Classifications and Tags are used to profile your Records for easy retrieval. An effective and consistent system of Classifications and Tags will allow you to quickly retrieve any segmented list of Records to easily view, correspond with, or report on that grouping.

Before applying Classifications or Tags to your Records, it is important to take time to understand their purpose and to create internal standards of how and when your firm will use each Classification and Tag.

Understanding Classifications and Tags

Classifications

As the name indicates, Classifications are ways to broadly classify your Records, such as Client, Prospect, Vendor, or others. Each Record must have at least one Classification. More than one can be set, but they are intended to be used as broad categories and should not get too specific. If you’re using more than three or four Classifications, consider using Tags instead.

Special Classifications

There are certain Classifications that are keyed to system functions in AdvisorEngine CRM. Add these Classifications to a Record to enable the features mentioned.

Tags

Tags are a way to more specifically identify a Record and group it with other like Records. For example, you could add a unique Tag to all Records receiving RMD or every Record that attended a specific event you offered. There’s no need to limit the number of Tags you add to a Record.

Develop a System

Before you can apply Classifications and Tags to your Records, begin with the end in mind. Take the time to plan, as a firm, how you want to be able to quickly group your Records for reporting, correspondence, or just summary viewing.

Consider the following questions as to how you want to group clients:

• What views of Records are important for me to access quickly?
• What overall reports of Records do I want to be able to run easily?
• What groups of Records are ones I want to send mass emails or letters to?

As you consider what groups you want to collect in your database, think about the following areas of service you provide to decide which groups are important:

• Areas of communication: Newsletters, holiday cards, birthdays, and other updates.
• Professional specialties you associate with: CPA, attorney, agent, etc.
• Client segments: Active/Inactive, Active distributors/contributors, etc.
• Billing: Frequency or months billed.
• Marketing: Who gets special interest mailings or other targeted communication.
• Tax: Any particular tax-related segmentations.

After you’ve drafted a list of Record groups you want to be able to quickly access, determine if any existing Record data already provides the segment you're looking to create, for example: Service Level, Meeting Frequency, Overall Net Worth, or another existing field of the Record.

If no existing field already provides the segment, decide the Classification or Tag you’ll use for the group. If necessary, create any new Classifications and Tags needed in List Maintenance.

Create a system to ensure that you’re correctly classifying and tagging new Records, as well as an occassional review of your groups to ensure they remain relevant or to discover any new groupings you need to create.

Applying Classifications and Tags

On an individual Record, Classifications and Tags appear as part of the Record Level Profile Information located in Details > Profile Information. Classifications and Tags can also be configured to appear and be edited from the Record Summary card.

To add or edit Classifications or Tags:

1. Open the Record you want to edit.
2. Navigate to Details > Profile Information.
3. Click edit command on either the Classifications or Tags line.
4. Adjust the Classifications or Tags in the edit box.
• Click the empty space to add a new item from the available options.
• Click the delete control on any existing item to remove it. Note that Records require at least one Classification, the delete control will not appear if only one Classification is present.
• Click the clear control within the box to remove all existing items.
5. Click save to commit your changes or cancel to close without saving.