Working with Cases

TABLE OF CONTENTS  [Hide]

Navigating Cases
Searching Cases
Creating List Views
Creating Cases
Importing Cases
Associating Cases with Other Records
Exporting Cases
Changing Case Owner
Printing Case Details
Viewing Case Reports
Deleting Cases
Customizing Cases
Setting up Case Assignment Rules
Setting Up Case Escalation Rules
Capturing Cases from Website (Web-to-Case form)
Approving Cases Captured through Website
Managing Email-bases Cases
Frequently Asked Questions

In the Internet world, online Customer Support became an integral part of the organizations' business process. Customer Support is becoming an important activity in retaining all types of products and service industries. In general cases (trouble tickets) are used to capture the customer feedback on various types of problems arises after purchasing product/service from your company. Some times customers may provide some good feature requests, which may be useful during future product/service enhancements.

Typical Case Management Process

1. Customize the fields in Case page according to your organization Customer Support process (You may use the existing fields, disable some of the fields, or add new custom fields).
2. Setup case generation process by filling the Case form, importing cases data from external sources, or capturing cases directly from Website using Web-to-Case form.
3. Assign cases to the correct users using the workflow rules.
4. Follow-up cases till resolutions are sent to the customers.
5. Once the resolution is working fine, add the solution to the publicly accessible Solutions module for future reference.

In the Zoho CRM system, cases can be generated through telephone, E-mail, or Website. In addition, you can also generate cases from customer specific E-mails in Microsoft Outlook using the Zoho CRM Outlook Edition. Refer: Working with Outlook Edition.

The Cases home page contains,

• Cases List
• Case Reports
• Tools, such as Import, Export, mass transfer, and delete cases
• Quick Create pane
• Search
• Alphabetical Search
• Custom Views
• Change Owner
• Delete
• Page Navigation

You can perform the following operations in Cases module:

• Navigate cases
• Search cases (Alphabetical or advanced options)
• Create List views
• Create cases (Form filling, quick create, or duplicate options)
• Associate cases with other records
• Import cases (individual/Organizational)
• Change case owners (individually or in bulk)
• Export cases
• Print cases details
• View case reports
• Delete cases (individually or in bulk)
• Customize cases
• Capture cases from Website (using Web-to-Case form)
• Track cases through Email

Navigating Cases

(Access Privilege: Read permission)

You can navigate cases available in the Cases List.

To navigate cases

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases Home page, go to the Cases List section and select one of the views from Select View drop-down list to display the list of Cases according to the priority of the Case (For example, Low, Medium, High, and others).
3. In the Cases List section, click the Previous or Next link to access the list of cases.

Searching Cases

(Access Privilege: Read permission)

You can search the cases alphabetically or filling the required information in Search box.

To search cases

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases Home page, under Case Search section, do one of the following:
3. • Specify the search criteria in Search box and click the Go button. Or
   • Select one of the alphabetical search links.
3. In the Case List page, a list of cases is displayed as per search criteria.

Creating List Views

(Access Privilege: Read/Write permission)

In the Case List you can create/modify/delete the custom views, sort columns in the list view (ascending/descending order), search the records available in the current list view. In addition, you can modify some of the columns in standard list views. By default, the following standard list views are available in the Cases module:

• All Cases
• My Cases
• Today Cases
• Open Cases
• Closed Cases
• Escalated Cases

Note: User created list views are displayed under User Created Views category in View drop-down list.

To create custom views

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases Home page, under Case List section, click the Create View link.
   
   

   Note: Under the Case List section some of the standard list views are displayed. You can only rearrange the order of columns and more columns.

3. In the Create New View page, do the following:
   • In the View Information section, specify name of the custom view in the View Name (mandatory) field. The custom view name appears in the View drop-down list. You can also set the custom view as a default list view by selecting the Set as Default View check box.
   • In the Specify Criteria section, specify the filter criteria. For more details refer to the Specifying List View Criteria section.
   • In the Choose Columns section, select the columns to be displayed in the List View. For more details refer to the Selecting List View Columns section.
   • In the Accessibility Details section, select the users to whom custom list view has to be enabled. For more details refer to the Enabling View Access section.
4. Click Save. The custom list view is displayed in the View drop-down list.

Creating Cases

(Access Privilege: Read/Write permissions)

In the Zoho CRM system, you can create cases by:

• Entering data manually into case details form
• Importing cases from external sources
• Capture cases from Website through Web-to-Case form
• Adding customer-specific e-mail message as case from Microsoft Outlook to Cases module

In the Case: Edit form, you need to specify the case-related information. The following table provides descriptions of the various fields in the form.

List of Standard Case-related Fields

Field Name	Description	Data Type
Case Number	Display the case ID after creating a case.	Number
Case Owner	Select the name of the Zoho CRM user to whom the Case is assigned.	Lookup
Subject*	Specify the title of the Case. This field is mandatory.	Text box, Alphanumeric (255)
Priority	Select the priority of the Case from the drop-down list.	Pick list
Status	Select the status of the Case from the drop-down list.	Pick list
Category	Select the category of the Case from the drop-down list.	Pick list
Reported By	Displays the name of the contact.	-
Related To	Select the name of the contact who submitted the Case.	Lookup
Type	Select the type of problem. It can be a general question, feature request, or real issue in your product/service.	Pick list
Case Origin	Select the source from which the case has been generated. You can select Email, Phone, or Website. If you select Email, you must specify the Email ID of the customer.	Pick list
Email	Specify the Email ID of the contact.	Email
Phone	Specify the phone number of the customer	Textbox
Case Reason	Specify the reason for the case	Pick list
No of comments	Display the number of comments submitted during case resolution.	-
Description	Specify complete details about the case.	Text Area (32 KB)
Comments	Specify follow-up notes about case.	Text Area (32 KB)

To create cases

1. Click the New Case link.
2. In the Case: page, enter the details.
   
   Note: Case Title is a mandatory field. Refer to the List of Standard Case-related Fields section for more details.
3. Click Save to save the Case details. Case details are displayed in Case: <Case Name> page where you can perform the additional operations. Refer to the Associating cases with Other Records section for more details.

To create cases instantly

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In left hand-side under the New Case section, specify the mandatory details, such as Status, Case Origin, and Subject.
3. Click Save. Case details are displayed in the Case: < Case Name> page where you can update the additional details or perform the additional operations.

To create duplicate cases

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Case List view page, select the Case to be duplicated.
3. In the Case: < Case Name> page, click the Clone button.
4. In the Edit: < Case Name> page, modify some of the Case-related details.
5. Click Save. Case details are displayed in the Case: <Case Name> page where you can perform the additional operations.

Importing Cases

(Access Privilege: Data Import permission)

You can import cases from other Help Desk and CRM applications to the Zoho CRM system for a better integration of your organization-wide sales and customer support processes.

Tips Before importing cases into Zoho CRM, you must have the cases details in a CSV/XLS file. You must have privilege to import the cases in Zoho CRM. Before importing the cases into Zoho CRM close the CSV/XLS file and the Spreadsheet program. Remove apostrophe any place in the CSV file (For example, ABC's). You can import a maximum of 1000 cases in one import cycle.

To import cases from external sources

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases: Home page under Case Tools section, click the Import My Cases button.
3. In the Import My Cases Wizard page, browse the Cases-related data (CSV/XLS format) and then click the Next button.
4. In the Fields Mapping page, map the CSV/XLS column header with case fields in Zoho CRM.
5. Click the Import button. It will take a few seconds to complete the importation.
6. In the Cases: Home page, imported cases are displayed under the Cases List section. You can continue the importation further or complete the operation.

Associating Cases with Other Records

(Access Privilege: Read/Write permissions)

You can create a 360-degrees view of the Case to display all the associated details, such as potentials, cases, open activities, history of the completed activities, attachments, and notes.

To associate cases with other records

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases Home page, under the Case List section, select the required Case.
3. In the Case: <Case Name> page, you can perform the following operations:
   • Edit the Case details.
   • Create activities, such as events and tasks related to case
   • Attach documents and notes
4. Close the case page once all the required information is updated for the case.

Exporting Cases

(Access Privilege: Data Export permission)

Occasionally it is very useful to export the cases from Zoho CRM to Spreadsheet programs, such as Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice, and others for further data analysis.

To export cases to external sources

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases: Home page under the Case Tools section, click the Export All Cases button.
3. In the File Download pop-up dialog, Click Save to save the cases details in CSV/XLS file format.

Changing Case Owner

(Access Privilege: Read/Write permission)

You can change the owner of an individual case or a group of cases to other users.

To change owner of cases individually

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases: Home page, select the case.
3. In the Case: <Case Name> page, click the Edit button.
4. In the Case: <Case Name> page, change the case owner from the Case Owner lookup field.
5. Click Save to update the case owner.

To change owner of cases in bulk

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases: Home page, go to the Case List section and select the check boxes corresponding to the cases. You can also select all the cases.
3. Click the Change Owner button.
4. In the Cases: Change Owner page, select the user from the Select New Owner pick list and click the Update Owner button to change the owner of the cases permanently.
   
   Note: Cases ownership will be changed to another user, irrespective of its existing owner. Use this operation carefully, otherwise cases belonging to different users will be changed to new user. To overcome this problem, first you may search the cases with a required owner name then change the owner in bulk.

Printing Case Details

(Access Privilege: Read permission)

You can view a printable form and print the Case details using browser's Print function.

To print case details

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases: Home page, under the cases List section, select the required Case.
3. In the Case: <Case Name> page click the Printable View button.
4. In the Case: <Case Name> page, click the Print Page button to print the document.

Viewing Case Reports

(Access Privilege: Read/Write permission)

You can directly access some of the standard reports pertaining to cases from the Case Reports section. By default, the following reports are displayed under Cases module:

• Cases By Origin
• Cases By Status
• Cases By Priority
• Cases By Comments

To view case report

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases: Home page, go to the Case Reports section.
3. Click the required report link. The report is displayed in Reports page, which can be further customized as per your requirements.

For more details about reports customization refer to Chapter 19: Working with Reports.

Deleting Cases

(Access Privilege: Read/Write/Delete permissions)

Rarely, you may need to remove the unnecessary cases, which are not tracked further. This will help you manage your cases in a better way. You can delete cases either individually or in bulk.

Note: The deleted cases are temporarily stored in Recycle Bin. If required you can restore the deleted cases again. But if you delete cases from Recycle Bin, you cannot restore again.

To delete cases individually

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases: Home page, select the Case to be deleted.
3. In the Case: < Case Name> page, click Delete.
4. In the Confirmation dialog, click OK to delete the case permanently.

To delete cases in bulk

1. Click the Cases tab.
2. In the Cases: Home page, under the cases List section, select the cases to be deleted using the Select check box (first column).
3. Click the Mass Delete button.
4. In the Confirmation dialog, click OK to delete the selected cases permanently.

Customizing Cases

(Access Privilege: Customize ZohoCRM.com permission)

Customization of the cases module includes, renaming the tab name, modifying the pick list values in standard fields, adding new custom fields, modifying case page layout, and show/hide the related list views according to your Case management process requirements.

For more details, refer to Customizing Zoho CRM

Setting up Case Assignment Rules

(Access Privilege: Manage Case Assignment Permission)

You can setup case assignment rules based on your organization-wide case distribution (based on product support) process so that cases generated through import tool are automatically assigned to the respective support agents.

Case Assignment Workflow

• Create case assignment rule.
• Associate rule entries to the assignment rule, which contains matching criteria, selecting user, and adding default workflow task.
• Select the required assignment rule in case import tool
• During case importation, first assignment rule is evaluated and the casess are assigned to the Zoho CRM users according matching criteria.

Limitations

• You can create up to 20 different case assignment rules.
• In each assignment rule, you can associate up to 20 different criteria.
• Even though you can setup multiple rules, users can select only one rule at a time.
• Case assignment rule can be used only for the cases generated through import tool and Web-to-Case form. You cannot assign cases to users if you are creating manually.
  

To set up case assignment rules

1. Click the Setup link.
2. In the Settings Home page, under the Case Settings section click the Assignment Rules link.
3. In the Case Assignment Rules page, under the Rules List section list of default rules are displayed. Click the Create New Rule button to add a new rule.
4. In the New Rule page, specify the rule in the Rule Name field and click the Save.
   
   

   Specify Rule Name

   
   
5. In the Case Assignment Rule Entry page, under the Rules Entries section list of default rule entries are displayed. Click the Create New Rule Entry button to add a new rule entry.
6. In the Rule Entry page, do the following:
   1. Specify Criteria: Select the matching criteria to evaluate the rule (Refer to Managing Workflow)
   2. Select User: Select the user to whom the case has to be assigned.
   3. Add Task: Select the workflow task to be assigned (Refer to Managing Workflow)
7. Click Save.

Setting Up Case Escalation Rules

(Access Privilege:  Case Escalation permission)

This option enables the user to configure an escalation rule by which the cases climb the operational hierarchy if not attended to at the assigned hierarchical level, depending on the distribution rules of an organization.

• Case Escalation feature is available only in the Enterprise Edition
• Only ONE Escalation Rule can be active at a time (If a newly created rule is set as active then the existing active rule will get deactivated)

• Enabling the Escalation Scheduler
• Setting Case Escalation Rule
• Creating Rule Entry
• Defining Escalation Action for the Rule Entry

1. Go to Setup> Click on Case Settings > Case Escalation Rules
2. In the Case Escalation Rules page, Click on Enable Escalation Scheduler
   
   Setting Case Escalation Rule
   
3. Click on New Case Escalation Rule
4. In the Create Case Escalation Rule Name page, Type a Name for the escalation rule
5. Click on the Active check box (Activating any Rule, automatically deactivates the existing active Rule)
6. Click on Save
   
   Creating Rule Entry
   
7. Click on Case Escalation Rule Name > Create New Rule Entry
   
8. In Rule Entry page, Specify  Criteria from the drop - down list
9. In the Rule Entry details, specify the business hours and Set the Escalation Time
   
10. Click on Save
    
    Defining Escalation Action for the Rule Entry
    
11. In the Rule Entries section, Click on the new created Criteria > New Escalation Action
12. In the New Escalation Action page, fill in the Escalation Action Details
13. Select Age of Escalation Action from the drop - down list
    
14. Select the Escalation user from the Escalate to Name look up
15. Select the Escalate Template from the drop-down list
16. Click on Save
    

Capturing Cases from Website (Web-to-Case form)

(Access Privilege: Customize ZohoCRM.com permission)

Using Web-to-Case form your organization can allow Website visitors submitting cases directly to the Casesmodule. All the cases captured through Website are first assigned to the Customer Support Administrator, which can be reassigned to the corresponding Support persons.

Important Points

• Anyone visiting your Web site can submit cases and submit any type of information. Hence you cannot control the Spam.
• All the cases are first assigned to the User selected in Web-to-Case settings page. The Customer Support Administrator can change the case ownership to other users.
• Contacts are automatically created if you have enabled Web to Contacts option in the Web-to-Case settings.
• To send automate replies to visitors select the required e-mail template from the Web-to-Case settings.
• The generated Web-to-Case form contains only Web form related tags. You have to customize the generated case form further to suite your Website requirements.
• Test the complete workflow of Web-to-Case form, before publishing in the Website.

To create Web-to-Case form

1. Click the Setup link.
2. In the Settings Home page, under the Case Settings section click the Web-to-Case link.
3. In the Capturing Cases from Website page, do the following:
4. Enable Web-to-Case option for your organization: Refer To configure web-to-case settings section.
5. Set up Custom Case Fields in Web-to-Case form: Refer To add custom case fields in Web-to-Case form section.
6. Generate HTML page as per your fields in the Web-to-Case form: Refer To generate HTML page for Web-to-Case form section.
7. The generated HTML page contains only the web form objects and minimal HTML tags. Customize the web page according to your Website layout requirements.
8. Publish the Web-to-Case form in your Website. Your Web site visitors can submit cases/feedback, which will be routed to Cases module. All the cases captured through web form are assigned to the Owner selected in Web-to-Case settings page.

To configure Web-to-Case settings

1. In the Capturing Cases from Website page click the Web-to-Case link.
2. In the Web-to-Case Settings page do the following:
3. Enable Web-to-Case: Select the check box the enable the Web-to-Case form.
4. Return URL: Specify the URL of the page to be displayed after visitor submits the case (For example, Thanks page for submitting the information)
5. Default Case Owner/Creator: Specify the Zoho CRM user to whom the case has to be assigned.
6. Web to Contacts: Enable this option to create contact upon submitting the case. Contact Name and Email are mandatory fields, which are added to Web-to-Case form.
7. Default Response Template: Select the automate e-mail response template, which is used for sending an e-mail to the person submits the case.
8. Click Save. Again Capturing Cases from your Web Site page is displayed. Next go to Next Step.

To add custom case fields in Web-to-Case form

1. In the Capturing Cases from Website page click the Setup Custom Case Fields link.
2. In the Case Fields section add the custom fields to be added. For more details, refer to Customizing Zoho CRM
3. Once you have completed the field customization, click the Web-to-Case link under Case Settings section.

To generate HTML page for Web-to-Case form

1. In the Capturing Cases from Website page click the Generate the HTML link.
2. In the Generating HTML for Web-to-Case page, do the following:
3. Select Web Form Fields: Select the case fields to be displayed in the Web Form.
4. Confirm Password: Specify your password (User who creates the Web-to-Case form) to authenticate your Account from the Zoho CRM on-demand service.
5. Click the Generate HTML button.
6. In the Copy Generated HTML page, copy the HTML content and paste to your favorite HTML editor and click Finish button.
7. Customize the Web-to-Case form (HTML page) to suite your Website requirements and publish in your Website.

Warning: If you change your password after publishing the Web-to-Case form, please ensure that updating the following information in Web-to-Case form. Otherwise cases submitted through Website will not be captured in Cases module, due to authentication failure.

Approving Cases Captured through Website

(Access Privilege: Approve Web-to-Lead Permission)

By default, cases captured through Website are assigned to one of the Customer Support Administrator who can update the cases with additional information and assign to the corresponding Support Agent in your organization. It will allow your Support Agents focus mainly on the cases assigned to them.

To approve cases from Website

1. Click the Setup link.
2. In the Settings Home page, under the Case Settings section click the Approve Web Cases link.
3. In the Web-to-Case Approval page, under Web-to-Case list, cases are displayed. View the case details, assign to specific user, and click the Approve button. Afterwards Support Agent can follow-up the case.
   

Managing Email-bases Cases

With the rapid growth of Internet and related technologies, Email has emerged as one of the most important media for the customer support. Email-based case management helps Zoho CRM customers is easy to use and track all the customer-speicific cases in a consolidated

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are all the various sources of cases?

Ans: In the Zoho CRM system, cases can be generated from different customer touch-points, such as phone, e-mail, and website. You can create a case based on telephonic conversation with your customer, add the customer-specific e-mail message as case from Microsoft Outlook Mail client using Outlook Edition, or capture from the Website using Web-to-Case form.

2. Is it possible to send replies to the customer queries from the Cases module?

Ans: You cannot send replies to the customers from Cases module.

3. I have published Web-to-Case form for my organization. But my cases submitted by my Website visitors are not captured in Cases module. Why it is happening?

Ans: You may not be able to capture cases properly if:

• Password is changes after publishing the Web-to-Case form.
• Removed some of the necessary Web form action entries in your HTML page while customizing the Web-to-Case form.