Return of SideACT as ScratchPad in SageACT! 2012

Longtime users of SageACT! CRM software will remember an "old" feature called SideACT, which ran in the taskbar and allowed quick access to some popular task commands. Well, good news for those with much patience - in the new version of SageACT! they've added that back, and now it's called Scratchpad.

Use SwiftPage to Send "off-the-cuff" E-mails

Ever wanted to send an impromptu, spur-of-the-moment e-mail using SwiftPage, but did not want to take the time to edit - or create - a template just to send a quick message?  You can with a simple, one-time setup that can be used again and again.

Why not to use your ISP or GMail for E-marketing

One of the first questions I get when setting up a CRM system - either ACT! or ZoHo CRM is "how do I mail merge?".  Below are some reasons why you should not use the email merge directly from SageACT or ZohoCRM, and the alternative you should use.  Whatever you use, PLEASE do not think you can use your ISP or GMail to send mass emails. 

How to get Help in ACT!

Although SageACT is very user friendly - once you get familiar with it - getting started can be overwhelming for a new user. ACT has a few different areas, and levels, of help available. First, however, if you're looking to convert or customize ACT, unless you have unlimited time and are comfortable in all the areas of ACT, your best bet is to get ahold of a consultant to do this for you. They can do it relatively quickly, and correctly, saving you an incredible amount of time and frustration. You'll be more efficient with your database, and in the end you'll save much more in time and money by getting them to help out. Contact me for more information, but for general "how-to" issues, here's a few areas to keep in mind:

1. In ACT, Help>Online Manuals - there's two reference manuals that help with getting started.  The New User Quick Start and Quick Reference Card will assist people in getting familiar with the program itself - where things are and how to access and work in certain areas.
2. In ACT again, the Welcome screen (View>Welcome) and Help>Feature Tours are a little more in-depth.  Like the title says, these focus on individual features, and help users utilize ACT to work for them, helping them become more efficient.
3. Anytime Learning online courses at http://www.sageu.com/act/anytimelearning/ - again, more in-depth and more focused on specific areas, these are a product sold by ACT and are video based.  Very good for "handing off" to a new users so they can learn at their own speed
4. The online KnowlegeBase - which has very in-depth technical and instructional articles for pretty much anything.  Most likely, not something you're going to give to a new users, this is more on the technical side - very detailed information for understanding how the systems works, or troubleshooting issues.

Hope this helps, again, contact me with any questions - I'd love to help...

SageACT! Connect Cloud Service

The new release of SageACT! 2012 makes available an additional product called SageACT! Connect. This is a subscription-based product that syncs *your* individual ACT! database to a hosted site, which then makes the data available to some smartphones, or a portal accessed via a browser. I'll go over some of the basics, and show you how I use it.

SageACT! Google Integration

September of 2012 marked a new release of SageACT! - version 14, or as most people call is 2012.  As an avid Google user - in fact, I run most of my day-to-day activities in GMail and GCal - the addition of Google integration is most welcome.

This post is not so much about the setup and inner workings, rather more of a "what you get" in the integration.

What Does Mobile Access for My CRM Really Mean?

The term "cloud" is a hot button currently - everyone wants their data on/in the cloud, but they don't really know what that means or entails.  I often get phone calls that start with "I want ACT! on my phone", or "we'd like to move our CRM to the cloud".  Really, what people want is mobile access.  

Sage ACT! ServicePacks and HotFixes

Sage ACT! 2011 hot fixes are cumulative, so the latest hot fix will include the benefits of all earlier hot fixes for this version. It is not required to install earlier hot fixes prior to installing the latest hot fix.

However, you do need to install the SP1. Thanks to Mike Lazarus @ GL Computing for his blog article, which I've blatantly stolen to post :-)

Important: You must apply this hot fix to all machines that share the database – especially when using synchronization. This includes all machines that contain the Main Synchronization Database (Publisher), Main Remote Database (Subscriber), and machines that have the ACT! Network or ACT! Internet Sync Services installed. All machines must have this hotfix applied for synchronization to continue. Check installed version by going to Help and About Act!. Consult with your administrator before applying this in a sync environment.

Life and Times with ACT! by Sage: Sage ACT! 2011 SP1 Hotfix 4

ACT to ZoHo Conversion - What Gets Converted

I've spent quite a bit of time this year doing ACT to ZoHo CRM conversions.  i.e. People with an existing database in ACT! that they want "moved" - migrated is a better term - to ZoHo. What I'd like to do is provide a short synopsis of what exactly gets converted/migrated, and what to expect in the new system.

Can't Access ACT! Database Troubleshooting

Have you ever gotten this error:

The database ACT11 demo could  not be accessed in order to access this database check your network connection and verify that your database is server is available. 

While there's many reasons why you might get an error about connecting to ACT! - firewall issues, bad database, network issues - lately (March 2011) there seems to be some commonality to what's happening.  I want to share a quick check method to get you back up and running so you can at least keep working.

ACT for Web from your SOHO

You might know that Sage ACT! has a version that makes your ACT! database available via the web.  People often associate this feature with either big offices with their own servers, or a costly hosting solution.  Do you know that with just a few configuration changes to your router, you can have worldwide access (secure, of course) to your database that might be hosted in your home, or small office?

When to Upgrade

I have found that people upgrade for one or two reasons - because there are new features or requirements that their current system does not have, or their current systems does not integrate with newer software.

So, how do you know if you should be upgrading?