Customer relations software required

[Ermintrude]

Re data protection , your diary is and should be treated exactly same as electronic information. Slightly worse as it has no protection and anyone can access it! Data protection act 1998 doesn't require you to employ anyone, requires you to manage and conserve access to personal data and adheres to about 10 guidelines..... It's simple if you look at it, pretty much same as having a book keeper and an accountant.

 

[basildog]

Do not want to urinate on anyones fireworks but I have been there done it had the t-shirt read the book and seen the film !
At the end of the day every tradesman loves to call himself a businessman but the truth is we do not have a clue in reality .
Ok sounds harsh but is the truth .
My advice is do the work take the money and keep it simple ?
Went to 16 employees all the crap that is involved including pensions a whole new level of ELF AND COMMON SENSE ! Ooops health and safety !
It blows your mind belive me you are in to welfare on site ,CDM regulations , training ,ladder weekly safety records , Appointed persons , it just turns into a complete joke !
As the saying goes sometimes small is best .
Or you choose to do as a mate of mine has done which is ignore all the rules but I could not have slept at night .
Keep it simple and remember never let your wife have a store loyalty card if you are self employed !

 

[lame plumber]

Re data protection , your diary is and should be treated exactly same as electronic information. Slightly worse as it has no protection and anyone can access it! Data protection act 1998 doesn't require you to employ anyone, requires you to manage and conserve access to personal data and adheres to about 10 guidelines..... It's simple if you look at it, pretty much same as having a book keeper and an accountant.

I didnt say you have to employ anyone as such but someone, ie you has to take on yet another role as the data protection manager/responsible person. Additionally there are 8 salient areas you have to comply with, having done this role, and isnt like having a book keeper to the bset of my simple memory, more of another paperwork and box ticking role to comply, and another cost to pay for.

and like basil the dog, when i was running 200 plus employees and 500 school kids there wasnt enough time to do my primary role let alone all the secondary roles I had, just me and a van is sooooooooo relaxing in comparison 🙂

 

[Ermintrude]

I didnt say you have to employ anyone as such but someone, ie you has to take on yet another role as the data protection manager/responsible person. Additionally there are 8 salient areas you have to comply with, having done this role, and isnt like having a book keeper to the bset of my simple memory, more of another paperwork and box ticking role to comply, and another cost to pay for.

and like basil the dog, when i was running 200 plus employees and 500 school kids there wasnt enough time to do my primary role let alone all the secondary roles I had, just me and a van is sooooooooo relaxing in comparison 🙂

I know oh so well. Before I was a plumber I was a project manager for some big boys. Jarvis , Carillon, grantside, halls. My last major job was in 100 of millions. No stress now. Money is bit lower but I choose what happens when. If I don't like a job only on site for a week tops not three years!

http://www.quorumbusinesspark.co.uk/

 

[iiplumbing]

Jesus ppl

i only want to know if there is a CRM system out there that makes MY life a bit easier, not every other ******

please keep on topic

if there's no system out there I'm actually perfectly capable of creating one myself, just wanted to know if I could save some time and pay a couple of groats to someone else who had already done it

my time with my family in the evenings is so presious to me that if I can save on just doing ONE invoice and it costs me £50 a month that's good for me. If I can get it for £25 a month even better so just stop arguing about data protection and all the other S*** and just keep on topic and answer the question

won't even ask you about marketing potential from the database because you mostly seem to think that and quids paid wont be worth the time but that's my call not yours

im a big boy you know

 

[solutions]

Jesus ppl

i only want to know if there is a CRM system out there that makes MY life a bit easier, not every other fookers

please keep on topic

if there's no system out there I'm actually perfectly capable of creating one myself, just wanted to know if I could save some time and pay a couple of groats to someone else who had already done it

my time with my family in the evenings is so presious to me that if I can save on just doing ONE invoice and it costs me £50 a month that's good for me. If I can get it for £25 a month even better so just stop arguing about data protection and all the other Shoite and just keep on topic and answer the question

won't even ask you about marketing potential from the database because you mostly seem to think that and quids paid wont be worth the time but that's my call not yours

im a big boy you know

The commusoft service I mentioned earlier has the facility to remind you and the customers in the database of services or cert renewals as they become due. If you want those sent as text messages then there text message fees apply but I think you can opt to email reminders or print snail mail letter reminders. Given that there service is cloud based I was apprehensive of becoming too reliant on such a service because they hold your customer data but I think you can download and keep back ups of much of the information. I had been meaning to investigate if there was any open source software that might be made to fulfill a similar role. If I had the knowledge or new people that did I would commission the software providing I could afford it as has been suggested.

 

[TomLane]

Easy pal, you asked for advice, & were given it! So just because it didn't suit the response you wanted doesn't mean you have to get abusive!

From what I can see, the advice you've been given is that it can be time consuming & expensive for a self-employed person working on average now where near as many jobs annually as bigger firms to justify the expense.

Personally, as much as you say it would give you benefits of extra time with family etc, I can't see how it would make a business such a self-employed plumber run more efficiently!