Daylite for Mac

Opmerkingen: Keeping track of my external network is the most important element.

Pluspunten: I work with professional services firms, such as financial, law, and accounting firms, and also practice law. I use Daylite for everything! The email assistant makes it super easy to file emails. More than just emails, though, is the ability to see a history of all communications. I also keep track of clients using Projects and love the flexibility of the platform. I looked at a lot of CRMs and have been "sold" on Daylite since I started using it. Also, very good support help and excellent video tutorials.

Minpunten: Because it is very robust, it can at first appear intimidating. But the setup is so logical that it quickly becomes easy to use. And it is very customizable, especially useful when using Smart Lists. I'd like to see better reporting features, but beyond that, it's comprehensive.

Opmerkingen: I have been using Daylite since v2 (now v6 and cloud based). It provides a wide CRM feature set and integrates aspects of project and time management. For small business operators that is really useful. What is particularly useful to me, is that it integrates so well with Mail - so many leads & communications come or go via email. Being able to link Contacts, Companies, Opportunities, Projects, Appointments - and capturing that connectivity in my CRM is really useful. Having work with a Salesforce implementation where capturing email traffic and info was never as comprehensive - Daylite is a pleasure to use. There are a range of readily available and easily installable developer add-ons (e.g. www.iosxper.biz and www.puremac.com.au). They add additional features (e.g. multi-currency invoicing, productivity enhancements, Kanban boards), integrations (e.g. online diary publication & management, email campaigns, phone integrations, messaging, web conferencing) and improved reporting. My only real frustration is the inability to create customised views and reports across objects - without developers assistance. While the layered stack architecture will allow enormous customisation - you really need a coders help. Having said that, for 85% of what I do, I can survive for now and as my new business grows and scales, I know there is a solution to my needs. Overall I am a Daylite addict and evangelist!

Pluspunten: Awesome user interface, integration into MacOS environment (e.g. Mail), layered architecture allows for integration and customisation, loyal developer ecosystem and low cost per user. Do not underestimate the value of the Daylite Mail Integration - so much of my communications and lead acquisition is via referral and via email - getting data quickly and consistently into any CRM is essential to its adaption. There are iOS/iPad OS apps - not a desktop replacement but great for road warriors to keep the communication channels open or to make productive use of time when out of the office and between meetings.

Minpunten: Some highly technical limitations:
- No web browser access to a Cloud-hosted service - but the OSX and iOS apps are awesome!
- Limited "regular" user ability to create customised views and reports across multiple objects without developer engagement.
- Dependent upon Apple apps for integration with MS Exchange/Office365 - more limited in iOS version

Pluspunten: After a highly successful career in corporate IT, I completely switched gears and started a real estate business in 2007. Familiar with CRM for large corporate accounts, I wanted that same functionality in an affordable Mac-based small business solution. Thirteen years later, I am still a huge fan of Daylite. In addition to meeting those initial requirements, Daylite even included templates for real estate users. But better yet, I could, and still can, completely customize how I use the system. It has never failed me. The iOS additions are incredibly useful. And, as a sceptic of cloud-based solutions for security and client-confidentiality reasons, I was thrilled to see how Marketcircle handled their approach when moving to a subscription service. I have no concerns about data security issues and it makes syncing that much more seamless. Oh, and the integration with Mail is brilliant and keeps getting better. Really, this may seem obvious to some, but when you're legally required to maintain an audit trail of real estate transaction histories, what could be more efficient than a tool that captures mail, stores documents, allows me to create my own workflows, and then creates a report at the end that simply gets added to the transaction record? It's truly the best investment I've made in my business.

Minpunten: In the past there were some hiccups with adding attachments into the database, but this was quickly resolved.

Opmerkingen: I will say that the support team at MarketCircle are first-rate, but they’re supporting a very tired-functioning and slow product, that doesn’t adapt to changing user expectations very quickly, if at all. There was a period of approx. 3 months where one of the main features, Daylite Mail Assistant, simply stopped working after an OSX upgrade. The support team was excellent during that period and they did extend my subscription as compensation. But I’m VERY tired of the entire software industry attitude of ‘release and fix’ rather than ‘polish and be proud’. If Daylite had another major competitor on the Mac platform, they’d likely move more quickly. But they don’t. So there’s not much impetus for them to bring the product up to modern standards. It still feels like a piece of software from the early 2000’s. I suppose in it’s price point, it’s competitive in that regard. But I’ll gladly provide the devs there with my laundry list of complaints if they’ll get in touch with me. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I think as a paying customer I’m entitled to render an informed opinion.

Pluspunten: It has two essential components to track new business Opportunities and management/logistics for Projects which is what attracted me initially.

Minpunten: It is riddled with bugs in the code and inconsistencies in it’s severely outdated UI. The User Experience overall has been designed by engineers, with little regard for implementation of modern OSX conventions. If I had to distill it down to one major issue: TOO MANY CLICKS to perform simple tasks. All the functionality I’d want is there...somewhere. But it takes MANY MANY screens and clicks to perform simple everyday tasks, and ends up taking me MUCH longer than it should to input data. Also, the companion iOS apps for iPhone and iPad are severely hobbled, and there is NO web interface whatsoever. If you run it on a desktop computer (ie: in an office, desk bound environment) you’re fine. If you have ANY need to be a mobile user, you’re mostly out of luck. As an example, the iOS version will not allow file attachments when composing new email. That’s one of a loooong list of shortcomings I’ve logged since using this since 2014. The truth is, as soon as something more modern and functional comes along I’ll gladly migrate my business over to speed up my workflow. The Report engine is an absolute horror-show. Just try an build a custom report without pulling your hair out and giving up.

Opmerkingen: I am happy with the SW and how it helps me to get things done in a logical and efficient manner. It also allows me to get things "down on paper" so I do not have to remember them or worry about forgetting something. If you use David Allen's GTD philosophies, then you will like DayLite. I have also used Sugar, but found that focused too much on office-based users. I travel internationally 70-80% and need to be able to run my business from the back of a taxi, in the airplane and in my hotel room after a long day. DayLite does a good job of helping to do that efficiently and keeping my sanity.

Pluspunten: It is relatively intuitive and easy to use. Also good for people with a mobile office set-up as it interacts well between iPhone, iPad and MacBook. Customer support is good, albeit only via email and chat.

Minpunten: It has some limitations and inflexibilities that sometimes frustrate me, or force me to use "old-fashioned" work-arounds, but I must also say that a number of these have been corrected over the years.