Managing Contacts with ACT! 2005

Rating:
Summary: A clean and consistent book for a BIG application
Review: How difficult is it to move from the comfort of an older version of ACT! and upgrade to the newest version, ACT! 2005? Night and Day. I was ready for it to be everything the old ACT! was not, and I was not disappointed. The new ACT! is great.

With all the new features and functionality, though, it is easy for a new user and even an ACT! veteran to get lost. How do you get the most out of company records, custom activity types, or the completely overhauled sales and opportunities, for instance? And what about synchronization? Boy, has that ever changed!

After moving to the latest version and helping others as an ACT! Certified Consultant and Premier Trainer, I was looking for a concise, well-written book that could offer a crash course on all the new features, and strategies for how to use these improvements to advance my clients' businesses. I found it with Edward Kachinske's book, Managing Contacts with ACT! 2005. Clearly written, well diagramed, and informative sidebar strategies all contribute to a greater understanding of how to get the most out of the best version of ACT! ever released.

I'll be recommending this book to all my clients, whether they are new to ACT! or moving up. You will benefit from having this book on your desk if ACT! 2005 is on your computer.


Rating:
Summary: With More than 200 new Features You need a new book
Review: Is there anyone out there that doesn't know about ACT?

For eighteen years this has a been a program fitting the needs of the businessman, salesman, theatrical agent, social butterfly, and God only knows how many other professions. ACT is a contact manager -- a database, letter writer, e-mail tool, activity scheduler, notepad, report writer, Internet research tool and lots more.

I think that every database book somewhere says you can use a database to keep track of your contacts. Sure you can. But with ACT, the work is already done for you. And in fact more is done for you than you ever could have thought you needed. It's not just the database that makes ACT what it is, after all the database is Microsoft SQL Server. It's the understanding of what you need to keep track of about a prospect or customer. It's the understanding, before you ever thought of it, of what you'd want to communicate to that customer that makes ACT what it is.

These are the things that this book tells you about. Here's the basic simple rules of how to keep tract of phone numbers, but also here's sophisticated sorting to decide what to send to whom in a mass e-mailing.

The book is on ACT 2005, the newest version, and a complete re-write of the earlier ACT packages. More than 200 new features have been added, and are covered here. It's a must have for the beginner and the pro-user.

Rating:
Summary: WORTH EVERY CENT!!
Review: This book is Awesome! Very few software books are written as well. He strikes a perfect balance between text, grapics, real world examples, & subject matter.

Rating:
Summary: Easy to read and full of great info.
Review: This book is easy to follow and helps clear up many questions on this new version of ACT. It is a must have for all new ACT 2005 users!

Rating:
Summary: A must have for the latest version of ACT!
Review: This book is great! The new version of ACT! has been completely overhauled, and while the folks at Best Software did a fairly good job of "preserving the ACT! experience", there are enough new features and changes in the product to warrant a little guidance.

The format of the book made it easy to find just what I was looking for, exactly when I needed it. It is well written and I enjoyed the author's style.

I live and breathe in my ACT! database, and the book is sitting on my desk next to my laptop. I could not imagine navigating the new version of ACT! without this trusty guide.