How to be notified when an Autotask CRM ToDo is Due

In this blog, I’ll walk you through the process of tracking and completing Autotask CRM ToDos. Note, this blog includes a YouTube at the bottom if you prefer that!

The Autotask CRM ToDo feature is very helpful in tracking activities that need to be done, or have been done. While they are available in the Service Desk module as well via tickets, the CRM ToDo is most useful for Account/Contact/Opportunity actions. (You should be using Service Calls for action items in Autotask Service Desk tickets.) The trick with ToDos of course is.. knowing when to do them. Otherwise, they just become a cluttered list that becomes less useful over time.

Various CRMs handle ToDos in one or more of the following ways:

• Passive
• Nags/notifies
• Highlights

Passive

In the passive model, the CRM user is expected to actively monitor/track their ToDos and execute on them. While this sounds odd, in an organization where the CRM ToDo is a critical part of the process, this can be normal. That said, it’s difficult for new CRM users to shift into this mindset, and it also can lead to ToDos falling through the cracks.

Nags/Notifies

In a nag/notify approach, the CRM will actively reach out and notify you to complete the todo. For example, if the CRM sends you an email when the ToDo is coming due, that’s a notification approach. This is the less scalable approach because it trains the CRM user to ignore the email notifications from the CRM, when in fact any email to the user from the CRM should be viewed as high-priority.

All that being said, in Autotask, there is not a way to actively notify you that a ToDo is due. If you review the Autotask WorkFlow Rules (WFR) options for ToDos, you won’t find them. (Check out our webinar on getting the most out of Autotask WFRs.)

Highlights

In the highlights model, the CRM presents ToDos in a dashboard where you can see filter what you see to highlight the actionable ToDos (i.e., the ToDo that are coming due/ready to be worked). This is the model that Autotask CRM uses.

While the default CRM/Sales dashboards are okay, they tend to provide too much information. A dashboard should either be used by a manager to track when a team member is going off the rails, or it should only present actionable information to the CRM user. (Check out our webinar on improving your MSP via KPIs in Autotask.)

Setting up the Dashboard Widget

Saying that, let’s create a simple dashboard widget that shows only ToDos due within the next 2 days. That is, actionable ToDos that should be worked, instead of seeing “all ToDos”, which is just overwhelming and doesn’t help drive process. (Avoid information overload for your team.)

1. Create a new Dashboard named “CRM”
2. Click Add Widget
3. For “start with a new widget”…
   1. Entity: To-Dos & Notes
   2. Widget Type: Grid
4. Click Next
5. Fill in the Widget information..
   1. General
      1. Widget Name/Label: My Upcoming ToDos
   2. Primary/First Column
      1. Start Date
   3. Additional Columns
      1. Account
      2. Contact
      3. Description
6. Filters
   1. ToDo or Note EQUAL TO Non-Complete To-Dos
   2. Assigned Resource IS LOGGED IN USER
   3. Start Date DYNAMIC RANGE – TO Today Minus 2 Days (leave the STARTING field blank and use Today Minus 2 Days in the To Date field)
7. Layout/Size
   1. Either the 4 pane or full-screen
8. Click Save & Close