Reams of paper no longer an option
September 2, 2010 11:10 AM Subscribe
Asking for boss: we need a database to track customer info and history.
Hoping for the cheapest solution to track customer data and purchase history. Has to be searchable, and hopefully something that isn't as flat-form as a spreadsheet. I'll use Access if I have to, but I'd rather not have to deal with it. Any other ideas?
Hoping for the cheapest solution to track customer data and purchase history. Has to be searchable, and hopefully something that isn't as flat-form as a spreadsheet. I'll use Access if I have to, but I'd rather not have to deal with it. Any other ideas?
Yes, the keyword that you are searching for is CRM, and salesforce.com is one of the most wellknown.
posted by IAr at 11:31 AM on September 2, 2010
posted by IAr at 11:31 AM on September 2, 2010
Sugar CRM is free/open source, but it takes a little bit of IT know-how (not too much) to set up. It's pretty full-featured, though. I'm sure you'd be happy with it.
posted by richyoung at 11:33 AM on September 2, 2010
posted by richyoung at 11:33 AM on September 2, 2010
If I understand the question, you are looking for a cheap inexpensive CRM tool? I am sure there are more people up on this than I am currently, but there are solutions that range from ACT by SAGE at about $150 that will pretty much do what you could do with Access but without you having to do all the upfront finagling, and a lot more functionality, too--all the way up to hosted CRM packages that start for as little as $12 per seat per month up to $150 per seat per month.
Also, InsideCRM has a comparison of their top 10 choices for Open Source CRM packages and they'll trade you white papers on CRM for your email address and contact information.
posted by beelzbubba at 11:34 AM on September 2, 2010
Also, InsideCRM has a comparison of their top 10 choices for Open Source CRM packages and they'll trade you white papers on CRM for your email address and contact information.
posted by beelzbubba at 11:34 AM on September 2, 2010
I've used Salesforce at my current and two previous jobs and it is quite fantastic, IMO. Definitely recommended.
posted by alaijmw at 11:35 AM on September 2, 2010
posted by alaijmw at 11:35 AM on September 2, 2010
Highrisehq.com is at the very simple end of the spectrum, but is cheap and does the basics well.
posted by bonaldi at 6:40 PM on September 2, 2010
posted by bonaldi at 6:40 PM on September 2, 2010
If you want cheap, and can read, Filemaker is intuitive and can do all of this and a whole lot more.
posted by bkeene12 at 8:12 PM on September 2, 2010
posted by bkeene12 at 8:12 PM on September 2, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by TheBones at 11:19 AM on September 2, 2010