
I’ve been using a product from a company called
37 Signals for quite some time now called Basecamp. Basecamp is a web-based, project management program that allows for good collaboration within a company on projects. It offers a message senter, uploading of files, to-do list, milestones, a whiteboard and the ability to comment on anything posted. My favorite feature is the emailing of reports, when someone post a comment and reminders of when assignments are due. I’ve tried out a number of other project management programs and Basecamp is at the top of my list.
37 Signals also created a number of other helpful programs that help small, medium and large businesses to be more organized and productive. The one I’m recommending is called
Highrise.
Highriseis a less complicated
CRM, contact manager program. Most CRMs (Customer Relationship Management) have a lot of gadgets and functionality. I’ve discovered that in the small business world, most folks end up only using a small portion of the functions: emails, to-dos, calendar, and opportunities.
Highrise developers cut some of the fat from large CRMs and simplified the functions of their web-based Highrise to offer a more user friendly program and productive software. Highrise is quite simple to use and affordable. While most
CRM programs (like Salesforce, SugarCRM and countless others) charge a monthly fee per user,
Highrise is available for a small monthly fee and allows for a bundle of users. For example, for $
25 a month, a company can have up to
6 users have full access to Highrise with limited deals or opportunities. The best rate is $
50 a month for
10 users and unlimited opportunities. For a small business guy like me, I can utilize the free version…and absolutely love it! If you think $
50 a month is high, ask me why I think it is affordable and very reasonable! If you want the full capabilities, say from Salesforce (mobile included) you will likely spend $
65 per month per user. One of my favorite things I like about
Highrise is the to-do list/task function. I always have a pile full of small projects going on.
Highrise makes it simple for me to write down the action items and be sent an email when those items are due: even down to the minute! So try
Highrise for free today.
Sign Up Online (note: I do like Salesforce
CRM and endorse it. I also realized a lot of small business users (my audience/clients) cannot afford or will use all the functions Salesforce has to offer. If you have the money and want a lot of functions…oh and will use them…go with Salesforce!)