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Jump to Editing and Managing Opportunities
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Opportunities allow you to create processes to track progress to new sources of revenue such as major gifts, grants, and planned gifts. In Big River you can manage Opportunities of all types, through your own repeatable process based on the type of opportunity, bringing together all your resources to maximize the potential of achieving these gifts. You can assign contacts and organizations to the Opportunity, assign and track tasks, enter information such as notes, email and meeting logs, and update and manage the trajectory of the Opportunity.
Opportunities have the following required attributes:
Name
Owner
Pipeline and Stage
Opportunities can contain the following actions:
Tasks
Calls
Meetings
Basic Opportunity Setup
Opportunities are set up and viewed from the Opportunities tab under the Opportunities menu item in the gray menu on the left side of the page.
To create a new Opportunity click on the “Create New Opportunity” button at the top of the page.
! Opportunities may also be created directly from tasks, calls, and meetings on Contacts and Organizations. When Opportunities are linked to tasks, calls, and meetings from Contacts or Organizations, those tasks, calls, and meetings will be visible on the Opportunity.
An Opportunity contains several required properties – name, owner, pipeline, and stage (see below, Pipeline and Stage Setup). The primary Organization or Contact, the priority rating of the Opportunity, the target dollar amount of the Opportunity, and the closing date are recommended but are not mandatory to create an Opportunity. Your name will be filled in automatically as the owner of the Opportunity, but a different owner can be selected from the dropdown. Click “Create” to create your Opportunity and save your information.
! The Priority rating of an opportunity can be any number, such as numbers from 1 – 5 or 1 – 10. In the Big River system, the lower the number, the higher the priority, so a Priority rating of 1 is the highest priority.
In addition, Opportunities may have attachments associated with them. Attachments are any files that can be uploaded to the record and may consist of contracts, information sheets, images, or any type of file that contributes to an understanding or management of the opportunity.
To attach a file to an Opportunity go to the “Attachments” tab on the opportunity and click on the “Create New File” button. Upload the file and click to “Create” to save your attachment to the record.
! File types such as word processing files, pdfs, spreadsheets, and images may all be saved as attachments to an Opportunity.
Editing and Managing Opportunities
Opportunities are managed from the Opportunities menu item in the gray menu on the left side of the page. Opportunities are displayed in the list by priority and name.
To edit an Opportunity click on the “Edit” link which appears under the contents of the first column when you hover over the item.
Contact and organization names can be added to Opportunities to identify who the Opportunity is related to. For example, if you are soliciting an individual for an individual or planned gift, you can enter that person’s name in the Contact field. Or if you are working with an organization on a specific donation you can put that organization’s name in the Organization field.
To add a contact or organization to the Opportunity click on “Create New” or “Select Existing” to add the desired information. Click “Save” or “Save and Exit” to save your changes to the Opportunity.
You can also add related contacts and organizations to an Opportunity to identify other parties who you are working with on the Opportunity. For example, if you are working with the board president of an organization you can enter that person’s name as a “Related Contact” on that organization’s Opportunity. Or if you include another individual in a meeting with a contact about a giving opportunity you can enter that individual’s name as a “Related Contact.”
To add a related contact or related Organization to the Opportunity click on “Create New” or “Select Existing” to add the desired information. Click “Save” or “Save and Exit” to save your changes to the Opportunity.
To add notes to an Opportunity click "Create New Note” and enter information into the Notes box. Click “Create” to save your note. Click “Save” or “Save and Exit” to save your changes to the Opportunities.
When Opportunities have been linked to tasks, calls, and meetings from Contacts or Organizations, that information will be visible on the Opportunity under the related category. These tasks, calls, and meetings can be managed through the Opportunity or through the Contact or Organization.
Tasks
All tasks that have been created in Big River are visible from the Opportunities menu item in the gray menu on the left side of the page, under the Tasks tab.
To create a new task click on the “Create New Task” button at the top of the page.
Enter task information, including any Contacts, Organizations, or Opportunities as applicable. Click “Create” to save the information.
To edit a task click on the “Edit” link which appears under the contents of the first column when you hover over the item. Click “Save” or “Save and Exit” to save your changes.
To mark a task as complete click on the “Mark as Complete” link which appears under the contents of the first column when you hover over the item.
! You can also mark a task as “Complete” or “Cancelled” from the Status dropdown on the Task.
Communications
All calls and meetings that have been created in Big River are visible from the Opportunities menu item in the gray menu on the left side of the page, under the Communications tab.
To create a new call or meeting click on the “Create New Communication” button at the top of the page.
Select from the dropdown to create a call or a meeting. Creating a new call is the system default.
Enter call or meeting information, including any Contacts, Organizations, or Opportunities as applicable. Click “Create” to save the information.
To edit a Communication click on the “Edit” link which appears under the contents of the first column when you hover over the item. Click “Save” or “Save and Exit” to save your changes.
Pipeline and Stages Setup
Opportunity Pipelines and Stages indicate where an Opportunity is in the creation or management phases. Pipelines and Stages are created and managed from the Opportunities menu item in the gray menu on the left side of the page, under the Opportunity Pipelines tab. Each Pipeline has its own unique list of Stages.
! Adding Pipeline and Stages require specific permissions in Big River. Please contact your system administrator for further details.
To create a new Opportunity Pipeline click on the “Create New Opportunity Pipeline” button at the top of the page.
Enter the name of the Pipeline and then click on “Create New Opportunity Stage” to add Stages for that Pipeline.
Enter the name of the Stage and click on “Create.”
You can enter as many Stages as needed. When you have finished click on “Create” to save your entries.
last updated: 4/24/2020