For Opportunities Interface users, you can create new Activities from emails using the Bcc function. In this article, we’ll guide you through what the Bcc functionality is, how to set it up and how to use it.
Before taking a look at this article, read:
TIP: Activities are created and managed in the Opportunities Interface. User Accounts will need the Opportunities User role. If you don’t have this user role, contact a Settings Administrator in your organization to edit your User Account and add the Opportunities User role.
How to Record Emails in Activities Using the Bcc Function
To create an Activity from an email, you must send an email from your own email account and include a Bcc to a specifically-created Spektrix email address.
The system will then automatically create a new Activity which will include the subject and body of the email. If the email recipient has a Customer Record using that email, the Activity will be attached to the Customer Record of the main email recipient.
TIP: The Bcc function will include the email that is sent and any emails found in the email thread.
The Activity created from the email, including the body of the email, will be visible by all Opportunities Users in your system.
VIDEO: Jump ahead to our Spektrix Training: On-Demand video - Bcc Email Activities for a guided walkthrough of this process.
Generating the Bcc Email Address
You can generate your Bcc address in one of two ways:
REMINDER: The Bcc functionality will only work for Opportunities Users. Attempting to generate a Bcc email address for a non-Opportunities User and sending emails with that Bcc email address will result in Activities not being created. The sending email address should match the email address of the User.
The generated email address will be in the following format:
bccspektrix-<clientname>-<unique random key>@<system>.spektrix.email
The <clientname> is your organization’s clientname and the <unique random key> is a random series of digits. <system> is replaced with “eu” for the UK, Ireland and Canada or “us” for the United States.
In the Settings Interface
In the Settings Interface, navigate to User > User Accounts.
TIP: This takes place in the Settings Interface. User Accounts will need the Settings Administrator role. If you don’t have this user role, contact a Settings Administrator in your organization to edit your User Account and add the Opportunities User role.
Click on the Username of an Opportunities User to edit.
You’ll also see a tab on the left-hand side for Bcc Email Address:
Click on the Generate button. A new email address will appear in the Bcc Email Address data field box. If there is a Bcc email address already there, you can still click Generate for a new email address.
From the Control Panel
Alternatively, Opportunities Users can open the Control Panel in the bottom-left corner of the screen from any interface (except Settings) and select Change User Settings from the options.
Scroll to the bottom of the User Settings popup where you’ll see a section called Generate Spektrix email address to BCC in fundraising emails:
Click on the Generate link. A new email address will appear. If there is a Bcc email address already there, you can still click Generate for a new email address.
Creating an Activity with a Bcc Email Address
Once you’ve generated and saved your Bcc email address, you can use it to create Activities any time you’re emailing from your own email client. You can send as many Bcc emails as you need, and each one will be logged as a new Activity.
REMINDER: The Bcc function will include the email that is sent and any emails found in the email thread. We recommend you only put in the Bcc email address when you’re nearing the end of the chain and not with every email, as each time the Bcc email address is included, it will create a new Activity.
In order to create an Activity from an email, you must:
- Add your Bcc address into the Bcc field of your email client
- Have an address in the To field in order to send an email
- Send from the email address linked to your User Account
WARNING: If your Bcc email is ever “exposed,” for example, accidentally put in as a Cc address or in the To field instead, for security purposes, Spektrix will automatically deactivate it and send you an email to inform you to make a new one.
After you send the email you will receive an email confirming that a new Activity has been created and if it has been linked to any Customers based on the recipients’ email addresses. The Activity will still be created even if it can’t link to a Customer automatically.
TIP: If an email address is added to a relationship between an Individual and an Organization and the Bcc email address is added to any emails with that relationship email address, the Activity will be linked to both the Individual and Organization Customer Record.
The new Activity will include:
- Email address sent to
- Subject of the email as Subject of Activity
- The body of the email, including any threads
- The Date of the Activity as the date of the email
- The Activity Type of Email
- The User Account of the sender as the Assignee
- The Priority defaulted to Medium
- The Completed box checked
REMINDER: If creating an Activity has failed, either from sending from an email that doesn’t have a User Account or a User that doesn’t have the Opportunities User role, you’ll get an email saying that the Activity could not be created. The email will still be sent to your recipients.
If you need to make any changes to the Activity, you can edit the Activity.
On-Demand Training Video - Bcc Email Activities
In this section of our Spektrix Training: On-Demand video on Fundraising and Opportunities, we cover Bcc Email Activities .
This chapter is a guided walkthrough of:
- BCC Email Activity
VIDEO TIP: With our Spektrix Training: On Demand videos- you can stop, restart or move to specific chapters. Click the CC option to turn on captions. Click in the Settings menu cog icon to control speed, captions and quality.
Further Reading
You now have the information you need to create Activities from emails using the Bcc functionality. For more information on features in the Opportunities Interface, check the section on Donor Pipeline and Stewardship in the Support Centre.