Managing and Utilizing Calendar Event Workflows Follow
Calendaring events are an important aspect of any law firm’s workflow. The CRM allows you to calendar events easily by using our built-in calendaring features.
The CRM also offers event types that you can leverage to customize appointment reminders and status changes based on specific event types.
Table of Contents
Configuring Appointment Reminders
Managing Event Types
To get started, you will want to configure event types to help customize your process. Examples of common event types for the intake process include Home Consultation, Office Consultation, Phone Consultation, etc. For case management, event types such as Deposition, Hearing, or Trial can be utilized as a few examples.
To access your event types, first, go to "Setup" using the main navigation menu on the left-hand side of the screen.
Next, navigate to the "Appointment/Event Settings" page.
Please note, you must have administrative rights to complete this action.
The Event Types section will be located at the top of the page. In this section, you can add, edit, and delete event types.
To add a new event type, enter the Event Type Name in the available field, choose a color for the event type if applicable, and then click the “+ Add Event Type” button. Color coding is optional. Any color codes for event types will be reflected for events of that type in the CRM's calendar screen.
To edit an existing event type, click the pencil icon located to the right of the event type. Editing an event type will allow you to modify the event type's name and/or color-coding. You may also delete any existing event types by clicking on the trash bin icon to the right of the event type.
💡 NOTE: The system will not allow you to delete event types that are currently in use. Additionally, deleted event types cannot be restored.
Configuring Event Type Rules
Once you have set up event types, you can then create Event Type Rules to decide if new events will trigger a status change and/or send appointment reminders.
The CRM gives you the ability to configure any specific event type to trigger an automatic status change following the creation of an event that uses said event type. You can also enable appointment reminders per event type.
Event Type Rules are intended to work as exceptions to the norm. Therefore, there will be a default rule for "All" event types, which includes events that do not reference an event type. You have the option to add exceptions to the “All” rule for explicitly designated event types, as shown below.
To add a new Event Type Rule, click the “+ Add Rule” button located in the upper-right corner of the Manage Event Type Rules section. In the pop-up that appears, select a specific event type to create a rule for, as well as which status, if any, should be set in a lead/case record if an event with that type is created. You also have the option to enable appointment reminders for the event type rule.
💡 For scenarios where a firm wants a new event (appointment) in a lead/case to trigger a status change, select the desired status from the Status dropdown in the pop-up when adding a new rule. However, if you do not want a status change, select the "No Status Change" option in the Status dropdown.
Click the “Save” button to save and create the new event type rule.
You can edit existing rules at any time by clicking on the pencil icon located to the right of the event type rule. Additionally, you can delete any existing event type rules (except the "All" event type rule) by clicking on the trash bin icon to the right of the event type.
⚠️ Event type rules do not apply to events created via Milestone tasks or manually created tasks, as those events are not considered appointments. Event type rules only apply to events created on the CRM calendar, inside a lead/case record, or via the CRM’s third-party Appointlet integration.
Configuring Appointment Reminders
Appointment reminders are configured based on event type rules, allowing you to customize the content of the reminder(s) based on the selected event type. By default, if no specific event type rules are configured, the system will use the "All" rule to determine whether or not to send reminders for calendared events. However, you also have the option to enable and configure appointment reminders for any specific event type rules that are added.
If you choose to enable the "Appointment Reminders" setting for an event type rule, you'll need to set up the reminder(s) that will be sent for events created with that particular event type.
First, click the pencil icon located on the right to edit the Event Type Rule. In the pop-up that appears, click the "+ Add" button.
This will open another pop-up for you to configure the settings of the appointment reminder. Start by naming the reminder using the Appointment Name field. Use the Time of Reminder to Be Sent setting to choose how long before the appointment time the reminder should trigger. If you wish to send the reminder via SMS, type the reminder message in the available SMS Message box, and be sure to turn on the "Send SMS" toggle. To send an email reminder, turn on the "Send Email" toggle, and compose the email subject and body in the available fields. Lastly, click the "Save" button at the bottom of the pop-up to finish adding the reminder.
💡 If you need to insert mail merge codes into the appointment reminder email and/or text, you can use the floating "Select a mail merge field" box to find and copy mail merge codes from both default and custom fields in your CRM portal.
There is no limit to how many reminders can be added per event type rule, so feel free to add as many reminders as needed to ensure attendees are notified of upcoming appointments!
How to Calendar Events
Events can be calendared in a few different places of the CRM. The first place is the CRM calendar, which can be accessed by using the main navigation menu on the left-hand side of the screen and going to "Calendar Events".
To add a new event, simply click on the day/time slot in the calendar that you want to schedule the event for. A pop-up will appear for you to configure the settings of the event. Click “More Options” in the lower-right corner of the pop-up to view all available options for the new event.
Once you click “More Options” you will notice there are additional fields, including a field to select the Event Type for your event. Please note, if you are a user with administrative rights, you will also see the "Edit Event Types" link which will allow you to quickly edit any available event types if needed.
You can also calendar events in the CRM from inside any lead/case record. While inside a record, navigate to the Events section using the left-side menu.
To add a new event, click the “Add Calendar Event” button located in the upper right. You will see the same pop-up you saw when selecting “More Options” on the CRM calendar.
⚡ Don’t forget to select an event type, if applicable!
In addition, you can edit any existing events by clicking the three dots located to the right of the event.
This will open a pop-up with the full details of the calendar event. To delete the event, click the "Delete" button at the bottom of the pop-up.
Finally, events can be calendared in your CRM via the Appointlet integration. To learn more about setting up this integration, please click here.
Any event scheduled through Appointlet will appear on the CRM calendar, as well as in the Events section of the specific lead/case for which the event is for. In the CRM calendar screen, all Appointlet events will appear on the Appointlet calendar, which is located under the "Other User's Calendars" section. Please note, the service type name in Appointlet will be set as the event type automatically in the CRM.
Furthermore, all Appointlet events will have “(Appointlet)” appended at the end of the event name, as well as a note that the event was created with Appointlet when viewing the event details.
Cancelling Calendar Events
If you change the event status of an event to "Canceled", the event will be considered canceled.
If you are utilizing the Appointlet integration, an event will also be considered canceled if the event is canceled in Appointlet.
By default, once an event is canceled, the lead/case record's status will automatically update to "Appointment Cancelled". If you'd like to turn off this automatic status change, navigate to Setup > Appointment/Event Settings > Cancellation Settings.
Here, you can choose to turn off the automatic status change using the "Change Status" toggle.
You can also decide if a cancellation email should be automatically sent after an event is canceled by turning on the "On/Off Notification" toggle. If you turn the toggle on, be sure to update the email subject and body as needed.
Support/Assistance
If you need further assistance with your CRM system, please reach out to the support team.
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