Software is free. It’s the serial numbers that cost money… I’m not sure why Act! hides the download link:

• Pro: https://www.act.com/download/download-act!-pro-v20
• Premium: https://www.act.com/download/download-act!-premium-v20

I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts and doing general research on a daily basis. Today I came across something complied by Steve Chipman of CRM Switch. These are the six costs selected with owning a CRM:

1. Buying the CRM also known as vendor assessment is selecting what application is best for your business.
2. Core subscription expense - this is usually very set and not an unknown cost.
3. Add-Ins are often needed for mapping in data, mobile solutions, integrations with other apps, and etc. 
4. Implementation - this is something your IT people usually don't want to do because they don't have experience.
5. Consider having a part time database admin working 10 hours a week for lots if you have a lot of users.
6. Post Launch modification - Ongoing imports and continuing improvements. Not has complicated as life, CRM is a journey...

Software is free. It's the serial numbers that cost money... I'm not sure why Act! hides the download link BUT here it is:

Pro: https://www.act.com/download/download-act!-pro-v19

Premium: https://www.act.com/download/download-act!-premium-v19  

My fav feature is when you send an email and Act! records a history. So the emails show up in two places. You find a copy of the email in the Send Items folder of Outlook and on the History Tab of the contact's record in ACT. I found two training videos:

Windows users of ACT:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNR1JrNPuas

Web users only: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z447PiSgohU

Some customers aren't ready to upgrade to Act! version 18.2 so... Here is the hidden link to v18.1 for Windows: http://dl.act.com/181/ESD/actprem_v181x103_US_CA_LA.exe

I'm not sure why Act! hides the download link.  Software is FREE. It's the serial numbers that cost money right?

• http://www.act.com/download/download-act!-premium-v18

If you are going somewhere, find all the contacts in your ACT! Database within "X" miles of any USA zip code! Bevan @ www.zip-city.com posted our FREE add-on and I totally forgot myself so here it is...

Windows 10 and ACT. Ha Ha Ha? We can't recommend anything older than version 17 for Windows 10. There's an old saying how the leading of edge of technology is also the bleeding edge of technology. Yikes? ACT published two documents that ACT customers should read before they upgrade to Windows 10.

Known issues and workarounds for using Act! v17 with Windows 10 LINK HERE

Best practices for using Act! v17 with Windows 10   LINK HERE

Our friend Tony at 365 ACT Tips has a good blog post on ACT and Windows 10 on his website.  

The best "simple explanation" of ACT eMarketing is in this small PowerPoint. ...Includes • ACT eMarketing (500 contacts) • Expert technical support • Video training • Track opens • Call List of ranked opens ACT eMarketing is inside of the application so at least check it out...

ACT released training videos! Find them here: Training videos (Shameless plug - I can do personal training if your team needs it!)

You’re an ACT Subscription customer so you’ll find it helpful to have the direct line to support and avoid speaking with the Sales Department first. ACT Hosted Support: 877-716-6296 You MUST have your account number! It starts with an “A” but you don’t enter that in when prompted. OK?

You're an ACT Hosted Support customer so you'll find it helpful to have the direct line to support and avoid speaking with the Sales Department first. ACT Hosted Support: 877-501-4494 You MUST have your account number! It starts with an "A" but you don't enter that in when prompted. OK?

AVG may prevent ACT from opening. Easy steps to tell AVG to play nice with ACT:     You may be able to workaround this by disabling AVG or by adding one of the following file paths (depending on your version of windows and Act!) to AVG's exceptions list.

1. Open your AVG program.
2. From the Options menu select Advanced settings.
3. In the left pane select Exceptions.
4. In the right pane click Add exception.
5. In the drop-down menu please select the exception type.
6. Browse to the file, folder that you want to exclude or type URL
7. Click OK to save details of the exception.
8. Click OK again to save the settings.

32-bit OS:

• Act! Pro and Act! Premium: C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Windows\Act!.exe
• Act! Premium (access via web) C:Program Files\ACT\Act for Web\Act!.exe

64-bit OS:

• Act! Pro and Act! Premium: C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Windows\Act!.exe
• Act! Premium (access via web) C:Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Web\Act!.exe

If you need to install 17.2 here are links to the full install packages: Premium WEB Premium Windows PRO If you have 17.0 or 17.1 updates and hotfixes are found HERE.

What do you do when you don't have a server for your database? You have it "hosted" of course! We like to think of ourselves as a "Strategic Hosted Partner" (whatever that means). WE CAN HANDLE YOUR DATABASE!!

I always stress out trying to find the latest version of Act to download so I wanted to post the links for friends and myself... 17.1 Windows Client: HERE 17.1 Web Client for Servers: HERE 17.1 PRO Edition: HERE Thanks for playing!

Shhh - FREE HELP with ACT is easy to get and I want to share three ways to find it...

1. Act Tech support looks up everything at www.ActKB.com.  There's no way anyone can know it all unless you're me. 🙂
2. You can post a question at http://community.act.com and even better you should search the 60,000 posts already there!
3. Call me (Michael). No Joke. I'll talk to anyone for FREE for 5 or 10 minutes.  I could find a better hobby but I love what I do so just mention this blog post and call me.

If I left anything out email me!

Do you auto backup your Act! database?

• Act! has this easy document that shows how to schedule it: Click Me

  What I worry about is having my external hard drive break or get lost so back it up online for FREE with Dropbox.

• Signup for a free account at www.Dropbox.com
• Sign into Dropbox and install the local windows install file
• Follow the Act! tech document on how to do the backup: Click Me
• The only change is under Database Backup Options change it to the Dropbox folder!

Steps for the backup fast and easy:

1. Inside of your database: Click the Tools Menu, select ACT! Scheduler...
2. Click Edit Task in the upper left corner
3. Click Next two times to get the Database Backup Options screen, click Browse
4. Navigate to the Dropbox folder location (it's in your Favorites in Windows Explorer)
5. Click Next two times, click Finish

Act! Premier Trainers - That's us!

We are uniquely qualified to deliver custom Act! training services at your location or in a dedicated training facility, and can develop comprehensive training using your data and real-world examples.

Act! Premier Trainers must successfully pass a specialized trainer course giving them extensive product knowledge, so they're your best resource for Act! training.

 

 

Did you want training on the Act! Software you purchased?

We never finish it all in a day - something has to get done tomorrow right? In ACT we roll-over uncompleted tasks to today's calendar (and/or Task List). Here's how:

1.	Select Tools > Preferences > Calendar & Scheduling TAB
2.	Click Scheduling Preferences > select the Activity type (we only do Calls & To-Dos)
3.	Check the box for 'Roll over to today' then click OK

Close and reopen ACT and you'll get the prompt. Watch out - we just did it for a customer where 1400 uncleared calls showed up so hit cancel if you are unsure...

When you decided to deploy ACT! you probably needed the help of a computer consultant to install and configure the program and you had to purchase a server to host the ACT! database. Hosting ACT! yourself includes ongoing maintenance and frequent upgrades not to mention creating synchronization for remote users and support. In other words, your ACT! life would be much easier if someone else handled all those things and let you run your business? Of course! Simplify your ACT! life and ask us about hosting your database in the cloud. Great for companies that don’t allow ACT on the network or if you work from a place without a server.

123 Connect for Act!

It's official. 123 Connect Outlook to Act! is now here! This is a very well tested pre-release with lots of features. I apologize for the excitement but I've been using this tool now for two weeks and it rocks!!! For a brief video tutorial on the product, check out the YouTube video tutorial. Yeah I know it’s a little dry… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVg8XKIC0ho

Does your website have Contact Us (Inquiry) forms that visitors fill in and submit? Do you manually type or copy-paste contact and other information from these web form submissions into ACT!?

• With eMail-Lead Grabber, you can automatically process web form submissions and other email-leads directly into ACT!.
• eMail-Lead Grabber intelligently extracts name, address, email, phone and other relevant information from web form submissions and automatically creates contacts in ACT! as you receive them.
• It cuts down the time spent on manual processing of such email leads by atleast 80%. It also eliminates inaccuracies and other hassles associated with manual data entry.

Visit them at www.eGrabber.com.