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Using Excel to run your business

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Rambo4

posts: 24

May 06, 2008 5:54 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Does anyone use Excel to run your business? If so, how do you utilize it? Can invoicing, CRM, inventory be handled by Excel or am I wishful thinking? What parts of your business can`t be taken care of by Excel?

Any help would be appreciated,

Rambo

TheOfficeGuy

posts: 3

May 06, 2008 6:38 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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John,

Excel is one part of the productivity suite of software from Microsoft, Office. As a spreadsheet application, it`s focus is on storing data in rows and columns.

Invoicing data, customer contact data can all be stored within Excel, however Excel is not an invoicing or CRM solution. It sounds like you are interested in a complete CRM solution.

Depending on your requirements, budget, goals, and overall situation different solutions will be appropriate for you. Some of the more popular solutions are:

http://www.salesforce.com/ Hosted online CRM services (perfect for a smaller business)

http://crm.dynamics.com/ Microsoft Dynamics (several versions to choose from) - great for medium sized companies

http://www.oracle.com/siebel/index.html CRM from Oracle for larger, Enterprise businesses

http://www.sap.com/usa/index.epx CRM for the top 100+ Fortune 500 companies

Again, there are many undisclosed variables that will determine which solution is best for you. What I recommend is that you consult with a small business technology expert, like a Microsoft partner (you can find one using http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/hub.mspx)

Also, the Wikipedia page for CRM solutions should prove useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management

Thank you.

Brian Kane

Microsoft Small Business

-------------------------

Brian Kane
Business Development Manager
Microsoft - Small Business

Rich

posts: 1738

May 06, 2008 6:50 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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brian,

what about Microsoft Accounting Express for these kinds of applications? and what about Outlook 2007 as a basic CRM tool?

rich

-------------------------

Rich Sloan , Co-Founder, Chief Startupologist, StartupNation

Rambo4

posts: 24

May 06, 2008 8:03 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Is salesforce.com something that could help me even if my business is as small as $50,000 in sales a year? Im looking for something small, basic, and cheap.

TheOfficeGuy

posts: 3

May 06, 2008 10:20 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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There are certainly many options, as Rich alluded to two others. Again it really comes down to your specific situation. Office 2007 Small Business has the necessary components to address a smaller set of needs. Within Outlook there is a basic CRM system build on top, call BCM (or business contact manager). With the integration of Accounting Express you are able to invoice directly from Outlook to customers.

For example you could schedule a meeting in Outlook to come pay Rich a visit. After the visit you could simply right click the calendar item and create a billable invoice from it.

What I recommend, based on this new info, is to start off with a free trial. You can try out Office 2007 Small Business for 60 days for free. http://us20.trymicrosoftoffice.com/product.aspx?sku=3203895&culture=en-US

(Note make sure to download both files (you are basically downloading the two discs that would normally come in the full retail packaging)).

Thanks.

-------------------------

Brian Kane
Business Development Manager
Microsoft - Small Business

nhgnikole

posts: 2660

May 06, 2008 11:32 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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I use iBiz for the Mac.

I would not store everything in Excel unless it`s VERY basic.

TheOfficeGuy

posts: 3

May 07, 2008 12:04 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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I use iBiz for the Mac.

I would not store everything in Excel unless it`s VERY basic.

Link to Ibiz for Mac owners

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/business_finance/ibiz.html

-------------------------

Brian Kane
Business Development Manager
Microsoft - Small Business

nhgnikole

posts: 2660

May 07, 2008 1:00 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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You`re better off getting it from the source, because they have software bundles like iBiz/iBank.

http://www.iggsoftware.com/

Rich

posts: 1738

May 07, 2008 11:47 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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a podcast with Brian, TheOfficeGuy, has now been uploaded to our site if you want to hear a little narrative about Office 2007. There`s a link on our homepage today but here`s a direct link, too.

Office 2007: What`s in it for Me, Inc.?

-------------------------

Rich Sloan , Co-Founder, Chief Startupologist, StartupNation

ePhaseNetworks

posts: 10

May 07, 2008 5:07 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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We currently use WHMCS for our billing needs and create a backup as it is run serverside.

Theres a few billing software for hosting companies to use that makes account and book keeping much easier.

-------------------------

ePhase Networks LLC
Absolute Hosting Since 2007
http://www.ephasenetworks.com

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