Introduction
There could be instances where you may need to enter a large number of data for opportunities in Exact Synergy Enterprise. This could be due to the overwhelming response to a sales promotion or a hugely successful marketing campaign. In this case, you need to capture the information of opportunities generated from the accounts that are interested in the products and services that you are promoting.
You can enter a batch of data for opportunities for a set of accounts using the batch creation function in Exact Synergy Enterprise. The batch creation function is enabled only if you have set up the opportunity settings at Customers/Setup/Opportunity management/Settings. If you have not set up the opportunity settings prior to clicking Opportunity, the system will automatically direct you to the settings for opportunities and you will see a message “Mandatory: Opportunity code”. For more information on setting up the batch creation function, see Defining Settings for Opportunities and Auto-generating Opportunity Codes. The batch creation of opportunities are carried out via a background job on a scheduled basis instead of immediately. For more information on the relevant background job, see Exact.Jobs.SysHrMail.
If the length of the next opportunity code to be generated exceeds a maximum of 10 characters, you will see an error message “Maximum number of characters reached. Change settings: Opportunity Code Prefix & Opportunity Code Number”. To solve this error, see Release (Exact Synergy Enterprise): Opportunity Button in the Accounts Search Page.
The procedure for the batch creation process is as follows:
- Determine the accounts for which you want to create the opportunities for. In the accounts search page, specify the search criteria for the accounts that you want to create opportunities for and then click Show. For ease of use, you can view a list of the search results in the results page, export the results to a Microsoft Excel file, or print a copy of the results directly as viewed in the results page.
- Click Opportunity to start entering information for the batch of opportunities you want to create for the accounts. If the number of accounts listed in the accounts search results is more than the maximum number of opportunities allowed per batch creation, you will see the error message “Maximum – Requests = 250. This setting can be modified by a person with the role of Administrator - Corporate” where “250” is the maximum number of opportunities allowed. For more information on the modifying the system settings for the maximum number of opportunities allowed per batch creation, see Release (Exact Synergy Enterprise): Opportunity Button in Accounts Search Page.
- After that, select a method to use for the batch creation. The methods available are Via: Process – Background and Directly. The Directly option will be disabled if the total number of accounts from the search results exceeds the maximum number of opportunities that can be created per batch creation using the method Directly.
- Next, enter the mandatory information for the opportunity cards that will be created, and then click Create opportunity. If there is mandatory information required by the workflow request in the sales cycle, you need to enter the information for the fields in the Mandatory fields for sales cycle request section.
- Finally, click Create opportunity to create the opportunity cards directly or via a background job scheduled by the administrator. Once the batch creation processing of the opportunity cards is complete, there will be an opportunity card linked to each of the selected accounts.
Menu path
To create a batch of opportunity cards for specific accounts, go to Customers/Reports/Accounts/Search, define the relevant criteria, and then click Show. In the results page, click Opportunity.
Roles & rights
All users can use the batch creation function.
For more details on what you can do with function rights or levels, go to System/Setup/Security/Function rights, select the required module, and then click on the relevant ID. To find out the functions you can perform with a particular role, go to System/Setup/Security/Roles, type in the description, click Refresh, and then click the required link under the Role column.
Button
Create opportunity
Click this to create opportunity cards for the selected accounts.
Note: Before you create the opportunity card, fill in the mandatory information for the opportunity cards.
After clicking this, you will see the Mandatory fields for sales cycle request section. The information required in this section are mandatory fields customized in the workflow request that is linked to the opportunity cards, and will be used to create the first workflow request in the sales cycle of the opportunity cards. The sales cycle for the opportunity cards are specified at Sales cycle in the General section. For more information on the relationship between the opportunity card and the sales cycle, see Overview of Sales Cycles.
Now, click Create opportunity again. The system will start to create the opportunity cards based on the information entered. When the batch creation process is complete, an opportunity card will be created for each of the accounts in the list of results. You can view the batch creation report to view the status of the opportunity cards created. This report is useful because it logs the errors that occur during the creation of opportunity cards.
Reset
Click this to clear the defined search criteria.
Close
Click this to exit.
Description
Criteria section
Create
Select the required option to determine the method that will be used to create the batch of opportunities for the selected accounts. The methods available are:
- Via: Process – Background — This option will create the opportunities via a background process that can be set up by the administrator using the task scheduler, whereby at a preset time, the server will execute the task as scheduled. When the job is completed, you will see a message “Your request is sent for processing. 00.000.097” – Status: Report” where “00.000.97” is the job ID. Click the Status: Report link to view the status of the batch creation job. You will see the job ID and the corresponding batch size and status of the batch creation job. You can also access this page by going to Customers/Report/Opportunity management/Batch create – Log. A workflow task is sent to the user (task creator) with an attachment of the batch creation status report in Microsoft Excel format. The report header contains the creation date and the task creator’s name, the start date and end date, and time of the task. In the report details, a list of the accounts is listed under the Account: Code and the Account: Name columns and the corresponding batch creation status and error messages (if any) is listed under the Remarks column.
- Directly — This option will allow you to create opportunities immediately upon clicking Creating opportunity. Based on predefined system settings, the Directly option will be disabled if the total number of accounts from the search results exceeds the maximum number of opportunities that can be created per batch creation. When the creation is completed, a status report will be displayed in the batch creation page. In the status report, a list of the accounts is listed under the Account: Code and the Account: Name columns and the corresponding batch creation status and error messages (if any) is listed under the Remarks column.
General section
Description
Type the description for the batch of opportunities you want to create. This information is mandatory.
Owner
Type or select an owner of the batch of opportunities. The owner is the person who is responsible for the sales process of the opportunities.
Start date
Type or select a start date from which the opportunity is valid. The start date cannot be later than the end date. The start date indicates when the sales cycle activities for the opportunity are planned to start or has started.
End date
Type or select an end date from which the opportunity is no longer valid. The end date cannot be earlier than the start date. The end date indicates when the sales cycle activities for the opportunity are planned to be finalized and a decision can be expected from the customers regarding the business proposal for the opportunity.
Source
Type or select the source for the batch of opportunities.
Security level
Type the security level needed to gain access to the batch of opportunities. This information is mandatory.
Sales cycle
Type or select a sales cycle for the batch of opportunities. An opportunity is always linked to a sales cycle because the sales cycle defines the necessary steps to convert an opportunity into a deal. This information is mandatory
Project
Type or select a project to link the batch of opportunities. Linking the opportunities to a project will enable you to easily trace the opportunities to the relevant source or marketing activity for the opportunities.
Division
Type or select a division for the batch of opportunities. This information is mandatory. Specifying the division for the opportunity card will allow you to present the opportunity information in the reports for a specific division. This will accurately report the revenue forecast from opportunities that are in the sales cycle process and the revenue realized from winning the opportunities. For more information about divisions, see Creating and Modifying Divisions.
Cost center
Type or select a cost center for the batch of opportunities. This information is mandatory. Specifying the cost center for the opportunity card will allow you to present the opportunity information in the reports for a specific division and the respective cost center. This will accurately report the cost allocated to sales activities carried out to win the opportunities. For more information, see Creating and Modifying Cost Centers.
Sales section
Probability (%)
Type a value in percentage to indicate the probability of successfully winning the opportunity.
Planned amount
Type an amount for the planned amount expected to be gained from the opportunity. The currency used by the batch of opportunities is the default currency selected at Currency under the General section in Financial/Setup/General/Settings.
Targeted assortment
Type or select an assortment to indicate the assortment for which the opportunity is targeting.
Remarks section
Remarks
This section allows you to register the additional information related to the batch of opportunities. Click Timestamp to indicate the date and time the information was added. Click Fullscreen to see the remarks in full screen view.
In the accounts search results, you will see a list of accounts that meet the accounts search criteria. By default, all the check boxes for the list of accounts are selected. You can indicate which accounts from the list you want to create an opportunity for. To do this, deselect all the check boxes by clicking on the check box in the column header and then select the check boxes corresponding to the relevant accounts only. Alternatively, you can deselect the accounts you want to exclude from the batch creation processing.
Related document