How To Batch Process Using Contact Plans

Collect! allows you to process hundreds of accounts quickly and automatically with batch processing.

Batch processes tax the system heavily, simulating the actions of one hundred users at a time! For fastest batch operations, run the processes on the server.

To Use Batch Processing

The best way to get started using batch processing in Collect! is to examine the screens and dialogs that pertain to this feature. Experiment in the demonstration database to explore the possibilities.

1. Pull down the Tools menu and choose Batch Processing.
2. Select Run Contact Plans.
3. Select the method you want for filtering your accounts. The best way to understand the choices is to press F1.
4. Select the Contact Plan that you want to run.
5. Finally, you will press Start to begin the batch process using the options you have chosen. When the process is completed, a summary screen will display showing the results of the batch, indicating events and accounts processed.

The contact plan will run on the accounts you selected and Collect! will display a summary indicating the number of accounts the plan was run on.

*** Note: Contact plans can change and schedule large quantities of Contacts.

In fact, the individual events in a Contact plan determine what happens. Each event is one thing that happens. For example, an event may write a note into a Debtor's notes, and another event in the same plan may schedule a phone call for tomorrow. Not only that, but each event in a Contact plan may or may not be scheduled, based on some variable you choose.

A whole group of events make up a single Contact plan. Contact plans can call other Contact plans to set off complex chains of events.

Batch Processing Log File

To view a list of all files processed during a batch routine:

1. Pull down the System menu.
2. Choose Preferences.
3. When the System Setup screen is displayed, Choose Options, Sounds and Colors.
4. When the Screen and Messages dialog is displayed, switch ON the Verbose Message Display option.
5. After you run your batch process routine, to view the log file, pull down the System menu and choose Diagnostics, Application Log. You will see a record of all processes in the batch and a list of all file numbers processed in the batch.

Verbose Message Display does slow down performance of Collect!. You may want to switch it OFF after you have documented your procedure, to speed up the program again.

Financial transactions can be posted using Contact Plans. This closes the gap between contacts and financial management.