AXIS launches new website

We are proud to announce the launch of our new and improved website at www.axisintegratedsolutions.com. The new site has been redesigned to better meet the needs of our clients, prospects, peers, and others in the Internet community. A clearer structure and simplified navigation make finding information easier than before.

This website provides the gateway to our innovative services and solution offerings. Look out in the coming weeks for further developments to this site!

Let us know what you think

If you have any suggestions for material you would like to see on this site, we would love to hear from you. Please send your comments to manny.buigas@axisintegratedsolutions.com.

Need to purchase a software solution? Making the right investment is all about the approach.

First of all, do not panic. Take this challenge as an opportunity to shine. The secret to your success will depend in your approach and the design of a winning strategy. There are three key areas you need to address when seeking out a new business management solution; they include identifying your internal requirements, the solution and the consultant.

Internal Requirements:

Having a solid roadmap and strategy is the key to successfully finding the solution that is right for you. After implementing hundreds of solutions over the last 15 years, we offer the following recommendations that will deliver you and your organization a win. These recommendations are not all-inclusive, but following them will greatly improve your chances of successfully deploying the right solution and delivering value to your organization.

There are a number of areas to focus on before you even think of a solution. You first need to obtain an understanding of your organization and its business strategies. How is the organization structured? Take the time to talk to everyone from the front desk to the warehouse personnel. Identifying and documenting your operational requirements and transaction flows is the first step in compiling the “game plan”.

Lets be realistic, no single application will provide you with a 100% solution out of the box. Therefore, your requirements should include the “must haves”, the “nice to have” and a “wish list”. Having a well documented needs analysis or list of requirements that is internally prepared will greatly improve your chances for success. The more information you can provide a potential consultant, the better position he/she is in to propose the right solution.

One of our recommendations in this area is that you start backwards. What reports will you need? These include financial statements, management reports, sales analysis reports, invoices, etc. Having a thorough understanding of how the information needs to flow and how it will be used by the various departments in your organization is critical. This will provide you insight on how your chart of accounts need to be designed or if product line comparisons are required. The investment of time in this area will yield a quicker return on investment and save you and the organization valuable time at month end.

The Solution

Once you have identified and finalized your requirements should you should now start your search for a solution. A common mistake in this area is holding on to what is familiar and losing objectivity when analyzing the other solutions. One of the areas easily overlooked is the system you are currently trying to replace. Take the time to document those functions that you are satisfied with and start to identify areas of weaknesses that need to be addressed.

Hint:
The fact that you worked with a software solution in your previous job that seemed to work well will not guarantee success in your current position. Factors that may impact your decision is the type of industry, the level of sophistication required, the volume of transactions, the number of users, how fast is the company growing and future requirements. On the other hand, the fact that you may have worked with a solution you were not satisfied with may have nothing to do with the solution. It may be a result of poor training, unrealistic budgets, employee turnover, bad consultants, etc.

With respect to finding the right vendor, there are a number of key factors to analyze. They include the financial stability of the publisher. How long have they been in business? How many installations and users do they have? How often do they upgrade their products? Do they sell direct or through a reseller channel? If they sell direct, how does support and training work? Do they have local representation? If they use a reseller channel, how many resellers do they have? Request that they recommend a local business partner to contact. Is there a third-party community of development partners that provide innovative products that work with your proposed solutions?

We often get asked what the difference between our solution and our competitor’s product is. The truth is, especially as it relates to financial software, the big secret is (drum roll please):
THEY ALL WORK!
They must all adhere to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The functionality in the operations modules (inventory, order entry, purchase order) and the other end-to-end solutions such as CRM, Warehouse Management and Human Resources will typically determine which one is the best fit.

Difference makers also include software architecture, security, scalability, hardware requirements. This is why it is so important to include different key personnel in the decision-making process. A CFO’s focus on a solution will generally revolve around compliance and price. They are more interested in security and strong audit trails. The IT Manager is clearly focused on the technology, which may not be aligned with a company’s business strategies. Having various people involved in your organization will also help you in championing the solution to the other employees. Please keep in mind that change is painful and you will encounter resistance every step of the way, it is human nature. We don’t like changes, especially the ones that will impact our daily work and how we do things.

The Consultant

At the risk of sounding self-serving, we think this is one of the most important factors that will determine your ultimate success or failure. We have been asked on numerous occasions to replace a good software solution. Even when we advice them to seek out a new consultant that handles that product line, the pain associated with that solution is so great, that they rather start over and purchase a new solution.

So, what are some of the obvious things to look for? We think it starts from the moment you contact them. Were they informative? Were they professional and pleasant? How responsive were they? How did their web page look? How long have they been in business? Can they provide references in your industry? During the initial office visit, were they genuinely interested in your problems? Did they arrive on time? If delayed, did they call to inform you? Did they listen or did they do all the talking? Was the focus on you or on them? Were they focused on your needs or on their solution? Are they easy to talk with? Do you think they are easy to work with? Do they communicate clearly? Are they easy to understand?

Hint:
The best presenters are not always the best implementers. The fact that a business partner claims to sell more than his peers only makes them a better sales person.

Ask for a list of the team members that will be assigned to your engagement. With respect to ongoing support, what do they offer? Ask to contact client references and their vendor. Do they have an established implementation methodology with goals and milestones? Do they have project management tools? Can they support your account remotely? What are their billing rates and how do they compare with their peers?

As you can see, there are many factors that determine the success of your new solution. The lowest price is not always the best solution, but neither is the most expensive one. The more you understand what your organization’s needs are and the more internal resources you are willing to invest, the better the chances for success.

For more information, please contact us at info@axisintegratedsolutions.com.

Is a CRM Philosophy at the Center of Your Business?

The concept of CRM has been around since the beginning of human interaction. Where do you think the phrase, “the customer is always right,” came from? So, why all of the attention now? What is it that makes CRM so important? So much so, that companies invest large amounts of money and time to implement it?

The answer lies in a shift in the 1980s away from true customer service, to what I like to call, our new “Self-Service World.” Today’s popular belief is, “since I can’t get the service I deserve, I will do it myself and pay less.” I was raised in a time when you were not allowed to pump your own gas. It was considered to be too dangerous. I can recall a time when three attendants would service my family’s car while they pumped our gas. They would wash the windows, check the tires and oil, and even check the battery if they knew us well. I remember the attendants would always take the time to speak with us and really tried to get to know my family as people.

Was the attitude and attentiveness of this business designed to create customer loyalty to bring us back to that particular gas station, even in times when you would pay a couple of pennies more for gas at that station? You bet it was! Just yesterday I pumped my own gas, bought some gum and a soda, and went to pay the clerk—only to be made to feel that my transactions were an inconvenience! His only interest was in taking my money as quickly as possible, so as to not interrupt the game he was watching on a TV behind the counter. Sure, the example from my childhood is more costly in the short term, but can you really afford not to provide the best service possible to your customers? When acquiring new customers is seven times more expensive than retaining and reselling to existing customers—no you can’t.

Customer Service

The result of this “Self-Service World” is that fewer companies provide “excellent customer service.” In the past, you gained the understanding of the importance of high level customer service by observing employees at restaurants, gas stations, and retail stores.

Today, most people are comfortable using a computer, and will pick up the technical aspect of your training in an hour, although it may take them weeks to learn how to interact with potential and existing customers. Human interaction training, focused on skills such as consistency, competence, confidence, and kindness, can help your employees successfully deliver desired company results.

For example, by requiring that employees consistently answer the phone with the same greeting throughout the company, you, as a business, provide your customers with the confidence and knowledge that they will receive the same level of customer service each time they contact you. The same result is achieved by providing your employees with a central respository of information—including customer communications—to access for answers to their questions. When industries compete at any level, the difference maker is always customer service. Consistency, competence, confidence, and kindness are reasons why customers will remain “your” customers.

How Does CRM Help Me Achieve My Customer Service Goals?

CRM software provides the technology to ensure that all your resources are centralized and accessible. CRM software opens interdepartmental communications by combining the resources of your customer-facing departments—Marketing, Sales, A/R, Customer Care and Support—whatever they may be. By having this information available at their fingertips, employees are empowered to step out of their realm, if need be, to help customers.

CRM allows support and service departments, for example, to intertwine communications with the same customers on a daily basis by providing them access to the interaction between all employees and customers so that issues can be resolved immediately. Let’s not forget the line of communication between your inside and outside sales groups.

The interaction information maintained in the CRM system keeps everyone in the loop so prospects and customers alike feel that the entire enterprise has been made aware of their issue, not just the person they spoke with on the phone. A CRM solution partnered with human interaction training is a recipe for success!

CRM Simplified: You Can’t Automate Human Interaction

CRM has taken its hold in the business application world, and Sage Software understands that it is not the software alone that makes the CRM initiative successful. Many companies sell customer service automation, such as auto e-mail response and “personalized” marketing campaigns, but they may not understand the CRM culture.

For example, my father recently purchased a fifth-wheel trailer camper. One night, while watching a TV advertisement for "how to" videos for his type of camper, he decided to call and order the videos. The customer service representative he spoke with was friendly, polite, and helpful, and even thanked him for his order—the standard behavior expected of an inside sales representative. When my father received his order in the mail, he noticed a message hand-written at the bottom of the invoice. It read, "Thanks for your order Jerry. I hope you have a great time with your new fifth wheel. It was nice talking to you. —Maureen."

Receiving a personalized response from a company goes a long way to create value in your customer relationship, and will help to ensure they become a repeat customer. If your company understands that a “10 second gesture” is what CRM is about, then your company is ready to embark on a CRM software solution to help enhance the “CRM culture” you practice.

Has your organization taken the time to start your CRM initiative? Maybe it is time…

Bill Hoffman
Director of Hosted Services & Partner Development
Sage CRM Solutions

The SMB Advantage in CRM

Let’s first define the difference between SMBs and large enterprises. According to the U.S. census, about 80% of Americans are employed with companies that have less than 500 employees. The small and medium-sized business is normally defined as one employing approximately 500 employees or less. Business studies have been done on both SMBs and large enterprises in an attempt to better understand the characteristics of each. Below you will find a table comparing these research findings, keeping in mind that there are always exceptions to the rule:

Now let’s look at the most common barriers that have kept large enterprises from being successful at CRM technology implementation

No CRM strategy

Although large enterprises tend to be more strategically-oriented, research shows that when it comes to CRM, very few have a clear vision of what they want to be for their customers. SMBs tend to be more short-term focused but they normally provide more individualized customer attention because their survival depends on it. When implementing CRM, SMBs should take the time to develop a CRM vision for their business, therefore creating a clear direction for CRM activities. The advantage these SMBs have is that they know their customers well, something harder to master in larger enterprises.

Lack of direction and management commitment

All strategic initiatives require a clear roadmap and strong leadership. Management must be involved and ‘walk the talk’ of CRM. Companies that fail to identify clear CRM goals and ownership tend to spend more time than estimated on CRM initiatives. Projects take longer and employees become frustrated. This affects ROI and employee buy-in. The hierarchical nature of a large enterprise can also slow down the process of deciding which CRM goals to address, which can come with corporate politics -- power and territory struggles and personal agendas. In SMBs, CRM initiatives are normally driven by the managing principal given that the leadership is generally limited to a few.

Poor integration of people, processes and technology

CRM success is all about integrating people, processes, and technology to maximize customer value. Integration requires coordination of activities, collaboration and teamwork among departments. Customers don’t care what department is responsible for handling an inquiry – they just want it resolved. Because of their size, large enterprises are more complex and tend to take longer to achieve this integration. On the other hand, SMBs are accustomed to coordinating their activities due to their limited resources and flatter organizational structure. The key is to involve users in the analysis and implementation processes.

Poor data quality

Everyone has heard the phrase ‘garbage in, garbage out’. The CRM process involves continuously learning about your customers. The data obtained from each customer interaction must be electronically stored so sharing can occur with others. But it’s not only capturing the right data – it’s also updating the data and ensuring their accuracy. This becomes a challenge when 1) the number of customers is high, 2) the distribution channels are numerous and 3) many employees access the same records. These factors correlate with the size of an organization, therefore making this data quality process more manageable for a smaller organization.

No single customer view

Having a single or 360o view of the customer is one of the goals of CRM. The idea is to be able to view the customer from any area of the company, and pick up where the customer last left off. This, of course, is greatly facilitated through the use of technology. Large enterprises have done a decent job of integrating different systems to create a central data repository due to the dedicated IT resources and infrastructure. But the processes in a large company must be redefined so that departments can break down the departmental walls and concentrate on what’s best for the customer.

A 360o view of the customer is somewhat inherent to a smaller company due to limited resources. Each employee takes on more functions, therefore customer knowledge is less dispersed and more contained within a specific area or employee. A central data warehouse can also be achieved for a smaller organization even though the IT resources may be limited. There are many CRM hosting technology solutions on the market that can enable these SMBs to achieve the same level of integration when IT resources are slim to none.

Technology based on old processes

Many large organizations make the mistake of introducing CRM technology before business process and job activities have been redesigned to increase customer value. Whether large or small, this is critical when implementing a CRM strategy. Companies must ask themselves HOW they can maximize the value of their activities, in the eyes of the customer. New customer processes are part of the blueprint. How can you build a new home using the latest technology if you don’t know what the house is expected to look like? How will you know what technology to use if you don’t know the materials that will be used to build the new home? This analogy holds true for CRM! Process blueprints first, then technology.

For SMBs embarking on CRM, this may be a challenge due to a lack of documented current procedures. In fact, SMBs can take advantage of this situation to formalize and design their future CRM blueprints, while taking into account the impact of the changes on people (both employees and customers).

Poor employee acceptance

Lack of employee buy-in can be correlated with many of the other barriers discussed earlier. The larger the company, the more complex it is to introduce change. Change must be managed. Having a clear CRM mission, vision, core values and desired behaviors, along with process blueprints, helps management communicate with the employees. People resist what they are unfamiliar with so the key here is ongoing communications, communications and more communications using different media.

No accountability or customer-focused performance measures

A CRM strategy needs clearly defined, measurable objectives. By establishing metrics up-front, companies can gauge their progress towards CRM as well as hold people accountable for this progress. Metrics must also be aligned with performance management. If your company is shifting from new customer acquisition to retention, this must also be reflected in the employee performance evaluations, compensation and incentives. Large enterprises as well as SMBs can fall short of addressing this barrier properly.

Although the greatest challenges for SMBs are not enough resources, technical expertise, and time, they possess characteristics than enable them to be successful at CRM implementation. What is a barrier to CRM success in large enterprises can be an enabler for SMBs.

Dr. Nancy Rauseo is on the faculty of Florida International University’s College of Business Administration where she teaches marketing. Nancy holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and an M.B.A and Ph.D. from Nova Southeastern University. She is also IBM-certified as an e-Business Solutions Advisor. Prior to her consulting and teaching career, she held various senior management positions for over 20 years in the areas of sales, marketing and technology implementation.

Dr. Rauseo is also Instructor for FIU’s Professional Certification Program in CRM. For a schedule of upcoming programs, visit: http://business.fiu.edu/epe/crm.cfm

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY REPORTING – DOES IT APPLY TO MY COMPANY?

1) All employers with 100 or more employees; or

2) All federal government contractors and first-tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees and a contract amounting to $50,000 or more.

If you have to file, how hard is it for you to prepare this report every year? Wouldn’t it be great to just print the report when it’s due? To already have all the information in one place? HR Series is the answer.

The EEO-1 Survey is due by September 30 of each year, and is based on any one payroll during the third quarter. Employers are required to report employment data by race/ethnicity, gender and job categories. Most payroll systems don’t keep all this information unless optional fields are used. This makes for an interesting challenge to extract the information based on active employees for a specific pay period.

Is this the scenario in your office – The HR Director realizes it’s September 15th and the EEO-1 Survey hasn’t been completed. He/she has the payroll clerk provide a list of employees paid in the last pay period in Excel. The HR Director pulls out the booklet to determine the different categories of race and job classification and enters his/her best guess or has to go through employee files to gather the information. Then there’s the sorting and totaling and finally filling out the form.

Instead of that hassle, HR Series has a specific area designed to capture all the required information, and the EEO-1 Survey comes with the software. That way, for each new hire, the correct ethnicity and job classification are assigned to the employee record, and the information is kept as long as you have the software. That way, in case of discrimination lawsuits, all the information for all the employees is available, instead of just the yearly report based on one pay period.

As you can see with this screen shot, Veteran’s information is kept as well. This functionality is just one more reason to use HR Series Software to manage your employee’s information. For a demonstration of HR Series, please contact your business partner.

For more details about EEO reporting and on-line filing, check out the EEOC web site: http://www.eeoc.gov/.

What’s New with Sage ACCPAC WMS

How will this impact your business? What hardware will be supported? Will the new version work with Microsoft SQL Server 2005? What new features are available? Should your existing WMS software be upgraded now? Is now the time to implement an integrated WMS solution? These are questions we can answer with you as we plan the move to the new WMS version.

Here’s a short list of bullet points related to the new release.

• Integrated shipping with UPS or multi-carrier shipping (note that this requires the EOL & Shipping module)
• More and modified reports for the web dispatch user.
• New allocation rule capability to avoid emptying a bin and requiring replenishment
• Enhanced web interface
• Cycle Count can now be done by Product!!!
• Third party software is available for the truck routing process.
• Clone picking for major retailer-type order to scan a “master” order
• Seamless integration with UPS WorldShip
• Multi-Zone expanded beyond 26 zones (single character zone label)
• SWOG – ship with other goods – groups shipments to the same customer, accumulating SWOG orders which are grouped and released based on flag
• hat says “I’m not a SWOG order”
• Can create an optional field in SA-ERP to pass this flag
• Staging allows placement of picked orders prior to shipping.
• Handheld shipping menu now has “Stage Order”
• Multi-carrier shipping provides multi-carrier integration with VSync’s VShip module.
• Supports reverse kitting in addition to kitting
• Putaway/Slotting
  • Enables directed putaway
  • Creates slotting reports
• Warehouse transfers creates a transfer sales order (for shipping) and transfer purchase order (for receiving)
• Container receiving by inbound manifest
• Vendor Portal used for creation of compliant labels for the VENDOR so client can scan on the way in.
• Cross-Dock uses ASNs to process cartons in & out.
• Demand Management considers the use of materials in kitting process for dependent and independent demand.
• RFID via TraxWare RFID Compliance Package from System Concepts, Inc. with integration with AWMS
• Threads are now Tasks and can be configured and managed within Web Dispatch.
• Logs are now text files and are stored by date in text file, not in database.

The new version is now modular, so you install the components you need, allowing the addition of other functions when and if they become necessary (like support for carousels or conveyors, for example). Contact us at info@axisintegratedsolutions.com and we’ll help with your warehouse!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do you create multiple Purchase Order Invoices from One Receipt.

A: 1) Open Invoice Entry in the Purchase Order module.

2) Enter the Invoice Number, Vendor Number, and Receipt Number

3) Select the detail line that is not on the Invoice which you wish to remove.

4) Hit the delete key on the keyboard and click yes when prompted with the below confirmation box.

5) Once you have only the detail lines which appear on the invoice, change the Invoice Total to the correct amount. Add any additional costs or include any steps in your normal procedure. You can also click on the Total Tabs to verify the amount matches the invoice.

6) Once you verify that the totals match, click the Post button and the invoice is posted.

7) When you get the second invoice, open Invoice Entry and enter the Invoice Number, Vendor Number and the Receipt Number. Notice the detail line previously invoiced no longer shows.

8) Add any additional costs or include any steps in your normal procedure. Click the Totals Tab to verify the Invoice Totals match. Click the Post button the post the Invoice.

Q: How do you print an Accounts Payable Blank Check in PrintBoss.

A: 1) The first step is to open PrintBoss and click on the Utilities menu and then Hand Checks.

2) Click on the Create button.

3) Enter a unique name such as APCKMAN.

4) That unique name will now be highlighted, so click the Editor button.

5) Select your PrintBoss Form, select your PrintBoss Bank, enter a Next Check Number (You should use a different set of check numbers for these checks that you use for your normal Checks), click Preview if you like, and if the check looks correct, click ok.

6) Put a check and the MICR Toner in your physical printer and click the Print button and the check will print.

7) Once the check is written out, it must then be entered into Accpac. If the check was for a vendor currently in Accpac, enter and post an Accounts Payable Invoice. (If the check was made out to a miscellaneous company you do not wish to add as a vendor in Accpac, see step 9) Create a new Accounts Payable Payments batch. Enter a Batch Description, the Vendor Number and uncheck the Print Check box. Once the Print Check box is unchecked you may enter the Check Number you entered previously on the PrintBoss check. Apply the Payment to the Invoice and click the Add button. Click the Close button.

8) Click the Print/Post button for the batch you just created in the Payment Batch List to post the transaction.

9) If you do not want to add this company as a vendor in Accpac, you must enter a Miscellaneous Payment. Create a new Payment Batch. Enter all the correct information for the Miscellaneous Payment and uncheck the Print Check box. Once the Print Check box is unchecked you may enter the Check Number you entered above on the PrintBoss check. Click the Add button and then click the Close button.

10) Click the Print/Post button for the batch you just created in the Payment Batch List to post the transaction.

Q: Is it possible to upload multiple addresses for the same company?

A: You can upload more than one address for a company. There are several important steps that need to be completed in order to successfully complete this procedure. The first step is the upload file needs to have all the addresses in the same row. The next step is to configure upload configuration screens in CRM.

If you are interested, please contact your AXIS Solution Provider or see your CRM administrator for further information.

Q: Can I upload selection type fields such as Territory, Account Manager, Source, etc? Every time I try to Data Upload this type of field, the value is not being imported properly or the imported value disappears after re-saving the information from the application.
Note: Selection type fields are the ones that have a drop-down field with a list of selection that a user can choose from.

A: The proper way to Data Upload selection type fields such as Territory, Account Manager, Source, etc. is to use the actual Code value or ID value that is stored in the database.

If you are interested, please contact your AXIS Solution Provider or see your CRM administrator for further information.

Q: Is it possible for CRM to validate case sensitive entries?

A: This can be done by forcing the first letter of each word to upper case, and all subsequent letters to lower case.

There are two items you need to be aware of before you decide to use this.

1. This works at a screen level, if you have the same name in different screens, you will have to modify each screen where the field occurs.

2. Be careful where you use it. This is all or nothing, if you were to enter AG Farnham for the example above, it would change to Ag Farnham, and you cannot override it.

If you are interested, please contact your AXIS Solution Provider or see your CRM administrator for further information.

Q: Why can’t I view my approved checks when entering manual checks?

A: This can be due to two possible situations:

1) The invoice in question was approved to pay to another checking account other than that used during the manual check process.

2) The option for Priority on the manual check option grid is filtering out the invoice in question.
By default the Priority is “Manual” which will only list invoices with an “M” priority. Changing this Priority option to “All” will show all invoices for that vendor.

Please refer to the screen shot below for details.

Q: Why do I get the message "Approved debits exceed approved invoices" when trying to print checks for a vendor?

A: This message will appear in the following scenarios:

1) Debit memos approved exceed the invoices approved for the same vendor (cannot create a negative computer check). Use the Approve to Pay report to confirm.

2) If alternate remit to addresses are used (APMAST table TOSW field with an "X") it will create a separate check for the invoice and not be included with other invoices using default remit to addresses. This can be a common user error when approving to pay since the user believes they have approved enough invoices to be a positive amount. They may not take into account that separate checks are created in this scenario that both need to be positive.

Q: Why an item saved to a new location does not appear on the Cycle Count Worksheet?

A: The issue is a result of this item having no records in the ICIQTY table for that location. When an item is saved to a location (in an Average Cost company) a record is created for the item in the ICITEM and ICILOC tables. However, nothing is recorded in the ICIQTY table until quantity is received for the item at that particular location. The Cycle Count Worksheets look to the ICIQTY table and print a listing of the Item Number, Description, Location and Stock Unit of Measure for the item. Therefore if there no record exists for that item in ICIQTY, it will not appear on the Cycle Count Worksheets.

This issue can be resolved by creating a record in ICIQTY for this item. This can be done via
two methods:

1. When saving an item to a location, a message appears asking whether to "Enter starting on-hand quantity for item XXXX at Location XXX? Enter an on-hand quantity for the item and save. This will create a record for this item, at this location in ICIQTY.

2. Use the Receive Inventory menu command in Inventory Control to receive inventory to that particular location for the item. This will create a record for the item at that location in ICIQTY and allow it to appear on the Cycle Count Worksheets.

Note: Creating an on-hand quantity for an item will have accounting implications.
Consult an accountant before following any of the recommendations regarding possible issues that may arise

TOOL OF THE MONTH

The complete list of hotkeys that are available are:

General

• Alt + A: Creates a new appointment within the Calendar / Tasks or Communications tab.
• Alt + T: Creates a new task within the Calendar / Tasks or Communications tab.
• Alt + E: Creates a new E-mail within the Calendar / Tasks or Communications tab.
• Alt + V: Switches between Calendar and List view within the Calendar / Tasks or Communications tab.
• Alt + F: Filters a list according to the criteria you specified.
• Alt + N: Creates a new entity in the current context.
• Alt + C: Lets you exit from some screens.
• Alt + S: Saves records.

Drop Down Lists

Drop-down lists provide predefined lists of selections. They help increase the accuracy of data entry and make filtering and reporting on data much easier. Drop-down lists can be accessed by selecting the drop-down arrow with the mouse, or ALT +! on the keyboard.

Checkboxes

Checkboxes can be toggled on or off by clicking in the checkbox. An example of a checkbox is the Private field of a communication (task or appointment). You can also toggle the checkbox using the Spacebar on the keyboard.