Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 : Creating an Account & Using Parent Accounts and Sub-Accounts

6/12/2011 11:17:35 AM

3.1. Creating an Account

Accounts represent businesses or organizations in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You can access account information from the Sales, Marketing, and Service areas. The Account form consists of multiple sections, each of which contains data fields.

In accounts, contacts, or any other type of record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, required attributes are marked with a red asterisk (*) to the right of the field name. The red asterisk indicates that you must enter a value in that field before you can create or save the record. If you try to create or save a record in which a required field does not contain data, Microsoft Dynamics CRM will prompt you to enter data in the field, and it will not save your changes.

A blue plus (+) symbol to the right of a field’s name indicates that the field is recommended. You can still create or edit records without entering data in a recommended field.

In this exercise, you will create a new account record.

Note:

SET UP Use the Windows Internet Explorer web browser to navigate to your Microsoft Dynamics CRM website before beginning this exercise.

In the Sales area, click Accounts.
In the ribbon, click the New button to launch the New Account form.
In the Account Name field, enter Sonoma Partners. If your system includes additional required fields (as indicated by a red asterisk), you will need to enter values into those fields as well.
In the Street 1 field, enter 525 W. Monroe St.
In the City field, enter Chicago.
In the State/Province field, enter IL.
Click the Save button to create the account.

Tip:

You can also create an account by clicking the File tab on the ribbon and then clicking the New Record menu and clicking Account.

2. Using Parent Accounts and Sub-Accounts

You created a new account named Sonoma Partners. Now let’s assume that Sonoma Partners is a division of a much larger organization named Contoso. Knowing that a relationship exists between Sonoma Partners and Contoso might be beneficial when you’re working with either company. Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows you to capture and record this type of relationship by using parent accounts and sub-accounts. In this example, you would specify Contoso as the parent account of Sonoma Partners. When you do so, Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically denotes that Sonoma Partners is a sub-account of Contoso.

Note:

You can use parent accounts and sub-accounts to record a link between two organizations. Specifying one account as the parent account automatically makes the other a sub-account. Each account can have only one parent account, but you can specify as many sub-accounts as necessary.

Most companies that use Microsoft Dynamics CRM use parent accounts and sub-accounts to denote a legal or ownership relationship between two accounts. When one or more sub-accounts are related to a parent account, all activities and history for the sub-accounts are rolled up to the parent account. Therefore, when you’re looking at the history of the Contoso account, Microsoft Dynamics CRM also displays the history of records attached to the Sonoma Partners account. This provides a complete picture of the interactions between the various records in your system, allowing your organization to understand your customers and tailor your sales, marketing, and customer service efforts accordingly.

In this exercise, you will create a new Contoso account and link it to the Sonoma Partners account created in the previous example.

Note:

SET UP Use the Internet Explorer web browser to navigate to your Microsoft Dynamics CRM website, if necessary, before beginning this exercise. You need the Sonoma Partners account record you created in the previous exercise.

On the ribbon, click the File tab, and then select the New Record menu and click Account. A new, blank account form opens.
In the Account Name field, enter Contoso.
Enter values in any other required fields marked by a red asterisk, and then click the Save & Close button.
In the application navigation pane, click Accounts, and then double-click the Sonoma Partners record.
In the Parent Account text field, enter Contoso, and then press the Tab key.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically resolves the text you entered to the Contoso record, indicated by the underline and blue text color of the parent account name.
Click the Save button.

Tip:

Alternatively, you also could have selected Contoso as the parent account by using the Lookup button located on the right side of the Parent Account text box.