The Apps you use and the relationships between them will dictate how your information is managed in FreeAgent.
This article covers the following topics:
FAQs
What is an App?
An App is a customizable data-capturing tool that stores and organizes information like a collection of spreadsheets. See below to learn more.
Can I customize Apps in FreeAgent?
Yes. You can customize nearly every aspect of an App in the App Settings.
Can I create my own Apps in FreeAgent?
Yes. See our article, How to Create a Custom App-Part 1. Note: We recommend talking to your account manager before creating your own custom Apps.
Can I control who has access to an App in FreeAgent?
Yes. Role-based access controls allow you to designate who can access a specific App and what actions they can perform.
Can I integrate 3rd party software with Apps in FreeAgent?
Yes, FreeAgent can integrate with a wide variety of 3rd party software applications, including email marketing tools, accounting software, and business analytics platforms.
How do Apps work together in FreeAgent?
See App Relationships.
What is an App?
An App is a customizable data-capturing tool that stores and organizes information like a collection of spreadsheets.
For example, each contact record in the Contacts App is like a single row in a spreadsheet that stores all the information about a contact.
The difference between an App and a collection of spreadsheets is that an App can make the information it contains accessible to other Apps, creating a network of interconnected data repositories.
B2B Sales Apps
Let’s look at some examples of Apps that you will typically find in a B2B sales setup. Even if your business doesn’t fit the typical B2B model, the following examples are still useful for understanding how Apps work in FreeAgent.
- Contacts- The Contacts App is a complete list of every individual contact record being managed in FreeAgent. Each contact record contains the primary information related to a specific person associated with a specific account record, including the contact’s Name, Title, and Contact Details.
- Accounts- The Accounts App is a complete list of every individual account record being managed in FreeAgent. Each account record contains the primary information related to a specific client, including the Company Name, Company Location, and Industry.
- Opportunities- The Opportunities App is a complete list of every individual opportunity record being managed in FreeAgent. Each opportunity record contains the primary information related to a specific opportunity associated with a specific account record, including the Opportunity Type and Opportunity Stage.
- Quotes- The Quotes App is a complete list of every individual quote record being managed in FreeAgent. Each quote record contains the primary information related to a specific quote associated with a specific account record, including the Quote Stage, Issued Date, Expiration Date, and Payment Terms.
- Products- The Products App is a complete list of every individual product record being managed in FreeAgent. Each product record contains the primary information related to a specific product, including the product Name, Description, and Price.
- Projects- The Projects App is a complete list of every individual project record being managed in FreeAgent. Each project record contains the primary information related to a specific project associated with a specific account record, including the Project Type, Stage, Status, and Price Estimate.
- Tickets- The Tickets App is a complete list of every individual ticket record being managed in FreeAgent. Each ticket record contains the primary information related to a specific ticket associated with a specific account record, including the ticket Title, Type, and Priority.
App relationships
App relationships form the foundation of how FreeAgent interprets and interacts with information and will define most business processes performed within the platform.
When talking about App relationships in FreeAgent, we are referring to the connections between Apps. Understanding these connections is crucial for managing and organizing information effectively.
Let’s look at an example. Here is a schema that displays how the Apps in a typical B2B sales setup relate to each other in FreeAgent.
Parent-child relationships
As you can see, the Accounts App is in the center of the schema. This is because the Accounts App is the “parent” App to the Contacts, Deals, Projects, Quotes, and Tickets Apps (the child Apps).
This means that all contact records, deal records, project records, quote records, and ticket records must be associated with a specific account record.
Designating the Accounts App as the “parent” establishes a hierarchy that centralizes all information related to a particular customer in one place, creating a single source of truth that ensures accuracy and consistency.
This type of hierarchy makes it easy to navigate from a specific account to any of the contacts, deals, projects, quotes, and tickets associated with that account.
Additionally, it helps eliminate redundancies and reduces complexity when creating dashboards and reports.
The parent-child relationship structure also allows for the creation of automated workflows that trigger actions based on changes in either a parent or child record.
For example, updating the status of a deal record might automatically trigger certain tasks or notifications that link back to the associated account record.
One-to-many relationships
In FreeAgent, it is not just Apps that have relationships. Individual records have relationships as well.
A one-to-many relationship refers to an App record that can have multiple different App records associated with it.
For example, an account record can be associated with many different contact records, but each contact record can only be associated with a single account record.
The one-to-many relationship is commonly used in scenarios where there is a clear hierarchy, such as a parent-child relationship. This structure can help streamline business processes.
For example, if a sales rep needs to send an email to a prospect in FreeAgent, the complete list of all contacts associated with the prospect account will be visible and accessible from a Related List in the account record.
Moreover, just by clicking on a specific contact, the sales rep can navigate right to that contact’s record in the Contacts App, gaining full visibility into all the contact’s information and interaction history.
Many-to-many relationships
In FreeAgent, a many-to-many relationship means that multiple records in one App can be associated with multiple records in another App and vice versa.
It is a network of connections where each record is linked to various others. This is useful for defining the more complex and interconnected relationships.
For example, in the schema above, the Contacts App and the Opportunities App share a many-to-many relationship. This is beneficial because an opportunity can involve several contacts and a contact can be involved in several opportunities.
Linking these records in FreeAgent allows for better collaboration, greater visibility, and more comprehensive reporting.
Customizing Apps
In FreeAgent, you can customize nearly everything about an App — from its name, description, and look — to its access controls, privacy preferences, and form rules.
There are many benefits to App customization in FreeAgent, including:
- Improved information capture and refinement- You can tailor the information you capture to the specific needs of your business.
For example, if your company operates nationally, you could customize the Contacts App to capture information about a Contact’s location (city, state, and time zone).
- Better business process alignment- You can align FreeAgent with your unique business processes.
For example, if your company has a non-conventional sales cycle, you could customize the Deals App to create deal stages that reflect your unique workflow.
- Enhanced reporting- You can create reports and dashboards that provide meaningful insights to you and your team.
For example, if your company has a non-conventional sales cycle, you could create pipeline reports based on the unique deal stages you set up in the Deals App.
To learn how to customize an App, refer to the App Settings article.
Creating Custom Apps
When creating a custom App in FreeAgent or when customizing an existing App, there are a couple of things to consider before you start.
- Identify your business need- Start by pinpointing a process or information category that could use better management.
For example, you might want to gain clearer insights into your customer interactions or have a better overview of your project timelines.
- Plan Your App Structure- Decide what type of data you want to store in the App. Consider what fields to include.
Next, consider how the new App will relate to your existing Apps. What sort of relationships will it have? Will it be a child App associated with a parent App? Will the App have a many-to-many relationship with any other App?
Once you have a basic idea of what kind of App you want to create and where it fits in your FreeAgent instance, refer to How to Create a Custom App-Part 1.