Table of Contents
What is Salesforce and Who Uses it?
Why Does Integrating BigTime with Salesforce Matter?
How to Integrate BigTime with Salesforce
Importing Opportunities to BigTime
What Happens After the Project in BigTime is Created?
How Do I See my BigTime Data in Salesforce?
Reports in Salesforce
FAQ
What version of Salesforce is needed to integrate with BigTime?
Do Projects automatically get created when first integrating?
Can I manually import a project prior to it reaching the selected stage?
Do I have to choose a sync stage?
Do Closed Lost opportunities import to BigTime?
If I manually create a BigTime Project IN Salesforce will that import to BigTime?
How often does my data sync from BigTime to Salesforce?
Do my contacts from Salesforce import with the Opportunity?
If I change the Opportunity name in Salesforce will that change the BigTime Project Name?
What is Salesforce and Who Uses It?
Salesforce is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform with applications for sales, service, marketing and more that help bring customers and companies together. Sales Cloud is an all-in-one sales CRM that brings together sales automation tools, reporting, deal management, and more. Sales Cloud enables businesses to manage leads, track progress, and automate sales processes.
Salesforce's target is 100+ users, however, it's the market leader in the space of customizable platforms that requires a lot of thought and set up. Salesforce is designed for huge companies that have a long list of niche requests, including current known requirements and unknown future needs.
Why Does Integrating BigTime with Salesforce Matter?
An integration with Salesforce allows firms to execute on work faster, optimize workflows, and automates information between the two systems. Data is seamlessly transferred back and forth providing accurate and up to date information on project health, budgets, invoices, and much more. This means that whichever system you are spending the majority of your time in, you have access to the most important data for any of your projects. Opportunities are created in Salesforce and flow into BigTime at the lifecycle stage set by the firm. Each firm is different in when a project becomes active in BigTime and when it’s time to start planning and allocating resources. In the integration setup, firms can decide at which point during the opportunity lifecycle that project will be pushed into BigTime.
As soon as the Opportunity is pushed to BigTime, a BigTime project object gets created within Salesforce. This is where any BigTime data flows back to allowing users to view information like project details, budgets, input fees and expenses, remaining budgets, project teams, and invoice data.
How to Integrate BigTime with Salesforce?
Before beginning the integration with Salesforce, you will need to verify the firm's BigTime and Salesforce subscription levels. The BigTime subscription level must be PREMIER. Salesforce requires the Enterprise version to connect to BigTime. If the firm has the Pro version of Salesforce, then they will need to purchase an additional API package.
To begin connecting BigTime to Salesforce navigate to the Integrations screen (My Company > Integrations). In the URL add /salesforce at the end and click enter. I.e. to gain access to the salesforce integration tile within BigTime you will need to go to
Link for IQ/Production: https://iq.bigtime.net/Bigtime/Integration#/applications/salesforce
***If the direct link doesn’t work then go to the integration screen and add /salesforce at the end of the URL
Next, you will install the BigTime app into your Salesforce account so be sure to login to Salesforce first before beginning the download.
Click on the downloading the app link in BigTime.
You will be redirected back to Salesforce to authorize the download, the Salesforce users that should be given access to the BigTime app, and the most up-to-date version of the application.
Note: installing the package/application will not actually connect BigTime to Salesforce. This is just the first step into integrating the two systems.
Click Upgrade (or download). Salesforce will let you know once the upgrade/download is complete.
*It will say UPGRADE if you already have the app downloaded to salesforce and there has been a new version released.
Click DONE which will then direct you to the Installed Packages page within Salesforce. After installing the package, you will begin connecting to BigTime.
Click on the 9 dots and select the BigTime App.
Select the BigTime Setup tab at the top of the page and click CONNECT.
After clicking Connect it will ask you to login to BigTime. This will be the admins BigTime login credentials. Salesforce will authorize the firm you are integrating to ensure you are connecting to the correct instance and confirm the data that will be shared between the two systems. Click Allow and Close out.
A firm can determine at what Opportunity stage a BigTime project automatically gets created. To set this, click on the BigTime Setup tab in Salesforce. There is a field that allows you to select that Stage. As soon as an Opportunity hits this selected stage, it will push to BigTime to create a project. If a firm would rather manually control which Opportunities are being sent to BigTime, they can leave this field blank.
The next step is to add the Push and Pull Buttons to the Opportunity and BigTime Project objects. The Push to BigTime button allows a user to manually push an opportunity to BigTime. This button is also used to trigger any updates on the project in BigTime if there are any changes to Opportunity.
**Note adding the Push to BigTime button using the steps below will also include the Pull from BigTime button on the BigTime Project object.
To add the buttons follow these steps:
- Click the gear icon > setup > object manager
- Scroll to Opportunity > Page Layouts > Opportunity Layout
- Click Buttons > drag into the Custom Buttons field
- For Lightning users click Mobile & Lightning Actions > drag into the highlighted field > SAVE
**Note I recommend adding the buttons to both versions assuming SF users in a firm may use different versions.
Push to BigTime in SF Classic
Push to BigTime in SF Lightning
Add Reports to BigTime App
With the Salesforce integration, there are two standard reports that have automatically been created for you. You will need to add the reporting tab to the BigTime App to view these. To add the Reports follow these steps:
- Click Setup
- Click Apps > App Manager
- For the BigTime App, click the arrow and select EDIT
- Under the Available Tabs, select Reports and click ADD so it is in the Selected Tabs section
- Save
The final step to configuring the integration are settings that live within BigTime. Navigate back to BigTime and open the Salesforce Integration screen (My Company > Integrations > Salesforce).
This is where you will configure the following settings:
- Choose the Autosync frequency. How often you want the sync to occur or select "Never" to turn autosyncing off. Choosing “Never” means in order for your BigTime data to flow back into Salesforce then it will be done manually by clicking on the “Pull from BigTime” button that is on each project in Salesforce.
Note you are still able to use the manual Pull from BigTime if also using the autosync. This can always be utilized if you need your data to flow back to Salesforce in real time.
- Sync Allocation Projections. BigTime will sync allocation projection data with Salesforce. You can select the number of months (Rolling 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, or 24 months) of projection data you would like to sync or select "Don't Sync Allocation Projections".
- Block Custom Fields. BigTime will automatically import custom and standard fields along with the Opportunity. A custom field will be created on the project in BigTime to store this data. By default, all fields will import but if you choose to block specific fields you can do so by selecting them from the list.
- Here is where updated packages can be installed. If BigTime releases a new package, this is where the admin will go to update.
Important Note. When there is an update to a package they will want to update from this screen because it will upgrade over the current package that is installed. DO NOT uninstall and reinstall because any data that is already within Salesforce will be lost.
To access the BigTime app within Salesforce click on the 9 dots in the top left corner to open the App Launcher. Then click on the BigTime App.
Here is where you will be able to access your Setup, any of your BigTime Projects that were created after pushing an Opportunity into BigTime, and the standard reports that we have created for you.
Importing Opportunities to BigTime
When an Opportunity hits the selected sync stage it will be imported into BigTime as a Project. A Client will be created in BigTime from the Account. If they prefer to manually push over an Opportunity they can do so using the ‘Push to BigTime’ button that is on the Opportunity.
For this document we will use the above as our example Opportunity and the lifecycle of being imported to BigTime and how the data flows back into Salesforce.
Opportunity Name = Main Street Lofts
Account = Holtrop & Co.
As you can see from the above screenshot , the Opportunity is currently in the Value Proposition stage. In my setup I have selected my sync stage to be Closed Won. This means as soon as the Opportunity hits Closed Won then it will automatically import to BigTime as a Project. If I want to import it prior to that stage then I could do so by manually clicking the Push to BigTime button.
Note an Opportunity will never push to BigTime in a Closed LOST stage.
Now that the Opportunity hit Closed Won the project is created in BigTime. Since I have already imported an Opportunity on this Account, the Project knows to be created under that same BigTime Client. If this was a brand new Account that hasn’t synced with BigTime then a new Client would be created.
What Happens After the Project in BigTime is Created?
BigTime will import a number of fields from the Opportunity. If you have custom fields and have not blocked them within your setup, those values will be imported to the project. A custom field on the BigTime project that links you back to the opportunity in Salesforce is created allowing for you to easily open the opportunity if needed.
There is an additional linking field (field name = Salesforce Opportunity/Job Link) to show you exactly which Account/Opportunity the project is connected to. This links the two together so it can feed data back and forth between the systems.
The Status Notes field will provide the stage at which the Opportunity imported it.
If any updates occur on the Opportunity and you would like that to be updated in BigTime, simply open the Opportunity and click the Push to BigTime button again.
Contacts
Contacts on the Opportunity that are set as the “Primary” contact will import to BigTime. If there are multiple contacts on the Opportunity and those need to be imported to BigTime as well then you can switch the contact role to Primary and click the Push to BigTime button again and the new contact will be created.
How do I see my BigTime data in Salesforce?
As soon as the Opportunity is imported and the project in BigTime is created, a BigTime project in SALESFORCE is also created. Within the BigTime application in Salesforce you will notice there is a tab called BigTime Projects.
This is where all of the project data will flow back to from BigTime. To continue with the same example, we will begin to enter data for the Project and you will see how this data pulls back into Salesforce.
If the autosync setting is turned ON then BigTime data will flow back to Salesforce automatically based on the frequency selected on the integration screen. You can always manually run this sync by opening the BigTime Project in Salesforce and clicking the Pull From BigTime button.
Project Dashboard Info:
On the project dashboard, the following information will sync back to Salesforce.
- Start Date
- Due Date
- Type
- Production Status
- Status Notes
- Cost Centers
- Additional Fields
- BigTime URL. This is the URL for the project in BigTime. Clicking this will open to BigTime to that project
- Has Started. This is be marked as TRUE as soon as time and expenses have been logged to the project
- Has Budgets. This will be marked as TRUE if there are Tasks that contain budgets
Budget Data
If there are Tasks that contain budgets, fees and/or expenses, this will sync to the BigTime Project in Salesforce. If you run the Fee Projection based on Allocations we will also pull that data back to Salesforce. On the main project screen it will be the total values of all task data combined. To see a breakdown of each Task you can view that by clicking on the DETAILS tab.
Budget Data (Fees Only)
- Fee Budget. Total dollar budget for time/fees within the project.
- Fees Input. Total time logged against this project to date (fees are based on the project’s billing rate, and this number includes time marked as ‘No Charge’).
- Fees Billable. Total billable time logged against this project to date (note that time marked as ‘No Charge’ is not included, and fees are based on the project’s billing rate).
- Allocated Fees. If you use allocation budgets in BigTime, this field contains the total fees scheduled/allocated for the project (based on your project’s revenue model).
- Remaining (Fee/Billable). Total fee budget - billable time (hours*bill rate) to date.
- Percent Complete. A summary of percent complete (based on the weight value of the completed percentages within your project’s task list). Provides an overall estimate of what percentage of the FEE BUDGET has been “earned” based on the project’s completion state.
- Percent Budget Used. This field is a calculation (billable fees to date / total fee budget).
Project in BigTime:
Project in Salesforce:
Budget Data (Expenses)
- Expense Budget. Total dollar budget for expenses within your project (note that fees vs expenses break down budgets).
- Expenses Input. Total dollars logged for expenses to date (including all unsubmitted and unapproved expenses).
- Expenses Billable. Total billable dollars logged for expenses to date (including all unsubmitted and unapproved expenses).
- Remaining (Expense/Input). Total expense budget - input expenses to date.
- Remaining (Expenses/Billable). Total expenses budget - billable expenses to date
Project in BigTime:
Project in Salesforce:
Team Members
The project team will pull into Salesforce. It will also include the team roles and if the team member is marked as the Team Lead.
Invoices
Any invoices that are created in BigTime will pull into Salesforce. You can view the summary of this information in the Related tab. If you want to see the details of the invoice you can drill into it by clicking on the invoice number.
In the detail screen of each invoice you will have access to the printed invoice that is attached to the invoice in BigTime.
Additional information such as the Transaction Date (Draft Date), Net Amount, Tax Amount (if relevant), and Total Amount are available. Any payments will also be available. The Net Amount will update to reflect the payments that have been made on that invoice.
Monthly Activity Summary
The Monthly Activity Summary is where users can view all of their allocation data broken down by each month.
Note the number of months that will pull over at a time is set in the Integration settings in BigTime.
At a high level, they can see the Period, Projected Dollars (based on the revenue recognition model selected), Actual Dollars, and Billable Dollars. For more detailed information each period can be drilled into.
- Actual Dollars. Fees (hours*bill rate) input for the period
- Billable Dollars. Fees (hours*bill rate) input for the period (excluding any time marked as ‘No Charge’).
- Project Dollars. Fees allocated for the project in this period (based on the hours allocated and the project’s revenue recognition model).
- Variance Dollars. Projected Dollars - Input Fees (eg - input hours * bill rate) for the period.
- Actual Hours. Hours Input for the period.
- Billable Hours. Hours input for the period (excluding any time marked as ‘No Charge’).
- Projected Hours. Hours allocated for the project in this period for projects that are using resource allocation.
- Variance Hours. Projected Hours - Hours Input for the period.
Task Budgets
Each Task will sync into Salesforce so you have additional visibility into the Tasks for that project. Then, you can click into each Task to see additional details like Task Budgets, Input data, and budget remaining.
Reports in Salesforce
BigTime has two standard reports that are automatically created for you when integrating with Salesforce. These can be accessed by clicking on the REPORTS tab within the BigTime App in Salesforce. Note the administrator will have to add this to the BigTime App. See directions in the setup section of this document.
The reports are:
- Allocations+Actuals by Month. For opportunities that have BigTime projects attached, this report shows projected revenues in a pivot table (along with actuals).
- BigTime/Opportunity Summary. Basic budget status information on all opportunities linked to BigTime.
FAQ
What version of Salesforce is needed to integrate with BigTime?
Enterprise. If you use Pro you need an additional API package.
Do Projects automatically get created when first integrating?
The Projects will not automatically create. The Opportunities links will create and users can manually link the BigTime Project to the Opportunity. If the Account and Opportunity have an exact name match and you click Push to BigTime on that Opportunity, then it will link them automatically for you but you will still be required to click the Push button
Furthermore, if you do manually link a BigTime Project to an opportunity, the BigTime project within Salesforce WILL get created that way you don’t also have to click the Push to BigTime button
Can I manually import a project prior to it reaching the selected stage?
Yes. Click on the Push to BigTime button and the opportunity will import to BigTime
Do I have to choose a sync stage?
No. It is not required to set a sync stage. You can select the blank option in the BigTime Setup within Salesforce. If you choose this option, you will have to manually import every opportunity in order to get it into BigTime. This can be done using the Push to BigTime button on the opportunity.
Do Closed Lost opportunities import to BigTime?
No. Closed Lost will never import to BigTime.
If I manually create a BigTime Project IN Salesforce will that import to BigTime?
No. You must create the Opportunity and push it to BigTime for both the project in BigTime to be created and the project in Salesforce to be created. Manually creating a Salesforce BigTime Project will not be linked to anything.
How often does my data sync from BigTime to Salesforce?
This depends on how you have configured this setting. The autosync can be enabled in BigTime under the Salesforce Integration tile. You can choose to auto-sync every 2 hours, 4 hours, or Once a Day. If you choose ever then you will have to manually sync your data using the Pull from BigTime button.
Do my contacts from Salesforce import with the Opportunity?
Yes. The PRIMARY contact will import to BigTime. If you want additional contacts to import you can always change their contact role to Primary and click the Push to BigTime button again. Doing this will not overwrite the existing contact that was imported.
If I change the Opportunity name in Salesforce will that change the BigTime Project Name?
The link on the project will be reflective of that change but the actual BT project name does not update. This will only occur if you click the “Push to BigTime” button in Salesforce after you made that change.