Customer Reviews

Best Software ACT! 6 for 2004

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

I am the Senior IT Tech at a large company and our top 2 executives and their secretary have been using Act for years and years. We started getting data corruption on a regular basis in one of the two dbs. So we decided to upgrade to Act v6 2004.

Let me just say that I think the interface is clunky and outdated. The 2004 software feels like something written in the early 90s. You can't use the mouse wheel to scroll through your contacts (we have over 400 employees in the db). The icon graphics are crap, the backgrounds and titles repeat themselves on large monitors. And the program is painfully slow. Clicking from calendar to contacts to task lists often takes 3-4 or more seconds (compared to outlook which is instant).

We first started having major problems with the Pocket PC Link. It's garbage...you cannot sync with the PDA unless you exit act (unlike Outlook). And if you delete contacts on the PDA, they will come back because a malfunction in programming prevents it from being deleted on the Desktop. Deleting calendar events replicates fine, but you cannot delete contacts on the PDA. This was all confirmed by Act tech support on several occasions as we ran into these problems.

Furthermore, even with the new ACT 2004 we again kept getting the databases corrupting. When they get corrupted, you better hope you have backups, cause all tech support will tell you is they have a data recovery team. We looked into it, expect to pay near $1,000 to recover your data. So we restored our General Managers data from tape backups, from local backups, or from his PDA, on a regular basis. After hours and hours on the phone with tech support, they finally told me that storing the database on the network can cause the db to get corrupted. This was not written in any documentation I could find anywhere that came with the software. The only way to share the calendar with a secretary is to have it accessible on a network. MAJOR DESIGN flaw. And to make things worse, when I asked for help to implement their "bandaid" workaround to "reduce the risk" of further data corruption, they asked for a credit card.

We're going back to Outlook 2003 using our Exchange server, never had any problems. I guess we fell for their marketing by thinking that a $200 product is actually worth something. This software is not worth anywhere near the price we paid.

Do yourself a favor and skip the hastle.

As a 1st time buyer I bought ACT! after 2 months of intense research including downloading a trial, interviewing current users etc., however during a tech support call this afternoon related to separate issue I learned that the one feature that I'd have thought to be a given is missing from ACT! 6.

I use 20 different email accounts in conjunction with my various businesses on a daily basis, however was informed that I can ONLY email from the (1) Default email address listed in Outlook or Outlook Express (beware OE isn't really supported no matter what ACT!'s marketing says). I was told that even if I create a separate database for each business I'd still be limited to the (1) default address to mail from! YIKES!

What do small businesses do that use multiple accounts like sales@, info@, request@, service@, webmaster@mydomain.com that are perhaps only a 1 or 2 person operation? Great a tech as he was, the only workaround he could offer was to log out of ACT!, switch the default address in Outlook/OE & then log back into ACT! each time I want to send email from a different address!

He also mentioned that many customers in the past several years had suggested the same feature upgrade!

I rated this a 2 (benefit of the doubt) because I can see a good deal of "potential" usefulness in ACT! In my opinion sophisticated and integrated email support is essential in this day and age, and without it what good is the contact manager? Perhaps the larger question is what good is a software company if they don't listen and respond to their customers' needs?

Pure Crap! Be aware that Amazon offers a great price, but the product comes with zero support. Upon receiving ACT, I intstalled it and tried to sync the database with others in our office. With no success after following the on-screen and manual directions, I called Best Software to ask for help.

There first question was "Where did you purchase the product?" When I told their rep that I purchased it from Amazon, she scolded me for not purchasing direct from the company. She then told me that ACT purchased through Amazon has no support and it would cost $199.00 to sign up for a one year support contract.

This is the first time I have ever purchased software from a company and had them refuse to answer a simple question in the first week of trying to use their product.

Over all, a very poor experience and I am sure we will not waist our time purchasing another product from Best Software. Simply calling a company "Best" does not insure that they will live up to their billing.

There are many useful features in ACT, but the current email client is not one of them.

Version 6.0 of the software does not support an ISP with outbound authentication - and I learned this the hard way. When I switched my internet provider from dialup to a new DSL account, I lost the ability to send emails from within the ACT email client.

The workaround using Microsoft Outlook is incredibly cumbersome. This email glitch seriously undercuts an otherwise good software.

ACT is a great concept and has moved the CRM world. BUT it has changed little in the last 10 years and desperately requires a new release. The three most important updates required are a) better e-mail - integration with Outlook would be fine, b) much improved mass maintenance, lookups, and reporting and c) a more stable and robust data platform. Continued reliance on what are essentially DB 2 files (anyone out there remember them?) is silly and is the reason that file corruption and data loss is endemic with ACT. ACT is a goldmine for BEST and it's being milked, but one wonders how much money is being invested in improving the product. A little attention to fixing the product's many problems would give a significant boost to the software. I have to believe that a mass upgrade from version 6 would also be good for BEST's profits.

These problems have existed for a long, long time, and users have waited for the ACT people to resolve them. 6.0 was an exercise in half measures and disappointment. For that reason, we've come to believe that BEST Software has broken trust with us as their customers. They have broken trust with their certified consultants by being unresponsive to them. Many of us have concluded that they don't deserve our business anymore. We're looking for others that do. And when we find our solution, we'll buy through Amazon, a company that constantly tries to provide better service and a better platform for its customers.

I purchased ACT 6.0 because I used 5.0 and loved it. Wow, what a mistake. After I installed it on my brand new laptop the problems began. Freeze after freeze left me feeling cold and frustrated. If you can make it through to tech support without paying $29.00 you're lucky. Here's a hint...make sure you tell them it's a new install!

Tech support tried everything to resolve the problem, but to no avail. I was left with these empty words when there was nothing else to try, "You must have a virus".

Ok, a virus on a brand new Dell laptop with only factory installed software that has never connected to the Internet.

Here is my suggestion to the makers of this product..."Get your ACT together!"

I have been using ACT for 10 years and each version has been worse than the last. Act 2005 is the worst ever. It is so slow, it is unusable. I would rather keep my contact on post-it notes!

DO NOT waste your money.

I have been using ACT since 1992. I was trying my hand in Real Estate at the time and it was fantastic in helping me keep up with all the things I needed to do to service my clients. Not only does it work as a glorified roledex card, It can run macros that set up and assign users to repetitive time proven task. This program, when learned, will keep you on the ball. It can be shared in an office environment (lan) and everyone can keep shared notes in a central location about customers and venders.
It shares many features that Outlook has such as calenders, address book and such, but when learned and used daily, it is like Outlook on steroids. There are user groups that meet regularly in every major city if you want to learn more and intergrate it more.
It also lets you use MS-Outlook as your e-mail client and shares appointments etc with it you you can enjoy the features of BOTH. It also uses MS word (or any of the major word prossesing programs) as a word processor and allows you to use your current word processor features as well as it's added features.
ACT also has a new "Online Version" that your entire company can utilize at home or on the road. The company I just left uses it for their US operations and European operations and now everyone in the company reads from the same page.
Quickbooks also intergrates with it, so if you wish, you can bring up the customer and vendor accounting information at the same time as you view notes and your own (and your co-workers)related corrispondences. The whole team is informed and pulling on the same end of the rope.
I have read a few of the unfavorable reviews and I would encourage those who have had bad experiances to go back and try again. When you learn to use this program, you will never want to use anything else currently available for client/vendor management.
I am the currently president/ceo of a repair company that maintains Public Utility Power Plants and am not in any way associated with the software company. I have a few small issues I would change if they ever ask. But the program is highly recommended. The new version 6.0 continues to improve the product.

My third upgrade and I am ready to find a new program. It still has poor interfaces to Word and email. Still does not allow for easy input of personal data and is very restrictive on which fields may be sorted upon. Basically, it is a well marketed, inferior database, with non-existent "customer support". I've used it for seven years now and the database I was using in the early 90's was more sophisticated (I still have it but the company is out of business). I am looking for a good client database again.

At first, it worked great. Then I upgraded to Windows XP. Now nothing works right. No integration with Outlook... their website says it's a known problem with suggested fixes that just don't work. Also, my Palm no longer syncs with Act! Go to the Act.com and read their discussion boards and you will see how users are feeling un-supported.