The Project Information window serves as the foundation for creating and managing projects within e-manage|ONE. It holds essential details about your projects, including their name, status, project manager, salesperson(s), scope of work, and associated contacts. In this guide, we will delve into the various components of the Project Information window and explain how each piece of information is used in e-manage|ONE.
Accessing the Project Information Window
You can access the Project Information window through multiple methods:
Double-click: Simply double-click on a project from any grid or tree that lists projects to open the Project Information window.
Right-click: Alternatively, right-click on a project from any grid or tree that lists projects to access the Project Information window.
Quick Search: Use the Quick Search feature located at the bottom of the e-manage main window to search for and open projects quickly.
Function Key Shortcuts: Make use of Function Key Shortcuts to swiftly access the Quick Search and your Project(s).
Project Name
The Project Name field is essential as it is searchable in various areas within e-manage. Ensure it contains meaningful information that helps other users identify the project in Current Opportunities, Backlog, and other grids.
This field is mandatory during the initial project entry, and we strongly recommend establishing naming conventions for consistency.
Corporate Division
The Corporate Division dropdown list contains divisions defined by your administrator, based on your access permissions.
Choosing the correct Corporate Division is crucial, as it impacts dropdown lists available for the entire project and determines the QuickBooks file for orders and vendor invoices.
This field is required when creating a new project.
Project Type
The Project Type dropdown controls whether a project requires implementation and influences available workflow Action Items.
This setting allows you to customize the workflow based on project types, ensuring efficiency in your processes.
Project Types also determine the available Surveys, which are built by administrators.
Status
The Status dropdown sets the project's status, making it searchable and usable as a criteria in analysis queries.
While you can set the Status here, it can also be adjusted in other areas of the application.
This field is mandatory during the initial project entry.
When building analysis queries, you can use the Project Status to pull lists of projects back by status along with other criteria.
Probability
The Probability dropdown represents the likelihood of the project becoming an order.
This value also influences the Factored Value on the Current Opportunities grid for projection purposes.
The Probability field is mandatory during the initial project entry.
This is a screenshot of Current Opportunities Factored Value based on Approximate Value and Probability
Project Manager
If your organization designates project managers, this dropdown allows you to select one.
This field appears in grids displaying projects, allowing filtering by project managers.
This field is typically required.
Decision Date
The Decision Date is the expected date when the customer will decide whether to proceed with the order.
This field is mandatory during the initial project entry.
Approximate Value
The Approximate Value represents the estimated sale value before generating a quote.
After creating a quote, this value updates automatically with the estimated sale price.
While zero is a valid value, it's recommended to enter accurate estimates for projection purposes.
When quotes are made, the first one made is the Most Likely by default, but changing the most likely quote will update the approximate value with value of the quote. This is a screen shot of the BOM window showing quotes.
Scope of Work
This text box should contain a comprehensive description of the project to facilitate quoting, ordering, billing, and installation.
A Scope Builder is available for reusing common items in the scope of work. (See Using Builders.)
Requires Installation Checkbox
This checkbox is automatically set based on the chosen Project Type but can be adjusted manually.
Tax Exempt Checkbox
Tax exemption status is determined by the end user Company Location Tax Exempt status. See here for more information.
Users may or may not have the ability to modify this checkbox based on permissions.
Direct Bill Checkbox
Used for Direct Bills to manufacturers and Government Sales. See here for more information.
Next Touch Type and Date
Allows salespersons to set tasks for themselves to keep the project moving forward.
Tasks appear on the Salesperson's Events Calendar. See here for more information.
Manually set or automatically updated with the date when a quote is printed.
Touch Date
Manually set or automatically updated with the date when a quote is printed.
Designer / Furniture Dealer / Architect or Contact 1 & 2
Associates company locations with the project.
Contacts can be associated by typing their name in the contact box underneath each dropdown list box. See Company Settings for additional information.
Project #
Automatically generated and unique to each project.
Job #
Typically set at the Order Entry stage of the process. In most cases, our customers choose to have the project number become the job number (Admin Setting) and follow all the way through the project, however job numbers can be set manually when the order is booked.
End User
Initially filled with the Company Location or contact's Company Location from which the project started. You can change the end user at any time. See Company Labels for more information.
Sales Credit
The Sales Credit / Access grid provides a means to include sales team members who can access or collaborate on a specific project. If you're a salesperson and the Primary Salesperson has not been designated for the end user company location, you will automatically be included in this grid when the project is saved with 100% credit allocation. Within this grid, both the salesperson's name and their assigned credit percentage can be edited using dropdown menus. It's imperative to ensure that the total credit percentage assigned to all salespeople adds up to 100%. If a Primary Salesperson has already been set for the Company Location, they will be added to this grid regardless of who initiates the project.
To add salespeople, simply click the "Add" button, and to remove them, select a row in the grid and click the "Delete" button. Please note that these buttons may appear grayed out after the initial project save if you lack the permissions to modify sales credits.
Project Contact(s)
The Project Contact section offers a versatile means to link any existing contact in your database to a project, regardless of their associated company. This feature significantly streamlines your project search process, enhancing efficiency when using the Main Search tool. You can easily achieve this by referencing the contact records of associated individuals and switching the "Search For" option to "Projects."
When initiating a project from a contact or lead record, the contact is seamlessly included in the project upon the initial save. Adding more contacts is a straightforward process. You can opt to drag and drop contacts from any grid or tree listing contacts, or you can utilize the recommended method – the "Add Contact" button conveniently located on the left side of the Project Contacts Grid.
Clicking this button opens the Add Contact window, initially populated with all contacts associated with the End User's company location, regardless of their specific department within the company (displayed in the lower section of the Add Contact window). This window doubles as a search tool, enabling you to quickly locate any contacts already existing in your database. Simply enter the First and Last Name, tab out of the last name field, and the search results will promptly display. In the event you need to create a new contact, complete the form, and then click the "Save" button. Alternatively, if you prefer to add contacts from the grid, whether sourced from the initial company list or through a search, this can be effortlessly accomplished by highlighting your desired contact(s), clicking, dragging, and dropping them into the project contact grid.t grid.
Within the project contacts grid, you'll find a crucial feature called "Project Contact Type." This designation defines the role of a contact in the context of a specific project. For instance, while a contact might typically be categorized as an "Architect," within a particular project, they could play the role of an "Influencer." This distinction is set directly within this grid, allowing for clear identification of a contact's role.
Assigning Project Contact Types serves a valuable purpose in streamlining the business process. It empowers team members to easily identify the right contact for their needs without relying on the salesperson for information, particularly beneficial for installers. This information carries over to the Work Order and Delivery Ticket, ensuring that everyone involved in the project is aligned and informed.
Primary Contact
Highlight the contact you wish to designate as the Primary Contact.
Locate the "Mark As Primary Contact" option on the panel situated to the right of the contact grid.
Please note that only one Primary Contact can be assigned per project. If a Primary Contact has already been set, selecting a different contact as the Primary Contact will automatically undo the previous selection. It's important to keep in mind that the first contact you add to the project will be automatically designated as the Primary Contact.
This Primary Contact information seamlessly transfers to the project's Quote as the "Prepared For." Please be aware that the checkbox for this designation is not editable and serves as a visual indicator of the project's Primary Contact.
Remove a Contact from a Project
Highlight the contact you want to remove within the grid.
Locate the "Remove Selected Contacts" button positioned to the right of the Project Contacts Grid.
Please exercise caution when using the "Delete" option. This action will permanently erase the contact from the database unless you subsequently run a query to undo the deletion. If you have the necessary permissions to delete a contact, you can also right-click on the contact and select the "Delete" option.
Schedule an Event
To schedule an event, start by selecting a contact within the Project Contacts grid. Then, utilize the "Schedule an Event" button situated on the left side of the grid. This action will redirect you to the Events Calendar, which can be synchronized with your Outlook calendar if configured correctly.
Once within the Events Calendar, you can proceed to choose specific time slots or a particular day for the event. After making your selection, click the "New Appointment" button. The event will automatically link to both the chosen contact and the project. You can access this event in the Event History for both the Contact and the Project, ensuring that it's properly documented and organized.
Mail Merge
When one or more contacts are selected, you can harness the power of the mail merge functionality by clicking the "Mail Merge" button. This action opens the Perform Mail Merge window and automatically populates the recipients list box with the contacts you've selected. For in-depth information on executing mail merges, please refer to the Perform Mail Merge from a Contact.