Looking for SugarCRM Collaborators

[iiinycboi]

Hello everyone,

I am not a coder, or selling this product, i just want to share with everyone and improve it together. I'm sure there are a lot of improvements to be made, and I've only put modules that i feel are important. I am willing to share it.

i am currently in the process of customizing SugarCRM for my insurance agency. I would like to ask, if anyone would like to help collaborate, test, find features, request features, find incomplete portions, find errors, improve workflow, coding etc..., basically to improve SugarCRM for us.

Right now I have converted SugarCRM to a B2C model instead of a B2B but still have accounts module to manage multiline clients.

I have customized it with some modules that i feel are important to an insurance agency, but looking for feedback.

Here are some features that i have worked up

-hosted on office server, so accessible remotely.
-multi type leads form
-used opportunities as renewal dates and renewal policies
-added file location to direct to where e-policies are stores on server
-added custom tabs for custom sites, such as internet fax, carrier websites, etc...
-quotation sheet generator for sub producers who want to use their own quotation sheets to block commission, and other data
-invoice generator
-drag and drop calenders for easy daily call, calender, task to do reporting list.
-all invoice,quotation sheets, call logs, documents, leads, opportunities, renewals, can be linked to specific clients

Need help with,
-improve workflow
-improve organizing/layouts
-logic hooks to auto populate fields in other modules, generate daily invoices, task, quotation sheets etc... to be done specific days
-features every indy agency needs

So yeah, if anyone is interested in helping please pm me or reply. I've based my customization on my excel sheet and my workflow only.

This is great for start-ups or anyone who wants to minimize overhead.

 

[WinoBlues]

Re: Looking for SugarCRM Collabrorators

I would like to share some ideas on a system geared at working and servicing a Life book. [email protected]

Hello everyone,

I am not a coder, or selling this product, i just want to share with everyone and improve it together. I'm sure there are a lot of improvements to be made, and I've only put modules that i fee. l are important. I am willing to share it.

i am currently in the process of customizing SugarCRM for my insurance agency. I would like to ask, if anyone would like to help collaborate, test, find features, request features, find incomplete portions, find errors, improve workflow, coding etc..., basically to improve SugarCRM for us.

Right now I have converted SugarCRM to a B2C model instead of a B2B but still have accounts module to manage multiline clients.

I have customized it with some modules that i feel are important to an insurance agency, but looking for feedback.

Here are some features that i have worked up

-hosted on office server, so accessible remotely.
-multi type leads form
-used opportunities as renewal dates and renewal policies
-added file location to direct to where e-policies are stores on server
-added custom tabs for custom sites, such as internet fax, carrier websites, etc...
-quotation sheet generator for sub producers who want to use their own quotation sheets to block commission, and other data
-invoice generator
-drag and drop calenders for easy daily call, calender, task to do reporting list.
-all invoice,quotation sheets, call logs, documents, leads, opportunities, renewals, can be linked to specific clients

Need help with,
-improve workflow
-improve organizing/layouts
-logic hooks to auto populate fields in other modules, generate daily invoices, task, quotation sheets etc... to be done specific days
-features every indy agency needs

So yeah, if anyone is interested in helping please pm me or reply. I've based my customization on my excel sheet and my workflow only.

This is great for start-ups or anyone who wants to minimize overhead.

 

[riatech]

Re: Looking for SugarCRM Collabrorators

I'm interested to test out your program. Can i use it for my personal usage? Thanks

 

[iiinycboi]

its not my program, i'm only customizing sugarCRM. you can download sugarcrm at their website. I'm still working on the customization i hit a speed bump because i cant edit the cronjobs from windows. and my linux server has no ssh access

 

[junkman]

I have to redo my system & am interested in Sugar. I looked at it a while ago but never got it set up.

Here are a couple of links. (Sorry, can't post links with a new account - you'll have to complete them)

openssh.com

support.suso.com/supki/SSH_Tutorial_for_Linux

support.suso.com/supki/SSH_Tutorial_for_Windows

As an aside, I hate how carriers only write for IE. I want to migrate away from MS but have to keep at least 1 windows box just for the carriers.

 

[ksigmtsu]

I have to redo my system & am interested in Sugar. I looked at it a while ago but never got it set up.

Here are a couple of links. (Sorry, can't post links with a new account - you'll have to complete them)

openssh.com

support.suso.com/supki/SSH_Tutorial_for_Linux

support.suso.com/supki/SSH_Tutorial_for_Windows

As an aside, I hate how carriers only write for IE. I want to migrate away from MS but have to keep at least 1 windows box just for the carriers.

You don't have to.

Get virtualbox for your variant of linux/macosx, install windows into a virtualized environment, and use that for carrier websites.

Keep everything else out of it for security reasons.

Very few rootkits and keyloggers exist for linux or mac, security is a ton better. With linux if you stick to the pre-installed maintained repos to install software, your chance of getting a virus of any sort ever is very close to 0.

I use linux because I don't trust the security of windows, because I know how insecure it is. Any operating system where simply visiting a website can cause you to be infected with a keylogger is something where I do not want to be entering social security numbers and banking information.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hello everyone,

I am not a coder, or selling this product, i just want to share with everyone and improve it together. I'm sure there are a lot of improvements to be made, and I've only put modules that i feel are important. I am willing to share it.

i am currently in the process of customizing SugarCRM for my insurance agency. I would like to ask, if anyone would like to help collaborate, test, find features, request features, find incomplete portions, find errors, improve workflow, coding etc..., basically to improve SugarCRM for us.

Right now I have converted SugarCRM to a B2C model instead of a B2B but still have accounts module to manage multiline clients.

I have customized it with some modules that i feel are important to an insurance agency, but looking for feedback.

Here are some features that i have worked up

-hosted on office server, so accessible remotely.
-multi type leads form
-used opportunities as renewal dates and renewal policies
-added file location to direct to where e-policies are stores on server
-added custom tabs for custom sites, such as internet fax, carrier websites, etc...
-quotation sheet generator for sub producers who want to use their own quotation sheets to block commission, and other data
-invoice generator
-drag and drop calenders for easy daily call, calender, task to do reporting list.
-all invoice,quotation sheets, call logs, documents, leads, opportunities, renewals, can be linked to specific clients

Need help with,
-improve workflow
-improve organizing/layouts
-logic hooks to auto populate fields in other modules, generate daily invoices, task, quotation sheets etc... to be done specific days
-features every indy agency needs

So yeah, if anyone is interested in helping please pm me or reply. I've based my customization on my excel sheet and my workflow only.

This is great for start-ups or anyone who wants to minimize overhead.

One problem you're going to end up in (I know because ive done this), sugar lacks reporting modules in the CE, and the workflow modules.

You'll need to look at something for those two things, I'd suggest process manager in the free variant (it can do most things) and there are several reporting modules.

They're not super easy to use.

I have a install of sugar already customized to life/health, sounds like you're doing P&C though so it'd be a lot different in terms of how you'd need it built.

 

[iiinycboi]

hey ksigmtsu,

i've already found those problems and solved them they have reporting, invoicing, and process manager work flow. (i use the one you mention)

Also yes, i built it around the product, and i think Al builds it around the client.

 

[Guest]

hey ksigmtsu,

i've already found those problems and solved them they have reporting, invoicing, and process manager work flow. (i use the one you mention)

Also yes, i built it around the product, and i think Al builds it around the client.

I really have not made many changes to Sugar. I find that it works well for my needs right out of the box. My biz operation is probably much simpler and smaller than most of you. I just need to keep track of who is a lead, who is an account, and be able to keep a "diary" on each along with assorted emails to each.

There are more layers of "complexity" in Sugar besides leads and accounts and calls.... like targets, opportunities, projects, campaigns, documents, and tracking.

I figure one of you guys will customize Sugar to be the "perfect" CRM for the insurance biz, will sell it, and maybe make a few (thousand?) dollars.

At one time I knew the Sugar developer's guide and helped small biz install and customize Sugar as a consultant, but as my insurance practice grew (like from two clients to the four I have now!!) I've just been too busy. And with a sick/disabled wife to care for, I don't have the energy.

After my wife's April surgery perhaps I'll be able to get back into it, as well as do some more iPad programming in spare time.

 

[ksigmtsu]

The biggest problem with customizing it to be "perfect" is the inherent complexity of the system.

They release a new variant every 3 months or so in the release cycle, so either:
A: you have to be very careful not to fork while they make schema changes etc all the damn time
B: you have to fork the project out of the release line and just ignore the updates forever.

I was tempted a couple times to move to vtiger, because even though vtiger also has issues, it does have a working process manager module, group security, and reporting.

For right now I stopped messing with sugar so much, and have been focusing on the dialer instead, which is a much simpler project in terms of moving parts because the vicidial group doesn't intentionally break addons to try to force people to buy their professional product.

One piece of advice to anyone trying to build out sugar, pick a release and stick with it, don't even try to upgrade with their cycles. It'll put you back so far that you'll never finish.

 

[Guest]

There is supposed to be a way to customize Sugar so that it is "release safe" but I've never figured out how to do it correctly.

And Brook is correct about the releases. The free community edition (aka CE) of Sugar is basically their testing ground for new features. While mostly stable, there are often bugs, some of the rather large.

I find that Sugar has a very poorly designed (but complex) upgrade module. It looks pretty, but it craps out a lot. They have what is called a "silent updater" which works much better but you have to know how to log into your server with SSH so you can get to the command line to run a script. It's not hard but usually beyond the ability of a non-tech person until shown how.

I don't know why the "silent upgrade" works when the visual one often does not, but I've learned to use it to avoid upgrade issues.

I too like vTiger but Sugar has a huge community and I don't know who runs Sugar... I think it is a couple of guys in India, but I'm not sure.

Personally, if I didn't enjoy messing with tech stuff, and if I had a super-busy agency, and I wasn't so cheap, I'd just pay the money and use a commercial system like Radius or whatever else is out there for a few bucks a month.

My advice is to use Sugar out of the box and adapt your work flow around it and be happy. If you get into heavy customization you may have your butt bitten at the first upgrade... and they upgrade every month it seems. (There is no rule saying you have to upgrade. They are on 6.x now but a lot of people still run 5.x and will for a long time.)

Al