Streamline Data Entry with Workflows

Processes are to workflows what quarterbacks are to football: they get all the glory. And in Dynamics CRM, it’s often entities like Opportunities and Cases that will have complex multi-stage business processes implemented as a workflow.
 
But workflows can provide yeomanlike, behind the scenes functionality as well, such as bulk data updates where you need to update certain fields depending on the existing value of other fields, or where you need to copy data from existing rows in one entity to new rows in another.
 
Another example of this utilitarian type of workflow is when you want to streamline data entry for new records. This will really work for any entity in Dynamics CRM, but the example I go through in this new video I just posted has to do with the Account entity.
 
The example has some interesting characteristics:

• Updates the Territory value based on what the user enters for zip/postal code
• Illustrates a good use of Stages in CRM 4 workflows, to organize your workflows and make them more readable
• Illustrates conditional processing based on the Account Category value selected. In particular, it shows how you can use a CRM Queue to assign accounts on a first-come first-served basis, even though you cannot assign accounts to queues in CRM.

Anyway, here you go: Account Setup workflow recording.

I hope you find it useful…and if you do, it’s taken from our Building Workflows SkillPack, a subscription to which gets you the book I wrote on workflows, and access to the online site where you get content updates, full recorded content, plus monthly live Q&A sessions with me. And who wouldn’t want that!