We have been using SugarCRM extensively over the past year... it's
really a sales and marketing tool, with some project management
features built in. The email client is much better with release 5 (Feb
08?) and fully tracked/linked email to accounts/contacts/projects if
you wanted to. It has an integrated trouble ticket module but we
haven't used it. It's excellent at what it does and with the
PHP/MySQL/LDAP backend you can modify and integrate it accordingly.
As far as the the ERP-type business intelligence features, it doesn't
exist with Sugar. I would look at some other ERP project (Compiere,
Sage, and SAP are the most featured and used, prices will vary a LOT):
http://www.erp5.org/ResourceLibrary/LinuxErp
Our shop have similar needs for a business support package but was
never able to get much project traction. I dabbled with Compiere and
I've heard good reviews of it but never cared for the Oracle-only
backend. Some is free-ware and some are pay-ware features (like the
PDF writer).
We use Peachtree for accounting. The parent company, Sage Software,
has direct-migration MAS90 ERP software (5 figures) and that's the
upgrade path in the mid-term future for us. But you're a Quickbooks
shop and if you like QB... Intuit has QB Enterprise that you can grow
into for relatively cheap ($3k, 5 users) and migrating accounting data
(arguably the toughest part of an ERP migration, depending on
complexity) is easy but nailed down to Windows and Mac boxes.
Like any ERP system though, it will take time to customize schemas and
macros to your business model but your time shouldn't be spent
customizing the basic app code. For the amount of time invested to get
a decent all-around ERP system, it's going to be payware and worth a
support contract.
-Dave
Quoting "H. K. Bemis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> from Mon, 14 Apr 2008:
Have you looked at SugarCRM?
I've just started using SugarCRM to manage my clients, so my experience
with it is limited, but so far, I don't think there's anything that
SugarCRM cannot do, either by module or by coding something up yourself.
Overall, I've been super impressed with it, it's features and the large
selection of modules and addon's.
It just requires PHP, Mysql and a www server.
There's another that is also good, TinyERP. TinyERP uses Postgres
(ew! :^)) as a backend. It's worth mentioning that TinyERP also has a
desktop client, written in GTK, I think.
~k
-----Original Message-----
From: sth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: Vermont Area Group of Unix Enthusiasts <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: What FOSS do you use to run YOUR consulting shop?
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:58:57 -0400
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So, my esteemed partner (Zach Chambers) and I are on the hunt for a
package to unify the various systems we use at ClearBearing to run our
operations. We're currently using eGroupWare[1], RT[2], MediaWiki[3],
QuickBooks Pro[4], and a custom app that we've developed in-house over
the past nine years. Having disparate systems, of course, entails a
certain amount of overhead (read: duplication of effort), as does the
maintenance of our home-grown package.
My question is this: are any of you other consultants out there using a
single FOSS package (or commercial package, for that matter) to run your
daily operations? Our list of required features is pretty weighty, but
we're optimistic that there's SOMETHING out there that would hit the
mark, +/- 5%. Here's what we need:
+ transactional history (no, not in the DB sense)
++ free-text notes on every interaction with the client
++ time/expense/mileage tracking for each of those interactions
++ attachment of that time/expense/mileage to one or more tasks, each of
which is itself attached to a project
+ request tracking ("trouble ticketing", but more broad)
+ project management (project task planning/assignment)
+ flexible reporting (business metrics, planning, HR)
+ invoicing with a flexible business rules management system (BRMS)
+ printed- and electronically-delivered (PDF) invoices
+ easily-edited, structured documentation
+ hosted in-house (this is our business-critical data, and our
clients' private information; we'd VASTLY prefer to own
the whole shootin' match)
(Yes, this is why we have 4 established packages and a homegrown app.)
It occurred to me that Amicus Attorney[5] or similar could be bashed
into fitting the bill, but 1) last I knew, that was a Win32-only affair
and 2) the less bashing we'd need to do, the better.
So: I cast this out to the Hive Mind and eagerly await your collective
response. (The part after, "We are the Borg...")
Cheers,
- -sth
[1] http://www.egroupware.org
[2] http://www.bestpractical.com/rt
[3] http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki
[4] http://quickbooks.intuit.com
[5] http://www.amicusattorney.com
sam hooker|[EMAIL PROTECTED]|http://www.noiseplant.com
Yes, my television runs Linux, too. Yes, really.
http://mythtv.org
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