Creating a correspondence at a contact

You can create correspondences quickly and easily in the form of written documents or emails using the Activity function (Letter / Fax or ...e-Mail). The data of the contact is automatically used as the addressee. In addition to creating correspondences, you can also manage incoming mail or emails as correspondence so that you can keep track of your official and commercial correspondence.

Correspondence fields according to DIN 5008

JustRelate CRM supports creating correspondences according to the generally accepted and common German DIN 5008 for business letters. For this, two fields are provided in the contact form for external persons or companies in the Additional data/Addresses subform.

The Envelope window and Form of address fields contain the data from the address and name fields of the main form. JustRelate CRM automatically splits the address and title in the correspondence fields according to the DIN standard and applies them correctly in the correspondence templates. In a letter itself, the DIN-compliant form can be altered as desired.

Note: The address for correspondences is the one you specified in the Envelope window field.

Envelope window and automated form of address

Already when registering contacts, the title and address in the envelope window of a letter should be taken into consideration. Together with the entries in the Name and Address fields for persons and companies, the Department field for personal data records is evaluated for generating correspondence.

Note: If, for example, the sender and recipient have the same country in the address, the country is not dis­played in the envelope window of the correspondence. Only if the countries of the sender and the recipi­ent differ, the country will be automatically transferred to the envelope window of the correspondence when the correspondence is generated.

When entering the name, you should therefore always use the name assistant (Name button in front of the field) so that there is no confusion between the first name and surname or the form of address and thus the gender, for example in the case of foreign names. Also, always use the address assistant (Address button left of the field).

Note: If a person has a main company with an address and no other own address, the company address is displayed in the envelope window of the person. If the person has a personal address, the user is asked along with every change of the company address whether the address of all staff members (except the private address) should also be changed.

You should also make sure to

  • maintain the Confidential and c/o Address check boxes in the address assistant as needed,
  • check in the Additional data/Addresses subform of the contact form the corresponding Form of address and Envelope window fields,
  • pay attention to the fact that the form of address does not contain a comma at the end, because it automatically comes from the template,
  • define the Delivery type, Mailing type and Forwarding decree, as well as the Customer reference and Our reference fields when creating correspondences in the Additional data tab of the correspon­dence form,
  • check the Envelope window and Form of address fields for correspondences in the Recipient tab of the correspondence form.

Note: If the correspondence is created from a project or case, the Customer reference is automatically generated from the record number and name.

Attention

Attention: Address data in activities (letter, fax, email, series email) is always automatically  taken from  the contact’s data. If this data is changed at the contact during or after generation of an activity, you alway have the possibility to update the envelope window, the form of address, and the email address at the activity itself using a function. See also Error check and address preview.

P.O. box addresses

For addresses witha  P.O. Box, use the P.O. Box address address type. Contacts abroad often have a P.O. Box. Please don’t use the Main address address category, but Post Office Box address for these addresses. The input row for the corresponding P.O. Box number is then available in the assistant (only the number). When creating a correspondence, the system decides which designation to place in front of the P.O. Box number depending on the language and country.

Note: An address of the P.O. Box type is always considered a P.O. Box. No other address type is a P.O. Box.

Changing address data

If you change significant contact data, this may also have an effect on the envelope window and the letter salutation. If, for example, a person's academic degree changes, the CRM will use a comparison dialog to ask whether the viewing window should be adjusted. In this comparison dialog, you can compare the old and new data and, if necessary, correct the new letter salutation or the envelope window.

If the respective address of the company changes, the CRM asks whether the envelope window should be adapted and the change is to be applied to the company address of the staff members.

Behavior of the fields when creating a correspondence

Companies

  • The name of the company is always the formal name and is used as a component (compound name). It is entered in the field Envelope window of the company and of all its staff members. The own selected entry in the Save as field is not used for the correspondence.
  • Further details for the company name, which should also appear in the envelope window of a correspondence, can be maintained in the Envelope window field. Note, however, that specifics about the department in which a person works, and that should appear in the envelope window of a correspondence, can only be maintained in the Department field of the person record, not at the company.
  • The salutation in the envelope window is neutral because it concerns companies, not persons. The evaluation of the contact record in persona is not possible.

Persons

  • If no company is given for the contact (the Company field is empty), a normal envelope window is created for the main address of the person.
  • If a company is stated in the form, the main address of the company is stated in the envelope win­dow.
  • If a department is specified for the person, this entry is entered for a correspondence below the entry of the company name in the envelope window of the letter. For this, specifics about the department that are needed for the correspondence should always be maintained in the person form.
  • In the Envelope window field, a country is never stated. As soon as a correspondence is created and the sender (logged-in person) is a resident of a country different from the recipient’s, the country is attached only when the envelope window is transferred to the correspon­dence recipient record (DIN 5008).
  • If Confidential is added to the address, "confidential" appears after the person.
  • If a c/o is stated in the address, the person appears first, followed by the company as a c/o.

Note: Changes to the master record of a contact (e.g. address changes) don’t affect already existing correspondences.

Info

Admin: Your administrator or customizer can adapt the defaults for correspondence windows according to your requirements.