itsy bitsy CRM .. open and free

[Trent Shipley]

Joseph Sinclair wrote:

> Centric was recently renamed to Concursive (www.concursive.com), and it's not going to run well on a laptop.  It's still a fairly simple install if you have basic Java skills (you have to build it from source to use the AGPL version), but it's still a web-based server, not a client application.
> I don't think any full CRM will run well on a laptop, since they all want to be a web service, and running a server on a laptop is not a good idea (not to mention the privacy/goodwill nightmare a lost laptop would cause).
> If you're really trying to do this on a laptop, a SAAS solution (like salesforce.com) is going to be a MUCH better choice, since then it doesn't matter what you access the service with, and you don't need to worry about a theft or loss of the laptop taking a big chunk of your business (and all of your customer trust) with it.  The per-user costs for a small business are lower, on an annual basis, than the cost of a server, backups, etc...
>   
I would love to offer a Salesforce.com solution.  However, this is for a
single dance instructor, just out of college, so the budget is literally
zero. I've sat through Salesforce.com presentations.  They are after the
larger small company and the midsize companies.  Not so much the itty
bitty business.

Backup will be to DVDs, flash drive, or if I'm lucky a USB backup hard
drive sharing the desk with the laptop. 

> If you insist on keeping the entire business contact list on a laptop (what business is this, so I can avoid ever giving them any of my information?),
So are you saying that you don't put contact information on your cell phone?

Ideally this would not go on a laptop, but the only available computer
is a laptop so on a laptop it goes.  Risk is part of business.

>  then it sounds like what you might want is an advanced contact manager, not a full CRM.
> There are a few simple contact management systems incorporated into the KDE and Gnome desktops, but I still haven't found anything that can compare to the proprietary ACT! for this use-case, unfortunately.  The closest would be the Golden Rules Organized (http://www.golden-rules.org/), which is free-as-in-beer, but NOT open source.
>
>
>   
It's more than just a contact manager.  ACT! might be good, Golden Rules
Organized might be adequate, but she will want this customized to her
line of business.  (I want to customize it because I'm bored and can use
the experience.)  At the cost of repetition here are some things she wants.

contact info, of course.
how they found me 
when they registered
enrollment history
injury info
if a certain promotion brought them in
trends, what works, 
some info on where they are geographically

So when done this package would be suitable for independent dance instructors, yoga instructors, and independent personal trainers.  With a little work, it might be suitable for independent dance studios, yoga studios, martial arts centers, and gyms.