Hi,

Hoping there is someone with a better understanding of things than me....I start a new job soon for a small company and they run Mac's not PC's.

 

As part of one of my many tasks, I need to look to get a field management/customer relationship management software system up and running. Currently they run various things from Google calendars, bits of a package called Zohoo etc.

 

Had the new company been PC based I would have looked at "Clicksoftware" as they offer a very good solution.

My previous company built it's own access based database package but Mac's are foreign to me.

 

Now I know there are no onsite servers and no IT gurus, so it would be a cloud based solution,I assume?

 

If the software/cloud based package doesn't suite where is all the info...things like this I need to get a better understanding of

 

The system needs to be a complete package from a client contacting us, to generating a quote, installation of a project with purchasing of equipment, invoicing and after sales back up and ongoing maintenance in years to come.

 

Needed for full remote access as quotes etc are generated onsite and sent to the office for finishing etc approx 12 users, which 6 are field based engineers, mainly projects but the reactive call outs will increase.

 

Any pointers to a software solution for someone that does not understand "cloud based" so treat me gently.

 

TIA 

Ben

Edited 18 August, 20178 yr by Defenderben

Personally, I would contact Clicksoftware and explain the situation. I would be surprised if they hadn't come across it before and will know of a way round the OS problem

On 18/08/2017 at 07:57, Defenderben said:

The system needs to be a complete package from a client contacting us, to generating a quote, installation of a project with purchasing of equipment, invoicing and after sales back up and ongoing maintenance in years to come.

 

Salesforce might be worth a look (although possibly overkill for an SME) - they're one of the leading lights in cloud-based CRM software. I also know that Microsoft is rolling out some CRM functionality as part of Office365, but I am not sure exactly what it offers.

 

Does the system need to handle anything other than the CRM side? You also mention purchasing, projects and invoicing, which CRM typically doesn't cover (that's left to accounting or ERP software)...

 

 

This is kinda my issue, think a field service management software solution connected to QuickBooks/Sage is probably a better all-round option. The purchasing/invoicing is just the generation of a purchase order within the clients project and the generation of an invoice on completion to then go to our accounts to raise a full QuickBooks/Sage invoice.

 

A previous company I worked for set up using Click softwares FSM and it does everything we needed back then.

 

My reading is that CRM's are heavily sales task related solution and not an all-round package.

 

Now looking at a small server/PC running a Windows based software solution and connect all the MAC's via "Parallels" to give us more options, worried about cloud based as in the future, trying to move or change companies could get awkward?

 

A small server connected to our network with a remote backup drive taking daily backups and having a remote connection for mobile users may be the way.

14 hours ago, Defenderben said:

My reading is that CRM's are heavily sales task related solution and not an all-round package.

 

Indeed, they really focus on the Customer Relationship side, not so much on the accounting / project side.

 

I'd usually recommend SAP for these requirements (but then I would, as I'm an SAP consultant!) - however, it sounds like it would be overkill for an organisation of your size. 

 

14 hours ago, Defenderben said:

[...] worried about cloud based as in the future, trying to move or change companies could get awkward?

 

That's the double-edged sword of cloud computing. Really convenient in that you don't have to maintain any infrastructure or updates etc., however it introduces a single point of failure (no internet = no access) and can make migration a nightmare. You're also dependent on the cloud-company not going bust and having the staff / expertise to be able to support your requirements - I can tell you from first-hand experience that that isn't always the case!

Is there anything with a web based front end?  Host all the software and DB on servers and then everyone accesses via the web interface.  They could use anything to access then.