accounts- used to track projects?

[Ed Marmon]

does anyone use accounts not for accounts but for project tracking?

im talking about things like home construction projects ( mid-sized repair
bids, materials, permits, etc ) and other projects like school application
( tracking applications, interviews, tracking requirements, costs, etc )

Is this a better way than opportunities to track projects which really are
not sale opportuniteis but rather massive to-dos.

I see that you can only link one person to an opportunity, I that would be
out. I guess Im trying to use accounts as a way to track groups. groups of
people and groups of things to do, and groups of history items, all linked
to one effort like getting into a school or building a house, and so on.

thanks

 

[Tim Peterson via OfficeKB.com]

I haven't done this but I see no reason why a creative-mind who works outside
the box couldn't do it. As I use Outlook more I have found that it is very
easy to adapt to any number of variations for linking items together. There
is no best way to do something. For a good example of this, I would
recommend a book authored by Productivity coach Sally McGhee called "Take
Back Your Life!" (Subtitled: Using Outlook to get organized and stay
organized) Microsoft Press-2004. In it she shares a lot of neat ways to work
with tasks, projects, categories, linking, etc. This is good reading and
very relevant for Outlook & BCM users. You can do a search on Barnes &
Noble's website to find this book.

-THP

 

[Chris Schatte]

Ed Marmon,
"does anyone use accounts not for accounts but for project tracking?"

Yes, we do this thru Outlook Calendar and SBA using the BCM update.
SBA, Small Business Accounting found here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011956881033.aspx
Financial history and summary per customer are available thru BCM.

You mentioned that opportunities links to one employee/person, same goes for
calendar time entries to SBA (with current fUntionality). A work around that
I use is to schedule Crew 1, Crew 2 since time is billed per set hourly rate.

Chris Schatte