Introduction: Welcome to another insightful tutorial by Tony Holowitz. Today, we’ll dive into the world of Act CRM and explore the concept of linked fields in Act companies. Understanding linked fields is crucial for optimizing your contact management experience and keeping your database organized. Let’s delve into the details!

1. What are Linked Company Fields in Act? Linked fields in Act refer to the fields that are connected between individual contacts and their associated companies. When contacts are part of a specific company, any updates made to linked fields in the company record will automatically reflect in the respective contact records. This seamless linkage streamlines data management and ensures consistency across related contacts.

2. Utilizing Hyperlinked Companies in Act: In Act version 17, companies appear as blue hyperlinks when contacts are linked to them. By clicking on a company hyperlink, you can quickly navigate to the company’s view layout, providing an overview of all associated contacts. This feature helps identify contacts belonging to larger entities effortlessly.

3. The Role of Linked Fields in Data Management: Let’s consider an example where you have contacts associated with the “ABC Company.” If the company changes its name to “ABC Company Inc.,” you can easily update this information for all contacts by modifying the linked company field. This process saves time and ensures data accuracy.

4. Updating Linked Fields in Act Companies: To update linked fields for a company and its associated contacts: a. Access the company’s view layout and make the necessary changes, such as address updates or name changes. b. Click on “Update Linked Contacts for the Current Company” on the toolbar. c. Confirm the update, and Act will automatically apply the changes to all linked contacts associated with that company.

5. Customization and Best Practices: You can customize linked fields to suit your specific data management needs. Not all fields need to be linked; choose the most relevant ones for seamless updates. However, exercise caution when updating linked fields, as changes will be applied across multiple contacts simultaneously.

6. Advantages of Linked Fields: Working with linked fields in Act offers several benefits: a. Data Consistency: Ensures that changes made to company information are consistently reflected in all related contact records. b. Streamlined Updates: Saves time and effort by updating multiple contacts simultaneously with a single action. c. Efficient Communication: Facilitates accurate contact information for targeted communication and marketing efforts.

Conclusion: Mastering linked fields in Act companies is a valuable skill for efficient contact management. By understanding how linked fields work and utilizing them effectively, you can maintain data accuracy, improve organization, and streamline communication with contacts associated with specific companies. As with any data management tasks, always create a backup before making significant changes to your Act database.

Stay tuned for more tutorials by Tony Holowitz to enhance your Act CRM experience. Thank you for joining us today!