This week we’re sitting down with Jonathan Bensamoun, head of product and resident retail guru at Shopkeep. Shopkeep is “point of sale software” (POS), ie the software that drives the registers and inventory when you buy at retail stores. Unlike most POS systems, Shopkeep is cloud based, runs on iPads, and (gasp) is actually [...]
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Top 5 Tips for Choosing a Small Business CRM
When small business owners think of software, they think of email, file management, and…. CRM. Shorthand for “Contact Relationship Management,” CRMs help businesses organize their customers, leads and sales. Important stuff. Unfortunately, choosing a CRM isn’t easy. The Google Apps marketplace lists 90 of ‘em: GetApp has over 280. There are thousands more (and they [...]
A small business CRM worth looking at: our B review of Base CRM
We review small business CRM software all the time. Sometimes we find great systems. Sometimes not. More typically, we find systems like Base CRM, a well designed and promising system that’s almost there (but not quite). Read on for our full review. The Quick and Dirty Verdict Base is a web-based CRM built by Future [...]
Thoughts on Salesforce’s acquisition of Thinkfuse – and what it means for small business and SaaS
Last week we received an email from Thinkfuse, a cloud app that delivers “simple status reports.” To make a long story short, they told us (and their many customers) that they were purchased by Salesforce and were shutting down operations. Here’s a screenshot of the email: Getting bought by Salesforce is big news for Thinkfuse. [...]
Tools matter: 3 ways that cloud computing benefits business process and structure
Most small business owners understand cloud computing as a tool. A pay-as-you-go, web based tool. Not more, not less. And they’re pretty much right. Thing is, tools matter. They carry distinct advantages and disadvantages, which are sometimes subtle, long term, and structural. Cloud computing is no exception: besides the usual advantages, cloud based tools help [...]
Producteev training is out the door!
On the heels of yesterday’s announcement regarding Capsule training, we’re now offering Producteev 101, a weekly group webinar that covers basic Producteev navigation, use cases and best practices. Look no further if you’re in the market for Producteev training! Who it’s for Anyone just getting started or learning Producteev will benefit from this hour long [...]
Weekly Capsule CRM training, coming right up!
We’ve helped clients use Capsule CRM for years. It’s a great product, perfect for sales teams needing simple sales and workflow management. That’s why we’re offering Capsule CRM training, once a week, every week. That’s right, you read correctly – we’re now offering a weekly “Capsule 101″ webinar, intended to help new users understand, use and [...]
Lessons from the Cloud: Capsule, Xero, and a Happy, Happy Customer
A few weeks ago we were called by a frantic young business owner. His problem? His business – a 3 month old roofing company – was winning more deals than the founders and crew could manage. They were hiring sales reps and managers fast, but needed a system for, well, everything. Task management, sales management, [...]
Top 5 free online marketing tools (that are simple and effective, too!)
Everyone knows that marketing matters. What they don’t know is that given the right tools, marketing isn’t expensive, time consuming, or difficult. That’s great news for small business owners strapped on cash and time. Here’s our list of 5 easy to use, well tested, and free online tools that help manage small business marketing. Give [...]
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VM Associates is a New York City cloud computing consulting firm. We help companies transition into newer, better, smarter software. Contact us to talk about your business, the cloud, and how we might help.