How to Create Activities

At the heart of any CRM is the ability to log and track interactions with constituents, in Cru CRM we call these logged interactions  Activities. In their simplest form, very little information is needed to create a new Activity record. There are many additional features for activities which we will discuss in an additional article.

For this walk-through of creating Activities we recommend first opening the specific account you would like to log an Activity with.

In this Article:

Step-by-step:

1
Click a  '+ Activity' button or 'New' link on any Activity List
2
Complete the Description field
3
Choose the correct Activity Type and Sub Type
4
Choose the data and time the activity occurred or is scheduled to occur in the Start field
5
Enter any additional data, such as Purpose, Outcome, Comments, Attachments, or Contacts associated
6
Click the 'Save' or 'Save + Follow-up' button

Please take a look at this Quick Reference Card (QRC):

Activities Part 1 - The Basics

Please take a look at this Quick Reference Card (QRC):

Activities Part 2 - Purpose and Outcome

Please take a look at this Quick Reference Card (QRC):

Activities Part 3 - Start Date and End Date

Creating an Activity

From the Account Details screen, click on the '+ Activity' button. It is located towards the bottom right corner of the page.

Required Fields to Create an Activity

There are 4 required fields (indicated by a red star) to create an activity; Description, Activity Type, Activity Sub Type, and Start Date, which will be described in more detail below:  

1)  Description - A short summary describing the point of this activity - think along the lines of an email subject line.

2)  Activity Type - There are seven different Activity Types, that describes the method that was used to communicate with the constituent.

3)   Sub Type - Each Activity Type has a specific set of Sub Types, and the available choices will vary depending on the Activity Type that is chosen. The Sub Type further describes the communication method, and will default to the most common choice for each Activity Type

For Example:

  • Phone Call has two sub-types; Inbound, and Outbound
  • Email has three sub-types; Inbound, Outbound, and Group Mail

4) Start Date - The start date represents the point in time when the activity was initiated. If a future date or time is chosen, this indicates that the activity has not yet happened and is still pending.

There are two additional fields that are highly encouraged though not required to complete an activity . The Purpose and Outcome fields will help provide context about why you initiated the touch-point as well as what the overall result was. They are also helpful in locating activities that were meant to accomplish a specific goal, and they are crucial for accurate and effective reporting.

1) Purpose - Simply put, the why? or your motive for connecting. The Purpose helps to give more context about the intention, or reason, of why you interacted with a ministry partner - such as Ask for Appointment, Follow up, Invitation, or Prayer. This is a single choice field, so while you may engage in multiple purposes, think of this as the primary one, i.e. you call a ministry partner to thank them for their partnership, and end the call praying with them, the Purpose would be "Thank You" as it was the primary reason for initiating the connection.

2) Outcome - For a completed activity this provides a useful record of what occurred. The real value this field provides is to offer insights into the effectiveness of your activities. Want to know what percentage of you calls end up going to voicemail, or if your ask strategies are working, then this is the field for you!

Start Date and End Date

Start Date - The start date represents the point in time when the activity was initiated. If a future date or time is chosen, this indicates that the activity has not yet happened and is still pending.

End Date -  The End date field is used to indicate when the partner interaction was completed, the time span between the start and end date equals the duration of the activity. If the activity is future dated it will be saved without an end date, that activity will also have a Status of open. It will not populate under the account details screen “My Closed Activities.” Open or Future-dated activities will appear in the My Next Activities on the CRM Home screen. For most Activities End date auto-populates based on the Start date. 

Note: This is not a due date as to when the activity must be completed by.

Save - The 'Save' button is used once you are ready to save and close the activity, if you any of the required fields are not completed you will receive an error message. The 'Save' button is on the bottom left of the main activity form. After clicking 'Save' you will be returned to the previous screen.

Save + Follow Up - This will save your current Activity and take you to a new form to create an additional Activity, this is helpful if as a result of your current conversation you have a follow-up activity you would like to schedule. These two activities will also be linked so you can see the chain.

Status:

  • An Open Status means that your Activity has yet to occur and you are able to still edit the Activity. 
  • A Closed Status means that your Activity has occured and you will not be able to edit, unless you temporarily re-open it.
  • A Cancelled Status means that your scheduled Activity will not occur and has been Cancelled.