Book Image

Implementing SugarCRM 5.x

Book Image

Implementing SugarCRM 5.x

Overview of this book

SugarCRM is a popular customer relationship management system. It is an ideal way for small-medium business to try out a CRM system without committing large sums of money. Although SugarCRM is carefully designed for ease of use, attaining measurable business gains requires careful planning and research. This book will give you all the information you need to start using this powerful CRM system. It is the definitive guide to implementing SugarCRM. Whether you are wondering exactly what benefits CRM can bring or you have already learned about CRM systems but have yet to implement one or you're working with SugarCRM already, this book will show you how to get maximum benefit from this exciting product. It demonstrates how to install SugarCRM and also how to get the most out of it by customizing it and integrating CRM into your organization as per your needs. Focused on the needs of the enterprise, this book provides a solution-driven approach for both business and IT specialists to get the most from this powerful and popular Open Source application. It begins with a general discussion about CRM. You will then learn the benefits of such systems, and then explore SugarCRM and its unique value. You will then go through the guidelines for installing and making deployment selections that are set out alongside information for identifying, planning, and applying customizations. Training guidelines and ongoing administrative tasks will be discussed as you progress further into the book. A brief overview of SugarCRM 6.0 is provided at the end of the book.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Implementing SugarCRM 5.x
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewer
Preface

Summary


In this chapter, we covered the basics of using a CRM system, such as entering information into the system, and navigating quickly through the links between related items of information. Some of the key topics we covered include the following:

  • How to access the CRM system. How to use different themes to brighten up the user interface and the major components of the screen layout.

  • How to navigate through the CRM system, use the different module tabs and discuss the list, detail, and edit view screens for each module.

  • How to enter accounts and contacts, and the links between them.

  • What the structure of a main panel and related subpanels of information on each detail view screen looks like.

  • How Leads become Opportunities and how Opportunities are aggregated to form the sales pipeline.

  • How Dashboard helps you visually interpret your sales pipeline, breaks it down by month and by sales person, and provides a distant early warning system for business upturns and downturns.

  • How to use the SugarCRM...