What's New in Act! CRM: The Top Features You Missed in the Last 6 Months

Act! has been quietly rolling out some serious upgrades.

If you're still using it the same way you did last summer, you're leaving productivity on the table.

Here's what dropped in the last six months that actually matters.

Act! Premium Desktop v27: Finally, Smarter Data Management

The big news is Act! Premium Desktop v27.

This isn't just a version bump, it's a rethink of how you manage your contacts and companies.

Bulk Updates That Don't Make You Want to Scream

Remember spending 20 minutes updating 50 contacts one at a time?

Yeah, that's over.

v27 brings bulk update capabilities that let you change multiple records at once. Change territories, reassign owners, update statuses, all in a few clicks.

It's the kind of feature that makes you wonder why it took this long.

Company-Contact Alignment Gets Fixed

Here's a pain point we've heard about for years at Active Sales Technology: contacts getting disconnected from their companies.

v27 tightens this up with better relationship management.

When you update a company record, the related contacts stay in sync. No more orphaned records floating around your database making your reports look like garbage.

For teams juggling enterprise accounts with multiple decision-makers, this is huge.

Event Series: Because You're Not Just Hosting One Webinar

Act! added an "Event Series" feature to their online event management.

If you run recurring workshops, training sessions, or monthly webinars, you can now create a series instead of building each event from scratch.

Here's what that gets you:

1. Consistent branding across all events in the series
2. Automatic registration for attendees who sign up for the whole series
3. Better tracking of who shows up repeatedly vs. one-timers
4. Easier reporting on your event ROI

We've set this up for a few clients already. The time savings are real, especially if you're doing quarterly customer training or monthly product demos.

Mobile App Actually Feels Like 2026 Now

The Act! mobile app got some love too.

Zoom Gestures

You can finally pinch to zoom on contact details and records.

Sounds basic, but if you've ever squinted at tiny text on your phone trying to read a note during a sales call, you know why this matters.

Customizable Navigation

The bottom nav bar is now customizable.

Put the features you actually use front and center. Ditch the ones you don't.

Small change, big impact on daily usability.

Activity Priority Fields on Mobile

This one's for the road warriors.

You can now see and update Activity Priority directly from the mobile app.

No more getting back to your desk and realizing you forgot to flag that follow-up as urgent.

UI Refinements: The Little Things That Add Up

Act! didn't just focus on flashy features. They cleaned up the interface in ways that make your daily workflow smoother.

Quick Column Sorting

Click any column header to sort instantly.

It's a small thing, but when you're scanning through hundreds of contacts trying to find specific accounts, every second counts.

Simplified Task Lists with Multiselect

The task list interface got streamlined.

You can now select multiple tasks at once and mark them complete, reschedule them, or reassign them in bulk.

If you're managing a team and need to shuffle responsibilities around, this cuts your admin time in half.

What This Means If You're Running Act! On-Premise

Here's the thing about these updates: not all of them are automatic.

If you're running Act! On-premise (and a lot of our clients are), you need to actually upgrade to v27 to get these features.

That sounds obvious, but we've talked to dozens of companies still running v25 or v26 because "it works fine."

Sure, it works. But you're missing automation opportunities, better mobile support, and data management tools that could save your team hours every week.

At Active Sales Technology, we've been managing Act! upgrades since 1999. Over 3,000 projects later, we can tell you: the upgrade process is smoother than you think.

Most on-premise upgrades take us a few hours. We back up your data, run the upgrade, test everything, and ensure your customizations still work.

Act! Cloud Gets These Too (Eventually)

If you're on Act! Cloud, some of these features roll out automatically.

But here's the reality: cloud updates don't always happen on the same timeline as desktop.

The Event Series feature? Already live in cloud.

Some of the v27 desktop enhancements? Still being ported over.

This is one reason we help clients choose between on-premise and cloud. It's not just about "what's better": it's about what features matter to your business and when you need them.

Why These Updates Matter for Sales Workflow Automation

Let's connect the dots.

Better bulk updates + improved company-contact relationships + mobile priority flags = fewer manual tasks.

That's sales workflow automation in practice.

You're not hiring a developer to build custom scripts. You're using built-in features to eliminate repetitive work.

Here's how we're seeing clients use these updates:

• Territory reassignments during quarterly planning take 10 minutes instead of 2 hours
• Event series for quarterly business reviews are set up once and run automatically
• Mobile priority updates during client meetings mean nothing falls through the cracks
• Bulk task reassignment when someone leaves the team happens in minutes

This is the kind of stuff that doesn't make headlines, but it compounds.

Five minutes saved here, ten minutes there: by the end of the month, your sales team has gained back hours.

Getting Help with Act! CRM Support

We get it. You're busy selling.

You don't have time to learn every new feature or figure out if your current setup even supports v27.

That's literally what we do all day.

Active Sales Technology has been providing Act! CRM support for 25+ years. On-premise, cloud, hybrid setups: we've seen it all.

Whether you need help with:

• Upgrading to v27 without losing data or customizations
• Setting up Event Series for your webinar program
• Training your team on the new mobile features
• Cleaning up your database so those new bulk tools actually work

We've done it thousands of times.

Get a quote for Act! CRM support or learn more about our implementation services.

The Bottom Line

Act! v27 and the updates from the last six months aren't revolutionary.

They're evolutionary: which is actually better.

These are practical improvements that make your CRM less annoying to use and more capable of handling real-world workflows.

If you haven't upgraded yet, now's the time.

Where to Find Quality Sales & CRM eBooks

• Proven case studies or customer success stories.
• Strategy frameworks backed by research.
• Actionable steps — not just theory.

Sites like Zoho, HubSpot, and Salesforce (among others) routinely publish free, professional‑grade eBooks that help sales teams move from manual processes to modern, data‑driven operations.

HubSpot has a crazy blog that's been my favorite for years.

Zoho has a cool collection here: https://www.zoho.com/crm/resources/ebooks/

Act! Premium Desktop v27 introduces a suite of powerful enhancements designed to make managing data, opportunities, and records faster and easier than ever.

Whether you’re a CRM power user, administrator, or team lead focused on keeping your database clean and consistent, v27 helps eliminate bottlenecks, cut down on manual work, and give you greater control over how your data behaves inside Act!.

From smarter list lookups and bulk updates to improved company-contact alignment, Act! Premium Desktop v27 streamlines essential workflows, allowing you to focus less on data maintenance and more on building stronger customer relationships.

Note: These enhancements are available exclusively to Act! Premium Desktop and ACT! Advantage Cloud only.  

Act! Pro upgrade for sale?

 Here Are Your Options.

If you’ve been using ACT! Pro, you may have already discovered that Swiftpage/ACT has discontinued sales of ACT! Pro licenses.
This change leaves many small businesses wondering: What now?

The good news is, you still have several solid options — whether you want to stay in the ACT ecosystem or move to a modern cloud CRM.

Option 1: Stay with ACT via Subscription (Premium or Cloud)

Although ACT! Pro is gone, the company continues to offer ACT! Premium, which is now sold on a subscription basis.

• Pros: Familiar interface, advanced features, cloud-hosted options, ongoing updates.

• Cons: Subscription cost may be higher than the one-time Pro license you were used to.

If you’re comfortable with ACT and want to keep your data where it is, this is your easiest transition.

Option 2: Migrate to Zoho CRM (and Zoho One)

For customers looking for a modern, cloud-based CRM, Zoho CRM is one of the most cost-effective and flexible options.

• Pros: Affordable, scalable, and comes with automation, AI insights, and integrations across sales, marketing, and customer service.

• Zoho One Bundle: For a similar cost to ACT Premium, you can get 55+ integrated apps (CRM, Books, Projects, Desk, People, WorkDrive, and more).

• Migration: ACT notes, history, calendar, and opportunities can all be moved into Zoho CRM.

Which Path Is Right for You?

• 877-569-8006

Final Thoughts

The retirement of ACT! Pro marks the end of an era, but it’s also a great opportunity to modernize your CRM strategy.
Whether you stick with ACT Premium or move to Zoho CRM, the key is to ensure your data, processes, and customer relationships are future-proof.

👉 If you’d like to explore migration options, data mapping, or side-by-side comparisons, I can help you choose the best fit and guide you through the transition.