Top Rated Commence CRM Alternatives
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We have used Commence RM Enterprise Edition for 17 years. We have hosted the Commence server on our network this whole time and did not use their Cloud based solution. The best aspect I think is the ability to customize it to our needs. I have developed it from scratch and designed integrated modules for customer interactions, sales call reporting, sales lead handling, expense report submissions, marketing campaigns, project management, catalog fulfillment, etc. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Client-server synchronization and connectivity to other databases have been issues ever since we started using Commence.
Commence is a distributed database, which means that each client has its own copy (as opposed to centralized database, which only has a single copy that each user needs to connect to in order to use it). The distributed database is great for a situation when a user needs to access the data in remote locations without good access to Internet. The local database can be used regardless of the connectivity.
The down side of this solution is that the client databases must be synchronized with the server database regularly. If you have a large database, this probably needs to be done daily and the process may be slow and prone to glitches. I get a call every week to fix someone’s synchronization issue.
If you go with the Cloud solution, you won’t have the synchronization problem but each client has to connect to the server (via Internet browser) in order to view information or make changes.
Second weak point is the connectivity to other databases. While it is available, it has proven to be temperamental. I maintain a separate system for manually updating the system for when this happens – but it is time consuming for our (relatively large) database.
I inquired with Commence about moving our current database to their Cloud solution, but I was told that we could not keep the current database. We’d have to switch to the out of the box database they provide. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
17 out of 18 Total Reviews for Commence CRM
Overall Review Sentiment for Commence CRM
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It is a very flexible and practical tool that is easy to adapt to the needs that you have in mind in people, managing to simplify the sales process with the clients. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I really do not have anything negative to mention about this tool because it is very dynamic and fail and to manage Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
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Flexible - fits all small and midsized companies, multiple ways to use. I've used it over 21 years - people there are dependable and helpful. I organize my world into just 3 categories: everything is either a person, a company or an activity - and the number of connections between and among these 3 categories is infinite Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Because it's extraordinarily adaptable with a gazillion options, you need a professional to help you plan what you want and how you want to use it. It's calendar functionality was degrated when the product upgraded to look like Outlook. It is still far better than Outlook or Google in connecting all activities people and companies for meetings and planning - but visually inferior . It's too bad - It wouldn't take much to fix. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I am obliged to say I have nothing positive to say.... Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I am nearly the first of Commence customers--30 years or so ago. Their customer service is the opposite of "world class," in my view. I recently had a problem, was told that I had somehow failed to pay for a maintenance agreement last year, and it would therefore now cost me more than three times as much to have a maintenance agreement a year (forever)! This despite my three decades of having been a customer--and Commence's having provided me with tech support after their purported deadline by the person they say provided me with the notice to renew maintenance! Please do yourself a favor; Stay away--choose virtually anything else! I'm not a tech, and I'm--obviously--not young, but just consider: If they treat me this way.... Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Robust functionality and extremely easy to customize. Good reporting and analytics.
Technical support has been excellent
Great value half the cost of most competing solutions Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Wish there was an interface to accounting systems Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
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Commence has customized every aspect of their program to meet our particular processes Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
We have made the decision to remain on a client bases system which requires regular syncing and has kept us from moving forward to more robust versions of the product. This results in lags in information sharing and additional support requirements for users who fail to sync regularly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
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We like the flexibility of the reports you can print. I specifically like the multiple ways we can edit the screens if we decide we want something in addition to what is already on the project file it is handled that very day. Very good customer service. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
It takes a while getting used to the program it has so much to it that it gets overwhelming. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I like that they are willing to help solve any problems I might have, and help create template for my email marketing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I don't like how they dont always get back to me in a timely fashion. Also when I send marketing emails to mass contacts I get a failed message when I got look at the report, but they told me the messages are actually going though. It's just confusing sometimes to work with. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
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Commence CRM allows us to keep track of all pursuits and create reports for forecasting sales requirements Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The mobile application and remote access could use a bit of work Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
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Commernce Desktop CRM has been our preferred choice ,for Building Custom CRM solutions for our SME clients ,for the Last 15 Years. It is a flexiple platform that allows a. the build of a system that works according to clients Business procedures (Not the other way around) and following the initial implementation a Client without special programming skills can continue to Evolve the CRM according to Future Needs ON-TIME and without Expensive outsourced Services. The Desktop Commence wraps around exisiting and familiar MS Office Ecosystem. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Commence Desktop is not naturally build on a standard SQL database and records coming from the outside world need to be imported. Having said that however in some cases the small and compact proprietary database is fast to backup and Runs. Also a WEB connetion would be desirable Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.