Introduction

Events are types of activities. An event can be a meeting with a customer, a promotional trade show, or a business seminar.

You can log events in Vtiger CRM, monitor their status, and create reminders for them. To view your events, go to the Main Menu > Essentials > Events. 

 Here is a use case:

As a sales rep, you are holding a demo meeting for a customer. You can create an event record with Activity Type= Meeting and log all meeting details in the record. 

Feature Availability

Important Fields in Events

Events: Different Views

You can view all your events by going to Main Menu > Essentials > Events. You have the options of List View, Kanban View,  and Calendar View for viewing your events. By default, events are displayed in the List View.

List View

The list view, as the name suggests, provides a list of all your events. The events can be sorted by date, name, event number, etc., by clicking the column names. From the List View, you can mark an event as Held, merge events, edit events, etc. Furthermore, you can create your own list of events. 

To learn more about the List View, click here. 
 

Kanban View

The Kanban View displays events as separate cards in columns, sorted based on the event status. You can filter events, hide empty columns, and perform other actions. 

To learn more about the Kanban View, click here. 
 

Calendar View

You can get a clear view of your schedule for the day using the Calendar View. 

It displays events based on time. You can view events performed in the past or scheduled for the future by using the left and right arrows displayed on top.

Creating an Event

You can create an event in the following ways:

• From Events’ List, Kanban, or Calendar Views
• Using Quick Create
• From another record in the CRM

From Events’ List, Kanban, or Calendar View

Follow these steps to create an event from the List, Kanban, or Calendar View: 

1.  Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Events.
5. Go to the List, Kanban, or Calendar View.
6. Click +Add Event.
7. Fill out the necessary data fields.
8. Click Save. 

Using Quick Create

With Quick Create, you can create an event quickly by filling in only the necessary details. You can access this feature from any screen, which saves you a lot of time.

Follow these steps to create an event using Quick Create:

1.  Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the + icon located on the top right side of your screen.
3. Type the module in the search bar to create records using Quick Create. Click Show All to view all the modules you can create records using Quick Create.
4. Select Events.
5. Enter all the mandatory details.
6. Click Save. 

From another record in the CRM

Follow these steps to create an event from a deal, contact, organization, or quote: 

1.  Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Deals, Contacts, Organizations, or Quotes.
4. Select a record. 
5. Click the Events tab on the right side.
6. Click the + icon. 
7. Fill out the necessary data fields.
8. Click Save. 

Activity Types: Onsite Meeting and Onsite Service

Onsite events happen at the client site.
They can be meetings, outlet visits, maintenance services, etc. In the Events module, these events are listed as Onsite Meeting, Onsite Services, and Beat as Activity types. 

Vtiger CRM provides check-in, check-out, and navigate options for these onsite events.

Check-in mode for Onsite Meeting, Onsite Services, and Beat as Activity types

The Check-in mode in the Events module is a field that is updated:

• A sales agent reaches an outlet or organization location and checks in manually. (Onsite Meeting, Onsite Service, Beat)
• A sales agent reaches an outlet or organization location, and the CRM automatically checks them in. (Beat only)

The Check-in mode field is visible:

• In the Events List, View events with the Activity Type as Onsite Meeting, Onsite Services, and Beat.
• In the Summary View of an Event record for a field sales agent.

How Geo-fencing is related to the Check-in mode

For the Check-in mode to work, you need to do the following on the Vtiger 360 Configuration Settings Page:

• Set the Geo-Fence Radius
  • Sales agents will be able to check in automatically within the radius you have set up. For example, assume you have set up the Geo-Fence radius as 1 kilometer for the outlets a sales rep is visiting. They will automatically check in when they come within 1 kilometer of the outlet.  
• Enable or Disable the Allow Check-in Outside Geo-Fence
  • If you have enabled the Allow check in Outside Geo-Fence option, agents will receive a warning message, and they will be able to check in manually. 

Checking in to and checking out of onsite events

When you set Activity Type as Onsite Meeting or Onsite Service, you must specify the location of the event in the Location field. You can check in to an onsite event by using Vtiger 360 - Vtiger CRM’s mobile app.

Follow these steps to check in to an onsite event:

1. Open Vtiger 360.
2. Tap the Calendar icon to go to Events.
3. Select a date to see the events scheduled on that date.
4. Open the event record to check in.
5. Click Check-in. (Make sure that Location is turned on).

Follow these steps to check out of an onsite event:

1. Open Vtiger 360.
2. Tap the Calendar icon to go to Events.
3. Select a date and select an event scheduled on that date.
4. Open the event record to check out.
5. Click Check-out.
6. Add a comment on the event record.
7. Click Post.

You can view the check-in and check-out details under the Check-in Info block in the event record’s Deep Dive View.

To learn more about Vtiger 360, click here.
 

Check-in Mode

 

As a sales lead or a manager, would you like to know how many beats were assigned and how many were checked in (auto) by your sales agents for the day?

You can use the Check-in Mode field in an Event record to set up events with Onsite Meeting or Onsite Service options and Manual and Auto check-in modes. For auto check-ins, you can enable the Auto option, and for manual check-ins, you can enable the Manual option.

Whenever a sales agent checks in automatically or manually, the check-in data will be visible to you in the CRM. 

Sending an Event Invite

You might want to have multiple invitees when the Activity Type is a Meeting or Group Event. 

Follow these steps to add invitees:

1.  Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Click Events. 
5. Open an existing event or create an event.
6.  Click the Edit icon.
7.  Go to the Invitees block. 
8. Enter the names of the invitees.
9. Click Save.
10. Choose one of these options:
    1. Do not send Email - Do not send an email notification to the invitees. 
    2. Send Email - Send email notification to the invitees. 

Creating Events with Google Meet

Google Meet is a video communication app by Google. Vtiger’s integration with Google Meet allows you to create Google Meet events in Vtiger and generate meeting links with a few clicks.

To do this, you must first install the Conference extension from Vtiger’s Extension Store. 

 Follow these steps to install the extension:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the User Menu on the top right corner of the screen.
3. Click Settings.
4. Look for the Extensions section.
5. Click Extension Store.
6. Select Conference and click the Install button. 

 After you do this, you will find Google Meet as an Activity Type in the Events module. 

Follow these steps to create a Google Meet event type:

1.  Log in to your CRM account
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Events.
5. Click + Add Event.
6. Click the View full form button at the bottom.
7. Enter all the event details, such as Event Name, Start Date & Time, etc.
8. Select Google Meet from the Activity Type picklist.
9. Add participants in the Invitees section. You can add participants by:
   • Type and Search - Enter the first three letters of an invitee’s name to be displayed and click on the name to select.
   • Click on the Contact icon to display and select from the list of available contacts.
10.  Click Save. 
11. Choose one of these options:
    • Do not send Email - Do not send an email notification to the invitees. 
    • Send Email - Send email notification to the invitees.

When you click Send Email, an email notification is sent to the contact. The email contains three options: Yes, No, and Maybe. The contact must confirm their presence in the meeting using one of these options.

To learn more about Google Meet integration, click here.
 

Creating Recurring Events

Recurring events are events that keep occurring at a fixed frequency. 

For example, let’s say that you have a new project with a duration of two months. You have a project meeting every Monday for the next two months. Instead of creating a meeting event every Monday, you can create a recurring event. 

Follow these steps to create a recurring event:

1.  Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Events.
5.  Open an existing event. You can also create a new one.
6. Click the Edit icon on the top right.
7. Go to the Recurrence Details block.
8. Enable the Recurring event toggle button.
9. Enter the following information:
   • Frequency- Choose whether to schedule the recurring event in days, weeks, months, or years.
   • Repeat- Choose when the event must occur. For example, every 2 weeks.
   • On - Choose the days in which the event must occur.  
   • Number of recurrences - Choose the number of times the event must recur. 
   • Until - This is a read-only field. The date until which the event will recur is automatically shown here.
10.  Click Save. 

When you mark an event as recurring and set up the recurrence details, an event record is created in the CRM until the end date. 

Creating Custom Events

The default event types available in Vtiger CRM are:

• Call 
• Meeting
• Mobile Call
• Onsite Meeting
• Onsite Service
• Group Event

You can create custom event types by configuring Picklist Field Values for Activity Type in the Events module.

Follow these steps to configure Picklist Field Values in Events:

1.  Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the User Menu on the top right corner of the screen.
3. Click Settings.
4. Select Picklist Field Values under Configuration.
5. Select Events from the Select Module drop-down.
6. Select Activity Type from the Select Picklist in the Events drop-down.
7. Click Add Value to add new event types.
8. Enter the event type in the Item Name. 
9.  Click Save. 

 The new event types will be added to the Activity Type picklist of events.  

Merging Events

When you have two or more duplicate events or events with similar information, you can merge them into one. While merging events, you must choose a single event name, due date, and other field values. You can pick field values from one of the records being merged.

Follow these steps to merge tasks:

1.  Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Events.
5. Select two or more events in the List View.
6. Click the Merge option in the toolbar. 
7.  Choose the event name, start time, due date, etc., for the merged task.
8. Click Merge. 

Creating Events Through Workflows

Workflows help in automating your business process. When triggered, they can create records, update data fields, notify users, and send emails. You can automate the creation of events through workflows. 

What are the situations that would require creating an event automatically?

Here is an example:

As a sales rep, you can set up a workflow that would create an event, ‘Demo Meeting with Contact,’ when a deal is handed over to you by the marketing team.

Meeting Recordings and Transcripts

Meeting records and transcripts for Microsoft Teams Meetings are available in an Event record's Recordings & Transcripts tab.

You can download Teams meeting recordings & transcripts from the CRM. 

Enabling Recordings and Transcripts in Microsoft

As an admin user, you can enable recordings and transcripts in Microsoft Teams.

Follow these steps to enable recordings and transcripts in Microsoft Teams:
 

1. Log in to the Microsoft Teams Admin Center.
2. Select Meetings from the left sidebar.
3. Click Meetings Policies.
4. Select any custom default policy or Global Policy Link.
5. Go to the Recording & transcription section.
6. Enable Transcription. 

Enabling Recordings and Transcripts in Vtiger CRM

Once you have enabled recordings and transcripts in Microsoft Teams, you must enable it in Vtiger CRM to store them in the Event records.

Follow these steps to enable recordings and transcripts in Vtiger CRM:

1.  Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click The Main Menu.
3. Click Essentials.
4. Click Events.
5. Click Customize.
6. Select Recordings and Transcripts. 
7. Enable the Recordings and Transcripts toggle.
8. Enable the Allow to download recordings and transcripts for meetings toggle.
9. Click Save  . 

Note:

• Recording and Transcripts will automatically be downloaded during non-working business hours.