The Riva sync policy is the key component in determining how Riva syncs data between the CRM user accounts and corresponding user mailboxes. Understanding how Riva syncs data is critical to successfully setting the options in the Riva sync policy (and CRM connections).
Using a combination of video and text to explain how Riva handles syncing different types of data, this article also provides some key questions to ask to help you decide how to configure your Riva sync policy:
Riva supports assigning target users to the sync policy using mailbox users or Google enabled groups. If a large number of users will be added to a sync policy, it is easier to use groups. User management would be done in Google Admin console. Changes to group member lists will be picked up once daily or if the Riva sync service is restarted.
Riva also supports syncing multiple sync policies at the same time. This allows Riva administrators to design sync policies that best meet sync requirements based on the type of user (in an office or mobile), geographic location (North America, EMEA, APAC, etc.), or type of data being synced (full data sync, calendar only, email only, etc.).
Key questions to ask
Q1: How many users will be synced in production?
Q2: Is there a requirement for different sync policies?
Q3: Will users be moved between sync policies? How often will this occur?
How Far into the Past Do You Want to Go?
When Riva performs a first time sync for a user, it queries the CRM for contacts, leads, calendar items, and tasks to copy to the user's Google mailbox. Riva includes a Sync Start Time filter option that Riva applies depending on the type of data.
Contacts and Leads are filtered based on create or last modified date. Items created or last modified before the Sync Start Time filter are not copied to a user's Google Contacts.
Calendar items are filtered against the schedule start date. Items scheduled to start before the Sync Start Time filter are not copied to the user's Google calendar.
Tasks are filtered based on the scheduled start date or, if a start date is not specified in the task, the filtering is based on the create or last modified date. Items scheduled to start before the Sync Start Time filter are not copied to the user's to-do task list. Items with no start date and created or last modified before the Sync Start Time filter are not copied to the user's to-do task list.
Key questions to ask
Q1: What date time do you want to set as the default Sync Start Time filter?
How Do You Want Riva to Sync Your Contacts and Leads?
Watch the following video on contact sync:
How to sync contacts between your CRM and Gmail or G Suite
Syncing contact and lead data
Sync CRM Contacts to Google Viewed in "My Contacts"
Sync CRM Contacts to Google Viewed in Riva Created "CRM" Contact Group
First Time Sync: Once a user has been added to a sync policy and Riva runs a first time sync against that user, Riva syncs a filtered list of contacts and leads from the CRM and creates those as contact records in Google Contacts:
CRM Contacts are created and synced to a policy defined contact group name.
CRM Leads are created and synced to a separate contact group name with the addition of the word "Lead".
Normal Data Sync: Riva can support bidirectional or unidirectional data syncing between the CRM and Google. When bidirectional syncing is enabled, Riva, by default, syncs contacts and leads as follows:
Riva syncs created, modified, and deleted contacts and leads from the CRM to Google.
Riva syncs created and modified contact records from Google to the CRM. By default, Riva does not sync deleted Google contacts to the CRM, because Riva considers the CRM contact, lead, and account records as authoritative over email records.
Riva automatically syncs contact and lead changes from the CRM to Google.
Riva can be configured to require a Riva group to be applied to a Google contact record item before Riva syncs that item to the CRM.
Riva can support de-duping Google contact records against existing CRM contacts for on-boarding and creation purposes.
All contacts records in Google that Riva has synced with the CRM are added to the Riva contact group.
Riva can filter contact sync based on visibility in the CRM or ownership of the contact record in the CRM, creation or modification dates of contact records, maximum record counts, and custom filters that can be designed by Riva professional services.
Key questions to ask
Your answers will determine how you configure the Address Books settings of the sync policy:
Q1: Do you want Riva to sync contacts?
Q2: Do you want Riva to sync leads?
Q3: Do you want bidirectional sync or unidirectional CRM to Google sync?
Q4: What contact group name do you want to use to sync contacts? to sync leads?
Q5: Do you want Riva to require a contact group to sync new or modified Google contacts or leads to the CRM, or do you want Riva to sync all new or modified items automatically?
Q6: Do you want Riva to save new contact records in the Google address book?
Q7: Do you want Riva to filter CRM contacts and leads by all visible or ownership, or do you want to apply a custom filter?
Q8: Do you want to apply a max record count filter for CRM contacts and leads synced to Google? If so, what value should be applied to that filter?
Q9: Are there any custom CRM contact fields that need to be synced to Google contact records?
How Do You Want Riva to Sync Your Calendar Events and Tasks?
Sync CRM Calendar Items to the Google Calendar
Sync CRM events (with multiple invitees)
Syncing calendar events
First Time Sync: Once a user has been added to a sync policy and Riva runs a first time sync against that user, Riva syncs calendar items from the CRM and creates those as calendar items in the user's primary calendar in Google. Those calendar records appear in the user's primary Google calendar and are colour-coded with the Riva-assigned colour for calendar items.
Normal Data Sync: Riva supports bidirectional and unidirectional data syncing between the CRM and Google. When bidirectional syncing is enabled, Riva, by default, syncs the calendar as follows:
Riva syncs created, modified, and deleted appointments, events (meetings), phone calls, and service calls (for Microsoft Dynamics CRM only) from the CRM to Google.
Riva syncs created, modified, and deleted appointments and meetings from Google to the CRM.
Riva automatically syncs calendar changes from the CRM to Google.
Riva can be configured to ignore private appointments and can treat CRM deletions as cancellations in Google. For example, if a user deletes a calendar item in CRM, Riva syncs it to Google and modifies the title of the calendar item to show "Deleted in CRM".
Riva syncs recurring appointments from the CRM to Google (if supported by the CRM).
Riva syncs Google recurring appointments and meetings to the CRM and creates individual calendar items in the CRM.
Calendar syncing questions to ask
Your answers will determine how the Calendar module options will be set:
Q1: Do you want Riva to sync appointments, phone calls, and/or service calls (Microsoft Dynamics CRM only)? Do you want bidirectional sync or unidirectional CRM to Google sync?
Q2: What color do you want to use for appointments? for phone calls?
Q3: Do you want Riva to require a specific "Category Name Color" (Riva will use a calendar event color) to sync new or modified Google calendar items to the CRM, or do you want Riva to sync all new or modified items automatically?
Q4: Do you want to disable reminder sync?
Q5: How do you want Riva to sync recurring appointments from Google to the CRM: sync only the first item or the entire recurring series?
Q6: Do you want to treat CRM deletions as cancellations in Google instead of deletions?
Q7: Do you want to ignore all-day Google events marked with "Show as Free"?
Q8: Do you want to skip syncing Google appointments marked as "Private"?
Q9: Are there any special filtering options required for calendar sync?
Q10: Do you want to use separate processing rules for calendar sync and email sync?
Syncing tasks
CRM Task that Riva will discover during first time sync
Riva created a "CRM" task list and saved the CRM task to it
User can open and modify the task content that Riva will sync back to the CRM
First Time Sync: Once a user has been added to a sync policy and Riva runs a first time sync against that user, Riva will sync task items from the CRM and create those as tasks items in the user's primary Tasks list in Google.
Normal Data Sync: Riva supports bidirectional and unidirectional data syncing between the CRM and Google. When bidirectional syncing is enabled, Riva, by default, syncs tasks as follows:
Riva syncs created, modified, status-updated, and deleted tasks from the CRM to Google and from Google to the CRM.
If a task is marked as "completed", Riva syncs it as an update and changes the status to "completed" in the corresponding system. Once marked as "completed", Riva stops syncing any changes to the task item.
Riva automatically syncs task changes from the CRM to Google.
Riva can be configured to sync using a separate Google task list list before Riva syncs that item to the CRM.
Task syncing questions to ask
Q1: Do you want Riva to sync tasks? Do you want bidirectional sync or unidirectional CRM to Google sync?
Q2: What "Category Name" do you want to use for task sync? (This will create a task list in Google.)
Q3: Do you want Riva to require a specified task list to sync Google tasks to the CRM, or do you want Riva to sync all new or modified tasks automatically?
How Do You Want Riva to Sync Your Email to the CRM?
Riva supports archiving emails into the CRM. Emails will be related to email recipients that can be matched to CRM users, contacts, and leads. Riva does not sync emails created in the CRM into Google. Emails can be used as a source item to create opportunities, cases, or other module items in the CRM, depending on the CRM. Learn more about how Riva can sync emails.
Watch the following video:
How to archive email from Gmail to CRM contacts
Syncing emails to the CRM
Track emails to the CRM contacts using drag and drop to the "Create New Email" label
First Time Sync: During the first sync, Riva builds, in the user's mailbox, a new label structure that contains "drop labels". A user can sync an email to the CRM by moving it or copying it into an appropriate "drop label".
Normal Data Sync: By default, Riva archives emails and matches the email recipients to the CRM user first, then to CRM contacts, and then to CRM leads (if enabled in the sync policy). Riva can be configured to sync emails and create module items in the CRM, typically new opportunities, cases, projects, or quotes. Riva also supports custom objects for some CRMs. For each email placed in a "drop label", Riva archives it to the CRM as follows:
Riva attempts to match each email recipient and the sender to CRM users. If no match is found, Riva attempts to match to CRM contacts. If no match is found, Riva checks against leads (if configured to do so).
If a match is not found, Riva attempts to create a contact (or lead if configured to do so). For a new contact, Riva tries to match the new contact to an existing CRM account by matching the Company field to CRM account names, then by email domain name (for example, @example.com) to the website field or email address field of CRM account records. If a match is found, the new contact is created and related to the existing CRM account. If no match is made, Riva creates a new account by using the Company name field or email domain name, depending on how the sync policy is configured.
For most CRMs, Riva creates an email item. For some, like Salesforce, Riva creates an activity item that appears as a completed task if matched to a CRM contact or lead, or as an uncompleted task if matched to a system user.
Riva moves the email from the drop label back to either the Inbox or the Sent Mail label and assigns the Processing Complete! label to the email.
The SmartConvert tab of the sync policy has many options that control how email sync is implemented.
Email syncing questions to ask
Q1: Do you want to enable email sync?
Q2: Do you want to enable Riva to check for emails to sync more often than when full syncs are scheduled?
Q3: Do you require that emails must match an existing CRM contact or lead in order to archive them to the CRM? (Such a required match prevents archiving internal emails.)
Q4: Do you want to match Cc and BCc recipients against CRM users, contacts, or leads?
Q5: Do you want to disable all contact, lead, and account creation in the CRM?
Q6: If you allow the creation of CRM contacts and/or leads, do you want to filter out certain domain names like your company domain names? (This filtering prevents creating employee contacts.)
Q7: If no matching contact is found, do you want to match against CRM leads?
Q8: Do you want to create CRM leads instead of CRM contacts?
Q9: Do you want CRM user and contact matching to be mutually exclusive? (This prevents matching recipients to both a CRM user and a CRM employee contact record.)
Q10: Are there any specific special filters or custom categories that need to be supported?
Sync CRM module info to email
Watch the following video:
How to view and access CRM opportunities and cases from Gmail
Use summary emails to quickly look up items in the CRM
Sync CRM opportunities, cases, and custom objects between the CRM and Google
Normal Data Sync: Riva creates summary emails in the Google mailbox in the module labels of the drop label structure, for example the Opportunities label. Those emails contain summary information about each active module item (for example, an opportunity). Each email also includes a button or website link to open the module item in the CRM in either Edit or View mode (depending on the CRM).
Supporting CRM module sync questions to ask
Q1: Do you want to sync summary emails by module?
Q2: Which modules do you want to sync summary emails for? Quotes, opportunities, cases, projects, etc., depending on the CRM?
Q3: How do you want to filter summary emails that sync from CRM to Google? "Filter by all visible", filter by ownership, or filter by using a custom filter?
Use email to create opportunities, cases, or custom modules
Use SmartConvert to convert an email into a new CRM opportunity
Create opportunities and cases using email
First Time Sync: During the first sync, Riva builds, in the user's mailbox, a new label structure that contains "drop labels". Drop labels (for example, "- Create New Opportunity") are added for each module that is enabled on the Other page of the sync policy.
Normal Data Sync: When a user places an email in a "- Create New [module]" label, Riva processes that email as follows:
Riva attempts to match recipients to CRM users, contacts, and leads. The matching process is the same as when Syncing emails to the CRM.
Riva creates a module item (for example, a new opportunity) in the CRM and assigns it to the user that Riva is syncing.
Riva adds the email to the Activity History of the new module item and of the matched contacts and leads.
Riva syncs a new summary email to the parent module label; for example, Riva syncs a summary email to the Opportunities label.
Riva moves the email back to the Inbox or Sent Mail label and assigns the Processing Complete! label to the email.
SmartConvert questions to ask
Q1: For which modules do you want to see a "- Create New [module item]" drop label, where you can drop emails for Riva to create corresponding module items in the CRM? (For each one of them, be sure to clear the Hide check box.)
Use AssignTo to archive email against existing opportunities and cases
Watch the following video:
How to assign an email from Gmail to a CRM opportunity or case
Archive emails against opportunities, cases or custom modules
Use AssignTo to archive emails against existing opportunities, cases, or custom modules
First Time Sync: During the first sync, Riva adds an \Assign To\ label under the parent module label for each module enabled on the Other page of the sync policy. Riva adds a drop label for each active module item that is either visible to or owned by the user. The label name is based on the module item:
Opportunity label names include an index number, the title of the opportunity, and the value of the opportunity.
Example: \Opportunities\Assign To\[1] 3000 Widgets for Acme Corp ($120,000)
Case label names include an index number, the case number, and the title of the case.
Example: \Cases\Assign To\[1] [12934] Widget control not activating automatically on restart
Normal Data Sync: When a user places an email in an AssignTo drop folder, Riva processes that email as follows:
Riva attempts to match recipients to CRM users, contacts, and leads. The matching process is the same as when Syncing emails to the CRM.
Riva adds the email to the Activity History of the existing module item and of the matched contacts and leads.
Riva syncs an update to the summary email in the parent module label. For example, Riva syncs a summary email to the Opportunities label.
Riva moves the email back to the Inbox or Sent Mail label and assigns the Processing Complete! label to the email.
AssignTo questions to ask
Q1: Do you want to enable AssignTo, so as to archive emails to existing modules?
Q2: Do you want to limit the number of drop labels created in the AssignTo folder? (By default, there is a 30-label limit.)
Q3: Do you want to limit the age of items for which drop labels are created and retained? (This option automatically removes drop labels for stale items.)
Q4: How do you want your email client to sort your AssignTo drop folders? By date modified, alphabetically, or — for cases — by ascending case number?
