What's good software for a small service firm?
August 21, 2005 9:50 PM Subscribe
Looking for software to run a small design firm...any suggestions?
The basic problem I'm facing is that there are tons of packages that provide partial solutions, but I haven't found any good ones that handle the whole workflow (crm, project management, invoice tracking, etc.).
I'm getting tired of entering the same information into a half-dozen different applications to keep track of things, so I'm looking for an integrated package that I can use to keep track of my customers and projects from beginning to end.
Here are some of the apps I've tried in the past:
* Basecamp: It's cute and sexy, but it only does a fraction of what I'm looking for. It's also more oriented toward client collaboration, and most of my clients would rather stick to e-mail and telephone.
* SugarCRM: Great for tracking leads, opportunities, sales, etc., but project management functionality is very limited, particularly with regard to tracking fees, invoices, etc.
* dotProject: Better project management than SugarCRM, but lacks the sales-tracking functionality.
* Quickbooks: Can track customers and invoices, but can't tie that in easily with anything else, so I've got to duplicate everything elsewhere.
* Blinksale: Sends invoices. Another very sexy application (similar to Basecamp), but only provides the caboose of the project train.
* eGroupWare: Interface was so clunky that I didn't stick around to analyze everything it could do.
* More.Groupware: Also very clunky. Functionality not very robust.
* phpCollab: Lacks good sales/CRM functionality. (And whose bright idea was it to have to enter a max file size on every project?)
* phpGroupWare: More collaboration-oriented than tracking/management.
* PHProjekt: Not much sales/CRM functionality.
* Studiometry: This is close to what I'm looking for, but I'd like something with better sales/CRM and financials. I'm also specifically looking for web-based (ideally PHP/MySQL) solution.
* Changepoint: This covers the general range of functionality I'm looking for, but is enterprise bloatware. I'd like something much lighter and more suitable to a shop with only a few employees.
Here are the ideal characteristics I'm looking for:
* Web-based (PHP preferred)
* Covers at least sales, CRM, project management, and billing/invoicing. I don't need a heap of functionality in those areas -- just something integrated to help us keep track of things without having to enter it in a half-dozen different applications.
* Not awkwardly translated from German
* Relatively easy to use (i.e., not designed on the fly by the programmers)
There's definitely room for a sexy Web 2.0 application in this area, but so far nobody seems to have stepped up to the plate. When is all this rapid development with Ruby on Rails supposed to kick in? :-)
I'd really appreciate any suggestions you guys have. If there's anything you've used and found to work well for this kind of thing, I'd love to hear about it!
The basic problem I'm facing is that there are tons of packages that provide partial solutions, but I haven't found any good ones that handle the whole workflow (crm, project management, invoice tracking, etc.).
I'm getting tired of entering the same information into a half-dozen different applications to keep track of things, so I'm looking for an integrated package that I can use to keep track of my customers and projects from beginning to end.
Here are some of the apps I've tried in the past:
* Basecamp: It's cute and sexy, but it only does a fraction of what I'm looking for. It's also more oriented toward client collaboration, and most of my clients would rather stick to e-mail and telephone.
* SugarCRM: Great for tracking leads, opportunities, sales, etc., but project management functionality is very limited, particularly with regard to tracking fees, invoices, etc.
* dotProject: Better project management than SugarCRM, but lacks the sales-tracking functionality.
* Quickbooks: Can track customers and invoices, but can't tie that in easily with anything else, so I've got to duplicate everything elsewhere.
* Blinksale: Sends invoices. Another very sexy application (similar to Basecamp), but only provides the caboose of the project train.
* eGroupWare: Interface was so clunky that I didn't stick around to analyze everything it could do.
* More.Groupware: Also very clunky. Functionality not very robust.
* phpCollab: Lacks good sales/CRM functionality. (And whose bright idea was it to have to enter a max file size on every project?)
* phpGroupWare: More collaboration-oriented than tracking/management.
* PHProjekt: Not much sales/CRM functionality.
* Studiometry: This is close to what I'm looking for, but I'd like something with better sales/CRM and financials. I'm also specifically looking for web-based (ideally PHP/MySQL) solution.
* Changepoint: This covers the general range of functionality I'm looking for, but is enterprise bloatware. I'd like something much lighter and more suitable to a shop with only a few employees.
Here are the ideal characteristics I'm looking for:
* Web-based (PHP preferred)
* Covers at least sales, CRM, project management, and billing/invoicing. I don't need a heap of functionality in those areas -- just something integrated to help us keep track of things without having to enter it in a half-dozen different applications.
* Not awkwardly translated from German
* Relatively easy to use (i.e., not designed on the fly by the programmers)
There's definitely room for a sexy Web 2.0 application in this area, but so far nobody seems to have stepped up to the plate. When is all this rapid development with Ruby on Rails supposed to kick in? :-)
I'd really appreciate any suggestions you guys have. If there's anything you've used and found to work well for this kind of thing, I'd love to hear about it!
You might investigate this. It integrates with MYOB to do invoicing.
posted by tellurian at 10:00 PM on August 21, 2005 [1 favorite]
posted by tellurian at 10:00 PM on August 21, 2005 [1 favorite]
This sounds like something you might want to talk to another small services firm about. Share the love!
posted by feloniousmonk at 11:40 PM on August 21, 2005
posted by feloniousmonk at 11:40 PM on August 21, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
We just started using Copper which is PHP based. It doesn't do invoicing, and while it has a clients section, I think it might be a bit weak as a CRM solution.
posted by willnot at 9:59 PM on August 21, 2005