SugarCRM users have more information available than ever before and today I would like to provide a rollup of many of those resources so that you can find them more easily.

Official SugarCRM Documentation and Resources:

1. SugarCRM Documentation for SugarCRM, Sugar Mobile, Sugar Mobile Plus and SugarCRM Plugins.  
2. SugarCRM Knowledge Base 
3. SugarCRM Developer Blog 
4. SugarCRM Developer Zone 
5. SugarCRM Forum 

Blogs:

The blogs below cover an array of topics but contain many posts related to SugarCRM usage, development and events.

1. SugarCRM Corporate 
2. CRMOutsiders
3. EonTek 
4. Cheleguanaco
5. John Mertic 
6. H2ik

SugarCRM Partner Blogs:

I cannot say that I have been through every partner blog but I have been through a number of them and only two popup for the quality of SugarCRM related content. One of them is the Atcore Systems Blog and the other is Epicom which we are not affiliated with. The reason that I enjoy both of these is because they both provide details about features that have been built for other customers and include screenshots.  This is great for anyone searching for ideas or who just wants to see how far you can go with SugarCRM as a platform.

1. Epicom Blog
2. Atcore Systems Blog 

If you have other links that you feel should be considered then please forward them along and I would be glad to update this list.

If you ever had to build a SugarCRM module that held configuration options then you probably needed to address where to store those configuration options. For example: You may have wanted to save the API key used for integration.

Sugar comes prepared with 2 ways to do this.

• File based saving of options
• Database saving of options

There are no disadvantages to either method and sometimes if can be a matter of preference. It comes down to what's more easy to maintain.

Each of the methods is realized through their PHP classes. Those PHP classes are Configurator and Administrator.

SugarCRM Configurator Class:

Configurator is the PHP class that will enable us to easily create additional values that are available in the global $sugar_config array. It will store additional values in the custom_override.php file and the options will be easily available by just declaring global $sugar_config.

The Configurator class is located at modules/Configurator/Configurator.php

To initialize the class we would add this to our code:

require_once 'modules/Configurator/Configurator.php';
$configurator = new Configurator();

Now that we have created our configuration object we can use it to manipulate data.

To add a value or change an existing value we can use the follow code:

$configurator->loadConfig(); // it will load existing configuration in config variable of object
$configurator->config['our_new_value'] = "value"; // declare new or change old value from sugar_config
$configurator->saveConfig(); // save changes

By calling the saveConfig function, the Configurator object will create new entries in config_override.php that will reflect the changes we wanted.

To read a value in code we can follow the example below:

global $sugar_config; // declare global $sugar_config array
$something = $sugar_config['our_new_value']; // use our new value to assign it to a variable

Benefits:

One benefit of this option is that the $sugar_config global is used in many places in Sugar so the values may be more readily available.

SugarCRM Administrator Class:

The SugarCRM Administrator class will enable us to modify config parameters from the config table in the SugarCRM database. The config table has the columns category, name and value.

• The category column enables the developer to group names and values.
• Name represents an option from a category
• Value represents a value for the name option for a category.

An Example for storing an API key could be:
Category: mailchimp
Name: api_key
Value: 12345

To initialize the SugarCRM Administrator class we can add this to our code:

require_once('modules/Administration/Administration.php');
$admin = new Administration();

Now that we have created our Administrator object we can use it to write and read config data from our db.

To add a value or change existing we can use:

$admin->saveSetting("category", "name", "value"); // changes are immediately made in db, so there is no special save function

To read a value in code we can follow the example below:

$admin->retrieveSettings(); // load all settings from db
$something = $admin->settings['category_name']; // take a look how we need to type underscore between category and name

Benefits:

The benefits of this method are that it is easier to maintain and sync with multiple developers and with code management solutions since changes are stored in a file.

It also makes troubleshooting remote issues easier since every computer can easily read a file but every computer may not have a database tool.

1. Resource Allocation

With the out of the box functionality there is a Resources subpanel in Projects were resources can be assigned to a project. These resources can then be matched to a Project Task through the Gantt chart. If you enjoy Gantt charts or are used to MS Project then this is probably a great piece of functionality. For us and many that I speak to, this is not the case.

Since we didn’t find Gantt charts very friendly or visually appealing we built a new module called Resource Allocation where we can assign Contacts or Users to a project and set the start and end dates for each record relative to the project.

The additional enhancement provided with this configuration is the ease of reporting. This customization enables a user to run reports on Resource Allocation across multiple projects, Users or Contacts to get a better view of their capacity.

2. Project Calendaring

Since we were no longer using the Gantt chart we needed a way to visualize timelines in the most straightforward way possible. With the addition of a project calendar we could easily see resource allocation at a weekly or monthly level in a form factor that everyone was most comfortable with.

The next set of customizations are already in progress and will enable users to have a Project Calendar that spans all projects and resource allocations as well as manage percentage of allocation.

If you are looking to enhance SugarCRM Projects to more closely match your business processes and would like assistance then please let us know.

Here are a few reasons that we came up with:

1. Paid Content – You can host videos that other must pay to see such as training material.
2. Internal Videos – You can host videos that are only available to internal resources.
3. Video Control – You have full control over encoding, size and other factors. 

If you find yourself requiring video capabilities in Expression Engine then look no further than PandEE.

Shortly after that post we decided that we needed to make adding time even easier and expand the functionality. With this additional functionality we were looking to solve 2 key problems.

1. We wanted make logging time even easier.
2. We wanted to be able to track time against Opportunities.

One issue that we had while using TimeConsult was that a user had to enter Start Date/Time and End Date/Time which was multiple clicks across multiple inputs. This worked very similar to a time clock but we found that for a services company only the date and duration was required. Instead of changing the module completely we made this a configuration option in the Admin panel so that new users could choose how to use the module.

In addition to simplifying time entry by remove fields, we also decided to add it to the Project Task subpanel so that users no longer have to go into a Project Task detail view to log time.

Clicking the Clock icon now provides a pop box with multiple fields related to entering time.

Lastly, we decided to add a new relationship between TimeConsult and Opportunities. We found this useful for our business processes and tracking, maybe you will also.
If you are interested in knowing more about TimeConsult or would like to purchase TimeConsult then please contact us.

During one of our regularly occurring CRM sessions with the sales staff many of the team members outlined that they wanted to be able to make notes on a Contact or Account more quickly. At first this seemed a little odd since making Notes in the SugarCRM Activities Subpanel requires is extremely easy ( Click Add Note- > Type -> Save ) but I decided to dig deeper before making any decisions.

The group came to the conclusion that since 90% of the time they were making Notes on records that they shouldn’t have to Click Add Note. I also discovered that many of them were working on laptops, some of which had small screens. This meant that to make a Note they had to scroll to the History panel which is usually below Activities.

Like the Left Voicemail button, the solution was simple but was high impact on user adoption and phyche. The end result was a Notes field in the Activities Subpanel where a user could quickly type and Submit.

Do you need a small but high impact change? We invite you to tell us about it.

Many sales people and their organizations work a little differently in that they want to create lists first and then make calls.  By creating a target list of records the organization can more easily assign call lists to a certain sales person by reassigning the Target List. Following assignment, the sales person can rapidly move through each call and disposition that call appropriately all in one screen.

In or to enable this functionality we had to make a few customizations to the SugarCRM Target List screen.

First we added multiple Target List configuration settings. With these settings you could preset how many records to display into a subpanel and decide what subpanels to expose to the user.

 
Following the addition of the SugarCRM Target List options we made it dead simple to disposition calls by adding a few disposition buttons to the subpanel.

Each button is optimized to solicit the minimum amount of information so that the salesperson can move to the next call.

For example: Clicking the Log Call button only shows a description box to fill in details and automatically sets the Call Status to Held and Outbound as well as setting the subject to Call Held.

If your sales people require SugarCRM to be customized for telesales then please reach out.

Lets take an example such as logging a call activity on a Lead and indicating that a voicemail was left. If a sales person is on a lead record they must click Log Call, type in that they left a voicemail, change the status to Outbound and Held and then Save the record. This small task involves 6 clicks and some typing. This is not such a big deal when you have to execute the steps once but if your call quota is 60 per day and 80% are voicemails then it is going to get real annoying real quick.

This repeated action can cause multiple issues:

•     Decreased user adoption
•     Poor Call Metrics - Since the disposition isn’t standardized
•     Less Efficiency

A simple solution that we recently implemented to correct this problem was a Left Voicemail button.

By clicking this button a sales person can log the call activity as well as have the Subject and Status fields automatically set. This not only made it significantly easier for the sales person to log the interaction but also increases the usefulness of call reporting since the Subject is now standardized.

Tech Details:

Since this SugarCRM customization was implemented using the SugarWidgets functionality it can be easily replicated to other SugarCRM modules as well as easily customized to take different actions such as scheduling a follow up call automatically or closing a lead after a certain number of attempts.

If you are looking to make your sales team more efficient with even the smallest SugarCRM tweaks then please let us know.

Acumatica offers a full line of Accounting ERP and business management software.

Recently, I sat down with a member of the Acumatica team for two hours to go through the software and see what Acumatica has to offer. I came away extremely impressed with this business management software, and I know that if you are looking for a complete ERP program, Acumatica can deliver.

What are some of the highlights?

• Your Acumatica solution can be housed either on site or in the cloud. The decision is yours as to where you want your information.
• Unlimited licensing. Whether you have one user or hundreds of users. One license covers your entire business
• Customizable dashboards to show you the reports and information you want to see.
• Build integrated websites within Acumatica using prebuilt templates
• Monitor sales, inventory, CRM database, and other business related from one solution

Acumatica provides businesses with a complete ERP solution that is designed to grow with your business. Opensource development allows you to customize this ERP solution to fit your business.

In Addition, Acumatica comes with tools to customize dashboards and workflow to show you the information you need in the way you want to see it.
Companies that don’t have a lot of experience with web design and development can use the internal templates to build a marketing website complete with your full product line, logos and company information.

Acumatica built in website templates allow you to automatically manage:

• inventory
• ordering
• revenue

This ERP accounting solution saves not only time, but with all of the built in features, you will see a quick ROI after integrating it into your day to day activities.
The best part is the price. No more worrying about adding users. As your business grows, your cost won’t.

Contact us for a demonstration of how Acumatica can help you manage your business.

SugarCRM took four of the top awards in CRM Magazine’s 10th annual Market Leaders Awards:

• Winner – Open Source CRM category
• Leader – Midmarket Suite CRM category
• Leader – Small-Business Suite CRM category
• One to Watch – Sales Force Automation category

It was an honor for SugarCRM to receive awards in these areas, and maybe even more important is what the people who know CRM best are saying about SugarCRM. 

• Michael Fauscette, group vice president for software business solutions at IDC, said, “‘Anytime you talk about open-source CRM, Sugar comes up; they’re by far the best known and by far the largest.’” “a very good value, particularly in the midmarket.”
• Denis Pombriant, CEO at Beagle Research Group, LLC, referred to SugarCRM as an “‘out-of-the-box thinker,’” “ is a newcomer to the leaderboard in the midmarket category, having posted an especially impressive 4.1 in cost. As with its small-market product, SugarCRM excels in the midmarket segment because of its open-source CRM solution set.”
• David Myron, Editorial Director, CRM and Speech Technology magazines “SugarCRM has had a great year, and it was no surprise to us that they claimed so many awards at CRM Evolution,”

I spend a lot of time with people who own their own businesses and I see in almost every individual situation that SugarCRM will help them grow business. Because SugarCRM is so innovative and flexible in its customization, it makes it a natural fit for most business needs.

SugarCRM is getting the recognition it deserves from the people who know CRM best. Maybe it is your time to check SugarCRM out for yourself and see your business grow.