Getting started
From Key Features you will have seen that deciding on a route to a new business system is not simple. That’s why our implementation process is designed to get you the right thing first time. The process of getting started with AlphaCRM is handled by our Professional Services team.
Initial exploration
Before we even start to review requirements with you, you can have an account and a play on our AlphaCRM Essentials edition. Click here to find out more.
Whether or not you play with AlphaCRM Essentials beforehand, we talk or meet to discuss your current system and processes and also your latest needs. We bear in mind that your needs will change over time, so we talk about your business ambitions and goals and your growth plans.
From the initial discussions, we’ll both have an idea whether AlphaCRM is right for you. If it’s not, we may be able to help you identify the best solution or some other recommendations. If AlphCRM is your best option (and we hope it will be), we can move on to the next step.
Business analysis and review
You wouldn’t buy a car just from a picture and a spec. sheet – you’d review whether the seats are comfy and the instruments are easy to read. So with a business system, you’d check out the detail to make sure it will be a proper fit. We arrange to meet with you for a period of time – maybe half a day, maybe several days – to discuss your exact processes and data. From this we can understand the entities and relationships to be defined within your system plus the security considerations, workflows and special features you might need. Because the BA described here is of value even if you don’t go ahead with an AlphaCRM implementation, we will charge a daily rate for this.
From the BA as described above, we can provide you with a fixed price to include building your system and either hosting it for you, or deploying it to your choice of hosting. The quotation will identify fixed prices and any optional daily-rate items such as data migration. The quotation will also identify the payment schedule and commercial terms.
Once we’ve agreed the requirements, price and timeframe, we build your system with the agreed features and deploy it for you.
You then have some time to test the system to make sure it is what you want, and does what you want.
Once testing is complete you can use your system as live. At this point, warranty terms apply, as do hosting and support charges. Hosting charges will vary with the service level of the hosting we agree on and support charges may vary with the complexity of your system and the number of approved support contacts – but will always be an agreed fixed price/percentage per year.
No business remains static – as your business changes or grows so will your needs. If your system needs change we can meet with you to discuss extensions and changes to your AlphaCRM system so that it grows with you. These changes would be implemented as a mini-project following the relevant parts of this process and you will always know where you are.
