Top 4 Steps for Efficient CRM Development

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Umair Shah

On the verge of 2024, CRM solutions have already become more than just optional tools – they’re critical for nurturing and expanding customer interactions. A robust CRM system can greatly enhance client engagement and satisfaction, drive sales growth, and foster long-term business relationships.

In this article, we will walk you through the four essential steps for CRM development, ensuring that your solution is not just a database of customer information but a powerful engine driving your business forward. Let’s dive into the world of CRM development and explore how you can leverage it to transform your customer management and enhance your business outcomes.

Step 1: Set Your Goals and KPIs

What are the 4 core steps for CRM development? The first and most crucial step in CRM development is to define the needs of your business and set clear requirements for your future system to provide them to your chosen CRM software development company. This step requires a deep understanding of your business’s daily workflow, interactions with customers, and long-term goals.

Circle Out the Challenges: Start by identifying the challenges your business faces in managing customer relationships. Do you need help with disorganized data, inefficient tracking of customer interactions, or lack of actionable insights? Understanding these pain points is key.

State Your Objectives: Define what you want to achieve with your CRM system. Whether improving customer service, increasing sales, or streamlining communication within your team, having clear goals will guide the development process.

Engage Stakeholders: Involve various stakeholders, including sales, marketing, and customer service teams, to get a comprehensive view of what different parts of your business require from a CRM system.

Analyze Your Data: Look at the data you collect on a daily basis, analyze it, and think about how it can be used to enhance customer relationships. This could include purchase history, interaction logs, feedback, and more.

Ensure Compliance and Security: Consider legal and compliance aspects, especially data protection laws like GDPR. Your CRM should ensure customer data is handled securely and ethically.

By the end of this step, you should have a clear understanding of your CRM requirements, aligning with your business’s unique needs and customer management strategies.

Step 2: Choose the Right Technology and Platform

After defining your CRM needs and objectives, the next step is to select the appropriate technology and platform. This decision will significantly impact the functionality, scalability, and overall success of your CRM system.

Custom vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions: Decide whether to ask a CRM software development company to build a custom CRM solution tailored to your specific requirements or use an off-the-shelf platform that can be customized. Custom solutions offer more flexibility, while off-the-shelf options are usually more cost-effective and quicker to deploy.

Cloud-based vs. On-premise: Choose between a cloud-based CRM, which offers accessibility and scalability, and an on-premise solution, which can provide greater control and security. Cloud-based CRMs like Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics 365 are popular for their ease of use and integration capabilities.

Flawless Integration: Ensure the CRM can integrate smoothly with your existing tools and software, such as email systems, social media platforms, and analytics tools. Seamless integration is crucial for a unified and efficient workflow.

Great User Experience: Opt for a platform that offers an intuitive user interface and is user-friendly. The ease of use will encourage adoption among your team members.

Scalability: Consider the future growth of your business. The CRM should be scalable to accommodate increasing data volumes and evolving business processes without significant overhauls.

Vendor Reputation and Support: Research your chosen CRM software development company’s reputation, focusing on its track record, customer support, and service reliability. Strong vendor support can be crucial, especially for businesses without extensive IT resources.

By carefully considering these factors, you can choose a technology and platform that not only meets your current needs but also supports future growth and changes in your business strategy.

Step 3: Design and Development

This phase involves bringing your CRM vision to life. It’s where the planning and decisions made in the previous steps start to materialize.

Architectural Design: Begin with designing the architecture of the CRM system. This includes the database design, user interface layout, and the overall system flow. A well-planned architecture ensures scalability and efficient performance.

Customization and Feature Development: Based on your identified needs, customize your CRM or develop specific features. This might include custom fields, unique sales pipelines, automated workflows, or advanced reporting tools.

User Interface Design: Focus on creating an intuitive and engaging user interface. A good UI/UX design enhances user adoption and satisfaction, making it easier for your team to interact with the CRM.

Integration Development: Develop the necessary integrations with other business tools and platforms. This might involve APIs for connecting with email clients, social media platforms, ERP systems, or marketing tools.

Testing: Rigorously test the CRM system for bugs, glitches, and usability issues. Testing should cover various scenarios to ensure the CRM functions correctly under different conditions.

Feedback Loop: Encourage feedback from potential users during the development process. This can help in making real-time adjustments and ensuring the CRM aligns with user expectations and business needs.

This step is critical as it transforms your strategic objectives into a tangible tool that will play a crucial role in managing customer relationships and driving business growth.

Step 4: Deployment and Ongoing Support

The final step in CRM development is deploying the system and ensuring ongoing support for its users. This phase is crucial for a successful CRM implementation and long-term effectiveness.

Deployment: Launch the CRM system within your organization. This could involve a phased approach, starting with a pilot group before a full-scale rollout, or an all-at-once implementation, depending on the size and complexity of your business.

Training and Onboarding: Conduct comprehensive training sessions for all users. Proper training is essential for ensuring that your team understands how to use the CRM effectively. This can include hands-on workshops, instructional materials, and online tutorials.

Monitoring and Maintenance: After deployment, continuously monitor the system’s performance. Look out for any technical issues or areas where the system could be improved. Regular maintenance helps ensure the CRM remains efficient and up-to-date with the latest features and security updates.

User Support: Regularly collect user feedback on the CRM’s functionality and usability and provide ongoing support to users. This can be in the form of a dedicated helpdesk, FAQs, or a user community forum. Timely support resolves user issues and queries, enhancing their overall experience with the CRM.

Performance Evaluation: Leverage the power of analytics and reporting functionalities to gauge the CRM’s influence on essential business segments like sales and customer service. This critical step not only clarifies the return on investment (ROI) of your CRM but also pinpoints potential areas for enhanced optimization.

Future Upgrades: Stay updated with the latest CRM trends and technologies. Plan for future upgrades and additions to ensure your CRM keeps pace with technological advancements and changing business requirements.

By focusing on these aspects during the deployment phase, you ensure that your CRM system not only integrates smoothly into your business processes but also evolves as a vital asset for your organization.

Wrapping Up

The journey of creating an effective CRM system involves careful planning and strategic implementation. By following these four critical steps – Planning, Custom Development, Testing and Refinement, and Deployment and Ongoing Support – you set the stage for a CRM solution that not only aligns with your specific business needs but also evolves with your growth.

Keep in mind, that the true power of a CRM lies in its effective use by your team, continuous evolution with your business, and its ability to foster stronger, more meaningful customer relationships. Be the first to harness its full potential and create exceptional customer experiences, paving the way for your business’s future success.

Top 5 Reasons to Avoid CRM in The Cloud

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Wayland Bruns

The fastest and best traditional Customer Relations Managers were written for Windows. First, there was Packrat and Commence, then TeleMagic and GoldMine, and who can forget Symantec Act! When a customer calls, you answer the phone, look up their name, and start taking call notes within seconds.

Well, after the early days, Salesforce came along and made a multi-billion-dollar investment convincing well-heeled corporations that ponderously slow web applications could be somewhat effective at taking down customer notes. Management bought on – because they are talkers, not note-takers. The note takers of the company do not agree, which is why most salespeople no longer make notes about their customers. By tying key customer support, marketing and accounting features, Salesforce has convinced the world that CRM belongs in the cloud.

“On-premise” CRM is a self-hosted and in-house CRM alternative, as opposed to data storage in the cloud. On-premise gives you complete control over your data and is typically significantly less expensive than a cloud subscription. You have complete control and visibility over your database with its own CRM, allowing it to be entirely customized and user-specific.

Because of its high level of data security, on-premise CRM is more appealing to consumers. The in-house structure provides greater privacy and less chance for security breaches. When you can “own” your on-premise software, you have the benefit of having it on a psychical device rather than a corporate-owned cloud to which you have subscription access.

There is nothing that CRM in the Cloud does better than CRM on your PC. Here are five things that are worse:

Unstable Platforms

A Cloud-based solution is totally dependent on your PC browser and can fail any time your Chrome or Firefox browser updates. Features and systems you use every day can suddenly become unusable or disappear altogether.

A CRM on a PC is stable, and updates are in your control. Links to associated products like Outlook, Word and Excel are always available.

When a company chooses a Saas platform product, it gives up control over the key systems and related hardware to unseen third-party service providers. With on-premise CRM, the client houses and manages all components. In many cases, out-of-sight and out-of-mind mean out-of-order. Most small entrepreneurs prefer the control you can have by using a simpler local CRM solution that runs on your laptop or in your office.

Snail Speed and Refresh Delays

Cloud-based systems use multiple screens just to search for a record, with many screen taps and mouse clicks. It’s all about the platform and none about your customer. You will constantly wait for screens to refresh. Then you need to verify that the system saved the data you just typed. With on-premise CRM, you can quickly access your database regardless of your internet connection.

Software on your PC runs faster than browser-based tools. Time for yourself – when a customer calls, how fast can you get to their record in your database, taking notes about the call? A good desktop PC system can get you there in 5 seconds or less – including the data lookup. This speed ensures you are productively handling your service, and not just fighting your tools.

Complex Layers of Security Cannot Keep You Safe

With Cloud-based systems, if you miss a payment, your data is wiped out without you knowing. There’s no way to get it back. With a system on your PC, you know exactly where the data is. Backing it up and securing it is clearly in your control, and no one can take that from you.

Customer information is very sensitive and protected. Because the servers containing client information must be handled by the vendor, some businesses just do not feel comfortable with the on-demand method. With on-premise CRM, businesses can be certain that the necessary safeguards are in place to ensure that their client data does not get into the wrong hands.

Database Access is Controlled by Low Paid Contractors Half a World Away

During an AWS outage, any tool hosted on that platform might fail, leaving you unable to do your business. Google Cloud is only slightly better in security and performance. Cloud Services like AWS use dozens of internal tools, any one of them able to create one of their famous Outage disasters.

Ever Increasing Monthly Fees

With Cloud-based CRMs, there is never an end to monthly payments. If your credit card changes and you miss a payment, your data will be erased. While hundreds of staffers, contractors and overseas techs can see your data, there is no one to call and no one who can help you if it gets erased. With a PC-based CRM, your data is safe and secure on your PC, and any tech you hire can help you back it up or move it to a new PC.

Over a five-year life span, SaaS systems cost five to ten times the one-time price product they replaced. Quickbooks at $300 is now Online for $330 per year. Adobe Creative Suite for $560 is now online for $720 per year. These costs can double if you add a second user to your account, even if they log in just one time per year.

Cloud CRM Solutions

Instead of troublesome Cloud-based CRM, an on-premise solution is much more stable and affordable option. “On-premise” CRM is a self-hosted and in-house CRM alternative, as opposed to data storage in the cloud. On-premise gives you complete control over your data and is typically significantly less expensive than a cloud subscription. You have complete control and visibility over your own database with its own CRM, allowing it to be entirely customized and user-specific.

An affordable on-premise CRM option is DejaOffice. DejaOffice is a note-taking tool for your computer that syncs with your phone, making it easy to take notes, schedule follow-ups, and assign tasks. Make a shared database that everyone in your office may access. DejaOffice PC CRM is a PC-based contact management. It is more secure and quicker than web-based solutions. Using DejaOffice, you can easily keep track of all conversations, meetings, tasks, emails, and texts with your clients, vendors, and partners.

DejaOffice has the lowest pricing range, beginning at $69.95 for a one-time perpetual subscription.

Wrapping up

When data is kept in-house, you and your team will have better knowledge and access to the information you need. On-premise CRM is less expensive, and there will be no need for remote technical assistance.

When it comes to on-premise CRM, there are several solutions for varied database and user capacities. Depending on your budget and whether you want a subscription or a one-time license purchase, on-premise CRM is the ideal solution for anyone who prefers to keep their data in-house rather than on a cloud server. PC CRM is a secure and dependable choice for you and your database.

Switch from Exchange to MAPI and Still get an Outlook App on your Android and iPhone

Posted on April 4, 2021 by Wayland Bruns

Suddenly, there is an overwhelming reason for corporations to change from Exchange to MAPI. The Hafnium hack of Microsoft Exchange has hit more than 30,000 US corporations. The Zero Day Hack hits an exchange vulnerability that has been in the code since it was written ten years ago. More than anything else, this tells us that storing data in The Cloud is not secure.

What is IMAP

The first Email Protocol was known as POP – Post Office Protocol, and its most popular implementation is POP3. IMAP was created in the late 1980s as an alternative. For Email handling, IMAP has proven to be a simple and durable protocol that allows you to consume Email on multiple devices, like your PC and your phone, and answer it from either device.

Is MAPI Safer than Exchange

Exchange is written by Microsoft and is intended to be a more sophisticated mail handling system. Indeed, it introduced Push protocol which at the time made it faster than IMAP. While both IMAP and Exchange store Contacts and Calendar information, IMAP was more closely tied to Microsoft Outlook and had a better implementation. Microsoft removed IMAP handling for Outlook Contacts in 2010.

Microsoft has a new agenda to merge Exchange and Azure services and wrap many tools under a single security protocolTherein lies the weakness exposed by Hafnium. Microsoft’s many corporate mergers expose them to the shift from Pareto Principle to the Peter Principle. In wrapping Exchange, Microsoft allowed exchange logins full access to Azure services on a Corporate Server. The hack involves accessing the logins, and taking a minor user and giving them Super Admin privileges. Because Microsoft now allows Echange Users to access non-exchange resources, the new Super Admin might enable full access to the entire corporate network.

Microsoft Cumulative Updates

Many corporate Exchange sites have run into a secondary issue. The Hafnium Patch issued by Microsoft assumes your Exchange is fully up to date. For many sites, Exchange updates have been deferred to focus on maximum utility by the company. Suddenly, years worth of updates have to be applied. Updating complex and customized software is never easy, and many sites have been brought down because the cumulative update process fails. It leaves the corporation unable to receive or send Email, share data, or update their Outlook on PC and Phone.

IMAP to the Rescue

Switching the Corporation back to IMAP is a quick and easy way to get the corporate Email back flowing again. At least on this level, emails from customers, vendors and leads can be exchanged. The IT department then gets time to consider the options. Any sites that are truly hacked need to rebuild their servers from scratch. Sites that only got cumulative update failure might install fresh Exchange and try to import past data into it. Either process can take days or weeks to implement.

Replacing Outlook App on Android and iPhone

With Email restored using Outlook, the next thing a corporation needs to look at is replacing the Outlook App on their iPhones, iPads, and Android Devices. The Outlook App has three main functions; Email, which is already handled by the phones, Contacts and Calendar. Luckily there are many alternatives.

Setting up IMAP Email on your Cell Phone

To set up Email on your Phone, you go to the Email App and enter your IMAP credentials. As soon as you do this, your Email will come to the Phone. You can also do this on your PC Outlook, and then your IMAP email comes to your Phone and your PC.

Sync Outlook Contacts and Calendar to your Phone

The next task is to restore the Contact database and Calendar from Outlook to your Phone. Exchange handled these by storing the contacts and calendar on the Exchange Server. This server is not available with an IMAP mailbox. So it is required that you install some soft of Sync Software to your PC. Here is a Guide to switching Contact and Calendar Sync from Exchange to MAPI. The requirement is that this software sync from the local Outlook IMAP folder directly to your iPhone, iPad or Android Phone.

A common and inexpensive product that synchronizes from Outlook IMAP Folders to iPhone and Android is CompanionLink for Outlook. CompanionLink is very easy to set up and offers many options. The primary method for sync is DejaCloud, which is like Exchange in offering Realtime Push sync. The CompanionLink solution requires DejaOffice on your Phone. DejaOffice works like the Outlook App but mirrors more features of Outlook. DejaOffice fully supports Outlook category colors, tasks and notes on your Android and iPhone, none of which are handled by the Outlook App. But the most prominent feature is DejaOffice does not use Exchange protocol, which is unaffected by either the Hafnium hack or the cumulative Exchange update issues.

Share and Schedule Outlook Calendars in your Office

CompanionLink also offers an Outlook-based CRM product that can share Outlook calendars between users, even when using IMAP folders. This product is called DejaOffice PC CRM Pro, and it costs just $40 one-time-price per user. The key is that DPCP can store everyone’s data on a central server, allowing Calendar sharing on many PCs.

Multiple Calendar Sharing with Remote PCs

DejaOffice PC CRM also can share the database with remote offices. It uses the same push sync system to allow people to see their tasks and schedule changes instantly. So this is a robust system that replaces many of the multiple user facets of Microsoft Office and Sharepoint without engaging the Exchange server vulnerabilities. The DejaCloud sharing cost is low; about $20 per user per year, and the first year is free when you purchase the Professional DejaOffice license for your office.

CompanionLink for Outlook

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Average rating: 4.83 out of 5 based on 658 reviews.

Free 14 day trial. Price $14.95 3-Mo Subs - $69.95 One-time License.

DejaOffice 2020 Changes to Edit and View Screens

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Wayland Bruns

This week we are releasing changes to DejaOffice PC CRM. A focus of these changes are to lower the number of keystrokes needed to create Calendar Events and Tasks, and to better utilize space on the Contact View Screen.

This set of changes is dubbed “2020”. For all of these changes you can revert to the 2019 screens by going to Settings, and then selecting Contacts, Calendar or Tasks, and choosing the option to use 2019 screen formats.

Calendar Edit

When creating an event, we have moved location higher, and condensed some of the options for private and complete. Most notably we have added “quick select” buttons for most common appointment times.

If you choose to make an appointment for a future day, for instance choose “T” for Tuesday – the appointment will automatically slot to your next available time on Tuesday. If there is no slot, a message will show for the Conflict. The system is always trying to slot you for the future. If you click “T” on Tuesday, it will be for the following week on Tuesday. If you click on “Today” it will be for later today.

Task Edit

The Task Edit screen largely follows the changes on Calendar Edit

Contact View

Our goal With Contact View is to get more info into the available screens space. For our Palm Desktop customers, this has not been an issue, because the screen can easily display Contact info, Phone Numbers, Custom Fields and Notes. For our CRM Customers, however, the view area is both crowded and also forced you to scroll to see important information. There was no way to view History, Notes, and Custom Fields without scrolling up and down.

Our solution is to reset the field display if you give it enough width:

If you make the View Panel wider, it will automatically reset to a two-column format. This allows notes to show beside the Histories, and allows addresses to appear side-by-side.

For our CRM users, we recommend you keep the screen expanded as much as possible, and this will reduce the need to scroll.

Unique Capability

With the expanded view – DejaOffice offers something unique in the CRM world – the ability to see both your notes and your history at the same time. Nearly all competing products use tabs, so you can see notes or history, but not both.

New Edit Modes for Contact Screen

We have added context sensitive editing. So if you click on an Address, it will go to the Address Edit view. If you click on the Custom Fields, it will go to the custom fields edit. If you click on the Notes Header it will go to the larger note edit screen, while clicking on the Notes Body will let you edit in the existing view frame.

Detail feature guide: Here is a Guide for our new 2020 Edit Screens.

Thank you for using DejaOffice!

DejaOffice PC CRM Pro

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Average rating: 4.84 out of 5 based on 79 reviews.

Free 14 day trial. Price $199.95

Outlook Customer Manager (OCM) will be Discontinued – Here’s an Alternative!

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Wayland Bruns

Microsoft has recently announced the end of Outlook Customer Manager, with access to your online data to be ended June 30, 2020.

Outlook Customer Manager was introduced by Microsoft in 2016 as a replacement to Business Contact manager. It sits on top of Outlook and provides key business features. Most notably, it offers Company Records, Shared Contacts, Activity History, Deal tracking, and Integrated Document Management.

Fortunately there is a good alternative with DejaOffice. DejaOffice PC CRM provides the following essential features:

Company Records
Shared Contacts
Activity History
Deal Tracking
Integrated Document Management
Integrated Mobile Apps
Telephone Technical Support

DejaOffice PC CRM provides a number of features that Outlook Customer Manager badly needed, but never had:

Category Management with Colors
Multiple User Scheduling
Integrated Tasks and Notes
Private Data, Database Encryption and Security

You can subscribe to DejaOffice for Outlook for $7 per month ($19.95 paid once every three months).

You can purchase a perpetual license for $99.95 (one time purchase).

Click here to download: A two-week trial.

Click here to get more info!

CompanionLink provides US based Telephone Technical Support for DejaOffice. There are three levels of support available: Free support, for general information and how-to advice, RunStart service for $49 where CompanionLink will help you set up your database and get you launched with the product, and Premium Support which provides a year of “white-glove” service for you DejaOffice CRM for Outlook site.

DejaOffice PC CRM for Outlook

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Average rating: 4.84 out of 5 based on 79 reviews.

Free 14 day trial. Price $129.95

Why you need a PC based CRM in 2020

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Wayland Bruns

For the past Decade, Customer Relations Management has been transformed by SaaS providers so completely, that some people think CRM means Cloud. On-Premise CRMs that you can purchase for a one-time price have almost disappeared. The problem with the Cloud model is that every service provide aims to lock you in to monthly payments, slow loading web pages, and features that hide behind premium fees.

No one can predict what our economy will throw us in 2020. But it seems clear that the last 14 years of growth may soon level out or decline. When business gets tough, then the high monthly payments become a burden.

When CRM was new, back in the 1980s and 90s, the main business model was PC based software, PC based data, with sync services to handheld devices. CompanionLink was born in those years, and we retain that service model. More recently there is a trend to adopt personal CRM that cannot be ignored.

We have introduced DejaOffice PC CRM. This is a Contact Manager, Calendar App that runs on Windows PCs, Android Phones, iPhones and iPads. On each of these platforms, the CRM database is local to the device. This means that you gain speed and productivity compared to the browser based model. It also means that if you are disconnected from the internet, on your PC by a carrier outage, or on your phone by simply being in a parking garage, you can still work effectively.

Standalone: DejaOffice PC CRM Standalone $49.95 – A simple standalone Contact Manager for Personal or Small Business use. Track your Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes. This CRM can easily import all your data from Palm Desktop, Outlook, or Google.

You can make mail-merge emails, letters and mailing labels. You can handle tasks and store notes. Automatic backups and privacy features are included.

Outlook: DejaOffice PC CRM for Outlook $99.95 – All the features of Standalone with the additional feature of an Outlook Add-In. You can easily drag and drop an email to create a Contact, Calendar Event, Tasks or Note.

Express: DejaOffice PC CRM Express $129.95 – Customer History and Follow Ups are the main features of the Express version. Easily see everything you’ve done for the customer, and everything planned for the future. The Express version includes the Outlook Add-In, but also adds a feature to automatically move Outlook Emails to Contact history.

Pro: DejaOffice PC CRM Pro $199.95 for 5-Users – Multi-User version with a shared database. No other CRM is as affordable. Every person can have their own schedule, with permission to edit other schedules. Everyone can share a Contact list so that your Company Contacts are always up to date.

Free trial

Download a free trial today. As a part of this trial we will email you setup guides and we will help you get started. There is no risk. See how productive your day can be when you put Customer Relations back on your PC where it belongs!

DejaOffice PC CRM Pro

Average User Rating:

Average rating: 4.84 out of 5 based on 79 reviews.

Free 14 day trial. Price $199.95

CompanionLink provides effective alternative for Telexis PHONEslips and Group Scheduler

Posted on January 2, 2020 by Wayland Bruns

CompanionLink Software is offering customized import for the discontinued PHONEslips and Group Scheduler programs provided by Telexis Software.

Telexis has announced that these products have been discontinued and support ended December 31, 2019. Customers who currently use PHONEslips will continue to run, and can still export their contact database.

CompanionLink provides a program with similar functionality called DejaOffice PC CRM.

Click on these links for more information:

DejaOffice PC CRM Standalone – $49.95 – Single User
DejaOffice PC CRM for Outlook – $99.95 – Outlook Add-In
DejaOffice PC CRM Express – $129.95 – Adds History and Deals functions
DejaOffice PC CRM Pro – $199.95 – 5 user version ($40 per user)

To take a call using DejaOffice PC CRM, you display the Contact List and then Search for the contact who is calling. You can start the search simply by typing their name in the contact list. If the contact is found, you can record a call by clicking the Telephone Icon. Then you can put in the details of the call. To assign it to another user, put their name as the “owner” of the record. The call will appear on that person’s task list. You can also assign a priority and category color to the call.

DejaOffice PC CRM Pro also has a group scheduling screen. You can use this to view a the calendar for multiple people, and easily move scheduled events from one to another.

DejaOffice PC CRM has well rated Mobile Apps. USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and DejaCloud Sync may be used to move data from the PC to DejaOffice on your smartphone.

For a limited time you can order DejaOffice PC CRM Pro, for 5 users ($199.95), with the optional RunStart service ($49) where we will assist you to import your PHONEslips contacts and help set up your office database. We offer $10 off for a total price of $139.95. Click here to order this today.

DejaOffice PC CRM Standalone

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Average rating: 4.83 out of 5 based on 658 reviews.

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Palm Desktop on Windows 10 – Disappearing Data files – Datebook and Memos

Posted on December 29, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

Thousands of people still use Palm Desktop as their primary contact management system. It has the essential features that people need, some of which are even missing in Outlook.

Some of the things found in Palm Desktop and no other PC application are:

Fast Loading – Loads in less than a second
Categories for Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes
Ability to make Memos private and secure
Easy printouts of Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes
Thorough implementation of Calendar repeats

Versions of Palm Desktop

In 2020, there are two effective versions of Palm Desktop. The earlier version, Palm 4.1.4 was released in 2004. it features Colored Categories for Calendar which were removed in Palm Desktop 6. The data file format is proprietary, based on the original serialized memory structures originally released in 1996. Palm 6.2 was released in 2008 using MDB (Microsoft Access Format) data files. The application features were similar, but the database structure was brand new. Palm Desktop was too early to be converted to Unicode, but special language versions were created for specific markets. Notably Big5 and GB3212 versions were released for China, and JIS version for Japan.

Download Palm Desktop

You can download Palm Desktop from the CompanionLink Support forums. Both Palm Desktop 4.1 and 6.2 are found there.

Problems on Windows 10

Starting in 2019, updates of Windows 10 appear to be interfering with Palm Desktop’s ability to save data files. Notably, if you have Palm Desktop open and your PC reboots (because of a Windows 10 update), the file gets erased. Most commonly this is the last file you added or edited. Palm Desktop does not make automatic backup files, so the data is commonly lost.

For those that use CompanionLink to sync Palm Desktop with Android, and Palm Desktop with iPhone, the Sync Software does make backups of all data files when you sync. So these files are recoverable.

New Alternative to Palm Desktop

We have introduced a new Alternative to Palm Desktop on your PC. It is called DejaOffice PC CRM Standalone. This software has many of the same features as Palm Desktop:

Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Memos
Very fast load time – loads in seconds.
Full featured Calendar and Task lists
Hidden data for private notes
All the same tables and fields as Palm Desktop

In addition, DejaOffice has some new features

Native Windows 10 Compatibility (also Windows 7, and 8)
Automatic file backup
Built-In Sync with Android and iPhone via USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and DejaCloud
Telephone and Email Tech Support

You can download a free 14-Day trial. The cost of the software is current $49.95 with a planned price increase for May 1, 2020 to $59.95. Check out the product information page with the video!

DejaOffice PC CRM Standalone

Average User Rating:

Average rating: 4.83 out of 5 based on 658 reviews.

Free 14 day trial. Price $69.95

Affordable CRM for Small Business – DejaOffice PC CRM

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

Why pay monthly for an expensive Cloud-Based CRM when you can own a PC based solution for a one time price? With DejaOffice you can work on PC or Phone even when offline, and then sync when you are back online. Simple Customer Relations that includes History, Follow Ups, Email Forms and more.

Featured in Forbes

Forbes writer Gene Marks has highlighted our product DejaOffice PC CRM in an article titled On CRM: Is A CRM Necessary? And to answer the title question: Yes – as long as you want your business to grow!

DejaOffice PC CRM is an affordable solution for Small Business. It is a PC based Contact manager. You buy it as a one-time perpetual license. There is a Multi-user version available, and also an Outlook Add-In. Make notes, schedule, call and delegate tasks. DejaOffice provides a complete solution for Customer Relations from your PC and your Phone.

Pro – Multi-User

A five-user license for $199.95 one-time purchase; DejaOffice provides everything you need for shared scheduling and contact management. Each of your staff logs in with their individual ID. The Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes can be shared, or be individual per each staff member. Each person can elect to make a Contact or Event Private, in which case no one else can see it. If a staff members changes you can easily re-assign their activities and tasks as a batch. DejaOffice is everything you need for the small office except for the monthly charge. https://www.companionlink.com/pc-crm/pro/.

Outlook Add-In

DejaOffice PC CRM for Outlook gives you an Outlook Add-In. This is an action panel that gives you CRM features from inside the Outlook Email window. Whenever you view an Email in Outlook, it shows you the phone number, time zone and history notes for that Contact. You can easily drag and drop an email to create a new contact, calendar event or task. Integrate CRM into your Outlook CRM Experience with DejaOffice. https://www.companionlink.com/pc-crm/outlook/

Standalone

DejaOffice PC CRM Standalone will install your PC and let you import data from Palm Desktop, Outlook, Google, or DejaOffice on your phone. It provides a simple and secure way to track your customers and calls, follow up on tasks, and make notes. The cost is just $49.95. Check out our DejaOffice PC CRM video tour.

If you currently use Palm Desktop you know that Windows 10 is giving some headaches in the file structure. Here is a handy video on How to Migrate Palm Desktop to DejaOffice PC CRM.

Express

If you currently use Act! or GoldMine, you can integrate DejaOffice into your current CRM database. Use the express version as an Act! Add-on to quickly handle history and activities, and also integrate with Outlook and DejaOffice Mobile CRM. Act! does 1000 things that DejaOffice will not do. But if you want to quickly add notes, activities and sync to Mobile, DejaOffice provides a great way to handle basic CRM functions on your PC Desktop. https://www.companionlink.com/pc-crm/express/.

Free trial

DejaOffice PC CRM Pro

Average User Rating:

Average rating: 4.84 out of 5 based on 79 reviews.

Free 14 day trial. Price $199.95

New in 2019: DejaOffice PC CRM featured in Forbes

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

Forbes article highlights DejaOffice multi-user CRM

Author Gene Marks has highlighted our product DejaOffice PC CRM in an article titled On CRM: Is A CRM Necessary?

To answer the title question – Yes, a CRM is absolutely necessary for every small business. The only question a business should have is how much to pay on a one-time, monthly or annual basis.

CRM Stands for Customer Relations Management and it is the primary system a business has to track its prospects and customers. Every time a customer calls, emails, texts or visits a business, the nature of that interaction should be recorded in company records. Later, this information can be used for marketing new products, or renewing agreements, or engaging the core sales cycle of the business.

Without a CRM you are blind. Every customer interaction is done without context, or understanding the past relationship. This leaves your customers open to your competitors, and you lose your niche.

With a CRM you have effective communication. Your customer remembers you, and you can do the courtesy of remembering the customer. If your business can survive on 300 customers, how much better will it be with 600 customers or 900 customers. The purpose of computer automation is to delegate the responsibility for remembering the details to a proper database and not just carry it in your head.

Gene concludes with the question: “Wouldn’t just a simple, inexpensive system that enables your group to share accurate contact, history, notes and calendar information take be sufficient?” and answers with ” For many, it just may. And for $200 (and a few bucks extra for support), it could be worth the try.”

Click Here to try out DejaOffice PC CRM for Free

Thank you Gene Marks and Forbes!

DejaOffice PC CRM Pro

Average User Rating:

Average rating: 4.84 out of 5 based on 79 reviews.

Free 14 day trial. Price $199.95

Sync Galaxy Note 10+ with Microsoft Outlook

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

The Best Sync system for Galaxy Note 10+ and Outlook Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Notes.

My Galaxy Note 10-plus arrived today. Very nice phone. Here’s some first impressions:

Size

It is actually the same size as Galaxy Note 9 so don’t get scared by size. And yes, the screen is a whopping .4 inches bigger, in the same size phone. They did this by basically eliminating the top and bottom bezels. Say goodbye to Bezels forever.

Headphones

Actually I use my bluetooth earpiece as a headphone now. It’s not for music, just for convenience. I listen to audio-books and phone calls. Been using the New Bee headset which works great.

DejaOffice for Android

This app really takes advantage of the screen real estate. I can view my contacts easier than ever and move around the screens very easily. DejaOffice CRM features are getting beefed up. There’s a new capability to condense SMS messages into Contact History. This lets me easily read back on past messages using DejaOffice PC CRM (DPC).

Outlook Calendar Sync

DejaOffice CRM works like Outlook for your phone. It keeps your Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes all together. It remains the only Phone App that fully supports Outlook colors. For people who haven’t color coded your day yet, this is a real treat. It really helps the glance view to see whether a day is green or red, or contains any special items. Outlook supported Calendar Colors 20 years ago. Why doesn’t the Outlook App do it?

Special features of DejaOffice:

Time zone management, so when you land your Calendar doesn’t go wonky
Calendar Colors that match Outlook
Templates that save time entering new Appointments and Tasks
Persistent alarms to be sure I don’t miss anything.
Recurring tasks compatible with Outlook
Optional: Franklin Covey task priorities A1, B2, C99
Works same on Android and iPhone, Phones and Tablets.

How to Sync Outlook Contacts with Android: Use CompanionLink for easy and secure sync from Outlook to your Pixel 3a phone. This is a better system than Google, who sells your data, or Microsoft who hosts your data on their exchange server. Here are some setup guides for CompanionLink sync:

Set up Direct Sync Android to Outlook using a USB Cable
Set up Encrypted Wi-Fi sync
Set up Encrypted Bluetooth Sync
Set up Secure DejaCloud Sync (*Recommended)

CompanionLink for Outlook

Average User Rating:

Average rating: 4.83 out of 5 based on 658 reviews.

Free 14 day trial. Price $14.95 3-Mo Subs - $69.95 One-time License.

CompanionLink and DejaOffice Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin)

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

I have a Love/Hate relationship with Social Media. Well, mostly Hate. My personal preferences are definitely toward having a quiet security based on using public information sources carefully. I don’t really like the idea of having a personal billboard that broadcasts my info to anyone whether I know them or not.

It has become strategic for CompanionLink Software to begin advertising on Social Media networks. It has become the case that business people use Facebook and Twitter and this is a great platform to get the word out about our products. So it is important for us to make this into a platform that is useful to our customers for ongoing communication.

We definitely want our platform to be useful. It is not our mission to do nothing but promote product sales. We want to convey our process in building our products, in using them, and relate any information that helps our customers. If we make a feed that is useful to our subscribers, then this will be a great landing page for our advertisements. At least that is the goal.

CompanionLink – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

CompanionLink’s media pages are: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. For the most part we post identical content on these, and so you only need to subscribe to one of them. Our goal is to start posting about twice a week. Posts will be centered on our PC Sync products; Sync Outlook Calendar to Android, Sync Outlook Calendar to iPhone, Sync Google Calendar with Outlook. Since DejaOffice CRM on Android and iPhone is part of this, we will add some tips and tricks for that. We will highlight program updates and appropriate videos.

DejaOffice – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

DejaOffice has a parallel presence, and we will use this to promote our new DejaOffice PC CRM product (DPC). Some of the articles will line up with the CompanionLink content. But our focus for DejaOffice is for people who are moving toward using DejaOffice CRM on PC, Android and iPhone.

Tech Support and Comments

As always, our best tech support response is from using our normal tech channels. We come in every day and respond to about 100 emails and 80 phone calls. This is a lot of work. Unfortunately it adds to our work the numerous other ways people use to contact us. For DejaOffice, don’t forget the DejaOffice Forum which is open 24×7 and is customer supported. For CompanionLink and DejaOffice email and phone support our hours are 7am-3:30pm Pacific Time Monday through Friday.

Affiliate Opportunities with DejaOffice PC CRM

Posted on July 28, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

DejaOffice PC CRM is a unique opportunity. Released in 2019, it can capture a new market customer who are looking for a fast, secure, on-premise CRM program.

It is ideally suited for customers who are a single-person business, and small companies up to 25 sales people. DejaOffice is PC based, the database is local on your hard disk. This makes it unique in the modern CRM marketplace which is almost entirely cloud based.

Affiliate Sales for Business CRM Customers

We offer an Affiliate program that will pay 20% back for every recommendation you make for Business CRM Customers. A Business license generally runs $99 for the Outlook version, $129 for the “Express” CRM and $199 for the 5-User license. So the Affiliate payment is $20, $25 and $40 respectively. You get this in the month following your customer’s purchase. You need do nothing more than promote the program with your link and you get credit for every purchase.

Service business for Localized CRM Customers

DejaOffice is fully Unicode compliant and currently localized with 12 languages. We will work with vendors to produce more localized versions. This allows you to promote DejaOffice for your own community in your own language. You can then become the support representative for your area, deriving sales and revenue by providing technical assistance.

For instance, a Latvian business may wish to set up a Latvian website to promote and sell DejaOffice in the Latvian language. We will assist in working with you to build your language into DejaOffice PC CRM, and Android and iPhone CRM products. Once built, we will maintain these languages in our product releases.

In addition to Affiliate sales, you will find that customers readily need assistance with technical issues, moving databases, and connecting the DejaOffice data to their other business systems. You can easily set up a fee based service business handling this type of service.

To Sign up as an affiliate partner click here. Please write to us about any opportunities you would like to pursue. We are happy to partner with everyone.

about any opportunities you would like to pursue. We are happy to partner with everyone.

. Please write to us about any opportunities you would like to pursue. We are happy to partner with everyone.

Why DejaOffice PC CRM is the Best CRM for 2019

Posted on July 28, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

Salesforce has made CRM synonymous with Cloud Computing. However, Cloud Computing has a number of obvious flaws, and for many small business owners, PC based CRM is the right solution.

For people who have fewer than 20,000 customers, and want to track history, events and tasks for those customers, a cloud based solution may be too slow and cumbersome. Business people are quite obviously focused on their business. They lack the time to learn slow and cumbersome tools more suited to large corporation with 200,000 customers.

Every small business person has a PC. This is essential for basic tools like accounting, printing, taxes, regulatory filing, and processing orders. Small business is not a game that can be run on an app on your phone. It is a serious endeavor that requires effective records and communications.

Since you have a PC, why do your customer management in the cloud?

Cloud based solutions have the following flaws:

Cloud CRM is slow to use. It takes time to open your browser, search for a customer, schedule a follow up, and make call notes.
Cloud CRM is expensive. Decent cloud solutions are priced by the month often costing $200 per year or more. If you do not pay, you do not get access to your data. While Zoho and Hubspot offer free alternatives, they are limited in scope.
Cloud CRM is not secure. The first thing that Salesforce, Hubspot and other CRM products do is to connect your data to Google, which will make money by selling it, or Microsoft, which is renown for data leaks.
Cloud CRM Mobile Apps perform poorly on the road. Very few Cloud CRM products support free mobile apps, and those that do offer limited browsing and phone capability. Many are not true apps at all but simply a web browser view to the online database. If you are out of range, you cannot make notes about your meeting.

DejaOffice absolutely solves these issues:

DejaOffice is lighting fast. You can answer the phone, search for a contact, schedule a meeting and make call notes in less than 10 seconds. DejaOffice is always available on your PC, even if your internet is not connected.
DejaOffice PC CRM is available for a one-time low price.
DejaOffice PC CRM can encrypt the database, and makes automatic backups of your database. You can be secure that your data is local, safe, and protected.
DejaOffice CRM for Android and iPhone are true Apps that are well rated and have local data. They run fast, and integrate with native phone capabilities. You can download DejaOffice from the App Store now.

DejaOffice PC CRM comes in four flavors:

Standalone – for Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes on your PC.

Outlook Add-In – For those that use Outlook as a primary customer management tool, and Add-In that automates creating Contacts, Calendar and History from your Email Inbox.

Express – Complete CRM Tracking that includes Deals (Opportunities) and integration with leading CRM tools like Act! and Goldmine.

Pro – Five User license with the Express capabilities.

Each of these versions has a free two week trial. Also available are RunStart and Premium Support service where we will assist you to import your existing data and switch over to this new PC based CRM tool.

WSJ Shockingly Good Phone article features Nokia 7.1

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Wayland Bruns

The Wall Street Journal published a great article this week called: Shockingly Good Smartphones You Can Get for $350 or Less (WSJ -Paywall).

It makes a point that we tend to think of first-run phones as being $1000. But that there is a variety of Mid-Priced phones that are pretty effective.

The main recommendation is Nokia 7.1 which happens to be one of my favorite phones. As the Article points out, it is a good modern phone running Android Oreo 8.1, with a nice screen, good camera and is pretty free of the bloatware that comes on Android devices.

The other featured phones in the article are the Lenovo Moto G7, and the Xiaomi Pocophone F1.

For all the mid-range phones, you can download DejaOffice from the Android App Store, and easily set up CompanionLink for Outlook to synchronize Outlook to the phone. DejaOffice for Android features widgets for the Android home screen to show your calendar, Category colors on Calendar, and integrated Tasks and Contacts so your whole work desktop is in one place on your phone.

It’s great to see Nokia is back to making great main stream phones again!

CompanionLink for Outlook

Average User Rating:

Average rating: 4.83 out of 5 based on 658 reviews.

Free 14 day trial. Price $14.95 3-Mo Subs - $69.95 One-time License.

Step 1: Set Your Goals and KPIs

Step 2: Choose the Right Technology and Platform

Step 3: Design and Development

Step 4: Deployment and Ongoing Support

Wrapping Up

Unstable Platforms

Snail Speed and Refresh Delays

Complex Layers of Security Cannot Keep You Safe

Database Access is Controlled by Low Paid Contractors Half a World Away

Ever Increasing Monthly Fees

Cloud CRM Solutions

Wrapping up

1. Act!

2. DejaOffice

3. GoldMine

4. Bitrix24

5. InfoFlo

Final Thoughts

What is IMAP

Is MAPI Safer than Exchange

Microsoft Cumulative Updates

IMAP to the Rescue

Replacing Outlook App on Android and iPhone

Setting up IMAP Email on your Cell Phone

Sync Outlook Contacts and Calendar to your Phone

Share and Schedule Outlook Calendars in your Office

Multiple Calendar Sharing with Remote PCs

Calendar Edit

Task Edit

Contact View

Unique Capability

New Edit Modes for Contact Screen

Free trial

Versions of Palm Desktop

Download Palm Desktop

Problems on Windows 10

New Alternative to Palm Desktop

Featured in Forbes

Pro – Multi-User

Outlook Add-In

Standalone

Express

Free trial

Forbes article highlights DejaOffice multi-user CRM

The Best Sync system for Galaxy Note 10+ and Outlook Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Notes.

Size

Headphones

DejaOffice for Android

Outlook Calendar Sync

Special features of DejaOffice:

CompanionLink – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

DejaOffice – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

Tech Support and Comments

Affiliate Sales for Business CRM Customers

Service business for Localized CRM Customers

Cloud based solutions have the following flaws:

DejaOffice absolutely solves these issues: