Overview

CRM.COM is a highly configurable system which can be configured according to your line of business, your company's and your customers' country of residence and generally allows you to optimize clientele by going global in a seamless way. The platform module is used to configure regional and administrative settings associated with the operation of the system, such as supported currencies, languages, date settings and tax rates.

Gaining Access to CRM.COM

In order to start using CRM.COM you need to obtain a licence. The license will determine permissions granted to the organization using the software, such as the application areas and modules that can be accessed and the number of users, subscribers and rewards participants that can be active at the same time.
In the absence of a valid license key or details:

• System access is limited to super users.
• General users can only access Foundation > Platform > Admin Settings menu and sub-menus.

For licensing purposes, the number of active users or reward participants and subscribers is measured per organization. Depending on the type of license, restrictions are applied if the allowed number is exceeded.

If your license has expired and you have been provided with a new licence you can update it yourself. From the Top menu, click on Update License and in the License Details provide the encrypted text provided by CRM.COM before you SUBMIT.

Setting up CRM.COM for the First Time

In this section, we will provide information with regards to settings required to get you started while customizing CRM.COM based on your business.

System settings

In system settings you can provide overall settings and restrictions such as

• Contact Information which represents your business. i.e. the owner of the system.
  
• Default Country used by the system during the creation of records, if no alternative is supplied by the user.
• Default Home Page displayed after login, if no alternative is specified by the user. The 'Organisation's default page' is also an option. 
• Enable Hot Keys
  • New (CTRL+ALT+N): Summary and Data Entry page
  • Save (CTRL+ALT+S): Data Entry page
  • Edit (CTRL+ALT+E): Data Entry page
  • Back (CTRL+ALT+B): Data Entry page
  • Home (CTRL+ALT+H)
  • Close (CTRL+ALT+X): Modal windows
  • Cancel (CTRL+ALT+C): Data Entry page

• Disable Automatic Search: Stops the display of quick search results after the last keystroke.

  • Automatic Search Delay Time (msec): The period between the last keystroke and the display of search results.

• Time Zone: Defined as a combination of UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) offset and DST (Daylight Saving Time). The supported options are populated based on the Olson Time Zone IDs. UTC is the default. Time zone can only be set once and then becomes read-only.

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Additionally you can set restrictions such as the maximum number of rows that can be retrieved (through the UI or Web API) by super users and general users on each call. The restriction does not apply to reports or printouts.

Organization

Organization settings you can customize the login page by providing a Background Image, provide your own Company Logo which will be used across the system, including reports and printouts, as well as provide the Contact Us Link and Legal & Privacy Link which are shown at the bottom of the landing page.

Additional information with regards to the organization are available here such as the Database name and type, Application Version and the industry.

Portal settings

In case that you will be integrating to a portal from where your customer will have access to their accounts, you can configure the portal logo and the portal theme through the Portal Settings.

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Setting up Taxes

As part of CRM.COM Billing Module, Taxes are applied during the generation and posting of various financial transactions. Taxes are applied based on the product being included in a financial transaction and the location of the account owner. CRM.COM allows setting up various taxes which are applied during various billing processes and while posting financial transactions. The whole process is managed by CRM.COM so Taxes and tax rates must always be up-to-date.

An alternative solution is to use an online Tax Service which has the exact same responsibilities, i.e. identify and apply Taxes as well as keeping up-to-date any Tax increase or decrease.

Online taxation service

In case that you choose to tax products with an online taxation service then all other tax configuration in CRM.COM is ignored. To enable Online taxation service you need to enable it though the Tax definition. CRM.COM is already integrated with ONESOURCE Indirect Tax service which can be used. Enable the service and provide the required information as supplied by Onesource Indirect Tax service.

Manual tax setup

VAT and other tax rates are applied to products during billing, depending on the customer's country of residence.  Tax rates can also vary depending on the product (e.g., pharmaceutical or educational) and on location. 
Multiple rates can be defined and used across the software. Each rate can have more than one applicable value over non-overlapping periods.  Multiple rates may be configured for the same period and applied to different products or applied to the same product based on location conditions (the account owner's billing address). 

To set up your tax model you need to configure the Tax Definition where you will define the generic business rules that will be applied when creating and maintaining VAT and Tax Rates. If you have both VAT and other taxes that must be applied then you should set up VAT Rates and Tax Rates accordingly. Once rates are configured Tax Codes (available in the tax definition) can be used for grouping VAT and Tax rates that will be applied during billing together.

As part of the definition, exceptional accounts receivable classifications can be specified in order to exclude a group of Accounts from being taxed during billing

Tax definition

When configuring the Tax Definition make sure you will take into consideration the following fields and configure according to

• Rates Tax Model: Whether or not the rates defined in price plans and usage service catalogs include taxes (inclusive by default).

• Tax Codes :Used to group VAT and other tax rates applied during billing together. Exceptions can be specified for each code based on accounts receivable classifications to exclude the account from being taxed during billing. E.g., a hospital could be in a classification excluded from taxes. Tax codes are created in the definition.and when VAT and other tax rates are created, the tax code to which they apply is selected. When creating new products in the system you can apply taxes on them by specifying a Tax code.

• Matching Criteria: Defines the minimum required address-related fields that must be specified as location conditions for VAT and other tax rates. The available location conditions are country, district, and area.

Tax rates and VAT rates

Setting up your Tax rates and VAT rates follows exactly the same process and information. However in Tax rates you have the option to enable Apply VAT Rate which indicates whether VAT will be applied in addition to the taxed amount.

For each rate you need to define its Tax Code which can be used for financial reporting and is required when the same type of tax is different across locations.  E.g., Sales tax is 9.98% in Louisiana and 8.92% in Washington.  Two different tax rates with the same tax code must be configured. Other important information is:

• Country (stated in the customer billing address) associated with the specific VAT rate. Used when a multi-country business network is enabled in General Settings.
• Period Rates: Different periods can be defined for each tax rate as long as periods do not overlap (defined using 'From' and 'To'). You can set up the rate which will be applicable for each period.
• Location Conditions include a list of criteria that should be met in order for the tax rate to be applied. More than one VAT or other tax rate can be defined for the same product and applied according to location conditions.The system determines the appropriate rate by matching the conditions to location information defined in the customer's billing address. Multiple sets of conditions can be specified and one or more should be met in order for the rate to be applied. Each condition set includes a value for one or more of the following: country, district, and area. The values that must be specified for each period rate are determined by the tax definition. 
• Applied on Products: The products, product types or product families that the rate should be applied to. On creating a product of product family or type which has a defined rate, the rate will be made available on the product and the user can enable or disable.

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Automating Address Registration

CRM.COM is integrated with 2 address registry systems to facilitate the accurate registration of addresses. 

• Melissa Data: The Melissa Data address registry provides worldwide address search and verification. The verification takes place either dynamically while users type-in addresses or manually upon user request. The following functions can be made available in the system and accessed when registering addresses from contact information, jobs, subscriptions, accounts receivable and rewards participants:
  • Autosuggestion of addresses while typing in an address field.
  • Quick or advanced searches in an address registry.
  • Verification of addresses based on registry information.
• Google Places: Google Places API is a service that returns information regarding geographic locations using HTTP requests.  Once enabled and configured, matches are made available as the user types an address.

Melissa registry

Melissa registry offers a variety of options with regards to address taking. To use each of its features you will need to enable through Address Registry Settings

• Using auto-suggestion automatically provides possible address values while the user is typing. The system forwards the input to the address registry and the registry returns suggestions. Proposed addresses are presented in a pop-up. Once the user selects a suggested address, the remaining fields are automatically filled in, using information from the address registry system.
  If autosuggestion is enabled while typing an address if the value corresponds to a single match in the Melissa Database, then it is applied automatically. If multiple matches are found, then the required address must be selected from the modal window.

• Using address registry verification, addresses registered in CRM.COM are matched to addresses in an authoritative registry system (Melissa Data in this case).  The checking process can be performed by the system when new or modified address information is saved or requested by the user. 
  Upon taking an address you can click on VERIFY ADDRESS and the system will forward the address fields and attempt to match them to those in Melissa Data.  If the address does not match, the user is informed and can try again. Incorrect addresses can still be saved. The address can also be automatically verified once you save the address. The system will forward the address fields and attempt to match them to those in Melissa Data.  If the address does not match, the user is informed and can try again. Addresses cannot be saved unless they are correct.

• Address registry lookup is used to search the address registry system using 'Quick' or 'Advanced' searches.
  • To use quick search click on Quick Search to open the address modal and provide Full Address and click on Search. Any of the address fields can be entered and all matches will be returned. Separate each field with a comma (e.g., Elia Papakyriakou, Lefkosia, Cyprus).
  • To use Advanced search address registry lookup, click on Advanced Search to open the address modal to provide the known fields and click on Search
• Lookup based on Postal Code Settings is used to automatically retrieve U.S. city and state information using the ZIP code, based on address information present in an Address Registry System. The Express Postal Code process will also be available through the Web API.

Google places

To use the Google Places Autocomplete feature, a company must set it up in the system and also:

• Google Maps JavaScript API
• Google Places API Web Service

To use the feature simply type the address and select one of the returned results:

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Setting up a Multi-Country Business Network Solution

The need of going global in business has been increased in the last decade exponentially. Using CRM.COM you can expand your network over multiple countries while controlling all from a single access point. In the following section we will explain some of the main features that can be set up in the system to serve and manage customers from around the world.

Enable multi-country business network 

If your business network expands over multiple countries the first thing you need to do is to state it in the settings by enabling the option Enable multi-country business network

Configuring countries

Use the countries module to configure which countries will be available for selection in the system.  The default country set under System Settings is the one applied to new contacts and users.

For each registered country provide the Telephone numbers settings which will be registered in the system for customers residing in that country. Additionally for each country you can define the language and the Time zone.

SMS notification settings can also be specified for each country defined under the Notification Settings tab, by using the Allowed days for SMS notifications checklist and the Allowed Hours for SMS Notifications.

Supported countries

Once countries are configured you can select which of those countries will be available for selection by the users wherever required in the Supported Countries. If you wish to make all countries available then you can skip this setting

Configuring currencies

Another major requirement when setting up a multi-country business is the multiple currencies. Use the Currencies module to configure supported currencies.

The default currency set under System Settings is used to express prices and rates for plans, usage service catalogs, reward offers and additive discounts. While customer and organizational accounts receivable are allowed to have one of the supported currencies, system accounts receivable always have the system's currency.

Unless specified otherwise when the account is created, the default currency is used. A currency must have an 'Effective' life cycle state and an exchange rate to be used on an account.  The life cycle state of a currency is 'Not Effective' by default and can be toggled through the actions Set As Effective and Set As Not Effective in the Currencies page.  

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Setting up a multilingual environment

CRM.COM is an english based application , however this doesn't mean that it is only restricted for english speaking users. Glossary utility allows you to translate all labels, instructions, tips, warnings, error messages, search modals, and dashboards to any language you wish.

Once the language translations are set in the system you have can select for each user individually the language with which he will be viewing/using the system or you can set a language different than english as the default system language.

Throughout the system there are two types of languages

• System Language: The language used for all labels, tips, warnings and error messages across CRM.COM, including the values of select boxes, radio buttons and other elements that consist of fixed values. 
•  Native Language:  The language used for additional information displayed when the mouse is placed over labels.

Translating the system

The Glossary Utility is comprised of a number of actions that can be used for the creation and maintenance of translated terms. 

Download the XLIFF Template that includes all CRM.COM terms (in English). Translate the terms using an external Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tool such as MateCat. Once the terms are translated, import them in CRM.COM by using the Adding Language Translation action.  A glossary that has already been translated and uploaded can be kept up to date through the Export and Import Glossary Translation actions.  It is also possible to Delete Language Translations that are no longer necessary.

1. Download XLIFF template This action is used to download an XLIFF template to be translated.  The English source values are automatically populated in the downloaded file. If 'Download Template Translated in English' is selected, then target values are also populated with English terms. If 'Download Template with No Translation' is selected, then the target values in the file are left empty.
   

   Using CAT tools to translate the Glossary Terms

   We recommend using the MateCat Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tool, directly available through the Chrome or Safari browser.

   Translated terms must be uploaded back into CRM.COM.  Refer to Adding Language Translation.

2. Add Language Translation: The action is used to add a new language, by selecting it and an XLIFF file that contains the translation. Once a new language is added, it becomes available the next time the user logs in.

3. Export Glossary Translation: The action is used to export translated glossary terms in the XLIFF format, in order to make corrections and additions. The three available export options (types) are
   1. All Terms (translated or not)
   2. Non-Translated Terms

   3. Translated Terms

      Using CAT tools to translate the Glossary Terms

      We recommend using the MateCat Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tool, directly available through the Chrome or Safari browser.

4. Import Glossary Translation: The action is used to import translated glossary terms in the XLIFF format, in order to make corrections or amendments by adding or removing terms. The two available types are:

   1. Replace Existing Translation (to remove all current and add new translated terms)

   2. Amend Existing Translation (to add new or correct existing terms) 

5. Delete Language Translation: The action is used to delete a translated language.

Setting a language as the default system language

Once you translated all CRM.COM terms you can then set the language you would like to set as default system and native languages in the Language Preferences page.

Additionally, select all the supported languages which will be made available on setting system and native languages to users or when selecting a contact;s information preferred language of communication.

Applying translated languages to users

Once the system is translated and the system supported languages are set, you can then define for each user both the System Language and the Native Language with which they will be using the system.

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Customizing CRM.COM

Depending on the place of the world your business is residing different date hour and numbering is used. You can set the system to use settings which are relevant to your country of residence. Numbering schemes on the other hand will allow you to determine the way that records in the system will be captured. For example, whether subscriptions will be numeric or alphanumeric whether they will have a prefix etc.

Setting up system formatting

Formatting settings define restrictions in data entry, such as:

• Date and time format
  
• Use of number separators
• The format of 'personal' and 'company' contact information, addresses, phones numbers, demographics as well as product code

In the formatting settings of contact information you can provide 2 types of formatting for each of the fields:

• Simple Formatting: Sets restrictions on the minimum and maximum number of characters.
• Advanced Formatting: Uses a regular expression to validate the field. The regular expression specifies the pattern that the value must follow to be accepted by the system.

Additionally for phones and addresses it is possible to create a different formatting rule which will be applied per type

Address Formatting settings provide you the option to select between CRM.COM address format or an international format. See the difference between CRM.COM and international address format fields in the table below:

Product Formatting Settings allow you to provide a format which will be applicable on the Product Code. Product Code can be used to represent the product's SKU so it's up to the company's business rules whether the product code should be formatted in a specific way.

Setting up numbering schemes

CRM.COM uses an automatic numbering scheme to identify various entities (e.g., invoices).  The configuration of the scheme determines the format of the sequence codes by specifying their prefix and number of digits. Information of the Latest Used Number in the sequence is available.

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Other Settings

Order-taking limitation based on customer location

Ensuring compatibility across releases

Compatibility settings ensure that features remain compatible across releases. You can enable or disable the following two features

• Legacy subscription actions : The following legacy subscription actions are replaced by 'Amend Services and Installed Items' subscription actions: 
  • Add Service
  • Remove Service
  • Add Installed Item
  • Remove Installed Item
  • Change Subscription Distributions
• Legacy WEB API Log Information: The following WEB API information included in the response of a WEB API will be made available if enabled.

  • created_by_unit (object as reference)

    • group_name

    • community_name

  • updated_by_unit (object as reference)

    • group_name

    • community_name

  • updated_by_user (object as reference)

    • person_name

    • email

  • created_by_user (object as reference)

    • person_name

    • email

Upload and reuse of attachments

Attachments are the files or URLs that can be attached on specific entities (e.g., a contract on a subscription) or to a central library (e.g., a policy agreement template that can be accessed and downloaded by all users)

Attachment classification group attachments of a similar business function. Classifications can be configured in the system and provided with every attachment. 

Users can upload attachments such as files or URLs to the Attachments Library. Attachments are organization (not customer) specific and can be used by third-party systems that integrate with CRM.COM, such as a mobile app or web portals.

Note that attachments uploaded to CRM.COM are subject to restrictions which are set in the System Restrictions found at Foundation / Platform / Manage Admin Settings / Set up General Settings / System Settings.

More precisely you can set Upload Max File Size (KB) and the Allowed File Types (which can be uploaded to the system).

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Setting up metadata attributes

Metadata is a set of data that describes and gives information about other data. Metadata attributes cover the need to provide extra information on various CRM.COM entities which are not covered by the system already. For example you can use metadata attributes on a product to provide additional characteristics which is only relevant to the specific product. For example for a shirt, provide colour, size, and sleeve length.

Multiple metadata attributes can exist in the system and they can be used by multiple different entities.

Each Metadata attribute can have :

• The key that will identify the metadata attribute and it must be unique
• The label that will be displayed on screen
• Data Type: Integer, Float, String, Boolean, Date
• A value set: The set of values that will be available when the attribute is used on an entity
• The default value that should be set when the attribute is used on an entity.

In order to provide a metadata attribute on an entity, it will first need to be defined as allowed through its entity's type. So taking products as an example, once you create a metadata attribute you then include the product in the allowed metadata attributes of the product type where you can define whether the attribute is mandatory or not. On creating a product of that product type the user will be prompted to provide information on that attribute. For example, colour yellow

Setting up usage zones

A usage zone can be used to categorize items with common characteristics identified based on metadata attributes and used in various modules as conditions.

For example, you can use a usage zone to classify UDRs of certain characteristics and then differentiate pricing of UDRs that belong to a this usage zone or provide an additive discount if a UDR being billed belongs to specific zone.

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Setting up reusable holidays, recurring day/time periods

Date/Time models are used to define periods in time which cover different time range over one or multiple days which can be used in various parts of CRM.COM. For example, Price Plan tiered rates of usage services where different rates can be provided for peak and non-peak hours based on the time of usage.  

They can be used to define:

• specific periods within a day i.e. peak hours, 
• specific periods for specific days. i.e. weekdays peak hours, weekends non-peak hours
• specific days. i.e. holidays

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Partner related settings

Partner accounts settings are general settings associated to partners that you would like to register in the system. Partners of your business are registered in CRM.COM through Groups and Units where a unit belongs to a group. If you have a hierarchy of partners where a partner may have sub partners you have the option to define whether accounts created for them will be per sub partner or one single account of the parent partner.

In this setting you can provide the default setting that will be set on the related Group attribute when creating a new Group

• Applicable values are
  • Partner Group (default)
  • Partner Unit

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Managing Batch Processes

Batch processes are responsible for handling multiple records simultaneously, such as billing or deactivating all unpaid subscriptions, sending notifications to customers. As the execution of batch processes requires server power it is possible to define the number of threads used in batch processes. In case that the thread number is not defined per process you can set a default number which should be according to the hardware that you are using to avoid crushing of processes.

Set the default number at the Foundation / Platform / Manage Admin Settings / Set up General Settings / System Settings in the restrictions section.

Setting up scheduler settings

Scheduler settings determine the rules applied when running batch processes through the scheduler engine.  It includes a list of the application servers that are registered for the specific organization and are 'Enabled' to run scheduled processes through the scheduler engine. All registered servers (which share the same ECENTER) are loaded automatically. Server registrations are created automatically whenever a user logs into the server using the specific credentials.

Through the Scheduler Enabled Application Servers you can 'Enable' or 'Disable' the scheduler for each application server and to define if the scheduler will be started automatically on certain servers. The default server used for each organization must also be defined.

Use the Allowed Scheduler Processes, to define which application server will be responsible for running each process.  

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Batch Process Admin Board

The board offers a collective view of batch processes that have been executed or are in line for execution, including recurring system processes (no need for user intervention) and user-defined processes (configured and triggered by the user). From each user defined process you can configure the logging method which will define whether logs kept will include only errors or both erroneous and successful processing. In the table below you can see a list of all the processes for which you can find information on the board.

Health monitoring utility

System Health Monitoring is a set of utilities that run automatically within CRM.COM in order to detect damaged system processes or to identify processes that were misconfigured or not configured at all in the system, and by doing so to prevent any erroneous and unexpected system behavior. More specifically it can identify batch processes which:

• Although recurring were not scheduled to be executed.
• Stopped executing or cannot be scheduled to be executed because of an error.  For example, the application server's scheduler is 'Not Effective' and logs an error.

Use Email Notifications section to to configured the notifications to be sent to users regarding errors, warnings, and updates by email.

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Real Time Business Flows