Territories

A detailed look at the fields and dependencies in the Territories records, how to create a new Territory record & editing existing Territories.

Territories are only available in the Standard and Enterprise versions of Solarvista. If you are using Lite , please skip to Problems or return to Setting Up Data.

 

The “Territory” record holds information about Users who are responsible for a geographic territory.

Each Territory holds a name and description plus a list of postal codes relevant to the territory It also optionally allows a pair of dates to define “valid from”, “valid until” or both.

It is not mandatory to setup Territories; however it will help when using the Calendar to find relevant people for the location of the Job/Work Item.

Where Territory Records are Used

The following files refer to Territory records so if you plan to use any of these, setting up the records in this file will be important or even critical:

 

Data Sources:

• Customer
• Site

 

Work Items:

• Generic Job
• Field Repair
• Internal Repair
• Depot Repair
• Field Maintenance
• Internal Maintenance
• Field Task
• Internal Task
• Help Desk Call

Pre-requisite Files for Territory Records

When setting up Territory records, it is recommended to review the other data files that may need to be referred to by each record. These are the files that you may need to setup in advance:

• Users
• Office/Depots
• Categories (Territory)

Field Descriptions for Territory Records

The ID section holds the unique ID for the record:

Reference - holds the unique ID for the record (most records in Solarvista have one of these). It cannot contain any spaces or non-standard characters. Once the record is saved, it is not possible to edit it afterwards. In most default situations, the Reference is automatically set using a counter sequence, however, you can setup your own if you prefer.

 

The Details section holds the name/description and users responsible for the territory:

Name – the formal name of the Territory e.g. "North 2", "New York", "Territory 7".

Description – a description of the Territory for use to enable easier selection in lists.

Users – a list of the Users responsible for this Territory.

Office/Depot – the local office or depot responsible for the territory, if applicable.

 

The Applicability section holds the information about the geographic references (using information from the Country and Gazetteer files) that apply. These are used by Solarvista to determine sites and customers within specific territories:

Country – the country where the territory is.

States – a list of States, if applicable, that define the territory.

Counties/Provinces – a list of Counties/Provinces, if applicable, that define the territory.

Postcodes – a text field containing matching postcodes, separated by semi-colons or commas.

 

The Validity section holds optional dates for validity of the Territory:

Valid From – the date from which the Territory should be valid. If not populated, the validity is assumed, subject to the Valid Until field.

Valid Until – the date until which the Territory should be valid. If not populated, the validity is assumed, subject to the Valid From field.

 

The Other section holds miscellaneous additional information:

Memo – a free text field that can be used for any purpose.

Category – a category for the Territory e.g. ‘EMEA”, “USA”. These are defined in the Categories file and set with a Type= “Territory”.

Code – used to hold an optional alternative ID code. This may be applicable in situations where information is being transferred to other systems via Connectors and the code here is used to identify the record to the other system.

Status – defines the status of the Territory as follows:

• Disabled – is not active. The record will not appear for selection in other parts of the system.
• Enabled – is active. The record will appear for selection in other parts of the system.

Creating a New Territory Record

To create a new Territory record:

1. Click on the “Plus” button.
   
   A menu will appear.
2. Within the “Data Sources” section, find “Territory”.
   
3. Click on “Territory”.
4. A new “empty” Territory record will appear.
5. Populate all fields as you require.
6. Click on the “Create” button.
   
7. You may need to refresh the page to see the new record in a view.
   

Editing a Territory Record

To edit a Territory record:

1. From the main menu, select Territories.
   
   The default view for Territories will open.
2. Click on the Quick Filter button.
   
3. Enter criteria for the Territory record you are looking for and click Apply button.
   
4. The view will update. Find the record you are wanting to edit.
5. Click anywhere on the row that shows the record. The record will open.
6. You can edit any field that allows editing (some could be set to read only).
7. Click on “Save” button to save changes.
   

Deleting a Territory Record

To delete a Territory record.

1. From the main menu, select Territories. The default view for Territories will open.
2. Click on the Quick Filter button.
   
3. Enter criteria for the Territory record you are looking for and click Apply button.
   
4. The view will update. Find the record you are wanting to delete.
5. On the left side of the view is a column containing checkboxes.
6. Check the box of the record you want to delete.
7. Click the “Delete” button on the top right.
   
   A slide in dialog will appear prompting you to confirm the delete, by typing in the word “DELETE” again.
8. To confirm, click the “Delete” button and the record (or records will be deleted).
   
   
   

Note: You cannot delete a Territory if they have been used on Jobs/Work Items. You can delete Territory records referred to only by other Data Sources however this will leave those records without an associated to a valid Territory record. If this happens by accident, you can manually recreate the record ensuring the Reference is identical. You can also change the status of the record to prevent it appearing on screen in future whilst maintaining historical integrity.

Customising or Adding New Fields

Solarvista™ is built upon a uniquely flexible platform that allows you to edit fields (or remove them in some cases) as well as add your own fields. These new fields (or edited characteristics of existing fields) automatically become available within the web portal and the mobile apps. For more information, refer to the Customising section.

Importing Territory Data in Bulk using Import Tool

If you have a lot of Skill information to enter, you may prefer to upload this using the Import Tool that’s built into Solarvista. The Import Tool enables Territory records to be created from “CSV” text files. CSV files can be created from a wide range of popular applications including Microsoft Excel. For more information on importing data into Solarvista, please refer to the article here.

Continue the Setting Up Data series with Certifications.