As I previously stated, I held SugarCRM as the defacto open source CRM software. This has changed, the more I delve into vTiger, the more I find functions that rival some of the high-end, high-dollar solutions. And some of these functions are found in SugarCRM, the difference is in vTiger they work!
The vTiger user interface (UI) is easy to navigate, well laid out and is consistent across the application. The icons are decorative but informative design elements, making it easy to spot and move to different options within a given task. The ability to move from item to sub-items is also very easy. Lets say we’re in an Accounts (company) file. From here, we can easily access every aspect of that account, such as its individual employees (contacts), invoics, services they use, service contracts, trouble tickets, quotes and documents. Just to name a few!
I have also discovered a few must have extensions (add-ons.) Such as Timesheets, Trouble Tickets Updates and the Add to Google Calendar. All are easily installed and share a common layout as the core vTiger. The Timesheet extension does require a patch. If you have vTiger on Windows, then you’ll need to move it to a Linux environment to patch it, then move it back to Windows. Fortunately, I have my installs on Linux.
Some other features I’ll cover in my next installment about vTiger will be the outstanding Customer Portal, the ability to create a PDF on demand, invoice templates, EMail templates and custom field values.
