SugarCRM - QuickStart Guide

Step 1 - Log In To SugarCRM

Using the login information sent to you in your "Welcome" email, log into your SugarCRM Pro/Ent instance as the admin user.

Step 2 - Configure Date, Time and Email Settings

Configure your SugarCRM installation such as setting default date and time display and your email configurations.

The minimum requirement you will need to complete for your SugarCRM configuration is your outgoing mail server, or Mail Transfer Agent (MTA). The Mail Transfer Agent setting should be set to the SMTP option; once SMTP is selected, you can then fill in the details for your company’s outgoing mail server.

If you do not set your outgoing mail server, you will not receive system-generated notifications, password reset emails, workflow alerts, and email campaigns will not be sent.

Please refer to the SugaCRM Administration Guide for detailed instructions on configuring your Email Settings (http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/support/documentation).

Other suggested settings to start with:

  • Create new users
  • Create new teams
  • Create new roles
  • Configure your scheduler jobs
  • Customise layouts, define custom fields, add dropdown options through Studio
  • Configure workflow actions and alerts
  • Create a product catalog
  • Define time periods for forecasting

Basic instructions for configuring all system settings can be found in the SugarCRM Administration Guide. More detailed instructions and tutorials are available through Sugar University.

Step 3 - Create New User Accounts

Create user accounts for your team. To create a new user in your SugarCRM instance, follow these steps:

  1. Log into SugarCRM as user with administrator privileges. All SugarCRM installations when first created have a user named "admin".
  2. Click on the Admin link in the System Links in the top of your screen.
  3. Click on User Management
  4. Click on Create User
  5. Enter the new user information.

NB: Make sure to set the 'default team' of each new user to 'Global' (globally accessible records). With the Global team as default, the records that the user will create, will be by default, visible to anyone in the system, not just themselves and Admin users. After you start to understand your SugarCRM system, you will then be able to define the visibility restrictions needed inside your organisation, by fully utilising the Team Security layer.

For more information on performing these operations, please see the SugarCRM Enterprise and Professional Administration Guide. More detailed instructions and tutorials are available through Sugar University.

Step 4 - Connect SugarCRM and Outlook

Have your team members download and install the SugarCRM Plug-Ins for Outlook, Word, Excel.

Once you are logged-in to your SugarCRM system, click on your user name (in the top right of your screen, right next to the 'Logout' button), then click on the 'Downloads' tab. You will have a list of Plug-ins available for your current version of SugarCRM, that you can download directly.

How do the other members of the organisation install the Sugar Plug-Ins? Please refer to the Sugar Plug-in user guides for installation information.

Step 5 - Learn More and Stay Involved

Have your team members attend Sugar University to get trained on using the SugarCRM application and plug-ins, or ask your local SugarCRM partner, InsightfulCRM.

  • Knowledge Base (http://kb.sugarcrm.com) - Find answers to questions about getting started with the SugarCRM application.
  • Sugar University (http://www.sugarcrm.com/university/) - View learning manuals and videos in the Online Library and sign-up for seminar and workshop learning sessions.
  • InsightfulCRM SugarCRM Training session (http://www.insightful.com.au). Ask us more on how to get your organisation up to speed with SugarCRM. We provide online or on site training session, 1 to 1 or group sessions.