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Best Small Business CRM Solutions for MS
Windows.
The Contact Managers and small business CRM (customer relationship management) solutions selected
below could well be ideal for your small organization.
To help you differentiate the CRM software solutions mentioned below
from others advocated elsewhere on SmallBizCRM - these products
are not web-based CRM solutions or Apple Mac CRM solutions.
These are conventional, traditional, so-called on-premise CRM desktop applications that run on a Client/Server
network architecture. This is where you have a more powerful, dedicated
PC acting as a Server, with the Clients, or Workstations attached or networked
to it. They are sometimes referred to as in-house CRM systems.
Most of these small business CRM programs will also run on a peer-to-peer network.
This is where all the PC's or workstations have equivalent responsibilities.
This works well if you don't have too many PC's to network (up to 5, but possibly
several more) depending on how much traffic or data is moving across your network. And CRM's are notorious for high-intensity traffic and fast-building databases. (Something to consider when you implement your CRM).
If your company is running Microsoft Outlook, don't overlook these Outlook CRM solutions.
Below is our list of Recommended Small Business CRM Solutions for Windows Desktop
DESKTOP CRM PRODUCTS
- Prophet CRM. Highly Recommended. Great, easy-to-use and affordable award-winning MicroSoft Outlook based
CRM solution that happily
 runs on a peer-to-peer network without the need for MS Exchange Server. Fully scalable to industrial strength, Prophet
is excellent value for money, and ideal for the small business with a sales process
that needs management. You also make a huge saving with training costs as your staff are no doubt already familiar with MS Outlook, and Prophet CRM appears as simply an extension.The best way to think of Prophet is as an embedded sales efficiency tool for Outlook users. Costs approx. $150 per user, depending on the version. Prophet version 4.0 was a winner, Version 5 continues the trend. Review of Prophet 5.0 to follow soon. (Previous versions:
- SalesNexus. Highly recommended. ACT! for the Web! If you are after the functionality of ACT!, but want an online or web based version of ACT!, SalesNexus is a popular option. You get all the things you like (or used to like) about ACT!, but online and for far less money.
- GoldMineCRM. Recommended.
Offering several versions: Goldmine Corporate, Enterprise and Premium, Goldmine is a feature-
 rich CRM,
but with that goes complexity. Do not purchase any Goldmine Version 6x products as support discontinued end October, 2007. There are newer versions now available. Check here for latest Goldmine Versions.
- Maximizer
Contact Manager. Recommended. Well known for its list-driven approach, Maximizer
is also one of the older, more established small business CRM solutions. If
you need
 to run more than 10 users on a network, you will require the considerably
more expensive Maximizer Enterprise version.
- SoftwareOnSailBoats. With a name that that, who could not but be
intrigued by this small business CRM! Built from
the ground up with .NET, (Microsoft's development platform for the net), SoftwareOnSailboats has a lot going for it. Their integration
to Outlook and Handheld devices impressed
us, too. SOS competes with the likes of MS BCM and Goldmine.
- UCAP
(Up Close & Personal) is another relatively new player in
 this market, but is fast building up a stream of loyal users. It includes
all the bells and whistles, with batteries included! And the Single User
version is still FREEware. Pricing is approx. $350 per user for a 10 license. They recently released a UCAP
CRM VOIP version.
- LeGrand CRM. Ideally suited to smaller businesses, particularly those
that use QuickBooks for their accounting system. Certainly
not the only reason to consider LeGrand, though. This reasonably priced CRM
solution is being referred on as an easy-to-use, easy-to-support solution.
LeGrandCRM is arguably Arguably the best QuickBooks CRM solution.
- Commence RM. If your business is a larger small company, you might also want to
consider Commence CRM. Very customizable with a refined user
interface, this product is an option if your requirements are fairly unique.
For bigger budgets. Commence has recently released a web version of their CRM.
- C-suite Office. Designed for the Small-Medium Enterprise to help centralize information and
give consistency across core business functions: Contact Management, Quoting
and Inventory Management. The customers that will find the most value in C-suite
Office tend to do a lot of quoting and love the speed and sizzle of our quotes.
Typical vertical markets would be Equipment Dealers, A/V Dealers and Distributors,
Telecom Dealers, Computer Shops and Manufacturing. Priced at $495/PC one time
fee plus $150/PC annual software maintenance.
If your organization uses MS Outlook extensively, have a look
at these Outlook
based CRM solutions. There are one or two excellent Outlook CRM solutions.
If you find the CRM solutions suggested above too underpowered for you, try our SMB
CRM software section: CRM Solutions for Small to Medium sized business.
Are you already familiar with any of these CRM applications? Why not place your comments here.. so others can learn from your experiences.
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Business CRM Home Page
Desktop CRM Solutions For MS Windows
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