The GoldMine Blog - Tips, Tricks & More

It happens every day... 

You'll be on someone's record in GoldMine, not finished on the work there, and need to go to a different record, then flip back to the original record to complete some work.

To make the process of moving back to the original record a little quicker you can cycle through the last 5 records you were on by holding down the Control key then pressing Page Up or Page Down.

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Go to: http://www.thegmblog.com/notify and fill out the form.  Whenever I update the Blog you'll be notified so you can check out the new post.

Ever wondered where your records are coming from? 

Here's a SQL Query that'll show you the number of records created, by their source for 2007.  The dates can easily be changed so show whatever date range you'd like.  This should work on any SQL based GoldMine system. 

select source, count(*) as "#", max(accountno)
from contact1
where createon >= '1/1/2007' and createon <= '12/31/2007'
group by source
order by source

If you're using a dBASE GoldMine, this won't give a summary but will display the information:

select source, company
from contact1
where createon >= '1/1/2007' and createon <= '12/31/2007'
order by source

P.S. Want to learn how to write your own SQL Queries in GoldMine?
Check out http://www.thegmblog.com/sql4gm/

Two new versions of GoldMine to announce.  Both are available now.

1) GoldMine 6.70.61214

Available to all users of GoldMine 6.7, both Corporate and Standard, and those current or lapsed on UPP (Standard Edition) or Maintenance (Corporate Edition).

There are a few bug fixes but the main purposes of this release is to make GoldMine 6.7 compatible with Internet Explorer 7.0.  If you're on GoldMine 6.x or below this really would be the release to be on.  No version of GoldMine below 6.7 will be updated for IE7 compatibility.

Full release notes are available here: http://thegmblog.com/release_notes/gm6.7.61214news.rtf

2) GoldMine 7.00.61201 aka GoldMine 7.0.4

Available to all users of GoldMine Corporate Edition who are current on their maintenance.

The main purpose of this new build is a collection of bug fixes.  The most important of which should improve the functionality of sync but there are probably 80 others or so.   New features in this build include: Performance enhancements associated with using a FireBird database, Updated Palm sync capability supporting the latest versions of the Palm OS, and compatibility with Crystal Reports XI.

If you're on GoldMine 7.0 this is probably the build to be on.

Full release notes are available here: http://thegmblog.com/release_notes/gm7news.rtf

Simple.  Powerful.

What could be better?  GoldMine's scheduling and calendaring capabilities help keep you organized for appointments, calls, and, in general, what you need to be doing.

Whenever you complete an activity, whether it be a phone call, an appointment, or a next action GoldMine gives you the option to schedule a follow up activity. 

You visit a client or prospect, come back to the office, and complete the activity.  Great!  You've marked it as done.  You've automatically moved the activity to the History tab.  You've helped build the 'Corporate Memory' of all interactions with that particular contact.  As you're completing, why not:

• Schedule yourself a reminder to call them back in two weeks, or
• Schedule a next action to create a quote or proposal for them, or
• Schedule a forecasted sale on business you discussed?

Below is a screen shot of the standard completion window.  Notice, in the lower left, the Checkbox for "Schedule a Follow-Up".

Check that box then select the type of activity to schedule from the drop down tot he right.  After clicking OK you'll automatically be taken to the standard schedule an activity window.

If you'd like to 'Carry Over' the reference and notes from the completed activity to the activity you're scheduling that can be done via Edit | Preferences then the Schedule tab.

Late last year GoldMine Plus Accounting for use with QuickBooks (GMPAQB) was released.  GMPAQB allows for multiple layers of integration between the products, allowing bi-directional synchronization of customers and vendors as well as the posting of financial transactions from QuickBooks to GoldMine.

In this Part I of the series we're going to look at the latter... Namely, the ability to see transactions like: Estimates, Sales Orders, Invoices, Purchase Orders, Payments, and Credit Memos in the contact's History tab.

Rather than having to install QuickBooks and give access to large segments of your staff that are really only curious about invoice and payment history, why not just have that information display in GoldMine?

Here's a sample of a customer's invoice in QuickBooks:

(Click on the images in this posting for full sizes)

In GoldMine all the information is visible in the contact's History tab:

Double-click on a history record to see the details of the invoice, payment, etc!

The invoice total is displayed on the History's reference line while the notes contain the details of the invoice.  With this information now in GoldMine groups can be created based on products sold, invoice dates, invoice amounts, etc...

GMPAQB is available now for $399, maintenance is $99 and is required if you are on GoldMine Corporate Edition.  Drop me a line at (248) 399-8524 ext. 122 or csmith@plain-english.com for more information or if you're interested in purchasing.

In Part II we'll look at the "Field Transfer" functionality... 

Note: This is a non-notify post as notification went out yesterday on the GoldMine Plus QuickBooks Link which most of you will be reading on Monday.

The GoldMine promotions detailed here:

http://goldmineblog.typepad.com/the_goldmine_blog/2006/12/goldmine_produc.html

Are wrapping up on the 31st.  Some are pretty good deals, here's an example.  Assume you're a 3-user Standard Edition install of GoldMine and want to upgrade to Corporate Edition for 10 people.  You are current on UPP.

Normal Pricing: 3 @ $449 and 7 @ $595 plus 10 @ 119 for Maintenance.  Total Price: $6702

Special Pricing: 3 @ $349 and 4 @ $349 and 3 @ $175 plus 10 @ 119 for Maintenance.  Total Price: $4870

How many records in your filter?

... this is quickie as its been a long long day.  Let me assure you, that while I am a big fan of Microsoft CRM, it does have its share of quirks just like GoldMine.  Fortunately I left the customer in a happy state after applying a fix roll up and finding a couple of work-arounds.  Implementing both GoldMine & Microsoft CRM keeps me grounded.  When I get down on GM for this or that I can realize that software, like myself, is never perfect.

Now for our quick tip!

Filters in GoldMine let you segment your database based on any criteria in the top-half of the screen, fields tab, or summary tab, with the exception of e-mail and web site.  This feature lets you do targeted marketing via email, letters, calls, etc. as well as global replaces, deletes, etc. against a subset of the database.

Here's a little tip if you want to know how many records are in a filter.  Once the filter has been created and you are back at the Filters tab of Filters & Groups...  Do a Right-Click | Count on the filter of interest.

After doing a count GoldMine will tell you:

1) How many records are in the filter; and

2) What % of the database the filter represents!

Happy GoldMining,

Chad

The GoldMine Blog Has Moved!

Please be sure your your links, etc. point to:

http://www.thegmblog.com

and not http://thegoldmineblog.typepad.com as that will no longer be an active site.

If you notice any glitches, problems, etc. on Monday the 5th or after please email me at chad@thegmblog.com

My good friend, and excellent web designer, Aaron Bailey, will be orchestrating the move.  I've known Aaron for many years now and his web site designs are fantastic.  If you are in need of a good web designer drop him a line at aaron@aaronbailey.com or visit his website at http://601am.com/