Locking Salesforce records after they are audited

At first, this requirement seemed like it would be hard, but after researching the discussion board a little on Developerforce, I found that others had this same requirement and there was a logical solution to do this. I learned about page layouts and record types and how to control what the end user can see. I also learned to change a particular group of users view whenever a field is updated through workflow rules.

Requirement:
When a job record has been audited, the record needs to be locked.

Solution:
I created a new page layout and record type called "Locked" where all the fields would be read-only. Then, I created a workflow rule that would update the record type to Locked whenever the "Audited" check box was checked on the Job record.

Visualforce Quick View for Page Layout

After my initial feedback session from the users I will be working with, I noticed a common compliant among all of them. The compliant was that the fields in Salesforce were too scattered and not all in one view. The users did not like to scroll up and down their page layout in order to see the information they needed. They often need to see information through different records while there on a call and need see information at a glance.

Before the users switched to Salesforce, they used an Access database form to see all their information. I used this old access form and designed a page through Visualforce that would embed into their current page layout. This brought all the relevant information they needed directly to the top of there screen and they no longer had to scroll through the entire form to see information they needed to see.

Salesforce Project Timer Button

We needed a way to keep track of the time we spend on each project, something as simple as pressing a button and starting the clock. So, we came across this free app, installed it, and configured it to meet our needs. It will automatically link to our accounts and opportunities.

American Data Company Timer

This is a free App available on the Salesforce AppExchange.

The customization guide helps to configure the timer so it links to my Projects. I'm also able to specify the billing type, weather it's consulting, non-billable, documentation, etc. This way, I can keep track of all the time I spend with a client and measure where my time is being spent.

Converting to The Cloud

OK, I’ve recently accepted a position to move an businesses IT platform to “the cloud” using Salesforce.com and decided to blog about it. And what is the first software program I use to take notes to start this blog? That’s right….Word. I’m so used to Microsoft products that it just comes natural to open them when I need to do anything with the computer. How am I going to sale cloud software solutions to replace computer software and servers with these habits?

I’m starting this blog about a month after I started my new position, so I’m going to try and back track my challenges and accomplishments I’ve encountered so far with converting a logistics business of around 10 employees to an IT platform in the cloud with Salesforce. I hope I can provide helpful information to others in the same position as myself and payback the bloggers that have helped me with my achievements so far.

Now I have started my first step to converting to the cloud, I started this blog post with Google in less than 5 minutes, they had to send a verification code to my cell phone which was weird, but it didn't take long.