For Projects with a large number of Project Tasks, it can be challenging to visualize the schedule from the Project Task list view of Start and End Dates. So we have created an interactive Gantt Chart Schedule Board.
Before you dive into the specifics of Companies, Contacts, etc., it would probably be useful to have a quick overview of how to get around in RapidStart Homebuilder. We have tried to make RapidStart Homebuilder as intuitive as possible, but it can’t hurt to provide a quick lay-of-the-land. By default, when you open the RapidStart Homebuilder App, you will land on the Sales Metrics Dashboard. From here you can navigate to anywhere else.
The Primary RapidStart Homebuilder Navigation is from the side bar. Clicking on the “Hamburger” at the top of the sidebar will collapse it.
Platform Navigation is at the very top. From here you can access How2 training, as well as Personal Settings, recently viewed records, etc.
Ribbon. This bar will show Actions you can take related to the record or list you are viewing at the time, the Actions will vary depending on what type of records you are looking at.
A feature of RapidStart CRM is the ability to enter Project Time for your Project Tasks. Project Time is added at the Project Task Level.
Project Time is recorded as a two decimal number for flexibility. You should decide what unit of measure you are going to track your Time by: Minutes, Hours, Days, etc. Then use that Unit consistently. For example, if you decide you want to track by Hours, then always input in Hours, and in decimal format, so 1-1/2 Hours would be 1.50, etc.
You can get to your Project Time a couple of different ways.
Project Time List View
The List View of Active Project Time will open, which looks similar to a spreadsheet.
To view all of your Project Time across all of your Projects, click the icon in the side bar.
There are a few different view filters available with RapidStart CRM, and you can select between them. In addition you can set any view as your default.
The Ribbon, contains various Actions that you can take with regard to existing Project Time records, like exporting them to Excel for example. If you select one or more Project Time records, by placing a checkmark in the first column, the available Actions will change to those to be performed on the selected Project Time records, like Assigning or Deactivating for example.
To open a particular Project Time record, you can click on the Item.
Project Time Record Form
The Project Time Record form, is a pretty simple form to enter Project Task related Time.
In the Ribbon, you will see actions you can take on this record, like deleting it, or Deactivating it, for example.
Like most records, there are direct links in the header back to the parent record(s).
When Creating a new Time entry (see below) this information will be automatically captured.
For the Project Time, we are only collecting two pieces of information, a Task Description that you can use as you wish, and the number of hours spent.
Creating New Project Time Records
You create new Project Time records from a Project Task, which you can open from either the sidebar or a Company or Contact record. This is also where you would see Project Time related to a particular Project. To get there, open any Company or Contact record and then click on the Projects Tab, select a Project and then click on the Tasks Tab for the Project, then click on the Time Tab.
From a Project Task record, select the Time Tab to display the list view of related Project Time.
The Project Time list shows the Project Time records that are related to the Project Task. To open a particular Project Time record, you can click on the Item.
To create a new Project Time record, click on the New Project Time button.
New Project Time Rapid Create Form
Throughout RapidStart CRM we have focused on simplicity and speed. When you click on the New Project Time button, it brings in the Rapid Create form
The Rapid Create form slides in from the side, without leaving the record you are currently viewing.
Some items are auto-populated based on what underlying record you are viewing. You only need to provide the minimal additional data.
When complete, you can Save the record, which will then immediately appear in the list. Use Save and Create New, to create several records at once.
A feature of RapidStart CRM is the ability to create and track Cases for support, warranty or other Customer Issues.
You can get to your Cases a couple of different ways. To view all of your Cases across all of your Companies and Contacts, click on the icon in the side bar.
Cases List View
The List View of Active Cases will open, which looks similar to a spreadsheet.
There are a few different view filters available with RapidStart CRM, and you can select between them. In addition you can set any view as your default.
The Ribbon, contains various Actions that you can take with regard to existing Cases, like exporting them to Excel for example. If you select one or more Cases, by placing a checkmark in the first column, the available Actions will change to those to be performed on the selected Cases, like Closing or Re-Opening a Case for example.
To open a particular Case record, you can click on the Case Name.
Case Record Form
The Case Record form, is will where you will work to keeping your existing Customers Happy.
In the Ribbon, you will see actions you can take on this record, like assigning it to someone else, or closing it, for example.
In addition to Company and Contact information, in the center there is also an Issue Details panel, for information regarding the Case.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have a Timeline panel to track activities on that particular record.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have “Tabs” to move between other areas of the particular record. On the Case record there is an additional tab for Custom Fields.
The Case record includes a Case Process Flow, to guide your users through the steps of successfully resolving the Case.
Creating New Cases
You create new Cases from either a Company or Contact record. This is also where you would see Cases related to a particular Company or Contact. To get there, open any Company or Contact record and click on the Cases Tab.
A Contact Record is shown here, but the steps are identical from a Company record.
From a Contact or Company record, select the Cases Tab to display the list view of related Cases.
The Cases list shows the Cases that are related to either the Contact, or if looking at this view from a Company Record, it shows all Cases related to all Contacts with that Company. To open a particular Cases record, you can click on the Case Name.
To create a new Case, click on the New Case button.
New Case Rapid Create Form
Throughout RapidStart CRM we have focused on simplicity and speed. When you click on the New Case button, it brings in the Rapid Create form
The Rapid Create form slides in from the side, without leaving the record you are currently viewing.
Some items are auto-populated based on what underlying record you are viewing. You only need to provide the minimal additional data.
When complete, you can Save the record, which will then immediately appear in the list. Use Save and Create New, to create several records at once.
One of the core items that you and your users will create and track in RapidStart CRM are the Companies you work with. These could be your customers, vendors, partners… any kind of business entity really.
Companies List View
The List View of Companies will open, which looks similar to a spreadsheet.
To get to Companies, in the Sidebar, click on the icon
There are a few different view filters available with RapidStart CRM, and you can select between them. In addition you can set one as your default.
The Ribbon, contains various Actions that you can take with regard to Companies, like adding news one for example. If you select one or more Companies, by placing a checkmark in the first column, the available Actions will change to those to be performed on the selected Companies.
To open a particular Company record, you can click on the Company name.
Company Record Form
The Main Company Record form, will probably be one of two primary starting points for work you do in RapidStart CRM, the other one being Contacts.
In the Ribbon, you will see action you can take on this record, like assigning it to someone else for example.
In addition to Company information, in the center there is also contact information, including information about the Primary Contact, and any other Contacts that are at the Company.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have a Timeline panel to track activities on that particular record.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have “Tabs” to move between other areas of the particular record. On the Company record there are tabs for Addresses, Details, Opportunities, Projects* and Cases.
One of the core items that you and your users will create and track in RapidStart CRM are the Contacts you work with. These could be existing Contacts related to Companies, existing Contacts not related to Companies, and Prospects that you hope to engage with in the future… any kind of Contact really.
Contacts List View
The List View of Active Contacts will open, which looks similar to a spreadsheet.
To get to Contacts, in the Sidebar, click on the icon
There are a few different view filters available with RapidStart CRM, and you can select between them. One in particular to pay attention to is called Prospects. In addition you can set any view as your default.
The Ribbon, contains various Actions that you can take with regard to Contacts, like adding news one for example. If you select one or more Contacts, by placing a checkmark in the first column, the available Actions will change to those to be performed on the selected Contacts.
To open a particular Contact record, you can click on the Contact name.
Contact Record Form
The Main Contact Record form, will probably be one of two primary starting points for work you do in RapidStart CRM, the other one being Companies.
In the Ribbon, you will see actions you can take on this record, like assigning it to someone else for example.
In addition to Contact information, in the center there is also Company information, including information about the Company that the Contact is related to.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have a Timeline panel to track activities on that particular record.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have “Tabs” to move between other areas of the particular record. On the Contact record there are tabs for Addresses, Details, Opportunities, Projects, Cases and Custom Fields.
Add new Contact Directly from a Company Record
You can add new contacts for an existing Company, directly from a Company record by selecting Add New Contact from the All Contacts List
New Contact Rapid Create Form
Throughout RapidStart CRM we have focused on simplicity and speed. When you click on the New Contact button, it brings in the Rapid Create form
The Rapid Create form slides in from the side, without leaving the record you are currently viewing.
Some items are auto-populated based on what underlying record you are viewing. You only need to provide the minimal additional data.
When complete, you can Save the record, which will then immediately appear in the list. Use Save and Create New, to create several records at once.
A feature of RapidStart CRM is the ability to create and track sales Opportunities for your products or services.
You can get to your Opportunities a couple of different ways.
Opportunities List View
The List View of Active Opportunities will open, which looks similar to a spreadsheet.
To view all of your Opportunities across all of your Companies and Contacts, click on the icon in the side bar.
There are a few different view filters available with RapidStart CRM, and you can select between them. In addition you can set any view as your default.
The Ribbon, contains various Actions that you can take with regard to existing Opportunities, like Converting them to Projects for example. If you select one or more Opportunities, by placing a checkmark in the first column, the available Actions will change to those to be performed on the selected Opportunities.
To open a particular Opportunity record, you can click on the Subject name.
Opportunity Record Form
The Opportunity Record form, will where you will work on the most important part of any business… getting new business!
In the Ribbon, you will see actions you can take on this record, like assigning it to someone else, or converting the Opportunity to a Project, for example.
In addition to Company and Contact information, in the center there is also an Opportunity Summary panel, for tracking the progress of an Opportunity.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have a Timeline panel to track activities on that particular record.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have “Tabs” to move between other areas of the particular record. On the Opportunity record there are tabs for Opportunity Details and Custom Fields.
When looking at an Opportunity record, you can Convert the Opportunity to a Project at any time by clicking on the Convert to Project Action. During the conversion, a new Project record will be created and linked to the Company and Contact records.
The Opportunity record includes an Opportunity Sales Process Flow, to guide your users through the steps of advancing this Opportunity to a successful close.
Creating New Opportunities
You create new Opportunities from either a Company or Contact record. This is also where you would see Opportunities related to a particular Company or Contact. To get there, open any Company or Contact record and click on the Opportunities Tab.
A Contact Record is shown here, but the steps are identical from a Company record.
From a Contact or Company record, select the Opportunities Tab to display the list view of related Opportunities.
The Opportunities list shows the Opportunities that are related to either the Contact, or if looking at this view from a Company Record, it shows all Opportunities related to all Contacts with that Company. To open a particular Opportunity record, you can click on the Subject name.
To create a new Opportunity, click on the New Opportunity button.
New Opportunity Rapid Create Form
Throughout RapidStart CRM we have focused on simplicity and speed. When you click on the New Opportunity button, it brings in the Rapid Create form
The Rapid Create form slides in from the side, without leaving the record you are currently viewing.
Some items are auto-populated based on what underlying record you are viewing. You only need to provide the minimal additional data.
When complete, you can Save the record, which will then immediately appear in the list. Use Save and Create New, to create several records at once.
A feature of RapidStart CRM is the ability to enter Project Expenses for your Projects. Project Expenses are added at the Project Level.
You can get to your Project Expenses a couple of different ways.
Project Expenses List View
The List View of Active Project Expenses will open, which looks similar to a spreadsheet.
To view all of your Project Expenses across all of your Projects icon in the side bar.
There are a few different view filters available with RapidStart CRM, and you can select between them. In addition you can set any view as your default.
The Ribbon, contains various Actions that you can take with regard to existing Project Expenses, like exporting them to Excel for example. If you select one or more Project Expenses, by placing a checkmark in the first column, the available Actions will change to those to be performed on the selected Project Expenses, like Assigning or Deactivating for example.
To open a particular Project Expense record, you can click on the Subject.
Project Expense Record Form
The Project Expense Record form, is a pretty simple form to enter Project related Expenses.
In the Ribbon, you will see actions you can take on this record, like assigning it to someone else, or Deactivating it, for example.
Like most records, there are direct links in the header back to the parent record.
When Creating an expense (see below) this information will be automatically captured.
For the expense item, we are only collecting three pieces of information, a Subject and Description that you can use as you wish, and a dollar amount.
Creating New Project Expenses
You create new Project Expenses from a Project Record, which you can open from either the sidebar or a Company or Contact record. This is also where you would see Project Expenses related to a particular Project. To get there, open any Company or Contact record and then click on the Projects Tab, select a Project and then click on the Expenses Tab for the Project.
From a Project record, select the Expenses Tab to display the list view of related Project Expenses.
The Project Expense list shows the Project Expenses that are related to the Project. To open a particular Project Expense record, you can click on the Subject.
To create a new Project Expense, click on the New Project Expense button.
New Project Expense Rapid Create Form
Throughout RapidStart CRM we have focused on simplicity and speed. When you click on the New Project Expense button, it brings in the Rapid Create form
The Rapid Create form slides in from the side, without leaving the record you are currently viewing.
Some items are auto-populated based on what underlying record you are viewing. You only need to provide the minimal additional data.
When complete, you can Save the record, which will then immediately appear in the list. Use Save and Create New, to create several records at once.
A feature of RapidStart CRM is the ability to break a larger Project into Project Tasks, like mini-projects. Project Tasks are added at the Project Level.
You can get to your Project Tasks a couple of different ways.
Project Tasks List View
The List View of Active Project Tasks will open, which looks similar to a spreadsheet.
To view all of your Project Tasks across all of your Projects, click the icon in the side bar.
There are a few different view filters available with RapidStart CRM, and you can select between them. In addition you can set any view as your default.
The Ribbon, contains various Actions that you can take with regard to existing Project Tasks, like exporting them to Excel for example. If you select one or more Project Tasks, by placing a checkmark in the first column, the available Actions will change to those to be performed on the selected Project Tasks, like Assigning or Closing for example.
To open a particular Project Task record, you can click on the Task Name.
Project Task Record Form
The Project Task Record form, is a more elaborate form. Like we said, a Project Task is kind of a mini-project, that when taken as a group, represent a larger Project. You can certainly use this however you like, or not at all.
In the Ribbon, you will see actions you can take on this record, like assigning it to someone else, or Closing it, for example.
In addition to the Parent Project information on the left, in the Center panel are the Project Task Details. You can set many of these values here, some of them will be summed up on the Project Details panel of the Project, for example, “% Complete” and the Time related information. You can enter a total time estimate for this Project Task, and the total Task Hours field is automatically populated from the Time entries.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have a Timeline panel to track activities on that particular record.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have “Tabs” to move between other areas of the particular record. On the Project Task record there are additional tabs for Time and Custom Fields.
The Project Task record includes a Project Task Process Flow, to guide your users through the steps of successfully completing the Task.
Creating New Project Tasks
You create new Project Tasks from a Project Record, which you can open from either the sidebar or a Company or Contact record. This is also where you would see Project Tasks related to a particular Project. To get there, open any Company or Contact record and then click on the Projects Tab, select a Project and then click on the Tasks Tab for the Project.
From a Project record, select the Tasks Tab to display the list view of related Project Tasks.
The Project Task list shows the Project Tasks that are related to the Project. To open a particular Project Task record, you can click on the Task Name.
To create a new Project Task, click on the New Project Task button.
New Project Task Rapid Create Form
Throughout RapidStart CRM we have focused on simplicity and speed. When you click on the New Project Task button, it brings in the Rapid Create form
The Rapid Create form slides in from the side, without leaving the record you are currently viewing.
Some items are auto-populated based on what underlying record you are viewing. You only need to provide the minimal additional data.
When complete, you can Save the record, which will then immediately appear in the list. Use Save and Create New, to create several records at once.
A feature of RapidStart CRM is the ability to create and track Projects for the delivery of your services. You can create simple single-level Projects, or you can break larger Projects down into Project Tasks, like mini-projects. You can also track Time and Expenses for your Projects.
You can get to your Projects a couple of different ways.
Projects List View
The List View of Active Projects will open, which looks similar to a spreadsheet.
To view all of your Projects across all of your Companies and Contacts, click on the icon in the side bar.
There are a few different view filters available with RapidStart CRM, and you can select between them. In addition you can set any view as your default.
The Ribbon, contains various Actions that you can take with regard to existing Projects, like exporting them to Excel for example. If you select one or more Projects, by placing a checkmark in the first column, the available Actions will change to those to be performed on the selected Projects, like Assigning or Deactivating for example.
To open a particular Project record, you can click on the Project Name.
Project Record Form
The Project Record form, is will where you will work to deliver a project you are working on for a Customers.
In the Ribbon, you will see actions you can take on this record, like assigning it to someone else, or Deactivating it, for example.
In addition to Company and Contact information, in the center there is also a Project Description Panel, for a general description of the Project.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have a Timeline panel to track activities on that particular record.
Most records in RapidStart CRM have “Tabs” to move between other areas of the particular record. On the Project record there are additional tabs for Details, Tasks, Schedule, Expenses and Custom Fields.
The Project record includes a Project Process Flow, to guide your users through the steps of successfully completing a Project.
Creating New Projects
You create new Projects from either a Company or Contact record. This is also where you would see Projects related to a particular Company or Contact. To get there, open any Company or Contact record and click on the Projects Tab.
A Contact Record is shown here, but the steps are identical from a Company record.
From a Contact or Company record, select the Projects Tab to display the list view of related Projects.
The Project list shows the Projects that are related to either the Contact, or if looking at this view from a Company Record, it shows all Projects related to all Contacts with that Company. To open a particular Project record, you can click on the Project Name.
To create a new Project, click on the New Project button.
New Project Rapid Create Form
Throughout RapidStart CRM we have focused on simplicity and speed. When you click on the New Project button, it brings in the Rapid Create form
The Rapid Create form slides in from the side, without leaving the record you are currently viewing.
Some items are auto-populated based on what underlying record you are viewing. You only need to provide the minimal additional data.
When complete, you can Save the record, which will then immediately appear in the list. Use Save and Create New, to create several records at once.
Project Details
On the Project Record Form, there is a tab called details, with a few things you should know about, including some items that are automatically calculated.
Click “Details” to open the Details Tab
On the Project Details Panel, you can create a Start and End Date. The Average Percentage of Completion is calculated from Project Tasks.
On the Expenses Panel, you can enter a Budget amount. The Actual and Remaining amounts are automatically calculated from Expenses.
On the Time Panel, all of this information is automatically calculated from Time and the Project Tasks
