Basic Scheduling Notes, And Contact Management With Microsoft?

BreyerConstruct

Hey Ya'll!


OK, up to now I've got a bit of a dysfunctional system of planning jobs, appointments, and tracking customer info.

We use Quick Books Premier for the accounting side, and that fits our needs well. We've been using Quick Books Contact Manager for contact info, because it will sync with Outlook and QB. We don't just use QB for contact info, because we need appointment scheduling, and we don't use just Outlook, because of the 2x info input then needed for QB.

QBCM is a flawed program. There is one newer version, but from what I can gather, it's also pretty well flawed.

I've looked at ACT!, but again, there are some issues with it, and it's too bulky/detailed for what we need.

So, Rather than keep throwing programs at our computers & hoping one sticks, let me run thru what I'm looking to do, and maybe someone can point out the obvious to me.

I need my assistant in the office to be able to access my calender, and book me appointments.
I need to access that same calendar when I'm out.
I also need the ability to access customer info while I'm out, so I can contact an appt. if I'm late, etc.

My brother John runs as our Production Manager. While it would be nice if he could see my schedule, it's most important for him to have access to our client/vendor contact info, and have access to a project schedule.

I'd like everything to work together, and with the least amount of double date entry.
Our projects are basic, and don't require a lot of detailed scheduling- we primarally build decks, so it's "dig" "frame" "deck" "rail" "finish"- there isa rarely subs, and the jobs are usually 4-20 day projects. So a really in-depth GNATT chart isn't what I need, and might muddle our simple builder brains too much.

Lastly, it'd be nice to have the ability to easily send pictures, notes, and files between myself, John, and the office.

Now, having said all of that, we're a smaller company, so a dedicated server with a F/T webmaster just isn't in the cards.

I've looked at adding more Microsoft products, as they usually seem to work together, and we already have MS Office SBE on some of the computers & could easily upgrade the rest.
The products that caught my eye were MS Groove and Project and OneNote.

Ok, I hope I haven't droned on for two long!

I'd appreciate any thoughts and feedback, and I'm willing to consider any option- it doesn't have to be a MS solution!

Chat later & enjoy your weekend,
~Matt

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George Z

We will be changing over to Google Apps after all.
Web mail, Google docs on the web (office and sales working on a proposal
at the same time sounds good)
Of course Networking etc. is not necessary.
"Go to my PC" type solutions too clunky compared to that.
And to the specific question, Google calendar has great reviews
and of course is on the web and accessible by everyone.
I figure if Google is running on Google Apps, it should be ok for us, right?

And all the above is FREE, (or $50 a year!) for their best service

Also there are some and will be more Google Apps based CRM products out.

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RCPainting

If you were a Mac user, a .Mac account would do all that and more.
Google.docs is pretty good as well.

Double-A

Have you looked at QuickBooks Customer Manager? They have a free trial available. Look at their FAQ on the produc tpage, and the first question is about free trial. Follow that link.

We don't use it, and perhaps we need something like this. We store our data on our server and use vpn to access, but, like yours, ours is sorta scattered between more than one application.

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SquirrelNmoose

You can set up a Microsoft Exchange server, $7 a month.
Exchange 1and1.com
Hire somebody to connect all the computers, phones, or blackberry's and you should be set. If you run Office and have the small business edition with business contact manager you can also set up a remote database for that and share all the sales and account info too. Microsoft also has an accounting program that integrates to these as well.

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BreyerConstruct

Double, I've got QB's customer manager... and it sucks.

Program hangs & crashes, and even the newest version won't allow for networking, it's strictly a 1 computer database, and that won't work.

Upscale:
The 1and1 option might work, I've got a computer/network guy, and already host 2 websites there.
I'll have to run some numbers on it & see if it's worth following up on @ our size.

George:
The web based approach is what I first looked at, but got "scared" of. However, free apps & access for all is pretty nice!!!

Thanks for the thoughts guys!
~Matt

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