When you first meet TekStack, your understanding of it will depend on your experience with Microsoft products. If you are familiar with Dynamics 365, you will recognize TekStack’s functionality. If not, this article is for you.
TekStack is highly integrated software. We call it an app (short for application). Inside the app, you will see various areas. Depending on the product you have licensed, you will see one or more of these areas in the app.
| Area | Description |
| Marketing | Marketing Automation |
| Outbound | Outbound Sequencing |
| Sales | Customer Relationship Management (CRM) |
| Delivery | Professional Services Automation |
| Revenue | Subscription and Invoicing |
| Help Desk | Help Desk |
This is the first in a series of articles explaining the TekStack software interface. Our goal is to make the product as easy to use as possible. Much of the information in these articles may be simple and straightforward and you may not need to refer to it. However, we wanted to ensure that any questions you have about the TekStack interface are answered here.
This article contains information about the elements of the left navigation that are common to all areas including My Work and Customers (also known as Audiences).
Please refer to the following other Knowledge Articles to learn more about the specific components in the left navigation found in each area of TekStack. (Available soon!)
- Understand TekStack Navigation – Marketing
- Understand TekStack Navigation – Outbound
- Understand TekStack Navigation – Sales
- Understand TekStack Navigation – Delivery
- Understand TekStack Navigation – Revenue
- Understand TekStack Navigation – Help Desk
The components of the interface include:
- Title Bar
- Ribbon
- Areas
- Left Navigation
- Top of the Menu
- My Work
- Introduction to Records
- Activities
- Customers/Audiences
At the top of every window displaying the software is the title bar. Here you will see various components that can be seen across Microsoft applications including a universal Search field. Depending upon the application, different icons may appear. At the far right, your initials will display indicating you are the user in the application.
Here are two examples of title bars.
The icons you will mostly likely see are these:
This is a global Add icon. Click to see what items you can add to the form you are on.
This is the Settings icon. It gives you access to a variety of settings including Personalization settings which you might use.
This icon opens Help options either from Microsoft or TekStack.
The ribbon is a command bar just below the title bar that offers universal features in the software. As it is customized for TekStack, it can differ from area to area. Here are two of the ribbons you will see in TekStack.
Each component of the TekStack suite is known as an area. While each is a separate working application designed for a specific purpose, they are all fully integrated. You can easily switch from one area to another.
You will see the name of the area you are working in by looking at the bottom of the left navigation. It will show up as a bolded name with a lettered tile next to it.
To select an area, click the arrows to the right of the app name. The areas you have access to will appear. Click the one you want to enter that area.
Here’s a look at the left navigation in three of the areas.
| MARKETING | SALES | DELIVERY |
Note: Some components on the menus might not be visible. It depends on your role and your security access in the app.
You can see lots of similarities and some differences. Let’s look at the similarities, the ones addressed in this article.
- The top of the menu aligns: Home, Recent, Pinned.
- Each area has a My Work section.
- Each area has a section for Customers. Note that in Marketing, this section is called Audiences.
At the top left, the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines []), collapses the navigation pane leaving only icons displayed. This is convenient if you need some extra room for information on the main panes.
The Home icon [] defaults to a pre-configured setting. It is entirely customizable. Here’s how.
- From the title bar, select the settings gear.
- Select Personalization Settings. The Set Personal Options pane opens showing the home page settings at the top.
- Select the Default Pane. Choose the TekStack app you want, perhaps the one you work most often in.
- Next to it, choose the Default Tab.
- Click OK.
You have now set up your Home location.
Another Personalization setting you might want to use is the number of records displayed. In the General tab, just beneath the home page selection is Set the number of records shown per page in any list of records. The default is 50.
- Select from the number shown in the list.
The Recent icon [] lists everything you have recently looked at. It can be very useful as it allows you to quickly return to pages and forms you recently viewed.
Under the Pinned icon [], you can pin items from your Recent list to quickly find them. It can be very useful. If you have high priority items you need to see at a glance, pin them here.
Note: You can only pin items from the Recent list. Hover over the item and click the pin next to it.
Beneath these three items, there are major sections that address actions and content in the specific area. In nearly all of them, you will see My Work.
- My Daily Look
- Activities
In all areas, My Work focuses on everything in your day. It features a set of dashboards encompassing what’s happening today. It’s designed to keep you focused on activities that will make you successful.
System Dashboards are created by TekStack using industry knowledge and expertise to display the most important and pertinent data for your day-to-day activities. They are automatically loaded when you use TekStack.
Each area defaults to a different dashboard in My Work. However, all System Dashboards are available to you no matter what area you are in.
The dashboards summarize information available in TekStack giving you a quick overview of what’s happening. Note, too, that each dashboard has a menu of alternatives.
For example, if you are a sales representative, you’ll be interested to see what activities you need to carry out, what opportunities need attention, and what accounts might need follow up.
- My Activities Due, and alternatives
- My Open Opportunities, and alternatives
- My Active Accounts, and alternatives
You will notice an ellipsis [] to the right of each menu header. This is a quick view menu offering more choices to work with the list at hand. See samples below.
Each set of dashboards also includes charts. These pull data from the system into meaningful charts reflecting your sales and project information. In some dashboard selections, you will only see charts.
In TekStack, you will often see reference to records. These are the basis of all the information gathered about different subjects such as accounts, contacts, opportunities, and more. The compilation of all the information is done in a form. So, for example, when we talk about the account record, we are referring to all the information that is gathered on the form about the account. Similarly, we have contact records, opportunity records, invoice records and so on.
This is simply another dashboard outlining activities for your day. You can choose different views.
All views present a list of activities which can be sorted and filtered to better serve your needs.
Use the Due menu to sort by time frame.
Use the Activity Type to select and filter different types of activity.
Activities is available to you in all areas of TekStack.
Under Customers, the focus is on Accounts (or customers) and Contacts who are individuals associated with Accounts. You’ll see these two items:
- Accounts
- Contacts
When you click Accounts from the left navigation, you will see a list of accounts.
Click the account you want to access. The form, or record, opens in a full pane.
On this page, you will see a variety of fields showing information about this account.
You will also see a series of tabs across the top of the record. They may include Summary, Details, Timeline, Projects, Contacts, Addresses, Invoices, Documents, Subscriptions, Opportunities and Related. They change as an account evolves through the customer lifecycle. The Account form is explained in detail in Review Active Accounts.
When you click Contacts from the left navigation, you will see a list of contacts. Every contact is associated with an account. You can see account-related contacts from the Contacts tab in the Account record, or you can look at this list.
When you click to open a contact, it opens in a side panel called a modal. This is a common feature of TekStack behaviour. Many items open in a side panel rather than the full screen.
The Contact form is explained in more detail in Add Contacts to an Account.