Amazon.com Product Description

Give your business a competitive advantage with Smart Business Pack, featuring 10 full versions of software for small businesses. Smart Business Pack includes design, labeling, and mailing products to make your business more productive. Included software titles are:

• Business Cards
• Brochures
• Stationery
• Postcards
• Web Page Designer
• Mail List
• Label Maker
• Invoices & Estimates
• Database
• Business Legal Forms

Reviews (1)

Good value for occasional users
This is not an integrated package, but a value bundle of ten of ProVenture's products (Business Cards, Brochures, Stationery, Postcards, Web Page Designer, Mail List, Label Maker, Invoices & Estimates, Database and Business Legal Forms).

None of the programs are best in class, nor are they especially suitable for heavy professional use. However, for occasional use (i.e., running off labels or making a batch of business cards for a small business owner), this collection is more than adequate and represents a cost-effective bargain.

As someone who infrequently makes labels and brochures, and runs off a batch of business cards about every three months, I found this collection to be a time saver (over performing these tasks by hand), and a money saver (since most of my printing runs are too small to get a good deal from a printer). If your situation reflects mine then this pack is a worthwhile investment. It you plan on using any or all of the applications on a daily basis you'll be better off selecting more professional packages. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Staff Files 3.0
I am the HR Manager for a company with 50 employees. After having documentation in many different locations, I decided to look to see if any companies made HR software. I was looking for software that would be very easy to use, was not time consuming to learn, and had many features that we need at our company. Staff Files was the software I purchased.

Some of the features I love: 1. Auto Accruals for keeping track of vacation or sick time. Yes, it will automatically calculate sick/vacation time and does the work for me! 2. Ability to display my employees picture and important documents - resume, I-9, time off request forms, etc. 3. It will also remind me of work anniversaries or when someone needs to update certification. 4. Track wage information, when pay increases/decreases have been made, current wage information. 5. Variety of reports available from general employee to staff reports. I can also create additional reports through MS Access. 6. The flexibility to define categories, notes, departments & locations to meet our company's needs. 7. Sort/Filter function so I can get the reports I need with the right group of staff.

This program is as thorough as it gets. Staff Files has made my job and life so much easier. At the click of the mouse, I can have all of the employee info I need instead of rustling through mounds of paperwork. If you are looking for HR software, this is the one to purchase. It is inexpensive, keeps employee information in 1 easy to find location, easy to use, and saves time.

Staff Files has been a great investment for our company and would recommend it to anyone! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

DataPilot allows you to import address information created on your PC to your cell phone, and to edit this information once it's there. Import up to 10,000 contacts from Outlook, Outlook Express, Lotus Organizer, Palm Desktop, and Symantec ACT! by means of drag-and-drop. This will enable you to maintain up-to-date records on the go, and to maintain a backup in case of a data mishap. You can also switch cell phones without losing any of your data. You will be able to quickly edit phone book data with standard commands such as add, delete, cut, and paste, and sort by a number of criteria. Security features limit access to your personal information, and a services directory provides major city listings for travel, leisure, and business services. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

A clever idea who's time has clearly come, the CardScan Executive 600c scans business cards in full color, connects to your PC via a USB port, and uploads the card into your database using the included CardScan software.

With simple plug-and-play installation, the machine is easy to use: simply feed a card into the slot, and then watch as the software deciphers the information on the card and categorizes it into the database. The machine can accurately read cards from United States, Canada, France, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, and others countries. The software also features AutoMap, expanded connectivity to synchronize with more handheld devices and mobile phones, and access to CardScan.Net, where users can access their business card database via any Web browser.

Small enough to fit in your hand but durable enough to take to trade shows and meetings, the CardScan Executive is an ideal way to organize the stacks of business cards that would otherwise clutter your briefcase, wallet, or desk. (Note that the CardScan Executive is just right for one person, but if you're looking for a unit that can help your whole team, consider the CardScan Office.) ... Read more

Features

• Scans business cards in seconds, even in color
• Organizes cards for easy searching and sorting
• Eliminates typing; supports batch and 2-sided scanning
• Comes with CardScan version 6 software
• Supports Windows XP, 2000, ME, and 98; USB powered interface

Reviews (14)

Get business cards into electronics fast
Tired of the piles of business cards on the desk? This may be the solution to a clean desk. The scanner scans each business card and the software places the text into its corresponding fields in the address book. The scanned image goes in the address book entry.

The set up including installing the software, connecting the scanner into the USB port, and scanning the first card takes ten minutes. Like any scanner on the market, the scanned text has typos and it is not always in the correct field. The software compensates by retaining a scanned image in the address book entry for easy reference.

Use the CardScan software and integrate it with other technologies. Click on a contact's address while connected to the Internet and it takes you to Mapquest for a map. Include a personal business card with outgoing Outlook emails. Transfer contact information to compatible PDAs, contact managers, digital mobile phones or paper organizer software.

Also useful especially for travelers is CardScan.Net, a secure server that stores the scanned contact information for accessing on any Web browser using a personal password.

Get those Business Cards under control
Do you have stacks of business cards sitting in boxes are wrapped up in rubber bands? Do you come back from a trade show or meeting with a pocket full of cards and never do anything with them? If so the Corex Cardscan is for you.

I've used it for over 6 months and love it. Installation was easy - follow the instructions - install software - plug in the USB cable. The scanner is very fast and very accurate. I normally don't have to make any corrections to the scanning results. Cards with very unusual fonts or layouts sometimes need correction. The included software works flawlessly with ACT! or outlook. Another cool feature is the link to the Cardscan.net site. This allows you to back-up/store and access your business card file on online. It is also very easy to use. Again I have found this to be a lifesaver for handling business cards and with many months of use I have had no problems.

Great easy to use product
To the person who says it doesnt scan the graphics - it does.
It can store the image from both sides of the card and the english text from one side.
I find it easy to use and very useful. Mostly i dont bother to verify the cards as there is almost always enough data stored correctly.

Why only 4 stars

I would like easier ways to select which contacts to transfer into other programs (I scan everything since its so easy but i dont need a lot of the data on a daily basis so i dont want to transfer everything) and easier ways to split and merge databases by batch selection. It has these facilities but its too hard !

As someone who lives and travels in Asia many of my cards have the local language details on the back. You can scan the back you cant print it. Give a printed copy to a cab driver is an easy way to get to where i want to go when i cant speak the language.

Finally the copy and paste is fiddly.

But i use it every day and i have all my cards going back 7 years accessible by a simple text search.

Scans great, but problem with multiple users on XP
The scanner works great with execellent accuracy.
Unfortunately the software does not work under XP for users that do not have administrator privileges. Corex claims that this is not a "bug" but rather you must be a "power user" (aka administrator) to use this product. After two fruitless hours of experimentation with changing access rights to the program file directories, I relented and elevated my user's level to administrator. After that the cards scan fine.

Works great, but bug with multiple users on XP
The scanner works great with execellent accuracy.

Unfortunately the software does not work under XP for users that do not have administrator privileges. Corex claims that this is not a "bug" but rather you must be a "power user" (aka administrator) to use this product. After two fruitless hours of experimentation with changing access rights to the program file directories, I relented and elevated my user's level to administrator. After that the cards would scan ... Read more

Reviews (1)

DataPilot Stinks!
I am extremely disappointed with this product! I just installed DataPilot and used it to transfer numbers from my laptop to my phone. Unfortunately, what SusTeen's marketing BS never tells you is that the product strips out all the additional stuff your specific phone uses before it writes it back to your phone. So in my particular case, I lost all the voice recognition data assigned to each phone number. Not to mention, it does not accept special characters for "pause" or "wait" used to access voicemail. Now I am forced to go back and reedit all my numbers. This product is supposed to save you time and make it easier to manager your phone data, but all it did for me was make more work! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Have to pay extra for using
There is a limited number of days that this program keeps functional. There is a limit to the number of mailing labels that can be printed. Also, the program constantly advertise the company's other products. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

GoldMine Business Contact Manager is a software solution for team-based contact management. It can be implemented out-of-the-box, offering the same automation benefits previously available only to larger corporations, and at a fraction of the cost and time. Effectively track and improve your customer interactions through collaborative contact management and increased visibility into your sales and forecasts. Make sure the right information is available to everyone on your team, from anywhere, at any time.

Business Contact Manager lets you see the combined status of all your pending sales. See a graphical representation of the stages, close dates, and potential revenue. Link the right people and documents to the overall process. Get instant access to a complete customer view and gain visibility into all your organization's interactions with a customer.

Business Contact Manager helps you take advantage of Internet resources. The Web Data Capture feature allows you to collect leads and information requests from your Web site and link with automated processes, delivering leads to your sales team. The E-mail Center lets you send and receive messages from within GoldMine and automatically links them to a contact's record. Enhanced Outlook e-mail integration gives you the ability to manage e-mail messages from your Outlook inbox and synchronizes not only e-mail messages, but also contacts, tasks, and calendar entries. Included in Business Contact Manager are many more features to help you better manage customer relationships.

Note: This is a 10-user pack. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Cut my scheduling time in half!
Visual Staff Scheduler helped me cut my scheduling time in half. I can create any kind of staff schedule for my employees and it allows me to e-mail schedules using my own e-mail account. I can also enter my staffing requirements into the program and it will tell me if I'm understaffed or overstaffed. I would recommend this program to anyone that would like to cut down on the time spent scheduling.

I am SO glad I can shop at Amazon!
If I was left with no other alternative than to pay the outrageous retail price that Atlas Business Solutions is asking for this product, I probably would not be so delighted with it. But the Amazon price makes this a much more attractive package and I am more willing to gloss over some of the features that are lacking.
First of all let me say that I was already familiar with the product, I was upgrading from my archaic Visual Staff Scheduler version 3.0, and so I did not experience the major letdown that some of the other reviewers felt after attempting to use this tool for the very first time. If you are a user of an older version of VSS, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you upgrade, you will be pleased with the improvements to the interface and additional reporting tools and queries. If you have never used VSS before, then I highly recommend that you request a copy of the FREE demo disk of VSS PRO v5.0, just to see if it is something that you could benefit from before plunging into the deep end and purchasing a full copy.

Nothing like I expected! Waste of my money.
It is hard to tell from the information that was on the sales tag what this program is for. It doesn't allow for scheduling of individuals for specific tasks. It's only use is for scheduling shifts. It would probably be valuable for manufacturers with swing shift operations. I was very disappointed.

Scheduling Made Easy!
I have over 100 employees and have to schedule 4 hour to 12 hour shifts and was looking for software that would make scheduling easy. This software was the solution I picked and it has made things much easier. My staff does not have any confusion as to when they are to work or where they are suppose to be when they are at work. I can print out clean professional looking schedules including individual, group or schedule by department/location.

VSS PRO also has a neat feature called Coverage Total which tells me how many people I am over or under-staffed. At a glance I can tell who I have available when I need to find a replacement. I am no longer asked for if there is vacation time available and why vacation is denied because VSS PRO will calculate the number of staff I have scheduled on vacation on any given day or shift.

The reporting options are great! Everything I put in the schedule I can get out through a report, whether it is a note, a shift or why they are not at work. I like the detail the query function gives me as it lets me have the information on the reports that I need for our company. Another report I have found very helpful is the estimated cost report which allows me to budget or estimate cost for a given time frame.

I was also very impressed with the customer service I received when I called with questions. My questions were answered promptly and I even got to talk to a live body without having to be put on hold. The customer service staff were very knowledgeable about the program.

If you are looking for scheduling software, check this one out. Its flexible, powerful and easy to use.

A very lacking product
Visual Staff Scheduler is designed for businesses with very few people who work standard, 8 hour shifts. Unlike other scheduling programs, VSS PRO does not allow users to enter employee availability. As a result, each employee's shift must be entered manually, which makes this program a small step above using paper and pencil. If you schedule more than a dozen people or use unusual shifts, stay far away from this software. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Exactly what I expected
This product is a dream come true! It really helped me out as a beginning direct marketer with a small business. With the 2,000 data records to start with, which averages about 4 cents per name. This is much cheaper than the other mailing list guys, and the additional value is that I have access to this data beyond the 2,000 downloads for look up and research capabilities. If I need more names to down load, I just call up infoUSA as it clearly indicates on the box it came in, and order more at a great price. This has been a valuable tool for my business.

Beware it will cost more than you think!
This software is just a money making scheme from Info Usa. When you purchase it the box says millions of names and addresses. It does have it but what it does not tell you is that after 2000 names you have to purchase an unlock code to get to the rest of them, at 4-10 cents per name. A total rip-off. Of course they do tell you this somewhere in fine print and on the licensing agreement somewhere, howver we all know once you open the software, you can not return it. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

GoldMine Business Contact Manager is a software solution for team-based contact management. It can be implemented out-of-the-box, offering the same automation benefits previously available only to larger corporations, and at a fraction of the cost and time. Effectively track and improve your customer interactions through collaborative contact management and increased visibility into your sales and forecasts. Make sure the right information is available to everyone on your team, from anywhere, at any time.

Business Contact Manager lets you see the combined status of all your pending sales. See a graphical representation of the stages, close dates, and potential revenue. Link the right people and documents to the overall process. Get instant access to a complete customer view and gain visibility into all your organization's interactions with a customer.

Business Contact Manager helps you take advantage of Internet resources. The Web Data Capture feature allows you to collect leads and information requests from your Web site and link with automated processes, delivering leads to your sales team. The E-mail Center lets you send and receive messages from within GoldMine and automatically links them to a contact's record. Enhanced Outlook e-mail integration gives you the ability to manage e-mail messages from your Outlook inbox and synchronizes not only e-mail messages, but also contacts, tasks, and calendar entries. Included in Business Contact Manager are many more features to help you better manage customer relationships.

Note: This is a 5-user pack. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

GoldMine is Great Bang for the $$ if installed properly
I must disagree with the 1 star product rating given by the man from New York. GoldMine does work very well for small to very large businesses IF properly installed by a GoldMine Partner. Many of the failed installations my company fixes are due to poor "self-installs" by customers. For a network install this is not an "out of the box" solution and planning, proper implementation AND training are keys to successful use. Partners go through extensive product certifications for a reason, to know the product and install it properly.

Goldmine 5.5
I wanted to present an example of success with Goldmine, since one of the reviews reflects an unfortunate experience with the software. Our experience has been good.

I would say Goldmine is a product rich with features, but with a rather quirky interface, probably reflecting its long history from a simpler contact manager.

We moved from Outlook to Goldmine for our email, and a home grown application for customer relationship management. The major benefit is a single interface for all client communication. The email client is not as strong as Outlook, but the templates work nicely and it all integrates into the customer database. Personally I wouldn't try and use Outlook at the same time as Goldmine, although there is a certain level of integration.

Replication is a nice feature and works very well, once you have mastered how to get started. Integration with Word 2000 works fine for us.

There are all sorts of features we haven't used, but are now starting to investigate - e.g. agents to automate processes, project management etc.

Goldmine's user interface could be improved, but for a small business it is an excellent solution for managing communications with clients and for us has been very good value.

Frontrange doesn't care about making bug-free software
I have well documented our nightmares with GoldMine 5.5 in my review for that product. After I was promised great things by Frontrange customer support, I received a full-featured demo CD of GoldMine 5.7 to try. Regretfully, none of the functionality and stability issues have been addressed in the new version. I have mentioned the following points in my review of GoldMine 5.5 and I repeat them here because the problems STILL remain!!!

1. It does not want to start up because it cannot find the "license.dbf" file! You have to hit browse and point it to the directory where GoldMine is installed. I made numerous calls to their tech support and they admitted they didn't have any clue as to what could be causing this! They suggested some changes including reinstalling and even installing GoldMine twice which really messed up my registry keys. And this happens with ALL our users!

2. It DOES NOT work with MS Office 2000 or XP/2002!! It is the most bogus claim. Allow me to elaborate: The link with MS Word is shaky at best. And that is when it gets past Norton Antivirus. For some reason, the macro that their GMLINK.DOT file uses is detected as a virus by almost any antivirus software. Even when I get it working by including it in the exception list, it crashes MS Office. I have even had to clean out GoldMine and uninstall and reinstall Office because of this wonderful link! Now about Outlook - It only works with Outlook if you are careful about what settings you choose. Otherwise it will crash GoldMine! And if you receive a message with an attachment, it does not transfer the attachment to GoldMine as promised. For example, if you received a file from a client, you have to find alternate ways to tag the file with that record.

3. This would beg the question - Why not dump Outlook and use GoldMine for all email purposes? Well, there's the issue of a VERY bad interface. The email interface in Netscape 1.0 was better than the one they have in GoldMine! Since version 5.5, some of the promised features actually work but its still prehistoric in its look. Even bad email clients like Eudora Pro have a better interface.

4. There is a whole slew of annoyances that makes you tear you hair out like you cannot have personal contacts like you can in Outlook. Calendar items when marked "finished" by you disappear. So if you went back to yesterday's tasks and checked to see what you did, its blank! If you have a Home Address for someone good luck entering that! Of course, you can configure GoldMine for that but why do I have to go to such lengths for obvious functionalities?

After our harrowing experience, despite high ratings from ZDnet labs, we have switched back to Outlook 2002 and are considering using Oracle Small Busines Suite instead. I am seriously begining to doubt the testing process of ZDNet since they seems to have gone with what the product promised rather than check the veracity of their claims.

Hope this helps someone avoid the frustations we had to face. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

easy way to write a business plan
I had no idea how or where to start writing a business before I purchased this software. Wasn't sure which package to go with and this one seemed like a reasonable deal. After installing, I discovered that writing a plan isn't so difficult. The software guided me through every step by interviewing me along the entire way. When I finished, I hit the print button and out came my completed business plan. The plan looks great with the addition of my color graphics and charts. I definitely recommend this software.

Ultimate Business Planner
...the sample plans and example text helped me get started with my plan. The software contains several sample plans and financials from different industries. At this price (lowest price I found), I would recommend this product to anyone. It will save you a lot of time and aggravation.

This software was chosen by Intuit for QuickBooks
I currently use another software program by Atlas Business Solutions called Customer Appointment Manager for our practice and became aware of Ultimate Business Planner through their website. As a CPA, I run into clients who need business plans all the time. I recently purchased QuickBooks Premier 2004 only to discover that Ultimate Business Planner is a "beefed up" standalone version of what's included in QuickBooks Premier (Atlas Business Solutions and Intuit must have some sort relationship). I recommend Ultimate Business Planner to all my clients. It's easy to use and does a fantastic job. Since Ultimate Business Planner was chosen by Intuit, I know it has to be the best business plan software on the market.

Solid Software
I use this software for helping start-up businesses. I find it is easier to work with than Business Plan Pro and the Financial Forcasting software is VERY accurate. The print-outs are very professional and it is very easy to change numbers and projections. I recommend this for new business owners. Those with a lot of business experience or business degrees can use this and feel confident in the information.

Keep Looking
I just did not find that this was a state-of-the-art product. It has the navigation and feel of a late 1990's piece of software and failed to meet my expectations. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

GoldMine puts detailed information in front of the people who are closest to the customer: the sales and service teams. Only GoldMine tracks and itemizes the specifics of every contact interaction, including what, when, and who touches each contact. Whether information is first created in sales, customer service, marketing, or management, GoldMine gives every user access to customer-specific information. Designed for the workgroup, GoldMine bridges the gap between complex, expensive sales-force automation software and lower-end contact managers to give you high-end results at an affordable price. The end result is an internal organizational structure that has every employee working at maximum effectiveness and efficiency. ... Read more