Introduction: Hello, everyone! I’m Tony Holowitz, and in this tutorial, I’ll demonstrate how to efficiently find and lookup contacts in Act software. Act provides various lookup options that allow you to quickly access specific contact information in your database. Let’s dive in and explore the easy steps to perform lookups in Act.

1. Initiating a Lookup:

   • To begin a lookup, navigate to the “Lookup” option on the menu bar in Act.
   • Upon clicking “Lookup,” a window with various lookup options will appear.

2. Lookup by First Name:

   • For example, if you want to find all contacts with the first name “John,” click on “First Name” from the lookup options.
   • Simply type in the first few letters of “John” (e.g., “Joh”) and click “OK.”
   • Act will display a list view of all contacts whose first name matches the provided criteria.

3. Universal Search Box:

   • Alternatively, you can use the universal search box at the top to perform more comprehensive searches.
   • However, be cautious as broader search criteria may yield more results than desired.

4. Using Other Fields for Lookups:

   • If you need to search based on other criteria (e.g., referred by), right-click on the respective field (e.g., “Referred By”) and choose “Lookup Referred By.”
   • Act will initiate a lookup based on the field you selected, saving time and effort.

5. Advanced Lookup Options:

   • Act allows for advanced lookup capabilities, enabling you to combine multiple lookups or narrow down the results.
   • For instance, after performing a lookup for “John,” you can further refine it by adding “Jill” to the search.
   • You can also use additional fields (e.g., city, state) to narrow or expand your lookup as needed.

6. Using Groups for Complex Lookups:

   • For frequently-used complex lookups, consider saving them as “Groups” in Act.
   • Groups allow you to save specific lookup criteria for quick and easy access in the future.
   • For example, create a group for clients in Nebraska who are assigned to a particular salesperson and have not ordered in the last 12 months.

Conclusion: Efficiently finding and looking up contacts is vital in managing your Act database. By utilizing the various lookup options and mastering the universal search box, you can quickly access the contacts you need. Additionally, groups offer a convenient way to save complex lookup criteria for future use.

If you have any questions or need further assistance with Act, feel free to reach out to me. As an Act certified consultant, I’m here to support and guide you on your Act journey.