Customers and sales

Companies you sell to, the people there, the deals in hand and each call or meeting.

Download 6 KB4 tables, 1 queries, 1 reports, empty and ready for your own records.

Overview

Customers and sales is a simple customer list and sales tracker for a business that sells to other businesses: a consultant, a small agency, a supplier to the trade or a sales team of a few people.

It keeps the companies you deal with and the people at each one, the opportunities you are working on with their stage, value and the day you expect them to close, and a log of every call, e-mail or meeting with a person. A query lists the deals still open by close date, and a report shows the pipeline under each company.

People point at the company they work for, and opportunities point at a company too. Activities point at a person, so a call is kept against whoever you spoke to, and through them against their company.

In Rutba Data Files it is on the start screen, under ready-made databases.

It suits, with small changes

A consultant or freelancer winning work from businesses
A small marketing or design agency
A supplier to shops, offices or the trade
A sales team of two to ten people
A training company selling courses to employers
A charity seeking corporate sponsors

Read on

Tutorial: the everyday tasks: 5 everyday tasks, step by step, each naming what to open.
Tables, fields and relationships: every field of 4 tables, and how they are related.
Queries, forms, reports and print templates: what each one shows, its criteria and calculated columns, and when to print it.

Things you should know

Your records live in one file on your computer. Keep copies: File, Save As makes one, and a copy on another drive or in your own cloud storage keeps it safe if this computer is lost. Close the database before copying the file by hand.
Every change to the design (a new field, a renamed table) is a numbered step that Data Files keeps, so you can see what was changed and when.
Company on a person and on an opportunity, and Person on an activity, are lists of names on the form, taken from the other table. Add the company before its people and deals, and the person before their calls. In the table's rows these fields show the record's number instead.
Stage is typed text. Open opportunities leaves out any stage with won or lost in it, in capitals or not, so Closed won drops out too; a stage such as Lost interest would drop out as well. Keep to the same few words each time.
Activities are kept against a person, not a company or a deal. To see every call with a company, open the People form at each of its people: their activities are listed below.
A company that has people or opportunities cannot be deleted while they point at it, and nor can a person with activities.
Keep a copy of the file with File, Save As before you share it with a colleague, so you each know which is the latest.

Starting with your own records

Enter your Companies first, then the People at each, choosing the company from the list. Then add your Opportunities, choosing the company again, and log Activities as you make calls and hold meetings. Start with the deals open now and add closed ones later if you want the history.

Making it yours

Every change to the design is a numbered step in Data Files, so a change can be seen and undone.

Keep stages to a list: add a Stages table and change Stage into a field that points at it, so it cannot be mistyped.
Weight the pipeline: add a Probability field to Opportunities and a query with a calculated column for Value times Probability.
Link calls to deals: add an Opportunity field to Activities that points at Opportunities.
Plan the next step: add a Follow Up date to Activities and a query of follow-ups in the next 7 days.
Record why deals are lost: add a Lost Reason field to Opportunities and a query that counts each reason.

Questions people ask

What stages should I use?: Any that suit how you sell. A common set is Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Won and Lost. Only Won and Lost matter to the query, which leaves them out.
How do I see the total value of open deals?: Make a new report from the query Open opportunities with a total on Value. The report Pipeline by company adds up won and lost deals too, so its totals are larger.
Can I link an activity to a deal?: Not as it comes. Add an Opportunity field to Activities that points at Opportunities, and choose the deal as you log the call.
Can more than one person use it?: It is one file on one computer. To share it, keep it in a shared folder and agree who changes it when, or send a copy with File, Save As.
How do I see everyone at one company?: Open the Companies form at that company: the people and opportunities that point at it are listed below.
Why is Owner not a list of names?: Owner is typed text so the template works for one person as well as a team. Add a Staff table and point Owner at it if you want a list to choose from.

Data Files is free

It comes with Rutba Office, with no account and no trial.

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