manager | The Big Mac Blog

Oct

Burn: Burn DVD’s and CD’s with ease and for free

Although not as sophisticated as applications such as Roxio’s Toast, Burn is one simple and useful application for making various format discs that is completely free. Isn’t that lovely?

CLICK HERE

May

Small Business Special…

PART 1 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Today I am going to be looking at various tools that can help you with setting up, running and making a success of your new small business the relationship between you and your clients.

In each section I will be looking at various software solutions for running a small business which will be a mix of Freeware, mid range priced and Professionally priced options.

First lets have a look at some CRM or Customer Relationship Management tools.

First up we have…

DAYLITE by MARKETCIRCLE

PRICE: from £129

Daylite is a purpose built database for tracking clients, quotes, estimates, projects, pipelines and more.

PROS:

• All your info in one place.

• Integration with iCal and Address Book.

• Readymade solution.

• Excellent Support and Training Materials.

• Remotely Accessible.

CONS:

• Quite pricey

• Initial steep learning curve.

• Relatively fixed use

One of the great things about Daylite is that at any point during its use you really do feel like your using a mac application, which, as you all know, greatly increases the usability factor.

VERDICT: A generally sound all round contender that although a bit pricey can be purposed for pretty much any type of business. The real winner is the accompanying iPhone application that means you can be mobile with your company data.

USEABILITY 4 STARS

PRICE 2 STARS

FLEXIBILITY 3 STARS

COMPATIBILITY 4 STARS

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Next up….

Basecamp, Backpack & Highrise by 37SIGNALS

Price: Monthly plans from $24

37SIGNALS have created a suite of web apps that help you stay connected wherever you are.

The three main applications are…

Basecamp – “Manage projects, collaboration and communications.”

Backpack – “Organise and Share information across your Business.”

Highrise – “Track your contacts, leads and deals, always be prepared.”

PROS:

• No Software to download or maintain.

• Access from anywhere.

• Secure, Backed Up regularly.

• Cross Platform.

• Works with iPhone.

CONS:

• Monthly Price plan may be prohibitive for many.

• internet access of some sort required.

• CRM split across different modules.

VERDICT: A genuinely innovative attempt to shake up and revolutionise the CRM and Business communication market that works well and is very easy to use. Being able to access anywhere and the fact that your data is safe and backed up are a huge advantage but not being able to use off line. Having a rolling fee may also put off small businesses and freelancers.

USEABILITY 4 STARS

PRICE 1 STARS

FLEXIBILITY 2 STARS

COMPATIBILITY 5 STARS

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Lastly…

FMStartingPoint by Richard Carlton Consulting Inc.

PRICE: COMPLETELY FREE

FMStarting point is deceptively simple looking. It is actually an amazingly straightforward yet powerful solution for any business.

The nature of a filemaker database is that you need to understand the basics of Filemaker but in this case the hard work has been done for you. Even customising invoice templates for your business is a breeze.

The upside of a Filemaker database is that it is infinitely customisable.

It is hard to believe that this is free as its power certainly warrants a levy. Richard Carlton Consulting also make a home version called Data4Life which offers similar functionality for running your personal as well as your business data.

PROS:

• Amazingly, completely FREE.

• Integrated and all-in-one solution.

• Customisable.

• Outputs Customisable Documents easily.

• Can send E-mail via SMTP directly through interface.

• Very easy to use.

CONS:

• Requires Filemaker Pro 10 (although FM PRO is infinitely useful)

• Requires knowledge of FMPRO 10 if you want to network the data or share via the internet etc.

VERDICT: A super addition to any businesses arsenal. Incredibly easy to use, impressive looking documents such as invoices, estimates etc, built in email distribution and most of all COMPLETEY FREE!

USEABILITY 5 STARS

PRICE 5 STARS

FLEXIBILITY 3 STARS (5 STARS IF YOU KNOW FM PRO 10)

COMPATIBILITY 4 STARS

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Nov

PlugSuit – Manage all your installed plugins

picture-15 These days, plugins for applications on our macs seem to be coming left right and centre. Managing them once they are installed, however, is no mean feat. PlugSuit comes to the rescue with a single location for you to see all of you plugins, allowing you to delete plugins, update them or simply temporarily disable them.