Open source CRM/Project Management

Forums › IT Pro and developers › Open source CRM/Project Management

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#138769 16-Jan-2014 10:03

Hey guys,

I've found a couple of customer management systems that are open source, but they seem a little clunky and don't seem to have what I want. I'm posting here, because I thought maybe some of them do and I just have not found them. I need a project management/CRM system for two reasons. One is my current job. We do a lot of quotes, invoicing...etc. The current system is to make a word document from a template in a folder, number it save it and print it. Trouble is, when 2 people are working on quotes at once...You get duplicate numbers, which is SO bad.

We also get huge files that get spread around via memory sticks and different computers. Most of the information we get is verbal and nobody records it which results in repeated work 8 times out of ten. The goal is to improve productivity, waste less stock and keep the customer happier in this instance. Would like to be able to host and manage all this myself inside our network due to the large files. Cloud based solutions would not be practical with our 6Mb/s connection.

I'm also toying with the idea of a mobile IT service, but need something that will work on the go, easy to work with and as free as humanly possible. A lot of the paid stuff out there is cloud based which isn't exactly ideal for me. Are there good CRM applications that I can just install and manage myself? I haven't been able to find any. It seems to be saturated with all the cloud stuff.

I've looked at OpenCRX and Dolibarr. Dolibarr seems to be the best candidate so far.

Does anyone know of any more? Is there a solution out there with a subscription that won't empty the bank?

Cheers,
David

Dynamic

3866 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#968007 16-Jan-2014 10:15

This answer does not meet your criteria.

We currently use CommitCRM. Pricing is very reasonable in my opinion (compared with the commercial package industry heavyweights ConnectWise and AutoTask anyway), though CommitCRM does not have all of the features of those packages.

We've been using Xero for the last 3 years and I've been thinking about evaluating WorkFlowMax for the closer integration with Xero.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management. A great Kiwi company.

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#968008 16-Jan-2014 10:19

Dynamic: This answer does not meet your criteria.

We currently use CommitCRM. Pricing is very reasonable in my opinion (compared with the commercial package industry heavyweights ConnectWise and AutoTask anyway), though CommitCRM does not have all of the features of those packages.

We've been using Xero for the last 3 years and I've been thinking about evaluating WorkFlowMax for the closer integration with Xero.

Our finance department actually use Xero. I think they only know how to use what they need to use though. I personally don't know anything about it. Does it have some sort of customizable quote generator thing? This is the most critical feature I need at the moment. We need to find a better way to do that.

Cheers!

Dynamic

3866 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#968017 16-Jan-2014 10:27

Xero itself doesn't do quoting, but WorkFlowMax (bought by Xero a year ago) does quotes, job tracking, and invoices (which are passed to Xero). Pricing strikes me as reasonable.

One of its apparent strengths is the ability to set up templates... create a new task, apply template to it, and the steps are laid out to ensure no steps are missed.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management. A great Kiwi company.

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#968255 16-Jan-2014 15:52

Spoke to our finance department today. Turns out they pretty much use the whole Xero package. They also mentioned that Xero have an update on the way that will allow for quote management with custom fields and templates. It will be a cool to keep everything within Xero.

Now I'll have to do my homework on Xero permissions. From the sounds of things there are only three settings. I don't want everyone in the building that generates quotes having access to payroll...etc.

On the open source front. Dolibarr has a free plugin which allows the use of custom fields and inputs within the project management modules. Could be handy for me later down the track.

Dynamic

3866 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#968270 16-Jan-2014 16:06

Interesting... I hadn't heard about a Quoting facility coming.

Just had a look at mine.... users options are currently:
- Read Only (Invoices and Reports)
- Invoice Only (Generate new invoices, no read access to anything else)
- Standard (Accounts functions)
- Superuser

Presumably if Xero add on some quoting, the Invoice Only user will become a Quote & Invoice Only.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management. A great Kiwi company.

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#968304 16-Jan-2014 16:24

Neither until now. Apparently it was supposed to be late 2013, but it was delayed for some reason? Now it's late 2014. So some time this year I guess. Won't bother touching permissions until the new feature is implemented then I guess, haha.