Maintaining Cases in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

Simon Phillips, 22 March 2011

Maintaining a case can involve adding or editing information to do with the case or it could also include adding service activities you have completed in working on the case. For example, if you were just on the phone to the customer you could record that time spent on the phone to bill the customer via a service activity also you could record any important information that was brought up and discussed during the phone call.

After you have created a case for a customer that has called up with an issue or problem the customer may then call you up multiple times while the case is open to get a status update on it. Before creating a case for a customer, the service representative must always check Microsoft Dynamics CRM to determine if there is an already active case existing for the customer.

To edit an existing case, the case status has to be in an active state. If the case has been closed, you will only be able to edit the information by reactivating it. The previous resolution of the case will be kept in the history for the case. Editing a case ensures that all updated information will be present for the case owner. This is useful if the case is reopened or reassigned to a new owner.

Procedure for editing a case:

1. On the Navigation Pane, click Services and then click Cases
2. Find the case you wish to edit and double click it
3. Make the necessary change(s)
4. Click Save and Close

During the course of solving a case, a customer service representative (CSR) may perform several service activities, including sending e-mails, making phone calls, researching articles, or testing the product. These activities can be tracked against the case by the user creating the case or by the CSR who accepts the case.

Best practice: Although you do not need activities created for a case, creating activities related to cases is the only way to document the time spent on the case without resolving one. It is also a good way to monitor incident reporting.