Yes it’s true – Microsoft Excel is a genius tool for many purposes of everyday business work. Starting from quick calculations up to complex lists with various formatting rules it seems as if nearly everything can be done with it. People got used to it over the years and learned the ins and outs. Whenever a new task arises that needs to be solved with a PC you automatically think about how it could be done in Excel.

For someone who’s working alone it’s ok to use file base data storage. When leaving the office everything that could get useful is just copied to a thumb drive. Back in the office you could replace all edited files with the new ones. But how would this scenario look when multiple users need to have read and write access to these files? It becomes clear that it’s impossible to merge changed data back into the corresponding files at the office. A better approach would be to use a distributed application that can be accessed from everywhere.

Now let us have look at the major improvements that CRM software will bring to our everyday workflow. With a CRM it is possible to make assignments between appointments and contacts. This way you get a journal that can be looked up by co-workers. Now everyone can check what has been done with a customer before. Since professional CRM applications are network enabled and can handle multiple users, it is possible to manage user restrictions as well. Not everyone needs to have access to your VIP customers.

It’s not only basic advantages that come from using a network enabled CRM. You could be much more efficient if you can find the customer by hitting three keys and then let your software place a call without having to dial. The same can be said for email integration. How often do you have something to tell to your customers / leads that will be left unsaid simply because there’s no easy way to filter the right recipients and then write a serial mail to them? Truly professional CRM solutions with multiuser support have much more useful functions. They can help with automated creation of contact items by parsing your emails or let you do quick instant messaging with your team members.

So there’s only one thing left for you to do: Find the program that can do all this for you and don’t be afraid: Modern applications can do all this without the need for specialist who will install and configure it.

Dominik writes for soft-evolution, a software vendor, specialized on team scheduling software. soft-evolution is developer of an Outlook Alternative which addresses the needs of small and mid-sized companies.