Creating a Note

This article provides a guide on how to create and use the Notes in BigChange. The Notes feature is a crucial tool that can significantly enhance communication, understanding, and traceability across the entire system when used appropriately.

Creating a Note

Once the Note Types, Flags, Workflows, and Custom Fields have been set up in the admin settings of BigChange, Notes can be created using the notes feature.

To create a Note:

• Navigate to the: [Top menu] CRM → [Side menu] Notes → New note (icon)

A Note has several fields including:

1. Contact - The Contact the Note is being raised against
2. Reference - Once the Note is saved this will automatically populate.  The reference number will begin with the first 3 letters of the Note Type, followed by a hyphen eg ‘QUO -‘ for a Quotation
3. Note Type - If the Note Type has a single Workflow assigned to it then (5) will auto-populate.
4. Parent Note - can be linked to each other, allowing you to create a Parent note that has Child Notes linked to it.If you have selected a Note Type with an assigned Workflow then this will have auto-populated.  Should you desire to do so, however, you can manually amend that here or add additional Workflows.
5. Workflow - Attach a workflow to the note
6. Status - Whether the note is Open, Completed or Cancelled
7. Subject of the Note
8. Notes - Additional detail as to why the Note is being raised and a brief overview
9. Due date - The date by which the Note needs to be actioned
10. Note Owner - The name of the Web User responsible for the Note. By default, this is the user who raised the Note, but this can be amended
11. Progress in percentage terms towards completion
12. Workflow Tab - Any associated Workflow (see 5) will display in full here
13. Attachments Tab - Files can be attached to the Note here eg email, photograph, etc. You can upload multiple files at once and to sort or download all or selected items.  Hovering over the file will display the file details and information regarding who has permission to view the file.  Please note, this is now true for all attachment tabs.
14. Messages Tab - A message can be sent from here directly to a device for instant delivery
15. Note Flags Tab - Flags can be used to show the bespoke status or progress of a Note
16. Notes Tab - Child notes can be viewed and added here
17. Dialogue - Web Users are able to add comments which appear here in a thread and are date and time stamped, keeping information up to date. Users can also ‘mention’ other users by typing their name after an @ symbol, which sends an email to the user including the comment and a link to the Note.  This can be used to notify somebody of an update on a Note or to request involvement as required.  Once you have been mentioned (via the @ symbol) in a thread, you will automatically receive email updates of additional comments.

Where can notes can be created?

Notes can also be created by selecting a contact within CRM, using the Search Anything Box, against a Sales Opportunity, a Job, a piece of stock or equipment, and against Fleet & Resources.

CRM

Selecting a contact within CRM, followed by "New Note":

Search Box

Using the Search Box at the right-hand side: 

Sales Opportunity

Against a Sales Opportunity (CRM → [side menu] Sales opportunities):

Jobs

Against a Job (Schedule → select job → view → [tab] Message & Notes → [Tab] Notes → [icon] Add):

Stock & equipment

Against a piece of stock or equipment (Stock & Equipment → select stock/equipment → Add → [tab] Notes → [icon] New Note):

Fleet & Resources

You can also save Notes against Fleet & Resources. 

Unlike other Notes, these will not appear in the CRM Notes section as Notes in this section may be sensitive or confidential (Fleet & Resources → [side menu] Fleet/Resources → select → [tab] Notes → [icon] New note)

Vehicle

Resource

Accessing and Using Notes

Once Notes have been set up, they are an excellent way of managing tasks and keeping track of information.

• Navigate to [Top menu] CRM → [Side menu] Notes.

You will see on the left a number of filter options, allowing you to drill down and display only the desired information. These filters can be applied in any combination to precise information, dependent upon your permissions status.

1. Contact – which CRM contact the Note has been raised against (for a daily list, this can be left blank, or used to reduce the search results returned)
2. Reference – Note reference (for a daily Workflow, this can be left blank, but can be used to find a specific Note with a given reference).
3. Note Creator – this is set when the Note is created, unlike the Note Owner which is an editable field
4. Note Owner – which Web User is responsible for the Note.
5. Type – Which Note Type to filter by (for a daily list, this can be left blank, allowing all Notes owned by a certain user to be returned).
6. Status – Open, Completed or Cancelled (for a daily list, this should be set to open, as you only want to see Notes which are in your name, and open).
7. Due Before – filter any Notes that have been set to be actioned before a specific date (for a daily list, this should be set to today’s date, allowing you to see only the Notes which are open, in your name and due today).
8. Created – Creation date for any note
9. To – Completion date for any Note
10. Note Flags – filter on any note flags which have been created
11. Note Priority - Custom priorities set up by your site administrator (low, Medium, High, Urgent)
12. Add a filter – can be used to filter based on a custom field.

Additional options include Display, Send all, and Export CSV. Reports can be set up based upon extracted information, as well as Alerts, which can be programmed to notify certain users when a specific Notes Type is created, when a specified stage is reached, or when a due date is exceeded.

1. Display – how many notes will be shown per page.
2. Send all – allows you to send an email using Templates to all persons who appear in the Notes displayed, based on your filters.
3. Export CSV – this allows all Note information to be exported into an excel file.  This option is only displayed if you are an administrator.

Conclusion

The Notes feature in BigChange is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance communication, understanding, and traceability across the entire system. This guide has provided detailed instructions on how to create and use this feature effectively. It is essential to leverage these capabilities to improve your overall system management and productivity.