Central to Merlin Logic is the concept of Name.
Everyone and everything in Merlin has a Name by which they are identified.
Names are stored in the Name table and everything gets a Name record.
Every Lead has a Name
Every Client has a Name
Every Resort has a Name
Every Company has a Name
Every User has a Name
You get the picture
When you view the data in the Name table you see ALL NAMES, not just the Names of your Owners for instance
Each Name is of a specific Name Type. There are two Name Types that Merlin uses
Person for living entities
Company for non living entities
Contact Details
Each Name can have multiple Contact Detail information such as:
Addresses
Telephone Numbers
Email Addresses
Skype Names
Each such contact detail can be Valid (if it is still used and applicable) or invalid if it is no longer used or applicable. So when someone changes address for instance you do not edit or over write their old address, you simply mark it invalid and add a new valid address. This way you are able to keep a history of old contact details for each Name.
Adding Stuff to Names
Once an entity has a Name it can then also have additional information added to it such as:
Contact Details
Contracts and Ownership
Reservations
It can be a User of Merlin and have a User Name
Company Information
Resort Information
And so on
There are no real Set Ups that you need to perform before entering Names in Merlin.
From any Module in Merlin you can access the Name table using the following Menu Paths:
Names/Name/Locate/Normal
Or
Names/Name/Locate/Fast
This page displays the data stored in the Name table plus some additional information linked to the Name such as an Email Address and Telephone Number
You can filter the data by Name Type
The default Order is set to Last Name. This means that results are ordered by Last Name field and you can immediately type into the Search Box and search on this field.
You do not have to use the full Last Name to search hand simply entering the first few letters of the last Name and clicking GO will allow you to search on the Last Name field.
You can use a String Search by adding a % Prefix to the letters you type into the Search Box
So %ith will find Smith, Dillwith and Smithsonian
You can convert foreign alphabet characters to English Characters by using the $ prefix
So $β used in the spelling of a name will translate to B when B is used in the search string
The Columns Headings in Green can be clicked to search on that Column and to order and invert the order on that Column. Once you have clicked on a Column you can then search for data in that field by entering the search string into the Search Box
You can have up to four External References on a Name record and these are all searchable. These would be used to identify Names in the database that have been perhaps uploaded from some other system where you had other references numbers that you used to identify them by.
The Name Locate Rapid page assumes that you know something unique about a Name and that you can then use this information to rapidly find the Name and open the Name Home Page.
You can find Names rapidly is you know:
Name Id
First Name and Last Name
GL Account Id
GL Account Code
Ext Ref 1
Ext Ref 2
Contract Id
Contract Ext Ref 1
What they own
By entering any of this information subject to what you have entered is unique then immediately the Name record will be found and the NHP opened. If more than one record is found then these will all be displayed for you to choose one in order to go to the NHP.
To add a new Name simply click on the Add New Record icon to the left of the 10 Items per page.
The Detailed Name Add/Edit page opens.
Name Type:
Person or Company
Country:
This will cause Defaults to be displayed in Nationality and Language which can then be kept or changed.
Nationality:
Accept Default or Change
Language:
Accept Default of Change
Title:
Defaults to a selection based on certain Languages
First Name:
Enter the First Name or leave empty if this is a Company Name Type
Last Name:
Enter the Last Name
Check Name.
This allows you to check if this Name possibly exists in the database. It will return the Names that Match this one and you can then interrogate the results to see if the Name already exists in your database in which case use the one that is there already and do not create a Duplicate Name
Select Names to Link to this Name:
This allows you to link Names that already exist in the Database to the Name you are adding
Add Another Name:
This allows you to add another Name at the same time that you add this Name. This is particularly useful when adding Husband and wife as unique Names into the Database. We recommend that each unique individual is added as a Name on their own and not as a single Name record such as Mr and Mrs Stephan and Mary Jones. Rather add a Name record for Stephan and a separate one for Mary.
This sections allows you to enter up to four Name External References that are searchable plus RCI and II Membership Numbers
This section allows you to enter the Name of the Employer
This section allows you to enter demographic information
This section allows you to enter Telephone Numbers and you can enter more than one and designate each by the Type that you are entering such as Home, Business, Mobile etc
Country selection will default in the International Country Dialling Code
Area Code is normally up to four numerals with a leading zero. Do not omit the Zero
Number is normally up to seven numerals
DO NOT ENTER ANY OTHER CHARACTERS OR SPACES OTHER THAN NUMERALS
So these are NOT Valid Entries
021-1234567
(021) 123-4567
Etc
Only enter:
Area Code: 021
Number: 1234567
This section allows you to enter the address. Make sure that you enter the City and State in the correct fields. Do not use Lines 2 and 3 if you do not need them
This section allows you to enter Email Address
This section allows you to enter the Skype details for this Name
This section allows you to enter Marketing Information such as:
The Source where this Name came from
How they responded
Their Response Status
The Name of any Referror
Whether this Referral is Commissionable or not
Details of any Communication sent back to the Name after you have taken them on
This section allows you to add the Name to an Outbound Calling List so that they can immediately be called by your Call Centre for Marketing or other purposes
Save
Saves the Name and takes you back to the Name Locate page
Save and New
Saves the Name and allows you to immediately carry on adding another new Name
Abort
Does not save the Name and takes you back to the Name Locate page
Continue Saving
Allows you to continue saving despite there may be duplicate Names in the database
You can access the Name Home Page (NHP) of any Name in the database in a number of ways. Mostly you will find access to the NHP from the Show Actions icon in the Actions Bar or by clicking on the Name hyperlink in the Grid Page to the NHP
The NHP allows you to drill down into the Name and find out all you want to know about them based on information stored in the database
The NHP has its own Name Drop Down Menu. Click on this to see the options
Personal Details Section
Marketing
Sales
Front Office
Back Office
Activity
Documents
Home
From many sections of Merlin you will want to either Find an existing or Create a new Name while you are busy doing something. You might be entering a Sale or a Rental and you need to have the Name of the Buyer or Guest.
Merlin looks for the Name Id to be entered into the “Name” Box but no one can remember Name Id’s. So there is an easy way to find the Name.
Simply enter a few letters of the Last Name followed by a comma and then a few letters of the First Name (if this is even necessary) and IF the Name exists in the database it will appear in a list of up to ten matches below the Name Id box you are typing into. Simply click on the Name to select it and the Name Id will be defaulted in to the Box while the Name will be repeated in blue to the right.
If you would like to search the entire Name table then simply click on the blue Name hyperlink to the left of the Name Id box and you will be taken to the Name Locate Page where you can perform a full search. Once you have found the Name click on the green tick to select it.
You can also use the Name Quick Menu. It is the icon to the right of the Name Id Box. Click on it and you are presented with the following options:
Name Home Page:
If you have entered and Name into the Name Id Box then clicking on this will take you to the NHP for this Name
Detailed Name Take On:
Clicking on this takes you to the Detailed Name Take On Page
Check Name:
This allows you to enter a First Name and Last Name and then to check if this Name exists in the database. If it does you can select it to use it. If it does not then you can easily and quickly create this Name in one click. This will not give you the immediate opportunity to enter Contact Details for instance but it is ideal for rapid Name creation allowing you to carry on with your work and then c=to come back later to update the Name’s Contact Details etc.
Name Locate:
This take you to the Name Locate page
Name Linking:
This allows you to see if there are any Names already linked to the Name you have entered into the Name Id Box link and to link additional Names to this Name
Copyright © 2009 Merlin Software.
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