Posts Tagged ‘ reports ’

ACT! by Sage 2010 Has a New Modern Look and Feel

act-2010-software-under-magnifying-glass-chrisbrenschmidtOver it’s 20+ years of existence, ACT! has not made major user interface changes very often.  From time to time they do make changes and make it easier for users to get started or navigate the program.  ACT! 2010 has more changes than any version since ACT! 2005. (more…)

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ACT! Database Software: Reporting the Easy Way…

UPDATE: The webinar was recorded, to get priority access to the LIVE-REPLAY page, simply fill out the form below, and I’ll forward you all the details.

Let’s face it, if you attempt to do any customization of ACT! reports, it is tedious at best. Truly it is not the core strength of this contact management software. My friend Jason has a great idea how reporting should be. I talked with him on the phone recently, and asked questions about his product (video below).

What we’ll cover on this call:
o Why Contact Management Reporting is Important for Your Business (advantages)
o How Reporting Allows You to Get a Leg up on the competition
o Jason’s product, and a very special offer
o Chance to win a $100 Visa Debit Card

To be truthful, this product has saved my clients thousands in customization work. I’d like to introduce you to Jason, so have a look at the video, and sign up for the webinar by filling in the registration form below.

Webinar/Call Details:
Date/Time: July 31, 2008 at 3pm EST, 12pm PST
Where: Your Phone, and Internet Connected Computer
Duration: ~60 Minutes

Contact Information
First Name *
Last Name *
Email *
CRM version *
Users *

I look forward to speaking with you on the call.
-Travis

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ACT! Database Software and Microsoft .Net 2.1 Issues Reported

Recently Microsoft released .Net Framework 2.1.  It appears that the ACT! Database Software has issues with this latest update.  And ACT! is not alone, I’ve heard unconfirmed reports that QuickBooks software (and others) that use Microsoft’s .Net, are having issues with the latest release from the Redmond, WA giant.

I encourage anyone running ACT! 2007 or ACT! 2008 hold off on updating to this latest version of .net.  And please, is you have experienced issues with this, feel free share them in the comment box below.

-Travis

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"ACT Received Horrid Reviews, is the 2008 Edition Any Better?" Part 1

A question from a www.WhatsNewWithACT.com subscriber who wonders if he should upgrade.

DISCLAIMER: This was going to be a single post, but then I realized I needed more space…”don’t clog the blog”…so here is part one of two.

I seriously considered Sage ACT!, but the 2007 version received horrid reviews, particularly from long-time users. I’m curious as to whether you feel the 2008 edition has addressed those extensive criticisms – and specifically how.
-Larry

Larry, you make a good point. As the old saying goes, “a bad word travels faster than a good one”, right? Especially on the Internet.

I would say the majority of comments are from legacy (pre SQL Verison) ACT users, those who have been loyal for years. (I’ll address the others shortly). ACT became a critical tool for their business success, and they faithfully upgraded with relative ease year after year. (more…)

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Why you could be an hour late in March…

Are you aware of the *NEW* Daylight Savings time changes going on in March?  For those of us in the US, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended Daylight Saving Time starting in 2007, and is arriving a bit earlier, and leaving us a bit later.

Why is this important?  Well, it impacts computers…for one, scheduling software. You may find your electronic calendars off by one hour.  That is, making you one hour late…

Here’s the skinny: There is a patch that Microsoft is issuing via Windows Update for computers to comply with this new Energy Policy, however it results in calendar items showing up an hour later than originally scheduled.

ACT! will be releasing a utility on their website March 4th designed to correct this issue in their products (more on that in a later post).  The reality is, it doesn’t matter
if you are using ACT! or another scheduling tool, all will have to deal with this issue (initial reports show even Outlook is incorrect after the patch is applied!  Microsoft
also has a patch (see links below).

I cannot say definitively what the impact will be to your system, but I felt I should let you all know what the potential impact is.  Don’t be passive with this information, apply the patch, and see what it does to your appointment times, and make corrections proactively.  Perhaps your IT department is already on the ball with this, touch bases with them, and find out what impact the patch will have to your applications, and the best way to prepare for it.

How bad would it be for a range of appointments to shift to an hour later than originally scheduled?  Imagine this for yourself, then imagine it for a whole workgroup or department!  The only saving grace is that those same appointments shifted on the calendars of those you are set to meet with…but let’s not bank on that :-)

So if you show up to an appointment and your party is late by say, one hour… think of me.  :-)

Can I ask you a favor?  Have  look at your calendar appointments for March 11, 2007-April 1, 2007, and see if some of them are one hour later than they should be.  Then post a comment to this blog (below), and let me know your findings.

Here are some resources to assist you…
CalConnect.org Explains this Pretty well (Thanks Pat Egen)
http://www.calconnect.org/dstlinks.html
DST 2007 Wizard
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst
Office Products
http://www.microsoft.com/office/timezone.mspx
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931667/en-us
Windows Operating Systems
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928388
Windows Mobile
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/daylightsaving/default.mspx

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