CRM Blog

Why Upgrading from SugarCRM CE to Sugar Pro is unnecessary

I will try to list off a few reasons for staying on Sugar Community Edition rather than switching to SugarCRM Pro.

Click here to check out our detailed Feature Chart.

Reason #1: Quoting is unimportant for your staff

By using the SugarCRM (Professional) Quote and Contract Management, all sales reps are able to generate accurate quotes with support for multiple line items, currencies and even tax codes. Quotes and contracts can then be delivered to customers using email, Word or PDF. Strong version control functionality helps to ensure that sales reps can easily manage multiple versions of quotes and contracts.

Reason #2: Free Support is absolutely meaningless to you

The Support provided by SugarCRM has proven itself to be top caliber. Sugar has doubled their Support staff over the last 6 months. And time and again, they have addressed and fixed bugs within hours. In my personal experience, Sugar support staff has been able to resolve my submitted cases within 2-4 hours.

Reason #3: Team Management means nothing to your team

Team Management in Sugar Professional lets firms create & manage teams based on factors such as job type, division, geography or other attributes. Once these roles are assigned, administrators are able to assign access rights to a given role in order to make sure that team members have access.

SugarCRM – Free Assessment Document

Click here to receive our Free Sugar 6 Document.

With this free document, you will be empowered to identify the key enhancements within Sugar.

Topics:

1. Twitter and Social Media integration
2. Calculated Fields
3. Favorites and Favorites Dashlet
4. Reporting (filtering, scheduling)
5. User interface improvements (there are many!)
6. Sugar Mobile 1.0 details
7. and much more.

Free TCO Spreadsheet for Planning CRM Costs

Click here for our Free CRM TCO Spreadsheet.

With this spreadsheet, users will be empowered to see the chief TCO line items that are key for any CRM implementation. We have also included data for comparing CRM software systems such as Microsoft CRM, Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, Sage CRM, Sage SalesLogix and more. You will be able to view the 3 Year and 5 Year Total Cost of Ownership for both SaaS (Online/On-Demand) and Licensed (On-premise) pricing models.

TCO items include:

1. Annual License/User price
2. Support
3. Hardware (incl. Server and Users)
4. Implementation
5. Staff
7. Mobile
8. and much more.

Spreadsheet Tool for Comparing CRM Software

Click here to receive our Excel CRM Comparison Tool.

With this spreadsheet, you will be able to view the key similarilites and differences between a number of the top CRM systems, including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage SalesLogix, GoldMine, Sage ACT!, Pivotal and more.

Topics include:

1. Key CRM Features
2. Pricing (Licensing, etc..)
3. Available Modules (e.g. SFA, Marketing, Service, etc)
4. Feature Details (Sync, Call Center, Quoting, E-commerce, Lead Management, Security, Workflow, and much more.
5. Hardware and Network support (Microsoft, Linux, etc…)
6. Industry/NAICS

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Why You Should NOT subscribe to SugarCRM

In this article, we will be showing you several reasons to avoid switching to SugarCRM. We hope this helps you clarify your CRM purchasing decision.

Reason #1: You are not looking for the best bang for your buck

SugarCRM Professional offers the most value per dollar – of just about every CRM available. Their “built in” feature set includes items such as:

• free access from any computer, be it MAC, PC or Linux
• free Workflow automation
• free Mobile access from any mobile device
• free Support to address any technical bug that you might encounter
• free ability to add your own Custom Module
• free Outlook Email integration
• free Outlook Task and Contact synchronization
• free and simple Reporting
• free Email sending of Reports
• free ability to place my Reports on my Dashboard
• free attaching of Documents
• free Field Calculations
• free ability to “conditionally” show and hide fields
• free Social Integration
• free access to “Inside View” data
• and a lot more

Reason #2: User Adoption is unimportant to your organization

When comparing the various CRM systems on the market, Sugar has the most simple User Interface. The screens are clean and simple. There is no extra clutter along the right and left side of the screen. There are no extra, unnecessary items along the top or the bottom of the screen. And once your users understand the Detail View and the List View for one entity, they will understand that logic for all the other views. Sugar’s simple, logical structure permeates the entire database. And this allows users to feel comfortable with the system after one hour of training.

Reason #3: You don’t care if your CRM vendor goes out of business in a year

SugarCRM is among the top 3 CRM providers for a reason – they have proven themselves! Even IBM has bought into their strategy – and named them their strategic alliance partner for Cloud CRM solutions. Sugar’s cashflow and financial reports show a strong, healthy, and stable company that is going to be around for a long, long time! They have the money to keep investing in product development. Bottom line – I am reducing my risks by partnering with Sugar. 

Free SugarCRM 6 Evaluation Tool

Click here to download our Free Sugar CRM 6 Evaluation.

With this Tool, readers will be able to identify the key enhancements within Sugar CRM.

Evaluation Topics addressed:

1. Sugar Mobile 1.0 details
2. Calculated Fields
3. Favorites and Favorites Dashlet
4. Twitter and Social Media integration
5. Reporting (filtering, scheduling)
6. User interface improvements (there are many!)
7. and much more.

Free – TCO Calculation Tool for implementing CRM

Click here to download our Free CRM TCO Calculator.

By using this tool, readers will be able to identify the key TCO line items that are relevant for any CRM implementation. We have also included data for comparing CRM software systems such as Microsoft CRM, Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, Sage CRM, Sage SalesLogix and more. You will be able to view the 3 Year Total Cost of Ownership for both Subscription (Online/On-Demand) and Licensed (On-premise) pricing models.

TCO line items:

1. Implementation
2. Annual License/User price
3. Support
4. Hardware (incl. Server and Users)
5. Staff
6. Network
7. Mobile
8. and much more.

Free Excel Spreadsheet to Compare multiple CRM Packages

Click here to download our CRM Package Comparison Tool.

With this spreadsheet, you will be able to identify the key similarilites and differences between 9 of the top CRM systems, including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage SalesLogix, GoldMine, Sage ACT!, Pivotal and more.

Comparison Topics :

1. Hardware and Network support (Microsoft, Linux, etc…)
2. Key CRM Features
3. Pricing (Licensing, etc..)
4. Available Modules (e.g. SFA, Marketing, Service, etc)
5. Feature Details (Sync, Call Center, Quoting, E-commerce, Lead Management, Security, Workflow, and much more.
6. Industry/NAICS

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CRM Tips

In this blog, I will try to show you several more reasons for sticking with SugarCRM CE (Community Edition) and not upgrading to SugarCRM Professional Edition.  Click here to view a detailed Feature Comparison Chart.

Reason A: Workflow would not help your User Adoption

The Workflow Module in SugarCRM Professional is absolutely powerful. It allows you to automatically send Email alerts and create automated tasks. It allows you to even create and update records and thus update your dashboards automatically.

Reason B: Microsoft Integration is meaningless to you

The Microsoft Plugins for SugarCRM Pro are extremely powerful. They allow for merging record data into documents. But the most powerful plugin is the Outlook plugin. This amazing and simple tool allows users to synchronize their contacts and tasks between Sugar and Outlook. This can be done automatically or manually. Users are also able to archive outbound as well as inbound email to contact records.

Reason C: Free Mobile Integration means nothing to you

SugarCRM Professional provides the best Mobile CRM options on the market. Regardless of the mobile device, users are able to access SugarCRM! If this isn’t important for your sales staff, then you are an exception.

SugarCRM – Free Assessment PDF

Click here to access our Free Sugar 6 Document.

With this document, you will be able to identify the key enhancements within Sugar CRM.

Topics addressed include:

1. Twitter and Social Media integration
2. Calculated Fields
3. Favorites and Favorites Dashlet
4. Reporting (filtering, scheduling)
5. User interface improvements (there are many!)
6. Sugar Mobile 1.0 details
7. and much more.

Free TCO Tool for Calculating CRM Project Costs

Click here for our Free CRM TCO Tool.

With this free tool, readers will be able to see the chief TCO line items that are crucial for any CRM implementation. We have also included data for comparing CRM software systems such as Microsoft CRM, Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, Sage CRM, Sage SalesLogix and more. You will be able to view the 3 Year and 5 Year Total Cost of Ownership for both SaaS (Online/On-Demand) and Licensed (On-premise) pricing models.

TCO line items include:

1. Annual License/User price
2. Support
3. Hardware (incl. Server and Users)
4. Implementation
5. Staff
6. Network
7. Mobile
8. and much more.

Free Spreadsheet to Compare CRM Systems

Click here to download our Excel CRM Comparison Tool.

With this spreadsheet, you will be able to view the key similarilites and differences between 9 of the top CRM systems, including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage SalesLogix, GoldMine, Sage ACT!, Pivotal and more.

Topics include:

1. Key CRM Features
2. Pricing (Licensing, etc..)
3. Available Modules (e.g. SFA, Marketing, Service, etc)
4. Feature Details (Sync, Call Center, Quoting, E-commerce, Lead Management, Security, Workflow, and much more.
5. Hardware and Network support (Microsoft, Linux, etc…)
6. Industry/NAICS

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Here’s why you should NOT upgrade from SugarCRM Community Edition

You might be asking yourself if it is valuable to upgrade from SugarCRM Community to SugarCRM Pro.  Click here to view a detailed Feature Comparison Chart.

Here are several reasons for avoiding the upgrade:

Reason 1: Reporting is not important to you

Upgrading from Sugar CE to Sugar Pro allows you to create reports across several modules. You can even group by multiple attributes. Sugar Pro provides more than 50 reports out of the box. These can all be auto-sent via email. Need to schedule the sending? No problem – Sugar will send these reports on  scheduled basis. Do you need run-time parameters? No problem – that’s built right in to every report if you need it. Do you need to see those reports on your Dashboard? No problem – just add that report to your Dashboard via drag-n-drop.

Reason 2: Sales Forecasting is not valuable for you

The Sales Forecasting module in SugarCRM Pro allows managers to create quotas for each sales rep. Then each sales rep can commit to a specific $ amount for any desired period of time. The reporting module has some excellent reports that show a comparison between (a) forecasted, (b) committed, and (c) actual $ amounts.

Reason 3. Marketing Analytics is irrelevant for your organization 

Not only can you use the Campain Module with Sugar Professional, but you can also measure the effectiveness of these – all the way from the first offer to the sucessful closing of an sales opportunity. Comparing the budget of a campaign to the resulting actual sales is the essence of an ROI study – and this might just be relevant for your firm.

Free SugarCRM Assessment Tool

Click here to access and download our Free Sugar CRM 6 Evaluation PDF.

With this document, you will be able to identify the key enhancements within Sugar CRM.

Topics addressed include:

1. Calculated Fields
2. Favorites and Favorites Dashlet
3. Twitter and Social Media integration
4. Reporting (filtering, scheduling)
5. User interface improvements (there are many!)
6. Sugar Mobile 1.0 details
7. and much more.

Free Cost and  TCO Calculation Tool for CRM Projects

Click here to download our CRM TCO Calculator.

With this, you will be empowered to track the key TCO line items that are important for any CRM implementation. We have included data for comparing CRM systems such as Microsoft CRM, Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, Sage CRM, Sage SalesLogix and more. You will be able to view the 5 Year Total Cost of Ownership for both Subscription (Online/On-Demand) and Licensed (On-premise) pricing models.

TCO line items include:

1. Mobile
2. Annual License/User price
3. Support
4. Hardware (incl. Server and Users)
5. Implementation
6. Staff
7. Network
8. and much more.

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CRM Database Capacity

One of the main concerns of a business in choosing the right CRM system is the data storage function. Salesforce is noted to work with providing 20MB capacity per user or a total of 1GB for the business entity.  Over the years, this CRM developer expanded to offer additional load to their clients of 500MB capacity for $1500. Saleslogix, on the other hand, offers a wider range of capacity on data storage functions. Saleslogix provides a 100GB capacity for every 50 users in the initial package, which gives broader range capacities.  Additionally, if additional load is required, the cost of an additional 100GB is set at $50 a month, which is less costly than what Salesforce offers.

CRM Product Features

Perhaps the biggest difference between Salesforce and Saleslogix is the Product Features. Both software products are priced at $65, yet Saleslogix provides better features in terms of data exports for weekly functions, marketing campaign manageability, offline access, and mobile API. These features come with the product itself while Salesforce requires additional costs to integrate more of the same features.

Free SugarCRM 6 Assessment PDF

Click here to access and download our Free Sugar CRM 6 Evaluation PDF.

With this document, you will be able to identify the key enhancements within Sugar CRM.

Topics addressed include:

1. Calculated Fields
2. Favorites and Favorites Dashlet
3. Twitter and Social Media integration
4. Reporting (filtering, scheduling)
5. User interface improvements (there are many!)
6. Sugar Mobile 1.0 details
7. and much more.

Free ACT! 2011 Evaluation and Feature Review

Click here to access and download our Free Sage ACT! 2011 Feature Evaluation and Review.

With this document, you will be able to identify the key improvements within ACT! 2011 as well as ACT! 2010.

Items addressed include:

1. User interface enhancements
2. Social Media
3. E-Marketing, Mail-Merge and Online Surveys
4. Sales Opportunity redesign
5. Flexible Reporting, Dashboard and OLEDB interface
6. Advanced Outlook Integration and Invitations
7. Advanced Outlook Sync for Contacts and Calendar
8. Simplified Importing design
9. Smart Tasks (Workflow)
10. Advanced Lead Management and Importing
11. Administrative improvements
12. and much more.

Free Spreadsheet to Compare CRM Systems

Click here to access and download our Free Excel CRM Comparison Tool.

With this tool, you will be able to identify the key similarilites and differences between 9 of the top CRM systems, including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage SalesLogix, GoldMine, Sage ACT!, Pivotal and more.

Comparison Topics include:

1. Key CRM Features
2. Pricing (Licensing, etc..)
3. Available Modules (e.g. SFA, Marketing, Service, etc)
4. Feature Details (Sync, Call Center, Quoting, E-commerce, Lead Management, Security, Workflow, and much more.
5. Hardware and Network support (Microsoft, Linux, etc…)
6. Industry/NAICS

Nationwide CRM Consulting and Training

With locations throughout the United States, Accent Gold Solutions is able to provide CRM training, consulting and implementation service whereever you are. Please contact us to find out the best way to get your CRM project underway. Remember, step 1 is to figure out what your business requirements are, and step 2 is to select the proper CRM system for your individual needs.

Being certified in various CRM systems such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage SalesLogix CRM, Sage ACT!, SAP CRM and more, we are confident we can advise you as to the proper CRM software to fit your business.

Whether you are in Austin, Texas or Lincoln, Nebraska, we can get your CRM solution designed, implemented and trained so that your users will love it and use it. We define our success by your CRM adoption rate. So call us to get started!

Microsoft CRM 2011 Review Webinars

Join us for our webinar series as we explore the points outlined below – and hope to provide you valuable insight about this top-rated CRM solution. We hope that our comparison with Salesforce.com will help you on in your CRM evaluation.

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