CRM Software help suggestions needed?

[Spectrumpaints]

Hi, a good friend of mine regularly posts on these forums and suggested that I ask here for a solution to my problem.

As a company, we are trying to move out of our old handwritten ledgers and cash sale books etc..

We are looking for a piece of software to help us maintain and monitor stock levels, as well as booking out goods to account customers and cash customers over the counter in our shop.

A local IT company suggested that it would cost over £1000 just for basic software to fulfil our needs, any cheaper more useful suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[shaunatsf]

Hi,

I am in a similar position and I found a few different types of software like inflow inventory, invoiceit, businessware which are really good and inexpensive. My problem is it doesn't support multi currency, which we need, but might be of use to you.

Good luck

 

[avalanche]

quickbooks premier? £350 on amazon

 

[ElliottRoss]

Hi

Have a look at Brightpearl. It's an online, integrated Accounting & CRM solution which you can add a Stock module too. Being integrated, all transactions linked and therefore there is no duplication of effort/data.

The Accounting/CRM module costs from £20 per user per month and the Stock module from £10 p.u.p.m.

If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to call me on: 07536 044 949.

Kind Regards
Elliott Ross

 

[paulmatt]

Look into Sage. Also quickbooks / quicken. If these don't do the job you'll either need to use Excel / Word or have custom software (involving a database) written. It sounds like you've had a quote for custom software and it was too expensive, so get stuck into Excel and at some point get an expert in to give you just a few hours to iron out any inefficiencies.

 

[blloyd]

There are plenty of basic software packages out there which will do the fundamentals of what you require but as with all these systems they act as "teasers", luring you cheaply in and then as soon as you hit the restrictions, charging you handsomely to upgrade to a fully-featured version. The aforementioned Quickbooks would probably be a good start based on the short description you have given.

I am a little confused though as your thread title mentions CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, whilst your description talks more about stock management and billing which is more like ERP (Enterprise Resource Management) software. Are you looking for a system which also records Companies, Contacts, Sales Opportunities and Leads?

 

[ecenica]

DayLite is very good. Although it's Mac/iPhone only.

 

[stugster]

You've said CRM in your topic, but in your post you've talked about an accounts package. Which one do you really mean?

If it's bookkeeping you're looking at, have a look at Solar Accounts. There's a 60 day free trial available with no obligation to buy... and even when it comes to buying, it's only £90.

If it's CRM you're after, there are a lot of different options available and it really depends on your specific needs. From SugarCRM to Sage's ACT! you really are getting a different kettle of fish.

Please please please don't make the mistake of going ahead and parting with your cash for a product until you've tried and tested it properly. One of my clients recently spent a lot on Sage's ACT! and within two weeks found one massive flaw in the software which prevents him from working remotely easily.

 

[OpenSure]

Hi. Have you considered an open source package? We work with open source software and would be happy to research the right product for you. You don't pay for open source software (that's often all people know about it, but it's missing the point a bit to focus on that!) so you could well make quite a saving compared to many of the packages listed, but it would be very important to us to make sure you had the product that best met your needs rather than open source product just for the hell of it.

If you're interested in following it up, drop us a line at OpenSure. I can't post an mail link as we're new members and haven't posted much. We're always happy to chat and advise.