Do You Need Another ACTivity Type?

Do You Need Another ACTivity Type?

Why would it be useful to keep track of activity types other than the 5 basic types that come with ACT! by Sage?

Well if you would like better visibility of specific types of activities then Custom Activity Types may just provide the solution. You can use this valuable feature to create your own specific types of activity such as Sales Calls and Service Calls. You can filter the Calendar or Task List to show specific activity types (even the custom ones). You can filter the Activity or History tabs on the Contact record to only display specific custom activity types. You can also create a report based on specific activity types. The possibilities are endless.

To create a custom activity type:

1.  Click Schedule, Manage, Activity Types….
Don’t create new Activity Types lightly. Once created, they cannot be deleted, only edited or deactivated. Only users with Administrator or Manager roles have the authority to create a custom activity type

It is REALLY important to also modify the Results Options for your custom Activity Type.

2.  Click the Add… button.
3.  Name: the activity type.
4.  Use the Browse… button to select an Icon: for your new activity type. (If you have access to additional Icon files you can use them)
5.  Select a Result, click Edit, and modify the Result name: to include the new Activity Type name, and click OK.
This is a REALLY important step and you should not treat it lightly. If the Activity Type is “Service Call,” change the Result Option form “Completed” to “Service Call Completed”. If you leave the default result name, all you will see in History is Completed with no indication of what type of activity was completed (or originally scheduled).
6. To add a new result, click Add…, type the new Result Name, and click OK.
You may want to have more than two possible results. Perhaps something like “Service Call Revisit Required” might be a valid third one to help track situations where a problem is not yet resolved.
7. Click OK.

We have several custom activity types in our own database that help us be more productive with our time. If you need help with something like this, give us a call on 0845 057 3232.