What the Account Number Doesn't Tell You

The ACCT# gets you into the system. It does not tell you whether the customer is on a Genie with three clients or an HD DVR with two HD receivers. It does not tell you whether they came in on a referral from account 447-293-1 or walked in cold. It does not tell you whether their CC# on file expires in six weeks. Those details live in the rep's head, in a text message thread, in a pocket notepad — and when the rep turns over, they vanish.

This template was built for the field, not the back office. The rep who knocked the door, closed the install, and is fielding the upgrade call six months later needs the account picture in ten seconds, not after a three-transfer hold with billing.

The Package Field Is Doing Two Jobs

Eight options: Entertainment, Choice, Extra, Ultimate, Premier, Óptimo, Ultra, Lo Máximo. The last two are the tell. Óptimo and Lo Máximo are the Spanish-language tier equivalents marketed specifically to Spanish-dominant households. The presence of those two options means this CRM was built for a market — probably a southern US metro — where the rep is working both English and Spanish accounts in the same territory on the same day.

That matters for the NOTES field. A customer on Óptimo who upgrades to Lo Máximo is a different retention conversation than one on Entertainment moving to Choice. The package tier tracks the revenue tier, but it also flags the household's language preference without needing a separate field.

Equipment Config: The Field That Prevents the Wrong Truck Roll

The Equipment multichoice is structured as a base unit plus client count: Genie, then +1 client, +2 clients, +3 clients. Or the DVR path: HD DVR, then +1 HD REC, +2 HD REC, +3 HD REC. This isn't a description of what's installed — it's a count that drives the install crew's manifest.

A Genie with +2 clients means three coax runs, three mounting locations, specific SWM node configuration. An HD DVR with +3 HD REC means four boxes, four remotes, four access card activations. When the crew shows up without knowing the equipment count, you get a second trip. Second trips are chargebacks.

The rep who entered Genie +2 clients at close is the same person who can pull that record when the customer calls three months later saying one client box is dropping signal. The equipment count in the record is the baseline. The NOTES field is where the rep logs the post-install anomaly: "client 2 in master bedroom, long coax run, signal at 87, watch on wind days."

REFER ACCT# and the Commission Chain

Referral tracking is where this CRM earns its place. REFER ACCT# captures the account number of the existing customer who made the referral. That's a two-way link: the new account points to the referrer's ACCT#, and the referrer's record (in NOTES) should log that the referral was made and to whom.

When referral bonuses pay out, the rep needs to document the link for commission verification. When a referring customer calls to ask whether their referral credit posted, the rep has the answer in the referring account's record — REFER ACCT# on the new account, cross-referenced to the original. Without it, that call becomes a 20-minute billing dispute.

The SS# and CC# Fields

Both stored as phone-type fields — numeric, no dashes in display, easy to enter on mobile. SS# is the Social Security number used for credit check authorization at signup. CC# is the payment method on file. Neither should be in a general-purpose notes field where it's free text and uncontrolled. The typed fields enforce entry format and make it clear to the rep that these are structured data points, not casual notes.

The BIRTH DAY date field pairs with SS# for the same reason: identity verification when the customer calls to make account changes. The rep who has DOB + last four of SS# doesn't have to ask the customer to hold while locating the account in two different systems.

Two Tel# fields handle the reality that most households have a mobile and a home line, and that the person who answers the install-day call is often not the account holder. Tel#2 is usually the spouse's mobile, the number that actually gets picked up.