documentation/content/applications/sales/crm/optimize/utilize_activities.md

Utilize activities for sales teams

Activities are follow-up tasks tied to a record in an Odoo database. Activities can be scheduled on any page of the database that contains a chatter thread, Kanban view, list view, or activities view of an application.

:::{figure} utilize_activities/activities-view.png :align: center :alt: The summary view of activities for leads and opportunities in an Odoo database.

Planned Activities for Leads and Opportunities. :::

Activity types

A set of preconfigured activity types is available in the CRM app. To view the list of available activity types, navigate to the {menuselection}CRM app --> Configuration --> Activity Types.

:::{note} Additional activity types are available within the database, and can be utilized through different applications. To access the complete list of activity types, go to the {menuselection}Settings app, then scroll to the {guilabel}Discuss section, and click {guilabel}Activity Types. :::

The preconfigured activity types for the CRM app are as follows:

• {guilabel}Email: adds a reminder to the chatter that prompts the salesperson to send an email.
• {guilabel}Call: opens a calendar link where the salesperson can schedule time to call the contact.
• {guilabel}Meeting: opens a calendar link where the salesperson can schedule time to have a meeting with the contact.
• {guilabel}To Do: adds a general reminder task to the chatter.
• {guilabel}Upload Document: adds a link on the activity where an external document can be uploaded. Note that the Documents app is not required to utilize this activity type.

:::{note} If other applications are installed, such as Sales or Accounting, other activity types are made available in the CRM app. :::

(crm-create-new-activity-type)=

Create a new activity type

To create a new activity type, click {guilabel}New at the top-left of the page to open a blank form.

At the top of the form, start by choosing a {guilabel}Name for the new activity type.

Activity settings

Action

The Action field specifies the intent of the activity. Some actions trigger specific behaviors after an activity is scheduled.

• If {guilabel}Upload Document is selected, a link to upload a document is added directly to the planned activity in the chatter.
• If either {guilabel}Phonecall or {guilabel}Meeting are selected, users have the option to open their calendar to schedule a time for this activity.
• If {guilabel}Request Signature is selected, a link is added to the planned activity in the chatter that opens a signature request pop-up window.

:align: center
:alt: The Activity settings on a new activity type with emphasis on the Action field.

:::{note} The actions available to select on an activity type vary, depending on the applications currently installed in the database. :::

Default user

To automatically assign this activity to a specific user when this activity type is scheduled, choose a name from the {guilabel}Default User drop-down menu. If this field is left blank, the activity is assigned to the user who creates the activity.

Default summary

To include notes whenever this activity type is created, enter them into the {guilabel}Default Summary field.

:::{note} The information in the {guilabel}Default User and {guilabel}Default Summary fields are included when an activity is created. However, they can be altered before the activity is scheduled or saved. :::

Next activity

To automatically suggest, or trigger, a new activity after an activity has been marked complete, the {guilabel}Chaining Type must be set.

Suggest next activity

In the {guilabel}Chaining Type field, select {guilabel}Suggest Next Activity. Upon doing so, the field underneath changes to: {guilabel}Suggest. Click the {guilabel}Suggest field drop-down menu to select any activities to recommend as follow-up tasks to this activity type.

:align: center
:alt: The Next Activity section on a new activity type form.

In the {guilabel}Schedule field, choose a default deadline for these activities. To do so, configure a desired number of {guilabel}Days, {guilabel}Weeks, or {guilabel}Months. Then, decide if it should occur {guilabel}after completion date or {guilabel}after previous activity deadline.

This {guilabel}Schedule field information can be altered before the activity is scheduled.

When all configurations are complete, click {guilabel}Save.

:::{note} If an activity has the {guilabel}Chaining Type set to {guilabel}Suggest Next Activity, and has activities listed in the {guilabel}Suggest field, users are presented with recommendations for activities as next steps.

:align: center
:alt: A schedule activity pop-up with emphasis on the recommended activities.

:::

Trigger next activity

Setting the {guilabel}Chaining Type to {guilabel}Trigger Next Activity immediately launches the next activity once the previous one is completed.

If {guilabel}Trigger Next Activity is selected in the {guilabel}Chaining Type field, the field beneath changes to: {guilabel}Trigger. From the {guilabel}Trigger field drop-down menu, select the activity that should be launched once this activity is completed.

In the {guilabel}Schedule field, choose a default deadline for these activities. To do so, configure a desired number of {guilabel}Days, {guilabel}Weeks, or {guilabel}Months. Then, decide if it should occur {guilabel}after completion date or {guilabel}after previous activity deadline.

This {guilabel}Schedule field information can be altered before the activity is scheduled.

When all configurations are complete, click {guilabel}Save.

:::{note} When an activity has the {guilabel}Chaining Type set to {guilabel}Trigger Next Activity, marking the activity as Done immediately launches the next activity listed in the {guilabel}Trigger field. :::

Activity tracking

To keep the pipeline up to date with the most accurate view of the status of activities, as soon as a lead is interacted with, the associated activity should be marked as Done. This ensures the next activity can be scheduled as needed. It also prevents the pipeline from becoming cluttered with past due activities.

The pipeline is most effective when it is kept up-to-date and accurate to the interactions it is tracking.

(crm-activity-plans)=

Activity plans

Activity plans are preconfigured sequences of activities. When an activity plan is launched, every activity in the sequence is scheduled automatically.

To create a new plan, navigate to {menuselection}CRM app --> Configuration --> Activity Plan. Click {guilabel}New at the top-left of the page to open a blank {guilabel}Lead Plans form.

Enter a name for the new plan in the {guilabel}Plan Name field. On the {guilabel}Activities to Create tab, click {guilabel}Add a line to add a new activity.

Select an {guilabel}Activity Type from the drop-down menu. Click {guilabel}Search More to see a complete list of available activity types, or to create a {ref}new one <crm/create-new-activity-type>.

Next, in the {guilabel}Summary field, enter any details to describe the specifics of the activity, including instructions for the salesperson or information due upon the completion of the activity. The contents of this field are included with the scheduled activity, and can be edited later.

In the {guilabel}Assignment field, select one of the following options:

• {guilabel}Ask at launch: activities are assigned to a user when the plan is scheduled.
• {guilabel}Default user: activities are always assigned to a specific user.

If {guilabel}Default user is selected in the {guilabel}Assignment field, choose a user in the {guilabel}Assigned to field.

:::{tip}

Activity plans can feature activities that are assigned to default users and users assigned at the plan launch.

:align: center
:alt: A Lead Plan form with scheduled activities.

:::

Next, configure the timeline for the activity. Activities can be scheduled to occur either before the plan date or after. Use the {guilabel}Interval and {guilabel}Units fields to set the deadline for this activity. Lastly, in the {guilabel}Trigger field, select whether the activity should occur before or after the plan date.

.. example::
   An activity plan is created to handle high priority leads. Specifically, these leads should be
   contacted quickly, with a meeting scheduled within two days of the initial contact. The plan is
   configured with the following activities:

   - Email two days **before** plan date
   - Meeting zero days **before** plan date
   - Make quote three days **after** plan date
   - Upload document three days **after** plan date
   - Follow-up five days **after** plan date

   This sets the *plan date* as the meeting deadline, which is the objective of the plan. Before
   that date, there is lead time to contact the customer and prepare for the meeting. After that
   date, the salesperson has time to create a quote, upload the document, and follow-up.

Repeat these steps for each activity included in the plan.

Launch an activity plan

To launch an activity plan on a CRM opportunity, navigate to {menuselection}CRM app and click on the Kanban card of an opportunity to open it.

At the top-right of the chatter, click {guilabel}Activities to open the {guilabel}Schedule Activity pop-up window.

In the {guilabel}Plan field, select the desired activity plan to launch. This generates a {guilabel}Plan summary, listing out the activities included in the plan. Select a {guilabel}Plan Date using the calendar popover. This updates the {guilabel}Plan summary with deadlines based on the intervals configured on the {ref}activity plan <crm/activity-plans>.

Select a user in the {guilabel}Assigned To field. This user is assigned to any of the activities on the plan were configured with {guilabel}Ask at launch in the {guilabel}Assignment field.

:align: center
:alt: The schedule activity pop-up window with an Activity plan selected.

Click {guilabel}Schedule.

The details of the plan are added to the chatter, in addition to each of the activities.

:align: center
:alt: The chatter thread of a CRM opportunity with a launched activity plan.

:::{seealso}

• {doc}Activities </applications/essentials/activities> :::