In Part 1 of Best Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM), I reviewed top CRM software EssentialPIM and Centerbase, and prior to that there was InfusionSoft. But there are so many other great programs out there that are worth a mention, including…

Capsule CRM

Capsule CRM – Capsule excels at contact management, which is the core of any successful CRM plan. As your business grows, sorting contacts becomes an even more taxing job. Capsule simplifies the process by organizing contacts in categories you’ve created and labeled based on your needs. You can tag contacts as vendors, customers and leads – plus schedule meetings and other important notes that ensure you follow up promptly as needed.

What I love most about this is that contact files are taken a step further by allowing users to attach documents and notes to contacts.

Capsule’s also teamed up with Zferral, Kashflow Wufoo and Dropbox. Zferral makes it easy to launch and manage various marketing campaigns; Kashflow is a small business accounting system; Wufoo creates functional web forms, and Dropbox offers online data storage. All three apps are targeted for budget-minded small businesses.

Cost: Users can sign up for a free account and businesses are offered an extremely affordable rate of $12/month per user. Business accounts can also test drive functionality for the professional edition for 30 days at no cost.

WORKetc

WORKetc – A CRM, project and billing software, WORKetc comes highly recommended by users.

You can sort contacts much like you could with Capsule, but not with the detailed level or categorization and follow up. Capsule, however, is more suited for contact-heavy needs, whereas WORKetc serves a variety of needs.

WORKetc gets your clients and contractors in on the collaboration. With the use of charts, graphs and timesheets, you can do business better, faster. You can also make sure everyone’s on the same page with a synched calendar that can be shared with either clients, contractors or staff. However, not everyone is privy to all the details, with security features that filter who sees what.

The software creates a seamless workflow that after the first tier of contact management is what it takes to create happy customers. And you can wrap it all up with their easy billing module that converts timesheets into invoices that get you paid through either Google checkout or PayPal.

Cost: After a free 14 day trial, rates are set at $39 per user, per month. WORKetc prides itself on not having any contracts and hidden upgrades.

They do offer “Training” at Introduction ($69), General Training ($99) and Full SetUp ($499) levels.

“Introduction” gets you a 45 minute one-on-one demonstration tailored to your business. “General Training” offers 60 minutes to target your top 3 issues and gets you personalized setup and email follow up help if needed. A “Full Setup” helps you master your business, get complete setup with contact imports, invoice design, etc., plus two free general training sessions worth $198.

I personally loved WORKetc. It’s easy to use, fairly priced and covers every area you need covered for your project management needs. If you’re a quick learner, you could also do without the training offers and save yourself a couple extra bucks that can be spent elsewhere. WORKetc is organized in a very user-friendly mode, which is why we’re seeking CRM solutions. If you have to work to figure it out, it’s probably not really worth your time.

Both Capsule and WORKetc offered secure data and backup, so you can make sure your valuable info isn’t leaked into the wrong hands.

If you’re still in the market for other software, check out Salesforce, Highrise and SugarCRM.