# Best contact account tracking software **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-contact-account-tracking-software/660839 "2013-06-12T19:39:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-contact-account-tracking-software/660839/1 "2013-06-12T19:39:10Z")
I need to come up with a software, for about 12 engineers who travel and visit suppliers. Our parent company won’t budge on something like Plex Online (formerly Plexus) - despite us having 15,000 emp and most our suppliers less than 10% our size. reason : Plex charges 1% of your sales. Our sales are $3 billion / yr. So, my plan is the 12 of us just get our own. I have used ACT! years ago, it was awesome. Just something to store comp name, address, product type, primary contacts, and auto entry of date / time stamped notes of calls mtgs etc. ACT! also would pop up call & mtg reminders, nice 3 level “to-do” list. and it would dial for you. It was about $300 So what say ye? Our wouldn’t have to be en enterprise wide solution like Plex. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-contact-account-tracking-software/660839/2 "2013-06-12T19:41:10Z")
it would be great, if it optionally could merge into one file for our boss right now, we are all using just MS Outlook email, only locally stored on each laptop. no merging…in other words, nothing ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-contact-account-tracking-software/660839/3 "2013-06-12T19:42:38Z")
I meant to add, 80% of our suppliers use Plex ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-contact-account-tracking-software/660839/4 "2013-06-12T19:55:16Z")
I have never heard of tracking software that charges a % of your sales. That’s astounding! What balls! ACT will do all you need. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-contact-account-tracking-software/660839/5 "2013-06-12T20:03:01Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I have never heard of tracking software that charges a % of your sales. That’s astounding! What balls! > > ACT will do all you need. well, Plex is all dept wide…purchasing, mfgrg, QC, sales…it tracks CpK, even tell when a plant operator checks a dimension - frequency - and will stop the process if they miss a check…plus you can log in from anywhere and see any or all of a plant - see all the machines as red, yellow or green (if they are running fine, down, or about to run out of supply from the prev cell, and it shows a stack of product in process (WIP) at each cell, number made / yr / shift / day good vs bad ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-contact-account-tracking-software/660839/6 "2013-06-12T20:04:38Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I have never heard of tracking software that charges a % of your sales. That’s astounding! What balls! > > ACT will do all you need. Can ACT! merge 12 peoples files into one for the boss? ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-contact-account-tracking-software/660839/7 "2013-06-12T20:06:16Z")
Plex can also read the dimensions from these new digital micrometers & other gages like profilometers, then calc CpK and PpK and show trends etc ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-contact-account-tracking-software/660839/8 "2013-06-12T20:07:17Z")
Plex is way overkill for us as a dept, but great for entire org ACT would be great just for us 12, unless someone here has other idea ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-contact-account-tracking-software/660839/9 "2013-06-12T20:09:36Z")
The Plex thing you’re describing is way overkill for what you’re looking for. Things like ACT! are meant for customer relationship management. You’re looking for something for vendor contact management. The CRM software might work, but I don’t know.