Setting yourself up in RealtimeCRM
Setting up an account with any product shouldn’t ever be complicated. So to ensure that your sign up experience is as easy as possible we’ve created this ‘how-to’ article.
Please note this article is for setting up a RealtimeCRM account for the first time for your business. If your company has already signed up to RealtimeCRM then the process by which you add more User accounts associated with your company is described in the help article below:
I want to create a new user account for myself
You will need to contact your system administrator (This is likely the first person at your Company to sign up to RealtimeCRM) in order to log into RealtimeCRM as a new user.
Signing Up
Simply enter your email address on the homepage to start your 30 day free trial or click the Sign Up button at the top right of this page.
Note: If you haven’t received your confirmation email in your inbox please check your spam box as it may be in there.
Getting Started
Now that you have signed up, it’s time to start adding some more information to your account. Once you’ve logged into RealtimeCRM you will arrive at the Dashboard. From there you can access various features such as your Tasks, Watched Items, and any Widgets you choose to add.
If you look at the top right corner of the page, you will see your Username, click on it and a drop-down will appear. In the drop-down menu select the ‘Settings’ option, clicking on that will then take you to ‘My Profile’.
You’ve already added your company name, email address and your name. Let’s now add some more details about your company. From the My profile page, look in the left-hand column and click on the ‘Company Information’ panel. From there you can change your company name, add or change a phone number as well as your company’s website and trading address. Once you’ve entered the relevant details simply click the Save button.
Configuration
Now that we’ve finished updating your Company information, it’s time to start configuring your account.
- Look back to the left-hand column and select ‘Configuration’ panel
- You will then be taken to the Configuration page
- There you can edit things such as Contact titles, RealtimeCRM ID, Custom Fields, Project Types and other functions of the RealtimeCRM CRM application
Let’s start off with changing the currency. All you need to do for this is click on the currency box and pick from our extensive list of currency options, in this example we will choose pound sterling.
You can also set up Opportunity Stages and Project Types, we recommend reading the associated help articles before proceeding with changing these settings.
Taking a look around
Now that you’ve set your profile up, it’s time to take a look around to see what RealtimeCRM has to offer. We are going to do a quick run through of some of the basic features and how to use them.
The search bar allows you to search all of your records and even search for tags bringing a list of those tagged records to you.
Dashboard
Your Dashboard provides you a quick overview of information useful to you inside RealtimeCRM, from your list of outstanding Tasks to how many Projects you have ongoing via the list of widgets available.
Favourites
Favourites in RealtimeCRM works the same way it does when you are browsing the internet. Go to the RealtimeCRM page you wish to save say your company page, a list of filtered tasks or a Project and click the Favourites panel and then click the ‘+Add’ button to add it to your Favourites.
Activities
The Activities panel is useful for keeping track of everything you and your team do in RealtimeCRM. You can log emails, phone calls, and general activity within it, meaning you’ll never lose track of what you’ve been doing.
Tasks
Tasks are another way RealtimeCRM helps you stay on top of things. They allow you to see a list of outstanding assignments that need to be completed, alternatively you can view Tasks which have already been completed as well and highlight Tasks that need to be completed as soon as possible using tags, for example the tag ‘Urgent’.
Companies
This where you can store any Record that isn’t an individual, from charities to conglomerates. The Companies section also boasts a helpful tool, called Company look-up. Which works by taking the company you’ve searched for & pulling all the information it can find online about and filling the information fields in the record for you thus saving you time.
Contacts
The Contacts panel is where you store all information about the people your Company deals with. Whether it be a client, partner or potential client. It allows you to keep track of everyone.
Opportunities
Think of Opportunities as prospective sales. If you have a pitch or a meeting with a company that could lead to a sale, you would record it under Opportunities. You can also add a quote value and other relevant details to flesh out the Opportunity.
You can also view your Opportunities in pipeline view which** **is designed to make it easy for you to track how close you are to closing on an opportunity. You can drag opportunities down the pipeline from the early exploratory stages to negotiating a deal and resolving any client objections. When you close, simply click “Opportunity won” on the Sales Pipeline, and the Opportunity will become a Project.
Projects
This is where opportunities go once you’ve closed on a deal. You can then view it in the “Projects” list and record activity as you track it through to completion.
You can also view your Projects in pipeline view which is designed to make it easy for you to track the progress of your Projects. We aimed to provide a visual representation for the times when you just want to take a glance at how many ongoing projects you have, and which ones are nearing conclusion and which ones are lagging behind.
Products
The Products panel is where you store all your saleable items and services. You can keep track of costs by adding the sales and cost prices. You can also assign Custom Fields to them. As well as attaching any relevant product documents. You can then add your Products as line items onto your opportunities.
Timesheets
Timesheets are used to record where you’re spending time. Add a Time Entry to capture time spent on Projects and Opportunities. You can keep track of effort and use the data for billing clients or payroll.
Scheduler
The RealtimeCRM Scheduler enables you and others on your team to book appointments and eliminate double bookings. Its intuitive drag and drop scheduling allows you to save time and become more efficient helping you focus on what’s most important to you, your customers. So whether you have a team of engineers or tutors they’ll always know who they’re seeing next.