Zoho

Act! puts it all in one database. Then, you use fields to segment the database between leads and customers. It's easier to setup, but the drawback for some is the database gets clogged with dead weight, and there isn't an easy way to archive it unless it's deleted.

Zoho dedicates a module to leads. This way, you can keep stuff separated until it's a qualified lead and use different workflows or blueprints to ensure this data gets its own rules. The disadvantage is you must customize an additional set of fields and map out a lead conversion process.

History and Notes Management

Act! puts it all in the history table. Whether it's a phone call completed, e-mail sent, a meeting held or an opportunity updated Act! records in one place to make it easy everything that happened with the contact.

Zoho separates e-mails from completed events. Zoho's advantage here is you can easily relate an event to either a lead, contact, opportunity or an account. The Zoho drawback is it's not easy to pull a report of e-mails sent by user over a timeframe.

Account Centric vs. Contact Centric

Act! sees the core relationship with a person first; then, it has options to connect people to accounts (Companies in Act! parlance). The disadvantage here is if you work with several contacts at one account, you need a process to designate the primary contact and main account details.

Zoho sees the world "account first" then you add multiple contacts against it. This model suits the b2b account-centric sales model where the accounts' contacts are more transient. It's also easier to manage opportunities against the account rather than one more contacts. The disadvantage here is you need a process to automate copying data from the account level to the contacts so target mailings are done correctly.

Reports

Act! offers a banded contact report writer, so it's easier to make reports that reflect the "Crystal Reports" era of report writing. If you wanted to see contacts, opportunities, notes and activities on one printed page, Act! makes it easier.
Act! uses a built in report writer, and you can extract most list views to Excel. For complex reporting, we work with third party tools for optimal business insight.
Act! offers a customizable label template.

Zoho CRM offers a built report writer to build list views and charts. Advanced users can easily tie Zoho CRM to Zoho Analytics to report against multiple data sources simultaneously such as Zoho CRM + Zoho Books.
The Zoho CRM report writer doesn't require any scripting knowledge to create reports.

E-mail Management

Act! can make e-mail part of the Act! history table. Great for the rolodex model of CRM where every conversation is easily documented and reportable in one table. It cannot retrofit emails from the past automatically. We field tech support problems because Act! needs to keep up with more changes in Microsoft technology or work with local desktop security policies. If you need to run reports against the number of emails managed as a report metric, Act! has the upper hand versus Zoho as well.

Zoho uses IMAP integration to make hyperlinks to the original email messages. This simplifies the integration, and it will easily go back to all emails from your sent items or inbox. We have fewer tech support problems, but it's harder to do a report against e-mails if your metrics are measured against the quantity of e-mails sent and received.

Data structure

Act! over Zoho

Act! offers a "tag" mode to easily hand pick a lookup and an "edit mode" where inline editing of a list of contacts is done in one step.

Zoho over Act!

Zoho ensures data remains structured. For instance, a text field can be a free-form text field, single pick list or multi-select pick list (not all 3). When it's a single pick list, this allows Zoho to make proper workflows for business process mapping and automating workflows.

Calendar Management

Act! requires every activity to be assigned a contact, or the user's record.
The calendar can be configured to show tasks, meetings, calls and custom activities on the calendar.
Color codes are available.
Each activity offers a privacy option.
The Act! calendar allows you to manually clear meetings when done and add a line through the meeting to visualize what's been completed.

Zoho doesn't require an activity to be assigned against a contact, which emulates behavior similar to Outlook or Google calendars.\
Meetings are automatically considered completed after the event date passes.
Zoho calendar easily imports and exports .ics (calendar invite) files.

Integrations

Act! for Windows offers an extensive library of third party addons since 2005.
Act! for Web works with Zapier and third party addons.
It's imperative to check whether an Act! for Windows addon offers an Act! for Web equivalent before migrations take place.
Act! Advantage offers these features without addons like Act! for Windows or self-hosted Act! installation would require.
- Online appointment scheduling
- Web lead capture forms
- E-Mail list verification
- URL shortener
- Online surveys
- Online custom portal
- Project management
- Website chat
- Accounting Link (QBO)

Zoho CRM works with 40+ Zoho applications within the Zoho One ecosystem.
Zoho CRM works with Zoom without paying for additional fees.
Zoho CRM works with Zapier.
Zoho CRM works with their own scripting language (Deluge) to write additional custom functions.
Zoho CRM offers hundreds of free and paid extensions written by third party developers in their Marketplace.

Conclusion

To compare Act! vs. Zoho just listing feature checkbox charts and pricing isn’t enough to know which product is better for your business. We need to know current workflow, and what you want to improve.

In conclusion, before we make any changes we offer a complementary discovery call using our unique approach to see if we’re the right fit.

Export Notes from Act!

How to Export Notes from Act!
(Hint: You cannot do this within the native program)

In case you are looking go at it alone or with your I.T. contractor, you can export some of the data, but not all the data out of Act!. For instance, the contact list view doesn’t export the unique IDs so notes, history, opportunities or the calendar won’t connect back to the correct contacts when you import them into another CRM or an ERP. For instance, if you employ a native tool such as the ACTREADER, SQL Studio or ODBC connection, these programs cannot strip out the RTF/HTML code formats as shown here. Our service can export the notes from Act! into a CSV format along with the unique IDs.

Sources:

Act! knowledgebase answer: "Can I export Act! notes to Excel?"
Act! knowledgebase answer: "What can I export from Act! ?"

We offer alternatives to Act!, and we convert the data.

Check out our approach.

MondoCRM remains platform agnostic, which means we aren’t tied to one CRM’s limits, and we can weigh a couple options.

Additional Platforms:

WiredContact (Easiest to convert from Act!).
Zoho CRM
Bigin by Zoho CRM
Benchmark One

If your CRM or ERP isn't listed here, we can still help.

Photo by Kevin Ku from Pexels

We offer the Act! database export service, so you can take the spreadsheets to your consultant so they can do the import. We have done this for companies in the US, UK and Israel moving to Salesforce, Hubspot, or other industry specific ERP or CRM systems. If you have additional questions before migrating systems, check out our guide to leaving Act! CRM.

How We Work

Contact us to review your current situation and timeline.
Give us a backup of your Act! database.
We'll send you a sample set of 100 records from your database.
If you like it, we'll finish the export.
We'll email you a link to download the ZIP file for the rest of the data after the invoice is paid.

Fee:

Budget $700.00 (£565.00 + VAT) per database.

Affordable Tools for Starting a Professional Services Business

Episode 4

Setting Up a Professional Services Business with the Right Software on a Shoestring Budget

In episode 4 of Getting Down to Business, Mark Mondo and Cynthia Zimmerman discuss how entrepreneurs can set up a professional services business on a tight budget. They cover affordable or free software solutions for website hosting, CRM, email marketing, video editing, and collaboration tools. We explore how AI tools, like ChatGPT, can help streamline content creation, making it possible to run a business efficiently without breaking the bank.

Key Takeaways

How to find affordable website hosting and domain services (Weebly, GoDaddy, Zoho Sites).
Affordable tools for video and image editing (Vimeo, CapCut, GIMP, Canva).
Collaboration and communication tools for teams (Zoho Cliq, Slack, Zoom).
Using AI (ChatGPT) to assist with content marketing and other creative tasks.
Introduction to email marketing tools (Mailchimp, Mailjet) and free invoicing/accounting tools (Zoho Invoice, PayPal).

In This Episode

00:00 – Show Introduction: Mark and Cynthia introduce the topic of setting up a professional services business on a budget.
05:00 – The Importance of a Website: How to set up a professional website using affordable services like Weebly or Zoho Sites.
15:00 – Domain Names and Hosting: Discussion on buying domain names and the importance of having a professional email address.
25:00 – Tools for Video and Image Editing: Free tools like CapCut and GIMP for video and image editing, and when to invest in premium services like Vimeo.
35:00 – Collaboration Tools: How tools like Zoho Click and Zoom can help teams collaborate efficiently without high costs.
45:00 – AI for Content Creation: Using ChatGPT to generate marketing content, including blog posts, cold emails, and SEO strategies.
55:00 – Email Marketing and Invoicing Tools: Free email marketing platforms like Mailchimp and Mailjet, and accounting software options like ZohoBooks and PayPal for startups.

Guest Bio

Mark Mondo founded MondoCRM 1997 and earned his skills growing up in the family business and working in the software industry as VAR, publisher and consultant since 1993. Cynthia Zimmerman has worked in the non-profit space since 1991 in event and project management, and when she’s away from the desk, she’s singing utilizing her classical training for Christ Church in Winnteka, Illinois.

Additional Resources

Website Hosting and Domain Services:
- Weebly: https://www.weebly.com
- GoDaddy: https://www.godaddy.com
- Zoho Sites: https://www.zoho.com/sites/
Video and Image Editing Tools:
- CapCut: https://www.capcut.com
- GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program): https://www.gimp.org
- Canva: https://www.canva.com
- Vimeo: https://www.vimeo.com
Collaboration and Communication Tools:
- Zoho Cliq: https://www.zoho.com/cliq/
- Slack: https://www.slack.com
- Zoom: https://www.zoom.us
AI Content Creation:
- ChatGPT by OpenAI: https://openai.com/chatgpt
Email Marketing Tools:
- Mailchimp: https://www.mailchimp.com
- Mailjet: https://www.mailjet.com
Invoicing and Accounting Tools:
- ZohoBooks: https://www.zoho.com/books/
- PayPal: https://www.paypal.com

Main Podcast Page

Format Data from Act! to Zoho migration

Prepping Act! contact records for a migration to Zoho.

This video reviews how to prepare the data before converting from Act! to Zoho. This video focuses tells you how to standardize the company names for contacts so Zoho sees multiple contacts at company as one account once they arrive in Zoho.

Embracing Change: MondoCRM and WiredContact UK Come Together

From the States to the Isles:
MondoCRM and WiredContact's USA-UK Partnership

As we reflect on a year of significant transformation, we’re excited to share the journey of MondoCRM and WiredContact UK coming together. This union marks not just the merging of two companies but the fusion of innovation, customer commitment, and a shared vision for the future of CRM technology.

A Year of Growth and Expansion

January 2023 was a landmark month for us at MondoCRM as we welcomed WiredContact UK into our family. The months that followed were a testament to our commitment to growth. With new hardware, expanded teams, and the launch of our podcast, “Getting Down to Business,” we’ve set the stage for an even more customer-centric approach to business solutions.

1997

Year Founded

A Glimpse into Our Roots

MondoCRM’s inception was driven by a vision to create a world of opportunities for businesses seeking growth through technology. “Mondo,” meaning “world” in Italian, encapsulates our global approach to delivering top-tier CRM solutions. Our roots are deeply embedded in innovation, and as we grow with WiredContact UK, we’re bringing a legacy of excellence to an even broader audience.

Additional CRM and Enterprise Platforms

Branding Transition and New Horizons

The integration phase is an exciting time for us as we transition our branding to MondoCRM. This change will be reflected across all platforms, reinforcing our global identity. Moreover, we’re enhancing our service offerings with the introduction of Zoho CRM, Zoho One and Constant Contact to our UK market, ensuring our clients have access to a wide array of tools to thrive in a competitive business landscape.

Years of WiredContact Partnership

Our Commitment to WiredContact Continues

We understand the value that WiredContact brings to its users, and we want to assure our clients that we are dedicated to its continual development. Exciting new features and updates are on the horizon, and we’re eager to share these advancements as they unfold, ensuring that WiredContact remains a cutting-edge solution within the MondoCRM suite.

Staying Connected

Communication is key during this transition. We’re making sure that while our branding evolves, your points of contact do not. WiredContact sites, email addresses, and the UK office phone numbers will remain as they are, providing you with the continuity you need.

Accounting Updates

With change comes the need for updates in our accounting processes. We’re making these transitions as smooth as possible, with clear communication on invoice branding and payment details. Additionally, we’re in the process of acquiring a VAT number to align with financial regulations and ensure a seamless billing experience.

I used the following prompt in Bing’s AI Image creator. “For a power point slide, I need a thank you image citing the United States and United Kingdom working together”

Conclusion

The path ahead is bright with the promise of innovation, growth, and an unwavering dedication to our clients. We’re grateful for the trust you’ve placed in us and look forward to continuing our journey together.