Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion

Simple CRM and biz management tool for a small business?

<< < (6/8) > >>

Armando:
perhaps it makes sense to create a public Redmine project instance so we can all collaborate on research, discussion, and planning...
-JavaJones (March 31, 2010, 09:39 PM)
--- End quote ---

I'm willing to participate. Bare in mind that I'm not real coder -- I know IQ very well though and can script if necessary.


[/quote]They go the route of "this is the way to do things for this industry", which as I said above could be a good thing, *but* they frankly appear to be too rigid in certain areas, basically requiring you buy into their solution end-to-end, or go with specific vendors, etc.
-JavaJones (April 01, 2010, 07:13 PM)
--- End quote ---

Exactly. And I find that it's good to have some flexibility and be able to adjust the product as needs arise.


Before we go too far, have you looked into existing software packages to see if there might already be something that does the job and is affordable for them?
-40hz (April 01, 2010, 07:02 PM)
--- End quote ---

I suggest that you take a look at an online solution.  I serve on the board of a small nonprofit and did a search for them to address what sounds like similar problems.  I was quite impressed with Zoho's CRM solution.  They haven't yet chosen to put it into play so I cannot testify to how well it works in practice, but my test drive (free) impressed me.  It's free for three users and $12/user/month above that:  ZohoCRM Pricing.
-AEngineer (April 01, 2010, 08:12 PM)
--- End quote ---


These are important considerations... and this is what I'm about to do myself : see what the current solutions look like and then try to build a similar solution with IQ. The Zoho CRM seems like a good starting point as far as features are concerned.

Then there's the pricing. For Zoho At 12$/month, this is 144$ per user each year (Professional edition). I wonder how that would compare against something like IQ + taking into account the time to customize the interface, DB, etc.
From the website, it would be something like 200$ for 3 licenses (3-license pack for the price of a regular license) -- that's cheaper than zoho for sure... But doesn't take into account any customization time.

In any case... I'll wait for the next posts here.

PPLandry:
If someone designed a functional CRM solution using IQ and were willing to share it with me and/or the community, they would definitely get 3 free IQ licenses, especially if coming from such a friendly group as DC is.  :-*

Afterall, the now relatively quiet InfoQube thread, is 47 pages long... and many improvements to InfoQube were suggestions from DonationCoders.  :Thmbsup:

pfflyer:
I would echo AEnginner's recommendation about Zoho CRM.  I have just begun to dabble with it. BUt it just might do the trick for you.

JavaJones:
More great suggestions and discussion. Funny, I love(d) Zoho's applications but had forgotten they had a CRM option, and of course it's probably evolved since I last tried it. I'll definitely give it a whirl. Whether it's Zoho or not I would definitely prefer it to be some kind of online option rather than desktop install (this counts against IQ, at least as a sole solution). The reasons for this are many, but chief among them is access anywhere and data interchange.

Anyway, plenty more research to do. :D

- Oshyan

40hz:
Bare in mind that I'm not real coder --
-Armando (April 01, 2010, 08:32 PM)
--- End quote ---

Hey, that makes two of us! :Thmbsup:

We can keep each other company if they put us at the table with the unattractive single cousins over by the kitchen door. >:D

--------------



David Levinson: You really think you can fly that thing?

Capt. Hiller: You really think you can do all that bullshit you just said?

 8)

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page