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Getting Started with CRM.COM

This checklist is targeted towards Businesses that have registered with CRM.COM. It covers the basic settings which should be considered for configuration to ensure that you're taking full advantage of CRM.COM functionality and integrationsprovides a step-by-step instructions on how a Business can set up the basics to get started using CRM.COM.

Ensure that you have switched to Live Mode before starting your configuration.

✅ Mandatory configuration

BUSINESS DEFINITION

(click on the logged-in user name at the top-right-hand-corner of the screen > My Business)

My Business ✅
Complete your company information, add your logo, and define your operational details. Optionally define any transaction acquiring points (POSs) if this location is a selling point, too; this will assist in identifying where purchase transactions are being posted from through integrations. This information mostly caters to the needs of customer-facing apps in order to provide an overall quality user experience.

SETTINGS

These are the recommended system settings that could be defined prior to any configuration; note that this is not a complete list of settings but rather the suggested settings - some of which may not apply to your organisation; for a complete list of settings, refer to the relevant user manuals.

BUSINESS NETWORK

(click on logged-in user name at the top-right-hand-corner of the screen > Settings > Business Network)

Business Network Model

Select the model which best suits your line of business:

• Merchants & Venues - rewards/loyalty-related businesses

• Service Providers & Service Points - subscription-related businesses

PLATFORM

(click on logged-in user name at the top-right-hand-corner of the screen > Settings > Platform)

Time Zone

Select the correct time zone for your organisation; all processes and transactions will be created based on the selected time zone.

Currencies ✅
A base currency is assigned to the organisation upon registration, based on its locale (but can be changed), and acts as the default currency for all its operations. If the organisation is handling multi-currency transactions, you should define all currencies you will be dealing in, along with the respective exchange rates against the base currency.

Countries of Agreement ✅

If ordering will be enabled, then at least one country of agreement must be defined. If the organisation is operating on an international level, then you will need to set the supported countries, i.e. the countries from which Contacts can register and place orders.

FINANCIALS

(click on logged-in user name at the top-right-hand-corner of the screen > Settings > Financials)

Account Name Display
Select how your Contact's account names will be generated and displayed throughout the system. Choose from either the account number or a combination of the account number and contact name.

Allocation Settings
Specify your organisation allocation settings - either FIFO or FIFO and against an item. Allocations settings dictate how to allocate the amount of a credit transaction against a debit transaction in order to settle an overdue amount.

Accounting Period Closing Settings ✅
Specify the duration of each accounting period so that it will be automatically closed. At the end of each accounting period, all transaction amounts posted within that period for an account are aggregated in order to calculate the opening balance for the next accounting period. If you do not have a policy for this, we suggest that you set it to 3 months (quarterly).

Numbering Schemes
Define how numbers will be automatically generated by the system for new Accounts, Invoices and Credit notes.

Taxes
CRM.COM allows an organisation to choose between two tax models Tax-inclusive or Tax exclusive. Define varying tax rates based on country and/or supply method (pick-up, delivery, direct sale) if applicable.

Credit Terms
Define the default credit limit and credit period rules to be applied to all accounts, including an optional proximity range. Create additional rules to be applied to conditions if necessary. The credit limit can be amended for individual Contacts via the Contact screen.  

Allowed Payment Methods

Select the acceptable methods of payment for your Business.

SECURITY

(click on logged-in user name at the top-right-hand-corner of the screen > Settings > Security)

User Roles
Define user roles (for your system users) and specify permissions for all areas of the software.

Users
Users are members of your team who will have access to CRM.COM (either through the UI or Web APIs) to perform certain tasks subject to their user role. You can invite users to the system by email; a user must accept the invitation to gain access to CRM.COM.

CONTACTS

(click on logged-in user name at the top-right-hand-corner of the screen > Settings > Contacts)

Customer Identification Medium (CIM) ✅
Select how your Contacts will be uniquely identified throughout the system; options include card number, phone, email, gift pass, loyalty identifier or a combination of these. The selected method of identification will also be used during integration with external systems (e.g. an authorised application submitting purchase transactions to CRM.COM).

COMMERCE

(click on logged-in user name at the top-right-hand-corner of the screen > Settings > Commerce)

Numbering Schemes
Define the format of order numbers to be generated whenever a new order is placed.

Fulfilment Policies ✅
Set up a fulfilment policy to define how and when orders will be fulfilled. A fulfilment policy is set up for an organisation and is, by default, inherited by all of that organisation's members (merchants/venues, service providers/service points etc.) unless a separate policy is set up for a specific member. Multiple fulfilment policies can be set up for the different supply methods.

Use Expenses to define additional costs for orders, e.g. a delivery charge. Additional add-on times can be set up using the order completion rules.

Synchronisation
Product synchronisation establishes data consistency between a third-party system and CRM.COM; the process automatically synchronises data from the master database (third-party system, e.g. POS) to the destination database (CRM.COM). Define the default settings to be used during integration for cases where the product does not exist in CRM.COM.

SETUP

Setting up the system entails creating definitions that will be available for use by either system users or Contacts, so it's of utmost importance that the correct definitions are created, as this will affect the behaviour of the system.

(Navigate to these options using the main menu on the left-hand side of the screen)

SEGMENTATION

(Contacts > Segmentation)

Create segments to separate your Contacts into groups based on specific criteria. Segments can also be created by importing a list of contacts from Analytics tools like Mixpanel.

COMMUNICATION PLANS

(CRM> Communication Plans)

Create repeating or one-off communication plans to re-engage Contacts or simply to announce a new offer. Recipients can be selected based on segments, and communications are sent according to the selected channel and language preference of the recipient.

PRODUCTS ✅

(Commerce> Products)

Create your product catalogue – the physical goods and services that your business sells along with their compositions, variants, relations to other products, pricing information and offers. Ensure that an image is uploaded for products that will be available for ordering.

ORDER CATALOGUES

(Commerce> Order Catalogues)

Create order catalogues for ordering purposes, define the categories, sub-categories and products that will appear during ordering either via the back-end system or when using the app/portal.

INVENTORY

(Commerce > Inventory)

Optionally create and manage your warehouse and inventory of physical goods.

MERCHANTS & VENUES / SERVICE PROVIDERS & SERVICE POINTS

(Business Network > My Merchants/My Venues or Service Providers/Service Points)

Create your business network by defining Merchants/Service Providers who have a collaboration agreement with your organisation and optionally their operating Venues/Service Points as well as any Transaction Acquiring Points (TAPs are necessary for POS integration).

An organisation user can masquerade as a Merchant/Service Provider and create data on their behalf.

AUTOMATION

(Platform > Automation)

Automation can be set up to automate repetitive tasks that are required to carry out certain operations. Automation starts with an event trigger (an action within CRM.COM, e.g. Contact registration, Contact awarded) and is completed with a series of actions (e.g. sending Contacts an outbound email communication). Webhooks can also be configured using automation.

INTEGRATIONS

(Platform > Integrations)

CRM.COM provides the ability to integrate with a variety of third-party tools. Set up the necessary integrations relevant to your business needs.