There are many solutions to sync ACT! with a smartphone. One of the most cost-effective solutions is wireless sync through Google. The free Google Sync service offered by Google is compatible with the latest mobile devices including BlackBerry, Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows Mobile, and Palm webOS devices. It allows two-way sync of contacts and calendar with your phone. The challenge, then, is getting your ACT! data into Google.

CompanionLink can sync ACT! contacts, calendar activities, notes and histories between ACT! and Google. Once data is in Google, it will wirelessly sync with your phone. The beautiful thing is that there are no recurring monthly costs! Google also serves as a handy backup for your data in case of a computer crash.

All of this can be done for a one-time cost of $49.95 (for CompanionLink Express). For more info and to download a 14-day free trial, visit www.companionlink.com/act

Sometimes the things that seem so obvious to me aren’t quite as obvious to the typical ACT user.  A case in point is sending a fax directly from within ACT. 

 Ten years ago one of the first things I showed new ACT users was how to modify the existing ACT fax coversheet.  Back then most of my clients were using WinFax to link ACT to their fax machine, or printing out a coversheet and feeding it into their fax machine manually.  Today many of my clients are opting to use an online fax service such as MyFax or eFax for the few times that they actually need to fax.  Ironically, those ACT users often spend countless hours wrangling with the service’s interface to create a coversheet when they could just as easily use the ACT fax coversheet.

 The process is a simple one.  Here’s all you need to do to get started:

 Start by editing ACT’s existing fax cover page.  If you’ve previously set Word as your word processor preference you’ll be working in familiar territory here.

1. From the fax recipient’s contact record click the Write menu, choose the E-mail Message (from template) option and then select Fax Cover Page.  For me this is the cool part because I can choose to either print or email any of the ACT templates that I’ve created or modified.  In this case a new e-mail message will appear with your fax cover information in the body of the message.
2. Fill in the subject line following the instructions of your e-fax provider.
3. (Optional) Attach the document that you want to fax.
4. Click Send.

 Boom.  Your fax is sent.  Best of all, a record of the transaction will appear on the recipient’s history tab.

 Karen Fredricks
Karen@TechBenders.com
www.techbenders.com

The new HTC EVO 4G is making quite the splash in the mobile industry today. It features a killer combination of internal specs, a huge 4.3″ screen, and the first 4G high-speed wireless data connection in a phone. Many adopters are going to be looking for solutions to sync the EVO 4G with ACT!.

CompanionLink is excited to offer two methods to sync the HTC EVO 4G with ACT!. Sync securely via the USB cable, or automatic wireless sync via Google. CompanionLink’s sync solutions for the EVO 4G work with DejaOffice, a supercharged CRM app for Android devices. DejaOffice offers many ACT!-friendly features such as contact notes & histories, linking calendar activities to contacts, and multiple category/groups support. The combination of CompanionLink and DejaOffice provides the most complete synchronization solution from ACT! to the EVO 4G.

CompanionLink’s sync solutions for ACT! start at $49.95 with a free 14-day trial. For more info on how to sync the HTC EVO 4G with ACT!, visit www.companionlink.com/evo4g

Title: Build a Bigger ACT Database
Location: ACT Virtual Users Group
Link out: Click here
Description: It doesn’t matter what database software you’re using (ACT, SalesForce, BCM) all database users are looking for two things: updated contact information and e-mail addresses. I’ve tried lots of services – Hoover’s, Sales Genie – and none of them will give you e-mail addresses. But I’ve found a service that will give you e-mail addresses, phone numbers and other current information for free.
Start Time: 6:00 PM
Date: 2010-05-03
End Time: 7:00 PM

Title: Synch your Smart Phone to ACT
Location: ACT Virtual Users Group
Link out: Click here
Description: Learn to synch your ACT database to your phone wirelessly, synch both your Outlook and ACT contacts to your phone if you use both, and have an automatic online (free) backup of your database
Start Time: 6:00 PM EST
Date: 2010-04-21
End Time: 7:00 PM EST

Title: Synch ACT to QuickBooks
Location: ACT Virtual Users Group
Link out: Click here
Description: I\’ve used QuickBooks and ACT for years. And I\’ve tried every method I could find to link the two together with absolutely no success – until now. I\’ve finally found a product that actually works. I never realized how much time I could save in a typical day.
Start Time: 9:00 EST
Date: 2010-03-31
End Time: 10:00 EST

Here are 2 ways to sync ACT! data to your iPhone:

1. Sync using CompanionLink’s wireless sync service
2. Sync using Google and Google Sync

ACT! to iPhone sync using CompanionLink’s wireless sync service

For $9.95/month, you can use CompanionLink’s wireless sync service to sync data two-ways between ACT! and iPhone.  Sync ACT! contacts, calendar activities, to-dos, opportunities, notes and histories with iPhone.

Contacts and their associated notes and histories sync to the built-in address book on the iPhone.  Calendar activities, to-dos, and opportunities sync to an iPhone app (available for free from iTunes) called iClink.  The iClink app adds a custom calendar and tasks/to-do list with enhanced business features such as linked contacts and priorities.

You’ll need CompanionLink Professional installed on your PC, and iClink on your iPhone.  CompanionLink does not host your ACT! data; they simply mediate the transfer of data.

Total one-time cost: $99.95
Monthly service charge: $9.95

More info here.

ACT! to iPhone sync using Google and Google Sync

You can use a Google account and the free Google Sync service to sync ACT! data to iPhone.  CompanionLink will sync ACT! data to your Google account. Then, you can set up the Google Sync service to sync your Google data to the built-in address book and calendar on your iPhone, over-the-air.

Contacts, calendar activities, notes and histories sync to the iPhone and are  editable on the device.

You’ll need either CompanionLink Express or CompanionLink Professional installed on your PC.  The Professional version has everything the Express version has, plus the Auto Synchronization feature which lets you set a timer to automatically sync ACT! with Google in the background.

Google will host your data.  That’s required for Google Sync to work.  If this is a security issue for you or your client, use CompanionLink’s wireless sync service.

Total one-time cost: $49.95 (Express) or $99.95 (Professional)

More info here.