Bill alternate account (ALT+2), then press Page Down to enter or select the billing information.                                  
2. If you know the account number (AcctNo), enter or select it or use the drop-down menu to select a general billing account.
3. Enter the billing customer’s Name, Address, and Company, if applicable

Note: The system will search the database as you Tab through the Name, Company, and Address fields.  If there is an existing billing account that matches your entry, the system will display the matching records in the right panel.  You can select the billing account from the list and press Enter to populate the Alternate Account form fields with the account’s information. If this is a new account, Tab to continue with the new entry.

4. Checkmark the Authorize checkbox to authorize the alternate billing account.

Note: If you do not have password permission to authorize an alternate billing account, you can:

• Place the call on hold and have someone with permission pick it up, authorize it, and post it
• Place the call on Post pending and have someone with permission authorize and post it later.

5. Once you tab out of the payment fields you will be returned to the Call Taking
6. When finished collecting the required information, press Esc to finish the call.

Location Lead Source vs. Job Lead Source

Successware provides two lead source fields so that you can get more specific, meaningful reports based on lead source. The Lead Source identifies how the customer heard of your company or found your phone number.

• Location Lead Source - Identifies the lead source which resulted in the original creation of the customer. This becomes a permanent part of the customer’s account.
• Job Lead Source - Identifies the lead source which resulted in the creation of a specific job/call for a customer.

The Location Lead Source will remain with the customer record unless manually changed. The Job Lead Source must be selected for each new job and may be different for each job.

For example, Mrs. Bowser’s Location Lead Source is NEWS (Newspaper). However, each time she calls you for service (after the initial call) she refers to the equipment sticker you placed on her system. In the Fall you mail out a marketing piece with a coupon for a pre-season checkup, and she responds to that for another call.

Note: You can only select one Job Lead Source per job.

Processing

Lead Source is a required field in the Call Taking form. When you take a call from a new customer, the Lead Source that you enter in Call Taking will be the Location Lead Source and the Job Lead Source – for this call only.

When you take a call from an existing customer the Lead Source that you enter in Call Taking will be the Job Lead Source only. It will not override the existing Location Lead Source.

If you add a job from the customer form (rather than Call Taking) the Lead Source is not a required field. However, we do recommend that you select a lead source. The lead source will be the Job Lead Source and will not override the existing Location Lead Source.

Taking a Phone Call for Service or a Sales Job

A job will be created when you take a phone call from a customer with a call type of Service or Service/Sales. A service phone call will give you access to the Service sub form of the Call Taking form where you will add job specific information as well as scheduling and assignment information.

The only difference between booking a Service Job (Repair, Install, Maintenance etc.) and a Sales Job (Giving and estimate to a customer) is the Job Class that is selected when creating the Job. Sales Jobs are created when a Job Class is selected which has been marked as "IsSaleEst".

A Call Reason associated with the Sales Job Class (Customer Needs Estimate for example) will automatically select both the Service and Sales Call checkboxes in the Phone Call Type area of the form. Sales Call will be selected, but not editable, as it only appears when a Sales Job Class is chosen.

To Take a Phone Call for Service or Sales from a Customer

1. Open the Call Taking form by pressing F12
2. Press Insert to add a new record.
3. Select the Reason code from the drop-down menu associated with service, such as "No Heat" or "Fumes Smell".  (The choices will depend upon your setup of the Call Reason Reference Table.)
4. If your company tracks whether calls are from men or women, select Male or Female.
5. Enter any detailed instructions or notes about the call in Details.  (Details will become Job Instructions for the job that is created)
6. Enter the customer’s name, first then last.  Then complete the other customer information fields.

Note: The system will search the database as you Tab through the Name, Company, and Address fields.  If the customer is an existing customer, the system will display matching records in the right panel.  You can select the customer from the list and press Enter to populate the Call Taking form fields with the customer’s information. If this is a new customer, Tab to continue with the new entry.

7. Select the lead Source.  If the call will create a new location customer, the lead source will become the location AND job lead source.  If the call is from an existing customer, you will still select a lead source, which is the Job lead source.  Be sure to ask the caller if he or she is responding to a particular advertisement or marketing campaign to prevent the overuse of an “existing customer” lead source.
8. If adding a customer, be sure to mark Owner occupied (if it applies) and select the Loc Type.
9. Press Page Down or Tab from the Emp field to open the Service Sub Form of the Call Taking Form.

10. The Job Class will default based on the Reason code from the previous screen.  Use the drop-down menu to select the Job Type.
11. If the call is a callback checkmark the Callback A drop-down list will appear that allows you to choose from a list of completed calls for the location. Choose the completed call you want to associate this callback with.

12. If at this time you want to schedule the call, you can enter the date and time in the appropriate fields.

Note: To select a scheduled date and time you can press Ctrl+C to open the Call Center and place the call in the Call Clipboard. From there you can choose a date and drag the call to the time and technician of your choice. After you assign and schedule the call you will be returned to the Call Taking screen.

13. Select whether to Bill service location or Bill alternate account.

• If you select Bill service location, a carbon copy billing account will be created.
• If you select Bill alternate account, you can either add the new billing account information, or select an existing billing account.  Press Page Down to access the alternate account form. The alternate billing account must be authorized.

14. Select the payment method (Pmt Mthd) from the drop-down menu.
15. If you need to return to the Address information simply press Page Up on the Keyboard.
16. If you want to add Equipment information and/or Driving Directions press Ctrl+D on the keyboard. This will open the Directions and Eq Info.                                            
17. If the piece of equipment you plan to work on has already been added to the service location, select it from the list. If not choose Standard Equipment and choose the type of equipment you will be servicing.
18. Enter the Equipment Age if the customer can provide that information.
19. Choose any applicable warranties or agreements which may apply to this job. This information will be attached to the job and can be paged to the technician assigned to the job.
20. The large box below the Agreement field will allow you to record Driving Directions. These will become attached to the Service Location.
21. Press Esc to close the Directions and Equipment
22. Press
23. Select either Post, Post Pending, Hold, or Abort.

Scheduling a Job Through the Call Taking Form

While you are taking a Service phone call from a customer and booking a job, you can schedule (give the associated call a date and time) and assign the associated call (appointment) from the Call Taking form.

Enter a Date and Time Manually

While you are in the Service form of the Call Taking window type choose the date on which you want to schedule. You can type in a specific time or choose AM, PM or Anytime to give a more general scheduling.

This method can not be used to assign a technician to the call.

Schedule and Assign through the Call Center

Once you have entered the appropriate job related information in the Call Taking form you can press Ctrl+C on the keyboard to schedule the call using the Call Center. The Call will be placed in the lower left corner of the Call Center in the Browse window or "Call Clipboard"

With the call in the Browse window you can navigate the Call Center to the date you wish to schedule and then drag the call from the Browse window to the time you wish to schedule it. You can either drag the call to a specific technicians schedule if you want to assign the call immediately or drag it to the unassigned bar if you will assign the call at a later time.

As soon as you release the call on a time you will be returned to the Call Taking form with the schedule and assignment information populated.

Note: Other users will not see the call in the Call Center until you have posted the phone call and actually created the job.

Schedule a Call using the Call Scheduler

While entering a call that involves a new job, press CTRL+S to schedule and assign using the  Call Scheduler. The Call Scheduler will allow you to view your daily schedule in a grid format or display a technicians weekly schedule in a grid format.

The Call you are scheduling will be  represented as a series of dots. Each dot represents a 30-minute block of time.

The top of the screen will display the current date and time and the job/call type, including the estimated hours and the zone. Use the arrows to change dates

Colored areas represent calls, color-coded by zone.  The gray area represents blocks of time that are outside your normal call schedule.  White blocks represent available blocks of time.

To move the call to different times, click it once and use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move it to an open slot on your schedule. Technicians available at the highlighted time and for the required duration will be displayed below. If you wish to assign the call to one of them click on the technician’s name. Press Enter to Schedule and Assign the call.

To view the schedule by a specific technician, right click on the tech at the bottom of the window and select Weekly Schedule for <Employee>

From the individual technicians view you can set the call on a specific date and time, press Enter and it will be assigned to that tech at that time.

Taking a Concern Call from a Customer

When a customer call you company because they are unhappy with the service they have received or have some other complaint, you can create a Concern Phone call in Successware. Concern calls can be related to a specific job and to a specific technician for reporting purposes later on.

Once a Concern Call is posted into the system it will be added as Phone Call History to the Service Locations and an "Unresolved Concern" will be created. These Unresolved Concerns can be reported, edited and ultimately, once taken care of must be marked as "Resolved" to remove them from the Unresolved Concerns reports. The resolution recorded for a Concern Call will also be attached to the Location History for a customer. Concern calls are resolved in the Phone Call Review form.

Examples of a concern call include:

• Customers with questions about their bill,
• Directions to your office,
• Complaints about service performed, and
• Driver complaint calls.

Note: If a non-customer calls with a concern and you are able to gather and add Name and Address Information the caller will be entered into your existing database as a Prospect.

To Record a Concern Call from a Customer

1. Open the Call Taking form by pressing F12
2. Press Insert to add a new record.
3. Select a Reason code from the drop-down menu associated with concern. The Call Reason that you select must be marked as concern when the reason was set up.  (The choices will depend upon your setup of the Call Reason Reference Table.)

The Phone Call Type will be marked as Concern.

4. If your company tracks whether calls are from men or women, select Male or Female.
5. Enter any detailed notes about the call in Details.  (Details will become the Concern Notes for the Concern Call)
6. If you can get the information, enter the customer’s name, first then last.  Then complete the other customer information fields. This information is not required for a Concern Call. If an existing customer is selected, the Concern will be attached to their history.
7. Continue to add any relevant information related to the caller with the concern and then press Page Down or tab past the last field on the form (Pref Emp) to access the Concern sub form of the Call Taking form.
   
8. Enter a Brief Description of the concern (this will default to Call Reason you selected) and Contact information related to the concern.
9. If the concern is related to a past job choose the job from the Job Number drop down. The primary tech on the job will default as the Employee (Concern Tech for reporting sake). This is only available when taking a concern call from an existing customer.
10. Press Esc to end the phone call
11. Choose Post.

Taking an "Other" Type Phone Call from a Customer

When a customer calls you and the phone call will not result in the creation of a job nor is it to express a concern, an "other" type of phone call can be recorded. Other calls generally represent a customer calling for information such as checking a price or your scheduling availability.

Other phone calls do not require that you gather name and address information from the caller, but if you do and the customer is not already in the database they will be added as a "prospect".

When an "Other" phone call is taken the Other sub form of the Call Taking form will be made available to you. There you can record additional notes related to the phone call as required.

To Record an "Other" Phone Call

1. Open the Call Taking form by pressing F12
2. Press Insert to add a new record.
3. Select a Reason code from the drop-down menu associated with the "other" phone call type. The Call Reason that you select must be marked as Other when the reason was set up.  (The choices will depend upon your setup of the Call Reason Reference Table.)

The Phone Call Type will be marked as Other

4. If your company tracks whether calls are from men or women, select Male or Female.
5. Enter any detailed notes about the call in Details.  (Details will become the Concern Notes for the Concern Call)
6. If you can get the information, enter the customer’s name, first then last.  Then complete the other customer information fields. This information is not required for an Other Call.
7. Continue to add any relevant information related to the caller with the concern and then press Page Down or tab past the last field on the form (Pref Emp) to access the Other sub form of the Call Taking form.   
    
8. Record a Brief Description of the "Other" phone call if necessary. This will default to the Call Reason you have selected.
9. Press Esc to end the phone call
10. Select Post

Placing a Phone Call on Hold

When recording a phone call from a customer you may need to place them on hold. This may be because you need to answer another line or because the call should be handled by someone else in your office.

A Phone Call can be placed on Hold in Successware. This will allow the current call taker to begin to record another phone call while the current call is on hold or the call can be picked up, in progress by another Successware user.

To Place a Call on Hold

1. Press the Esc key on the keyboard
2. Select Hold from the End Phone Call options

To Take a Call off Hold

Calls that have been placed on hold can be re-opened by the user that placed them on hold or another user on the network.

3. Open the Call Taking form by pressing F12 if it is not open.
4. From the Call Taking screen, press Insert.
5. If there are calls on hold, a drop-down list will appear at the top of the form that lists those calls and the names of the users who took them.                                                                            
6. Select the call you wish to pick up from the list and press Enter. (You could also choose Answer and press Enter or press Insert to begin a new call.)
7. The call will open in the Call Taking form with any information that had already been recorded.

Phone Call Review

The Phone Call Review Form allows you to view a list of phone calls that have been recorded in Successware. The Phone Call review form allows you to search for phone calls based upon a number of factors such as date, call taker, and phone call type.

The Phone Call Review form can be used to print lists of calls, complete calls that have been marked as Post Pending, resolve concern calls as well as change the taken date and time of a phone call.

The Phone Call Review form is accessed by pressing F11 while you are in the Call Taking form.(Press F12 then press F11).

Finding Phone Calls in the Phone Call Review Form

The Phone Call Review form can be used to find calls by Date, User, and Call Type. Search criteria in the Phone Call Review form are cumulative, therefore you can enter a number of search criteria before clicking Apply to run the search. Only phone calls which meet all the criteria defined will be returned in the search.

To Find Calls in the Phone Call Review form

1. Press F12 to open the Call Taking form and then press F11 to open the Phone Call Review
2. All calls (except aborted calls) for the current date that were taken by the current user will be displayed.
3. Choose the date range of calls you wish to view and choose a user in the Taken by (initially created by) and Ended By (posted by) fields to see only phone calls recorded by that user. You can clear the user fields to see calls taken or ended by all users in the specified date range. 
   
4. Use the Type, Sales and Concern options to limit the resulting calls accordingly.                  
5. Click the Apply button to run the search
6. An “x” in the P, G or A column indicates whether the call was a posted (P), is post pending (G), or was aborted (A). Hold calls do not appear in the Phone Call Review.

Note: Aborted Calls will only be displayed when the Aborted Phone Calls option is selected. When aborted calls are displayed, the other types of phone calls will be hidden.

7. Right-click on a call to display a control menu. Use the control menu to print the displayed list, adjust the Date and Time of a listed call or to navigate to another date.                                  
8. Click on any of the column headers in the call list to sort the calls by that column.

Note: To find, edit and complete Post Pending calls, display all calls for a particular set of filters and click on the “G” column heading. All of the post pending calls will be sorted to the top of the list. Right click on the Phone Call you want to edit and choose Open Phone Call (or press Enter) Complete and post the phone call as you normally would.

Editing the Phone Call Taken Date and Time

After entering the calls in the Call Taking form, the call taking date and time may be edited.  (This is only allowed for those that have Administrative abilities). This is primarily used for recording calls that came in after regular hours. You will also be able to replace the original Taken By and Ended By user ID with the User ID of the person making the edit change.

From the Call Taking screen (F12) – press F11 to open the Phone Call Review form and adjust any filtering conditions as needed.

Highlight the call to be edited, then press Ctrl+D or right click and select Adjust Date and Time to open the Editing panel.  Enter the desired date and time. Checkmark Replace Call Taker and Replace Call Ender to substitute the current user for the original user listed on the phone call. Select Post to record the changes.

Resolving Concern Calls

Once a concern phone call has been recorded in Successware it will be marked as Unresolved until the call is marked as Resolved in the Phone Call Review form.

The Phone Call Report and the Phone Call Review form will allow you to find unresolved concern calls. 

To record that a concern issue has been resolved.

1. Open the Call Taking form (F12) and then press F11 to open the Phone Call Review
2. Enter the appropriate date range and user information
3. Choose Concern in the Type filter area
4. Choose Unresolved in the Concern filter area
5. Click Apply

Unresolved concerns will be displayed.

6. Select the Call that you want to resolve and click Edit in the lower right corner of the window.
7. Checkmark that the call is resolved and record any applicable notes
8. The call can additionally be marked as closed, along with a date and user

9. Post the call to update its resolved status

The information recorded related to the resolution of the concern call will appear in the Location History of the customer.

Note: Unresolved concerns can also be accessed by opening the Snapshot window. If there are unresolved concerns, a button will indicate this. Click the button and the Phone Call Review form will be opened with all unresolved concerns listed.

Call Taking Scripts

In the Call Taking form, when a call is taken, a Call Taking script is displayed in the right half of the window.

The scripts that appear in the Call Taking screen are meant to serve as a guide to those who answer the phones.

There are 5 scripts available to you and each one of those scripts can be between 2 and 4 pages long. Successware allows you to customize the call taking scripts, both in their content and their names to suit the needs of your company.

To Navigate the Call Taking Scripts while on a Phone Call

When you take phone a phone call, the default script displayed in the Call Taking Script

The name of your company and the name of the current user are substituted into the script.

To move from page to page within the script you can right click in the script and select Next (or Back if you are past the first page). You can also use the keystrokes Alt+left arrow to move to the next page, Alt+right arrow to move to the previous page or Alt+Home to return to the first page of the script.

You can use the right click menu or the Function keys on the keyboard to navigate between the different scripts.

To Edit the Call Taking Scripts

Scripts can have their content as well as their names edited. The editing of scripts can be performed from the Call Taking form or from the Free Scripts utility in the Maintenance area of the Utility menu. Changes made to scripts are made at the database level and will affect the scripts viewed by all users.

1. Either open the Call Taking window or open the Free Script Utility. If you are in the Call Taking window, press F9 to display the call taking script.
2. To view different sections of the Call Taking script press F1, F2, F3, or F4.
3. To edit the displayed script, right-click and choose Edit Script or press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
   
4. Make the changes you want to the script.
5. While editing the script you may right click and select Rename Script to change the name of the selected script. (Note that the Call Taking script cannot have its name changed).
6. To save the script press Ctrl+Enter or press Esc to cancel any changes you may have made. You can also right click and choose Save or Esc.
7. To exit edit mode, right-click and choose End Edit Mode or press Ctrl+Shift+Enter

Phone Call Report

The Phone Call Report is a report of incoming telephone calls. It includes lead source, reason, and taken by information as well as duration of the Call.

You can select to include or exclude sales calls and can run the report for concerns.  Select expanded detail to see all notes, including concern resolution.

The Phone Call Report gathers all of its information from the Phone Call Form (accessed by pressing F12 on the Keyboard)

The Report is found in the Miscellaneous group of the Report Gallery

Report Options	Description
Date Range	Enter the range of dates for the phone call you want to display
Aborted Phone Calls	Checkmark to display aborted phone calls within the specified date range
Expanded Detail	Choosing this option will display detail regarding the call including call notes as well as customer information
Type	Choose the type of phone calls you want to display or select all to display all types
Sales	Use this option to determine whether calls which resulted in a Sales job being created will be displayed with the phone calls
Concerns	Use this option to determine whether concern calls displayed will be only those that are resolved, unresolved or both
Location	Use this dropdown to choose specific location for which you want to run the report or type in the Location ID
Billing Account	Use this dropdown to choose specific Billing Account for which you want to run the report or type in the Billing ID. This will show calls taken from any location that is associated with the billing account
Call Reason	Use this dropdown to display only phone calls that were recorded with the selected Call Reason
Lead Source	Use this dropdown to display only phone calls that were recorded with the selected Lead Source
Taken By	Use this dropdown to select a User. Only phone calls that were created by that user will be displayed.
Ended By	Use this dropdown to select a User. Only phone calls that were ended by that user by either posting or aborting the phone call will be displayed.
Summary Only	When selected, only subtotals will be displayed for the grouping options selected.
Sorting and Grouping	Use the Sorting and Grouping options to focus the displayed result of the report on a selected set of values. Useful grouping options for this report include Taken By, Lead Source and Call Reason.

Looking for a more interactive course on Customer Service? Check out our Learning Management System (LMS)! Our courses are available to all Successware users. If you don't have a sign-in for our LMS, contact us at [e-mail] for a free account.

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