looking for small business accounting & crm solution

[mmcxiiad]

We run a small business and trying to find a software app that can bridge accounting and contact management. Many of the services or apps seem to be too dedicated for enterprise level support. I want to have peple be able to view client history and make notes about them without having to give full acccess to the accounting app.

Currently we use quickbooks (QB) on a pc (and connect to it via remote desktop). This works really well, but only one person can access the data at any point in time. Here are the basics about our company:

• There is 1 owner and 5 employees. QB does payroll and taxes.
• We sell products. QB tracks inventory.
• Send estimates and invoices. track AR
• manage who we owe money
• process credit card sales. we don't do sales online.

Want:
• ability to track calls
• follow up on calls
• track who hasn't ordered in a while
• set reminders about following up with customers
• receive notifications when someone hasn't ordered in a while

Is there some other integrated system that could do these things plus allow 2 or 3 other users access to customer info? I would like something that isn't geared for enterprise users in function and cost.

 

[Fireproof!]

Have you checked out NetSuite?

 

[mmcxiiad]

Have you checked out NetSuite?

thanks for the suggestion. I'll check that out now.

One other thing that I forgot to mention. Even though we are using quickbooks on a pc via remote desktop, I would perfer a more mac centric solution that could be connected to from outside the office. IOS support for both iphone and iPad would be a huge plus.

 

[snberk103]

I don't have experience with the CRM side, but check out AccountEdge.

It does all the accounting things you want. Will do payroll as well. You can set up a Merchant Account with a partner and process CCs within AccountEdge. You can give different employees different passwords that restrict what they can see and do.

I know there is a basic CRM module, but I don't need it so I can't comment on whether it will do what you want.

They have a 30 day free trial, they will send your accountant a free copy so that the accountant can work directly on your files.

They have PC and Mac versions, and they offer some mobile stuff as well.... I don't use that either so can't comment - but I've seen the feature list.

I am not connected with them, just a happy customer who just finished a fiscal year end.

 

[mmcxiiad]

Have you checked out NetSuite?

did some quick research on netsuite and this is way out of my league. Not only it is way too complex/powerful for our needs, but starting price on it is $10,000+ per year. Which is WAY more then we want to spend on this process.

 

[mmcxiiad]

I don't have experience with the CRM side, but check out AccountEdge.

It does all the accounting things you want. Will do payroll as well. You can set up a Merchant Account with a partner and process CCs within AccountEdge. You can give different employees different passwords that restrict what they can see and do.

I know there is a basic CRM module, but I don't need it so I can't comment on whether it will do what you want.

They have a 30 day free trial, they will send your accountant a free copy so that the accountant can work directly on your files.

They have PC and Mac versions, and they offer some mobile stuff as well.... I don't use that either so can't comment - but I've seen the feature list.

I am not connected with them, just a happy customer who just finished a fiscal year end.

accountedge looks interesting from the financial point of view. The only CRM hooks that I saw for it are with ntractive's ElementsCRM. But to do use the two together you have to signup with the professional version which will cost at least $50 per month per user.... if we prepay. Which is still way too much as it would be several thousand per year.

While there used to be a plugin for daylite, but unfortunately it no longer works with version 4.

I am surprised that there isn't more options out there.

 

[snberk103]

accountedge looks interesting from the financial point of view. The only CRM hooks that I saw for it are with ntractive's ElementsCRM. But to do use the two together you have to signup with the professional version which will cost at least $50 per month per user.... if we prepay. Which is still way too much as it would be several thousand per year.

While there used to be a plugin for daylite, but unfortunately it no longer works with version 4.

I am surprised that there isn't more options out there.

I think the lack of choice is more to do with the Mac platform. There may be lots of solutions for Windows, but you aren't going to find a lot of experience on a Mac Rumours forum. An accounting program has got to be rock solid, a developer has got to offer a rock solid application when you are dealing with a company's money. There may not be enough Mac users to recoup the higher prices.

Then add in that each country has a different accounting set of regulations, so a developer can't just offer an "international" version... they have to maintain a version for each country, and that means maintaining support for each country.

Anyway... that is my theory why there are so few options for Macs, and why they cost so much.

I would download the trial version of AccountEdge - just to play with the CRM bits. Or talk to a consultant. In Canada at least, you can buy through a consultant at no extra charge - which means you can 'consult' with them to make sure you get what you need, and to set it up properly.

Good Luck....

 

[blatopilot]

Have you thought about moving to the cloud (I hate that term, sorry)?

Some positive aspects of moving online include: safe(r) in relation to something happening to your machine or physical location (fire etc), collaboration is easier in theory, and depending on the actual product, you might get access to things you didn't know you needed or that offer general improvement to other processes.

Most notable downside is usually cost (its difficult to find exactly what you want and nothing more).

I don't have experience with the following products, so this isn't an endorsement but an example of providers and options they offer:

http://www.ntractive.com/mac-crm/en/products/smallbusiness/

http://www.salesforce.com/sales-cloud/features/#more

http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm-sales

 

[Lucy Godwin]

Hi mmcxiiad

I work for Xero - a provider of online accounting software. If you still happen to be looking for a small business accounting and CRM solution, Xero might be an option for you to consider.

Xero is cloud-based, so the software can be accessed from any electronic device by unlimited users. It integrates with plenty of add-ons so you can build a service specific to your needs (this means it's very cost-efficient - ie, you only pay for what you use).

If you’re interested, there’s some great information on our website. If you have time to check out this page, you can sign up for a 60-day free trial: http://www.xero.com/quickbooks-switch

I’d be happy to answer any additional questions you have.

Cheers

Lucy

 

[allaboutmac]

Have you thought of switching accounting platforms? I know its a big pain but I use peach tree 2013 for my small business. I just bought Act crm which syncs with it.

Costs
900.00 for peach tree. 5 licenses and a year or support.
Software is supported for 3 years.
Includes 2014 upgrade.

400.00 for Act 2013. 2 licenses. 30 day support ( unless you buy a plan)
Software supported for 3 years.

1300.00 for 3 years. ( 434.00 a year)

Negotiate on the software.
Pro - you own the software. No monthly user fees that extend forever.

Con - Peach tree does not make a version for Mac.
Workaround - parallels for Mac. Download windows 7 then load accounting software and crm.

Good luck with your search.

----------

Forgot to mention--peach tree will let you pay in six monthly installments. On a credit card of course.

Also peach tree accounting software also sells a 3 license package.

I have a server set up in my office with 4 terminals.

I use teamviewer to remote in.

----------

Forgot to mention--peach tree will let you pay in six monthly installments. On a credit card of course.

Also peach tree accounting software also sells a 3 license package.

I have a server set up in my office with 4 terminals.

I use teamviewer to remote in.

 

[spacepower7]

Have you thought of switching accounting platforms? I know its a big pain but I use peach tree 2013 for my small business. I just bought Act crm which syncs with it.

Costs
900.00 for peach tree. 5 licenses and a year or support.
Software is supported for 3 years.
Includes 2014 upgrade.

400.00 for Act 2013. 2 licenses. 30 day support ( unless you buy a plan)
Software supported for 3 years.

1300.00 for 3 years. ( 434.00 a year)

Negotiate on the software.
Pro - you own the software. No monthly user fees that extend forever.

Con - Peach tree does not make a version for Mac.
Workaround - parallels for Mac. Download windows 7 then load accounting software and crm.

Good luck with your search.

----------

Forgot to mention--peach tree will let you pay in six monthly installments. On a credit card of course.

Also peach tree accounting software also sells a 3 license package.

I have a server set up in my office with 4 terminals.

I use teamviewer to remote in.

----------

Forgot to mention--peach tree will let you pay in six monthly installments. On a credit card of course.

Also peach tree accounting software also sells a 3 license package.

I have a server set up in my office with 4 terminals.

I use teamviewer to remote in.

I've been dealing with Peachtree for awhile with my friend's company.

First, they got up sold to the 3rd tier product when they only need 2nd tier.

Now Peachtree is trying to get them on a subscription plan for $800 a year plus $600 in support. This is a small company that can't afford an IT guy, they have a closed network for Peachtree, and have one computer and an iPad for email, on a seperate network.

They had been running Peachtree 2000, then 2004, on Windows NT 4 solidly since the year 2000. We switched them to Windows 7 and Peachtree 2012 in December 2011, mainly bc we could not longer get cheap/reliable parts for the year 2000 Dell desktops.

It's been nothing with headaches. They had a Peachtree support contract which was worthless. When they paid a "Peachtree Certified Consultant" to come in and train them on the new system, she spent 5 hours @ $80 an hour, talking to Peachtree support. At least she got to tier level 2 support which I never got to with their $500 support contract. The entire day and $400 to the consultant, only temporarily fixed the issues.

Just to put into perspective, this is a small company and has spent less than $800 total on tech in the last 7 years (minus printers and paper), so they are reluctant to pay $1000+ a year when their system has been rock solid, and the new one is buggy.

Peachtree will fix this years bug next year, if you keep paying.

Sorry for ranting but I was working for free for a friend and spent countless hours on hold or with level 1 tech support which never solved any problems we had.

Peachtree may work great for many people, but check out their forums, many people like me will never touch the software again. Granted we were an outlier case, but the service was horrendous.

Yes, I'm bitter

----------

Hi mmcxiiad

I work for Xero - a provider of online accounting software. If you still happen to be looking for a small business accounting and CRM solution, Xero might be an option for you to consider.

Xero is cloud-based, so the software can be accessed from any electronic device by unlimited users. It integrates with plenty of add-ons so you can build a service specific to your needs (this means it's very cost-efficient - ie, you only pay for what you use).

If you’re interested, there’s some great information on our website. If you have time to check out this page, you can sign up for a 60-day free trial: http://www.xero.com/quickbooks-switch

I’d be happy to answer any additional questions you have.

Cheers

Lucy

Lucy, thanks for posting. I knew I saw Xero somewhere lately, just checked and it was on asymco. Great blog to sponsor. Any options to switch from Peachtree?

As you can see from my rant above, I'm steering all my clients away from them.

I'll check your website.

 

[rocknblogger]

accountedge looks interesting from the financial point of view. The only CRM hooks that I saw for it are with ntractive's ElementsCRM. But to do use the two together you have to signup with the professional version which will cost at least $50 per month per user.... if we prepay. Which is still way too much as it would be several thousand per year.

While there used to be a plugin for daylite, but unfortunately it no longer works with version 4.

I am surprised that there isn't more options out there.

If you're open to cloud options take a look at http://zoho.com. Very inexpensive for what they offer and they have a lot of different tools that you can grow into. They also have some iOS apps but I've only used Invoices and for me it works quite well.

Good luck.

 

[Guldsmed]

Have a look at MoneyWorks by www.cognito.co.nz
They have programs suitable for cash type businesses up to skys the limit ! Have been using it for years now and have had no problems. Sure beats MYOB for simplicity at the starter level.

 

[allaboutmac]

Sorry to hear you had such bad luck with peach tree. I will agree with you that they do try to upsell etc. I've only had limited exposure to their support.

We find that for right now they are the most cost effective for a business our size. Yes, we've had a bug or two with the software.

We do not want a cloud based solution.

I considered Switching to quick books at one time because it integrates with different platforms and can be integrated with shopping carts if you want to make everything seamless. Ie website customer data.

I'm sorry to hear that crm is difficult to find for quick books.

Supposedly peach tree offers training videos online for free. I am skeptical now of their usefulness.

I'm not a peach tree die hard, your story makes me want to call them and b$&@ them out on your behalf. Lol

Good luck to you.

 

[dangerfish]

I would personally love to switch to Netsuite, but like you, it is way out of my price range. I've looked high and low for a good accounting/crm system and I feel like I've tried just about everything. Although I don't care for Intuit as a company, the best option that I've found so far is Quickbooks and Salesforce.com. SF costs me $65/user/mo and there is a SF to QB sync app that is $45/company/mo. When I tried it last Summer, it was REALLY bad. Unusable. So I went with another system that I paid $800 to use for a year. Although it worked, it did not work well. I decided to check out the SFQB sync app again and was pleasantly surprised. It is actually working really well. All of my customers, invoices and sales receipts replicate to SF.com. I can force a manual sync or it automatically syncs every 15 minutes. The sync can be bidirectional if you wish. The nice thing about QB is most CPA's are going to be very familiar with it and it is very easy to email a copy of your company file to them for review or taxes. The thing that is a MUST HAVE for me in accounting software is the ability to connect to my bank and credit cards to download transactions (avoids data entry) and the ability to pay bills electronically. That is something that QB does very well. There are some cloud based solutions that do a good job with accounting and crm but they didn't have the ability to talk to my banks and credit cards or pay my bills electronically. So I did not consider them. If that isn't a big deal for you, then there are some other affordable options.
myepr.com
brightpearl.com
bizautomation.com
http://www.methodintegration.com/home.aspx

 

[Lucy Godwin]

Any options to switch from Peachtree?

As you can see from my rant above, I'm steering all my clients away from them.

I'll check your website.

Hi spacepower7

There are absolutely options to switch - are you in the US? Let me know - I can get someone from our team over there to get in touch with you to discuss your needs

Cheers

Lucy

 

[RUGERMAN]

new accounting pkg

We run a small business and trying to find a software app that can bridge accounting and contact management. Many of the services or apps seem to be too dedicated for enterprise level support. I want to have peple be able to view client history and make notes about them without having to give full acccess to the accounting app.

Currently we use quickbooks (QB) on a pc (and connect to it via remote desktop). This works really well, but only one person can access the data at any point in time. Here are the basics about our company:

• There is 1 owner and 5 employees. QB does payroll and taxes.
• We sell products. QB tracks inventory.
• Send estimates and invoices. track AR
• manage who we owe money
• process credit card sales. we don't do sales online.

Want:
• ability to track calls
• follow up on calls
• track who hasn't ordered in a while
• set reminders about following up with customers
• receive notifications when someone hasn't ordered in a while

Is there some other integrated system that could do these things plus allow 2 or 3 other users access to customer info? I would like something that isn't geared for enterprise users in function and cost.

Take a look at MultiLedger from CheckMark SW. Excellent pkg that runs on either platform but started on the Mac. Does all that QB can do, is multi user and has a good PR app, but I would use Intuits online PR for 5 Employees. They have downloadable trial program that is free to evaluate it for as long as you want. I'm a CPA and have used it for years to do the books for other companies and never a problem.

 

[connectgbs]

accounting for small businesses

I am starting new business so tell me the role of accounting for small businesses

 

[alextarun]

Went through your requirements. I hope ZOHO or BASE crm will fit your needs. I have tried them once where you can track calls and manage the financials of the entity.