Archives: Answers

You won’t find many cloud based and free CRM that are worth trying, are continuously developed and will cost you nothing. I would have a look at ZogoCRM which is free for less than 3 users or if you have a server, you can have a look at Vtiger or SugarCRM.

Not an easy answer! I would say have a look at Vtiger (been around for quite a while now), ZohoCRM (it’s not free for more than 3 users I think) and SugarCRM (quite popular and mature).

There are loads of open source CRM applications. Some of them are written in PHP some in Java and some in other languages so have a look and try to install some of them. If you don’t have web space to try them, leave a note and I will try to help.

It really depends on the functionality you are trying to get. Big names include SAGE CRM, Microsoft Dynamic CRM, SalesForce (which also started the whole cloud based CRM trend).

You can also find open source CRMs such as ZohoCRM and SugarCRM. It’s not an easy answer. You should search for what tools they will give you and do a bit research for the costs. Just a tip: Don’t assume that Open Source and Free CRM means zero cost. You have server costs, implementation costs and development costs (optional) that you need to consider.

No I wouldn’t say that. ERP systems are becoming more widespread and are used by more and more companies every day. For example, for SME cloud ERP systems are becoming a trend and I don’t see how that can change for at least 10 years from now.

The competition for software providers is also fierce which “forces” the developers to add new modules that are beneficial for the end user.

While an ERP system can cost quite a lot, there are definitely benefits from using them. First of all, there are legal requirements for a big company to have accounting records, produce accounts and have them audited.

While it’s not a legal requirement to use an ERP system for that, it’s better to have all the important functions managed by one system. Imagine being able to maintain one software that include accounting, finance, HR, inventory, Sales etc modules and functionalities. Now imagine, having one software for each one of the above. How are you going to integrate your HR system with your finance and your accounting system and how much will you spend to maintain each one of them.

So, the short answer it definitely yes. An ERP system can make a company much more efficient. There is however a cost for that!

Well, they can be expensive. Especially bespoke ERP solutions can cost quite a lot. There are some open source solutions such as FrontAccounting but even in this case, you will have server costs, security costs, developers’ costs (in case you want to extend it). So yes, it can cost quite a lot. There are companies that spend millions every year to implement an ERP system and train their staff to use it.