New CRM Resource - Microsoft Dynamics CRM Wiki

I was very excited to catch today on Twitter that the CRM MVP's are getting together to form a CRM Wiki in the Microsoft TechNet Wiki resource.

You can find the link here:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/microsoft-dynamics-crm-overview.aspx

And a great blog post from Leon Tribe (an excellent CRM resource) on what exactly CRM and xRM are:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/what-is-microsoft-dynamics-crm.aspx

New DarwiNet Add On - Web Based Time Clock

To step away from the Microsoft CRM world for a bit, we are excited to announce the release of our brand new DarwiNet Web Based Time Clock.  This functionality allows for an employee to log in form their computer or a even a touchscreen kiosk.

The Time Clock Punch Screen can now be set as the employee home page - logging in is simply done by signing in from their PC:

Or by logging in with a 4 digit code on a Kiosk Touchscreen:

Either log in method consolidates all information for the Client Manager to review and approve in one DarwiNet screen.  This allows a single Client to have a mixture of employees either log in through the web on a computer, or through a physical timeclock.

IP address security is inherent in the system, ensuring employees can only log in from approved locations.

Managers now have the ability to see Employee Time and Attendance Records in DarwiNet in both online and report formats - either historically or per pay period:

Online Time and Attendance Record

Report Per Pay Period



Individual Client Managers can edit Time Clock rules, Work Schedules, Shift Rules, and Calendars for items such as user defined holidays, company outings, etc.

The results integrate with the existing payroll and timesheet process ensuring a quick learning curve for all new users.

Dashboards in CRM 2011

Brief post today, but wanted to generate some buzz around CRM2011 Dashboarding.

Dashboards are now available out of the box, and the data to drive them can be built by end users - very exciting for all levels of staff to see key data immediately.  And as you can see from the screenshot below, Activities are listed directly below the dashboards.

Dashboards can be tailored easily by user or user role, and with a click, a drill down is available to the underlying data.  I'll set up some custom examples after we get our customization conversion completed.

CRM 2011 - Customization Part 1

CRM 3.0 and 4.0 brought extensive and powerful customization features to the table for Dynamics CRM users. CRM 2011 has brought this to whole new level in many respects, and I'll present an overview of these across a few blog posts.

This entry will focus on the improved usability of existing features - simply, you can do the same customizations in a fraction of the time because of the vastly upgraded User Interface.

One of the major changes is the fact the Customize functionality is now available from a tab directly on the individual entities - no more maneuvering to the Customization area under settings and having to scroll through all the entities to find the one you want to customize.

From here, you can choose the Customize Entity button, which will take you directly to the appropriate entity with a tree view of the Forms, Views, Fields (renamed from Attributes in 4.0), Relationships, and an exciting new features that will be discussed in the future, Charts.

The other option is to choose the Form button, which will take you directly to the Main Form screen for customization - the area where most of the Customizations are focused.  This new Customization tool allows for the direct addition of new Fields/Attributes from the New Field button, along with a Drag and Drop ability using the mouse to change Field positions.

The Field Explorer Window on the right hand side allows for the addition of fields with a Drag and Drop methodology, as opposed to the sometimes cumbersome check box, then moving of fields across tabs and sections in 4.0. 

These simple, but exciting changes will allow for the same Customizations in 4.0 to be done exponentially quicker in CRM 2011.

CRM 2011 - Auditing

Microsoft has just released Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 - we are in the process of evaluating the upgrade path for our clients.

In the meantime, there are many very cool new features in CRM 2011 that have us excited at ThinkWare.  These include interactive Dialogues/Workflows, Improved Document Management, Field Level Security, Simplified Interface, Easier Customization, Improved Email Capabilities, Dashboards, Charts - and the one I'll discuss briefly here, Auditing.

Auditing allows for Field Level tracking of all changes in CRM.  For ThinkWare Clients, this will include changes done in CRM, or changes that have come over from the Darwin integration to CRM.

You simply choose an entity and enabling the Auditing feature with a checkbox - by default, all fields in the entity are enabled for Auditing at that point - including Custom Fields.  Field by Field you can change this setting:

Then from the Entity itself, you can see all changes (including Date/Time Stamp, User, Old Value and New Value) - either for the entire entity, or you can filter on individual fields.