Create a Custom Workflow with Tasks
- Select the Admin tab in the left navigation menu
- Locate the Manage Modules section in admin screen (second block from the right)
- Click on the Customize Tasks link in this section
- Click on the orange Add Task button to begin
- In the Add Task screen, type in the name of your custom task into the Task Name field.
- To add additional steps to this task - Type the name of the first step into the "Name of Step Field" and use the drop-down menu labeled "Assign to" to select which team member should have this task on their task list.
- To add additional steps, click on the "+ sign for each additional step you would like
- Use the "Service Standard" field to enter an amount of days you would like this task to be completed by (minimum days to enter is "1"). You can then use the "Task Manager" report located in the Reports Tab to see how your team is doing at completing tasks on time.
- Click on the orange Save Task button to save this custom task
Tasks are essential to keeping track of the things you need to do on a day-to-day basis. In order to work faster and more effectively, we encourage you to pre-load all of the tasks that you regularly perform in the course of your day.
Note: You must have Administrative permissions to create a custom task.
You can add Tasks to your account as follows:
Use the "Assign task steps" radio buttons to decide if you would like all of the steps to be "In sequence" (next step will not show up on the next team members task list until the previous team member has marked their step as complete OR "All at once" (All steps are applied to all users' task list so each team member can complete their step anytime)
Once you've customized your Tasks, you can then add a Task to a Contact:
- Assign a Task for a Contact via the Actions button on the Contact record and select Assign Task
- Select the Task from the dropdown menu
- Add a due date, priority and add any additional notes
- At the bottom of the window, you can choose whether email alerts should go out when a Task is assigned, completed or overdue. Make sure to check your spam folder if you feel you aren't receiving these notifications and mark BigContacts as a safe sender in your email inbox.
After the task is assigned, it will appear on the contact record page and also in the Task List
As you complete a Task, you can click the checkbox and select Complete Selected Tasks.
As each step is completed, the Task List will be automatically updated with the next step in the Task.
You can also individually edit the Task and mark steps completed, but utilizing the Task List is a great way of keeping track of/checking off multiple tasks at a time.
Just edit the Task from the contact record by clicking on the Task step or on the "Edit" button. This will open up an edit screen window where you can check the box as completed, like the image below.
To fully automate emails, you would need to sign up for our marketing module provided by ActiveCampaign.
However, you can still add Task Steps as a reminder to send emails manually, right from BigContacts. If you're checking the Task List on a daily basis, you will see that emails need to be sent out, or you can also be notified via email. To make the process even easier, you can save your email follow-ups as Email Templates. This way, with just a few clicks you can send the follow-up emails. Once you have done so, you'll also want to make sure you mark this step as completed on the Task list.
To follow up by email within BigContacts, go to the Contact record by clicking on the contact's Name in the Task List. Then click on the contact's Email Address.
- Select the Email Template you want to send from the Email Template dropdown menu (you'll need to create the templates first)
- Add any relevant content or attachments to the email
- Finish sending the email by clicking the Send Email button
You will then be reminded, via email about any other steps in the Task - like sending the Second Email a week later for example.