ABSS CRM · Calls

Calls

A call is a record of a phone conversation you plan to have, or have had, with a lead or a customer. You schedule it, place it from ABSS CRM, and save its outcome. Every attempt is kept in the call's history.

Who it's for: Sales people who phone leads and customers, and managers who review those calls
Where to find it: Calls
What you need: A plan that includes calling, and permission for Calls in your role

Calls walkthrough

Coming soon

What you can do here

Schedule a call with a date, a time, an assignee, a priority and notes to read before you dial.
Place the call from ABSS CRM. It rings your own phone first, then connects you to the other person.
Type notes while you talk. They are saved for you every few seconds.
Save an outcome when the call ends, with notes and a next follow-up date.
Call straight from a lead, customer, task, visit, quotation or sales order.
See every attempt on a call, with its duration, outcome, notes and recording.
Find calls by number, phone or purpose, and filter by date, assignee, priority and outcome.

A call can be started from any of these records, or scheduled on its own. Saving the outcome of a call linked to a lead logs a Phone Call activity on that lead.

Before you start

Calling needs a little setup before the first call can be placed.

Calling in your plan: Calls shows in the menu, under ENGAGE, only when your plan includes calling.
Calling set up for your company: Calls can be placed once the status in Settings → Calling is Enabled. You can schedule calls before that, but you cannot place them.
Your own phone number: ABSS CRM rings your phone first, so your number must be saved under Phone in Settings → My Profile.
The right permission: Your role decides whether you can view, add, edit or delete calls. Placing a call needs permission to add calls. Saving the outcome and the notes you type during a call needs permission to edit calls. Roles are set in Settings, under Users & Roles.
A phone number to call: A scheduled call needs a 10-digit phone number. A call started from another record uses the phone number saved on that lead or customer.

Understand how a call is placed

Calls are real phone calls made through your company's calling number, with the details saved for you.

A real phone call: ABSS CRM does not only log the call. It rings your own phone first. When you answer, it dials the other person and connects the two of you.
The number the other person sees: Your company's Caller ID, shown in Settings → Calling.
What is saved for you: Each attempt is added to the call's history with its date, whether you and the other person answered, and the duration. When a recording is available, you can play it from the same place.
What you add yourself: The notes you type during the call, and the outcome, notes and next follow-up you save when it ends.

Note: The Schedule a Call page plans a call. It does not mark a call as made. The status and the outcome come only from calls placed or received through ABSS CRM.

Schedule a call

You say who to call, when, and who will make the call. The form is laid out as Who, When, What and Additional Info.

Open the Schedule a Call page
Go to Calls and choose Add. The Call# is filled in for you.
Say who to call
Pick a Customer to fill in the phone number, or type the Phone Number yourself.
Pick who makes the call
Choose a team member under Assign To.
Link the call to a record
Under Link To, pick Lead, Task, Quotation, Visit or Sales Order, then pick the record. This step is optional.
Set the Date and Time
Add an Expected Duration, a Reminder and a Follow-up Date if you want to.
Describe the call
Enter the Purpose, pick the Priority and the Call Type, and add a Tag or Pre-call Notes.
Choose Schedule Call
The call is saved with the status Scheduled and its detail page opens.

Fields on the call form

Call#: Required. Filled in for you. The gear icon, Configure Call Number, lets you change the prefix and the next number, or switch to typing the number yourself. It is locked once the call is saved.
Customer: Optional. Picking a customer fills in the Phone Number from the customer's record.
Phone Number: Required. 10 digits. This is the number that is rung.
Assign To: Required. The team member who will make the call.
Link To: Optional. Lead, Task, Quotation, Visit or Sales Order. A second field then appears for you to pick the record. A call is linked to one record. Picking a quotation or a sales order also fills in its customer.
Date and Time: Required. When the call is due.
Expected Duration: Optional. 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 1 hour. Left empty, it is saved as 30 minutes.
Reminder: Optional. 5 minutes before, 15 minutes before, 30 minutes before, 1 hour before or No reminder. Left empty, it is saved as 15 minutes before. It is shown on the call's Overview tab.
Follow-up Date: Optional. It must be the same day as the Date or later.
Purpose: Optional. A short line on why you are calling.
Priority: Optional. High, Medium or Low. Left empty, it is saved as Medium.
Call Type: Optional. Outbound or Inbound. Left empty, it is saved as Outbound.
Tag: Optional. A word of your own to group calls. It has its own column on the list.
Pre-call Notes: Optional. Anything you want to read just before you dial.
Schedule Call and Cancel: Schedule Call saves the call and opens its detail page. Cancel goes back without saving.

Note: When a customer is picked, the Quotation and Sales Order lists show only that customer's records. Changing the customer clears a quotation or sales order you had already picked.

Make a call

You start the call on screen and talk on your own phone.

Choose the call
On the Calls list, choose Make Call on the row. On the detail page, choose Call.
Confirm
A window titled Start Call shows the number. Choose Call to go ahead, or Cancel to stop.
Answer your phone
Your own phone rings first. When you answer, the other person is rung and you are connected.
Type notes while you talk
A call panel opens in the corner of the screen with the name, the number, a timer and a notes box. Your notes are saved every 5 seconds.
End the call on your phone
The panel has no hang-up button. When the call ends, the panel closes. If the call connected, the Log call outcome window opens.

What the call panel shows

On the panel	What is happening
Connecting…	The call is being set up.
Ringing agent…	Your own phone is ringing. Answer it.
Dialing customer… and Ringing customer…	You have answered and the other person's phone is being rung.
In call	The other person has answered.
Call ended	The call is over. The panel closes by itself.

The timer starts when you answer your phone. If the call is not answered, ABSS CRM shows Missed call and does not ask for an outcome. The attempt is still listed in the call's history.

If the call does not start

Message	What to do
Salesperson phone number is not configured.	Your own phone number is missing. Add it under Phone in Settings → My Profile.
Calling module is not enabled	Calling setup is not finished for your company. An admin can check the status in Settings → Calling.
Calling module is not configured	The Caller ID or the SR Number has not been assigned yet. An admin can check both in Settings → Calling.
Call blocked: this number is on the DND list. Please use another number or contact the customer by email.	The number you are calling is registered as do not disturb, so it cannot be rung.
Customer or lead phone number not found.	The record you called from has no phone number saved.

Record the outcome

When a call that connected ends, the Log call outcome window opens so you can say how it went.

Pick the Outcome
Choose one of the eleven outcomes. You cannot save without one.
Add Notes and a Next follow-up
Both are optional.
Choose Save outcome
The outcome is saved and the call becomes Completed.

Fields in the Log call outcome window

Status and Duration: How the call ended and how long it lasted. Shown for reference.
Outcome: Required. Interested, Not Interested, Callback Later, Meeting Scheduled, Visit Scheduled, Quotation Requested, Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost, Wrong Contact or Invalid Number.
Notes: Optional. What was said or agreed.
Next follow-up: Optional. A date and a time.
Save outcome and Cancel: Save outcome stores what you entered. Cancel closes the window without an outcome.

What saving an outcome does

Where	What changes
The call	Its status becomes Completed and the Outcome column on the list shows the outcome you picked.
Call History	The attempt shows the outcome, your notes and the follow-up date.
Next Follow Up	The date you pick under Next follow-up becomes the call's Next Follow Up.
The linked lead	When the call is linked to a lead, a Phone Call activity is logged on that lead with your notes, and the lead's history records it. Calls linked to other records, or to no record, do not log an activity.

Warning: The outcome can be saved only in this window. If you choose Cancel, the attempt stays in the Call History without an outcome.

Call from a lead, customer or other record

You do not have to schedule a call first. The Call button on other screens rings the person and creates the call for you.

Choose the call icon on a row of the list, or Call on the detail page. You confirm, answer your phone and save the outcome in the same way as on the Calls screen.

Where you call from	Who is rung	The new call
Leads	The lead's phone number.	Linked to the lead.
Customers	The customer's phone number.	Saved with the customer. No linked record.
Task	The phone number of the lead linked to the task.	Linked to the task.
Visit	The phone number of the lead linked to the visit.	Linked to the visit.
Quotations	The phone number of the quotation's customer.	Linked to the quotation.
Sales Orders	The phone number of the sales order's customer.	Linked to the sales order.

Each call started this way is a new call under Calls, with the status Open, the type Outbound and you as the assignee. It is also listed on the Calls tab of the record you called from, which shows when your role lets you view calls. If the call cannot be started, no call is kept.

Note: The Call button is greyed out when the record has no phone number, when your role cannot add calls, or when your plan does not include calling. A task or a visit needs a linked lead to call.

Receive an incoming call

Calls made to your company's calling number are picked up by ABSS CRM too.

When such a call arrives, ABSS CRM shows Incoming call from with the number and opens the call panel, where you can type notes. The call is saved under Calls with the type Inbound and the status Open, assigned to the team member whose phone took the call. It carries the caller's phone number and is not linked to a customer or a record. If the call connected, the Log call outcome window opens when it ends.

Find and view calls

The Calls list shows every call with its latest status and outcome. The detail page shows one call and every attempt made on it.

The Calls list

Total Calls at the top: The number of calls that match your search and filters.
Search: By call ID, phone number, purpose, status or pre-call notes.
Columns: Call ID, Customer, Phone, Call Status, Linked To, Type, Outcome, Tag, Duration, Assigned, Schedule, Total Calls, Last Call, Next Follow Up and Priority. Click a column heading to sort by it. The newest calls are listed first.
Outcome, Duration, Total Calls and Last Call: Outcome is the outcome saved on the latest attempt. Duration is the talk time of all attempts added together. Total Calls is the number of attempts made on that call. Last Call is the date of the latest attempt.
Filters: Date Range, which looks at the scheduled date, Assigned To, Priority and Outcome. The filters in use show as tags above the list, with Clear All.
Lock and Unlock: Lock saves the filters you have applied, so the list opens with them next time. Unlock clears them.
More Actions above the list: Manage Custom Fields lets you choose which columns show. Refresh List reloads the list. Reset Columns Width puts the columns back as they were and clears your filters and lock.
Actions on a row: View Call, Make Call, Edit Call and Delete Call. Clicking a row also opens the call.

The call detail page

Header: The page is titled Call Details and shows the call number and the status. Refresh reloads it.
Overview: Call Information: Call Id, Purpose, Customer, Phone, Assigned To, Linked To, Status, Priority, Schedule, Expected Duration, Reminder, Next Follow Up, Tag, Last Call Status, Total Duration and Pre-call Notes. Last Call Status is how the latest attempt ended, for example Answered, Missed, Busy or No Answer.
Call History: Every attempt made on this call, newest first, with a count. See Read the call history.
Tasks, Visits, Leads, Quotes and Sales Orders: One tab for each kind of record a call can be linked to, each with a count. The linked record shows its number, the date it was created, who created it and its status. Choose it to open the record.
Actions: Call, Edit and Delete, in the side column.

Read the call history

The Call History tab opens with a summary line: the number of calls, how many connected and the total duration. Each attempt is one row.

Date and Type: When the attempt started, and whether it was outgoing or incoming.
Agent: The team member who was on the call.
Agent Status and Customer Status: Connected or Not answered, shown separately for your side and for the other person's side.
Outcome and Follow-up: The outcome and the next follow-up saved when the call ended.
Duration: How long the attempt lasted.
Current notes: The notes typed in the call panel while the call was on.
Note: The notes saved with the outcome.
Recording: A player for the recording, when there is one. Processing... shows while the recording is being prepared, and Failed shows if it could not be saved.

Follow a call's status

You never pick the status yourself. It moves as the call is placed and answered.

A scheduled call moves to Open when it is placed and to Completed when it is answered.

Status	When it is set	What it means
Scheduled	A call saved from the Schedule a Call page starts here.	No attempt has been made yet.
Open	Set when the call is placed. Calls started from another record, and incoming calls, start here.	An attempt is under way, or the latest attempt was not answered.
Completed	Set when a call is answered, and when you save an outcome.	Placing the call again moves it back to Open until that attempt is answered.

Edit a call

You can change everything on a call except its number and its status.

Choose Edit
Use Edit Call on a row of the list, or Edit on the detail page. The page is titled Edit Call.
Make your changes
Move the date or the time, reassign the call, correct the phone number, change the link or update the notes.
Choose Update Call
The call is saved and its detail page opens.

Delete a call

Delete a scheduled call that was created by mistake.

Choose Delete
Use Delete Call on a row of the list, or Delete on the detail page.
Check the details and confirm
A window shows the Customer Name, Phone Number, Purpose, Scheduled At and Status. Choose Delete to remove the call, or Cancel to keep it.

Warning: A call cannot be deleted when it is linked to a lead, task, quotation, visit or sales order, or once it has any call history. ABSS CRM shows: Call cannot be deleted because it is linked with activities or has call logs. Deleting cannot be undone.

Rules to know

The rules behind this screen, in one place.

Topic	Rule
Plan	Calls shows in the menu only when your plan includes calling. The Call button on other screens needs the same.
Setup	Calls can be placed only when Settings → Calling shows Enabled, with a Caller ID and an SR Number. Scheduling does not need this.
Your phone number	You cannot place a call until your own number is saved under Phone in Settings → My Profile.
Required fields	Call#, Phone Number, Assign To, Date and Time. The phone number must be 10 digits.
Call number	Filled in for you from the prefix and next number under Configure Call Number. If you type numbers yourself, each one must be different. The number cannot be changed after saving.
Values filled in for you	A scheduled call saved without them gets Priority Medium, Call Type Outbound, Expected Duration 30 minutes and Reminder 15 minutes before.
Follow-up Date	It cannot be earlier than the scheduled date.
Links	A call can be linked to one lead, task, quotation, visit or sales order. The link is optional.
Status	Scheduled, Open or Completed. It is set for you as calls are placed and answered. There is no status field to change by hand.
Attempts	Calling from the Calls screen adds an attempt to the same call. Calling from a lead, customer, task, visit, quotation or sales order creates a new call each time.
Outcome	Asked for only when the call connected. It can be saved only in the window that opens when the call ends, and one of the eleven outcomes must be picked.
Lead activity	Saving an outcome on a call linked to a lead logs a Phone Call activity on that lead with your notes.
Delete	Not allowed when the call is linked to a record, or once it has any call history.