WRS/CRM/ERP within Emacs - Re: Lisp

[Jean Louis]

* swedebugia  [2020-09-14 09:13]:
> I'm interested in the SMS solution (do you use e.g. twilio?) and how
> you linked that together.

Any type of communication should be implemented through CRM systems,
sending email, initiating phone call and recording phone call and
results of such in the database, sending SMS and recording it, faxes
as well, XMPP or other communication types.

Emacs Lisp due to its "interface" already in place, together with Helm
and many extensions or packages is for me currently fastest and
optimal. By principle that everthing is text, also information in the
CRM is text. And I do not need to change windows from Emacs to
browser, from browser to editor, etc. From browser is not so easy
initiating calls, SMS, faxes, browser is for browsing, it was not
meant for calling programming functions or shell commands.

Emacs Lisp allows more freedom, I can call any outside command in easy
manner, I can find a contact and call SMS commands, initiate calls, I
can send email to email to fax providers and deliver such email or PDF
as fax to a remote machine, so many European companies are using fax
and fax communication is physical, something that appears in the
office, it is not virtual like email. Fax paper is found physically
there and means more than something virtual.

> Also storing business information, generating invoices, etc.

Define workflow, then we can together define the database tables, then
you will be able to insert information quickly.

My website form workflow is following:

- by principle, I do not keep databases online, this is big no for me,
  my contacts are my contacts, I do not want such to be compromised.

- I have made LISP CGI on the web, so the information is received as
  LISP data, and encrypted by using PGP, there is less than 1 second
  that it could be compromised on the server by skilled programmer, by
  listening to memory events, it is not totally safe. I wish to
  replace this part with Emacs accepting inquiries online through CGI,
  it will work about the same.

- data arrives to me, it looks readable, as one part of data I made as
  Common Lisp comment, so I just click one key and data is inserted
  into CRM, thus the new contact is created offline in the database,
  rather then online in the online database, then I click reply, and
  can answer to the contact, emails sent and emails received are all
  stored in one ~/Maildir/swedebu...@riseup.net for that contact and I
  can at all times access all conversation between me and such
  contact. You could have seen that on video.

- then if the contact is in the mailing list, it will receive emails
  periodically or by specific periods, and that is the sales system
  and sales are taking place, I have sold for hundreds of thousands of
  dollars already.

Jean

WRS/CRM/ERP within Emacs - Re: Lisp

[Jean Louis]

* swedebugia  [2020-09-14 09:09]:
> Den Sun, 13 Sep 2020 14:09:30 +0300
> skrev Re: Lisp:
> 
> > Hello,
> > 
> > It is not in the simple configuration, it is in various files.
> > 
> > Which particular action you wish to review?
> 
> I'm interested in the SMS solution (do you use e.g. twilio?) and how
> you linked that together.

For SMS:

- I have used Twilio and I can also use local phone number

- For Twilio, only simple functions, I have posted it here:
  http://ix.io/2xCi -- those were working for me and still do. 

- For Termux functions it is here: http://ix.io/2xCj and many may not
  be related to SMS.

- If you enable F-Droid historical repositories in F-Droid, you may
  get Termux API application version 0.31 that one works with the
  current termux-api package, so that SMS can be sent, as Termux
  disallowed sending SMS due to Google rules, which is stupid, but you
  can still use older app version, not inside package version, if you
  get me. Then you can use termux-sms-send command.

- otherwise I have found application ShellMS, that one works well or
  better, it is in F-Droid

In background I am using the PostgreSQL database, first I have used
SugarCRM software, it was kind of fancy and well looking, but
definitely not reliable due to numerous new releases that broke the
older versions, then I have been using Gedafe or Generic Database
Frontend, https://gedafe.github.io/index.en.html -- it allowed me to
rapidly develop PostgreSQL tables for which I got immediate web
interface, and I have 195815 contacts. After some time I lost my
patience in clicking and waiting, so I have developed one by one
functions to replace my browser based workflow, and now I almost do
not need to use the browser. So access to my database goes through
Emacs now, even though it could be also through browser.

In general when there is need for relational data, I am using
relational database in the background. So I am using the excellent
module emacs-libpq https://github.com/anse1/emacs-libpq as since
upgrades of Emacs, those Emacs Lisp functions stopped working, but
module works without problems.

Database and Emacs I am using for all those functions that are common
in business, for Website Revision System, which means for editing,
organization and publishing of web pages, and it is all in the
database, then for Customer Relationship Management, which means
taking their profiles, accounts or groups where they belong, notes
about them, sending them information and tracking which information I
have sent, and I also use it for sales funnel systems, that may work
alone, for marketing, for business administration of anything, for
example I am managing basic profiles of mining sites and their
descriptions. 

Dolibarr seem nice, also other similar systems, yet I cannot agree
with some underlying principles:

- systems are normally written for remote servers. I do not agree that
  my data should be on remote servers, for example my contacts which
  are valuable should not be in the remote database. Databases can be
  compromised if they are online. One way one could distribute
  databases to other workers, without online public webserver is using
  Virtual Private Network, that way data going over Internet is
  encrypted, and database is not stored on public server. In general,
  sales process should be done in one office and not remotely as well,
  people risk with data so much today and I am not in agreement with
  such.

- systems like Dolibarr, look nice, but me as user I cannot easily
  extend them, this may not be general principle, it is because I did
  not write those programs, and then such programming is oriented also
  on Interface making, and I think interface shall be set before a
  function.

The Gedafe software is such a nice and good example. It asks the user
only to define the database table.

My contacts table may seem complex here: http://ix.io/2xCq and yet it
could be defined anyway one wants, then the Emacs interface to
database tables is same, I can edit any field or search for data, and
I am using Helm for that.

I think that first version was just based on SugarCRM:
http://ix.io/2xCr

Then if you wish I can help you to rapidly develop your database to
make it how you wish, and then you just invent your workflow and work
by the workflow.

> Also storing business information, generating invoices, etc.

For invoices there are tables:

- simpleinvoices, defining invoices

- addtosimpleinvoice, defining which products or services are added to
  simpleinvoices

- goodsandservices

The concept of SQL is shown here: http://ix.io/2xCt

I could export quickly all the empty tables, and those pre-filled
tables, you could import the database and then adjust to whatever you
think it should be, then you use those other functions that I am using
for search or editing and similar.

> I currently use Dolibarr in my business but I'm not that happy with the
> UI which involves A LOT of clicking.

It is interesting to talk