The following steps will walk you through how a Method user creates a case. It is also possible for a customer with access to a portal to create their own case, but the workflow is largely the same.
Create a Case from the Cases App
On your Method:CRM dashboard, click ⊕ New on your Cases App. You can also click ⊕ New Case when viewing the Cases List.
This opens the New Case screen. There are a number of sections here which we will cover.
Contact*: The contact who is having or reporting the problem. Once selected, their QuickBooks name, phone, and email will appear for quick reference.
Subject*: A unique title to help pinpoint the case within the list of cases.
Origin*: How the contact first contacted you about the case. From the dropdown, you can also create your own custom origins. Choose from:
Phone
Email
Web Portal
Priority: The level of severity for this case. From the dropdown, you can also create your own custom priorities. Choose from:
1 - High
2 - Medium
3 - Low
Type: What kind of issue is this case meant to address? From the dropdown, you can also create your own custom types. Choose from:
Problem
Complaint
Feature Request
Question
Billing Inquiry
Case Status: How far along the case is. From the dropdown, you can also create your own custom statuses. Choose from:
In Progress
Escalated
On Hold
Closed
Tags: Help categorize the case. For more information, see our article on Using Tags.
Below that we have a few more fields to assign and describe the case.
Assigned To*: The Method user assigned to the case will receive notifications when the contact responds to the case via the portal.
Notify the "Assigned To" user when saving: When checked, the Method user assigned to the case will get a notification this case was created. The email template used can be set in the Cases app Preferences.
Notify the contact about the case via email & portal: When checked, the contact will get an email they can view their case in their portal. The email template used can be set in the Cases app Preferences.
Note: You should always notify your customer their case is being reviewed, which is why this option is checked by default.First contact resolution?: Check this if the case was resolved the first time your staff interacted with the contact.
Description*: A description of the case.
Note: This field is visible to customers, so make sure your comments are customer-appropriate before saving.Attachments: Attach any number of files to this case.
Case Activities
To track the progression of your case, activities will be associated with the case. For more information, please see our article What is an Activity?
Method will automatically create an activity when a case is created to log the initial interaction. Change the fields for this first activity as appropriate.
Beneath the activity details, you will see a checkbox to Create a Follow-up Activity. When checked, a new section will appear to create a second activity to remind the assigned Method user to follow-up with the contact.
NOTE: Depending on your workflow, you may either assign this activity to yourself (e.g. contact the customer for more information about their problem) or to another Method user (e.g. to a user in the department that usually handles these problems). In this walkthrough, we will assume you are assigning the follow-up to yourself.
Saving a Case
Once filled out, you can choose between three options within the Save [ ∨ ] button menu:
Save & Back: Save the case and go back to the previous screen.
Save & New: Save the case and clear the screen to enter in a new case.
Save & Edit: Save the case and keep it open to edit further.
Here's what happens when the case is saved:
The case is now visible in the active cases view of your Cases List screen.
If specified, an email is sent to the assigned Method user.
If specified, the contact also receives an email if that option was chosen. They are given access to their customer portal, where they can view and comment on their case (by filling in the Comment field and clicking Comment).
The assigned user receives an email whenever the customer comments:
Method automatically creates a closed activity to log the first interaction of the case.
If specified, a follow-up activity is created and assigned to the Method user.
These activities are all tracked in the case screen.
The contact can add comments and close the case from their portal screen. The latter changes the case status to complete and informs the assigned user by email that the customer wants to abandon the case, or is satisfied with the work done so far.