As times have changed, Act has evolved. Today, Act offer a full featured email program called Act Marketing Automation. If you have questions or concerns please call me, Tony Holowitz at 781-728-9777 and I would be more than happy to discuss your options.
When you want to add a new field to an act layout the first question you have to ask yourself is whether or not that field already exists in act. If the field already exists you can simply add it to the layout. If the field does not exist, you have to create it first before you add it to the layout. Before you add a field to act, you want to think about the type of field you want it to be. You have a number of options. These are the types of field you can add to an act layout:
Address
Annual event
Calculated
Character
Currency
Date
Date and time
Decimal
Email
Initial caps
Lowercase
Memo
Number
Phone
Picture
Time
Uppercase
Yes/No field
URL address
With all of these options available to you, I strongly urge you to put a lot of thought into this process. My advice to you is that you do not make act so overwhelming that the process overloads the time you have available to work with it. You do not want to become a data manager. Act subjects discussed include define fields and editing act layouts. This act video tutorial is a quick overview of how you do that in act. Enjoy.
In this Act software quick tip I will show you how to put a simple email address lookup and a manual synchronization button in an easy to get to position in Act software.
Enjoy.
On 10/15/20 Swiftpage, the makers of Act CRM software introduced a new SaaS (Software as a Service) product with three levels of service, as well as, monthly subscription and yearly subscription pricing.
Act has long been a desktop CRM software program. Over time, and most recently in the last few years Act has offered its service as a subscription. When you subscribe to Act you received the desktop software and the option to connect Act desktop to a cloud version of Act. The desktop version of Act synchronized with the cloud version.
This synchronization capability allows you to have Act on multiple computers. For example, your desktop computer and a laptop computer. The desktop and laptop computers stay synchronized via the cloud version of Act.
Many of my clients purchased a subscription and added to that the cloud component. Mainly, because it was a very inexpensive and professionally managed server for your Act data. Hosting is approximately $120 per year per user. In addition to having Act on your desktop and laptop computers you could also access all of your data via Act’s cloud environment.
Subscribers also received access to Act companion which is Act software’s mobile app.
Act’s new SaaS product is self-serve. You start with a free trial and at the end of the trial you have to make a decision on one of three levels of service:
Each tier offers Act eMarketing, free support (either digital or phone support depending on the package) and between 2 and 6 GB of storage. Act Marketing Automation is offered as an add-on. This allows you to automate and create drip campaigns. As is, it is great for email marketing campaigns.
An Act Subscription is $300 per year. If you would like to use Act in the cloud that is an additional $120 per year per person. Act Premium Cloud enables you to have Act desktop software on two computers, for example your desktop and laptop computers, and that data stays synchronized via the cloud component in this equation.
You can also access your complete Act database in your favorite web browser. Act via a web browser acts and responds differently than the desktop version of Act. If you are a long time Act user and accustomed to using Act on your desktop you will find the experience different. Not bad, just different.
If you want to add marketing automation to your account is approximately $960 per year paid annually. If you currently use Act and have a large database it might be worth creating a separate sass account just to do your email marketing. I am throwing this idea out there because I want you to have the best experience using Act software as possible.
What is in a name?
The good folks at Act are working very hard to give you as many options with their software as possible. Over the last few years they have offered different promotions and have given those offerings different names. Act. Act Premium Cloud. Act Premium subscriptions. Act Pro. Act Growth Suite.
Honestly, they have made so many name changes I even find it confusing.
At the end of the day Act is like a hammer. If you plan wisely and use it as the tool it is designed to be it can be a wildly effective piece of software for you and your company. It takes planning and patience, foresight and hindsight, and the ability to set goals for you and your staff.
Would I strongly recommend Act for your company? Absolutely. I would have to talk to you in more detail before I decided on which version makes sense for you.
When choosing which Act product and service is best for you I urge you to get some guidance. I’m reachable by phone and happy to answer your Swiftpage Act questions. Act SaaS or Act CRM online is a good choice on many levels. I can help you determine if it is a good fit for you and the way you would use Act CRM.
This menu gives you options to manipulate data within Act and I cannot stress enough how important it is to make backups before you make radical changes to your Act data. You will never be mad at yourself if you take a little of time to be safe by creating multiple incremental backups. You will make a mistake…eventually. Thankfully, the backups you made will save you.
As a computer user and Act user it is good to know about a few keyboard shortcuts that play a role on this menu and a few more: