Wonder if anyone can recommend a good Client Management package (CRM, I believe..). Ive searched the web for online/cloud solutions but the ones Ive viewed all seem to focus on the sales side, managing sales pipelines and prospects.
What Im after is a system I can use that tracks the history between myself and my current client & eliminates leaving post-it notes all over my desk reminding me to do things, writing on the white board or scribbling payroll hrs onto a bit of spare paper that might be floating around when a client calls in, or worst not writing it down and leaving it to memory.
Ideally I would be after a system, where all the client info is in one place, so if a client does call in, I could go to that particular client, log the date and time of the call and enter notes/requests and set a reminder for when certain tasks from that call are due or can easily be seen.
Also email integration, where at present I seem to spend far too long searching for emails, it would be great if all emails to & from a clients get stored within the client record in some type of timeline.
Thinking forward, I currently use someone on a part time bases to process a few payroll for me, currently I write down on a piece of paper what payrolls I want them to run but it would be great if this person could log onto a system and see from the system what needs to be done and then update the system once complete, so I know its been completed.
Finally some type of job tracker, for example Ive three clients that have VAT returns due end of this month, One of the clients Im waiting on his bank statements, the other client I have sent a list of questions to for confirmation and the other client I have called two or three times waiting for them to still drop the paperwork off, all the above is written on my white board but would be great if this could be in a system and I could perhaps see at a glance what stage each client is at.
Im guessing this is more a wish list but if anyone could recommend a solution that might do part of what Im after it would be appreciated or perhaps even share how they manage keeping on top of their own work load/notes/messages it would be interesting to hear.
I use a system called Amphis Customer, from Amphis Software. It is a local based software not cloud. This was one of my main reasons for buying it although they now have a way to access your data online if you need to but I don't use it at the moment. So, what parts of the wish list does it fulfill? It has the ability to log calls and letters and even lets you scan and clip letters and documents to client files. I also have it set us so that at the click of a button I can create letters of engagements and standing order mandates. I also scan the client ID and clip it to their file.
It records all quotes and invoices sent, easily creates statements and keeps track of payments. It has a reminder system which can create recurring tasks for VAT etc. It also integrates well with Outlook adding these events to Outlook calendars too. You can drag emails you receive into client files but this isn't something I use. I have a folder in Outlook for each client and a rule set up to automatically file emails in these as they come in.
Your payroll requirement could be achieved using their reminder system. Your job tracker is part of the bread and butter of this system, it's easy to add tasks and assign them to clients.
The software is free to download and try for 30 days from: http://www.amphis-software.com/
If you decide to by it then it's cheaper than anything else I found at just £99 with no ongoing fees.
Like the look of the http://www.amphis-software.com/ as Kris recomended but also found http://www.myoffice.net/ cost of annual subscription of £49.99 per user.
myoffice also offeres an iphone app and is web based, so will be intresting to see how that compairs to the amphis software.
We use an online system called Commence. It automatically attaches all emails received from or sent to the client under that client's file, has a pending tasks module in which you can set up recurring reminders and allows you to assign them to different people and generally does the things that you're looking for. There are different packages at different costs, depending on exactly what you need.
I have been recommended Sales Force by a business growth advisor.l He uses it. I am about to trial the £10 package but i just need time to read it through so that I do not waste the trial time (as usual). Keep me posted if you try it.
Take a look at CapsuleCRM. I've used it for a few years now, for two different companies, and it seems to strike the right balance between ease of use and broad functionality.
It's a software as a service product, so I am not sure how you feel about cloud software. If you use Gmail for your email, Capsule integrates really nicely with it.
Oh, and it's a UK company, so you don't need to fly to the states if you feel the need to go knock on their door!
Adrian
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Adrian Pearson Blog: www.adrianpearson.com | Mobile: 07944 970997 | Email: adrianpearson@outlook.com Xero data conversion specialist. Founder of Movemybooks and Ledgerscope.
