Catalyst Blog
A New Release - v5.2.0
10 May 11 by Dan
We've just launched a new version of Catalyst CRM last Friday, with a couple of minor hotfixes in over the weekend. Changes to the system include:
- Deleting marketing campaigns now works correctly.
- All currency symbols now obey the Locale/Internationalization setting for each user.
- The font on the calendar screen is now a bit larger, making it easier to read.
- Custom fields can now be searched under an Advanced Search.
- Some error messages were looking a little strange since 5.1.0, these have now been fixed up.
- Some users were experiencing a minor error when upgrading from a trial to a paid subscription, this has now been rectified.
- This new release also shows the new company branding for the move from "Leopard Software" to "Project Art".
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Leopard Software joins forces with Project Art
30 Apr 11 by Dan
In July 2010, Kingdom Solutions (our company, owners of Leopard Software) aquired Project Art, a web consultancy business. Project Art has a long history with the web having been trading for over 20 years.
We've now decided to merge Leopard Software with Project Art, so we're dropping the Leopard Software name in favor of Project Art. The change will take place today, so whereever you see "Leopard Software", it will be changing to "Project Art".
Everything is still business as normal and nothing else will be changing, just the name.
For any questions regarding the change, feel free to contact us at sales@projectartcrm.com.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Catalyst v5.1.0 Released, Web Based CRM at it's Best!
02 Feb 11 by Dan
Some exciting news for our web based CRM system - Catalyst, we've just launched version 5.1.0. This new version brings some exciting new features to the system including:
- Support for multiple currencies for Sales and anywhere where currencies are used. The current selection includes Euro, Pound and Dollar. We're keen to add more to the list over future releases, so if there's one you'd particularly like to see, let us know.
To access this feature, look for the Locale setting in your User Settings screen. - Minor tweaks and performance enhancements have been added to various screens.
- The Catalyst branding and logo can now be replaced with your own company logo and brand.
To access this feature, go to the Account Images screen within the CRM Admin section. - Your Contacts can now access the system! For the moment, they will only be able to access Cases assigned to them, but we'll be expanding this feature into Projects soon.
To access this feature, click the "enable" link under External Access on the Contact screen. When clicked, an email will be sent to the contact with their access details. - Cases can now have estimated hours entered against them.
- In addition to the estimated hours for Cases, you can also note hours as billable hours, and send a quote to a Contact for approval. This is done via the new external access feature mentioned above.
- Cases are now sorted by the last updated date and time.
If you have any further questions about this release, or need any help getting things setup, just send an email through to our support team at support@leopardcrm.com
Find out more about small business CRM software.
CRM System Performance
20 Jan 11 by Leopard Catalyst Support
Over the years, Catalyst has grown into a well featured CRM software system. Gradually, more features have been added that has given small businesses additional insights into their business.
As these features have been added, over time, we've noticed that the performance of the CRM system has gradually decreased. It's probably not something that most customers would notice, as we have fairly high performance expectations from the system to start with.
We recently did some investigation and in depth testing of the system to measure performance under heavy load. We've been able to obtain some very valuable data, and we're already seeing places within the system to increase performance and eliminate bottlenecks.
What this means is that over the next month or so, some performance enhancements will be coming to the system. We're going to ensure that any changes take place on weekends to minmize the impact to customers.
If you have any feedback for us, possibly you've noticed some screens that could perform faster, please feel free to send it in to our support team. It's likely that we already know about them, but many times customers can provide us with a perspective that we hadn't thought of before.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
New Pricing Plans and New Features
14 Oct 10 by Dan
Well, it's official, new pricing plans are now live! Prices start from $39 AUD (ex tax) per month, which is a substantial saving over the old pricing model. If you're requirements are a little bigger than a single user, you're set to save even more!
We're pretty excited to bring this change in, over the years, we've worked hard to make Leopard Catalyst a more affordable web based CRM package for small businesses.
New Features
This new release also includes some new features including:
- A new user interface for Case Management, making things easier to use, and more efficient to use every day.
- The email text that goes out to incoming cases is now able to be customised, and can be formatted in HTML.
- Some minor bugs in the Event Management module have been fixed.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
New CRM Plan Structure Coming Soon
11 Oct 10 by Dan
As a business, we try to continually listen to our customers. You guys always provide amazing insight into how your businesses run and how we can better server you. Over the years, this feedback has helped us fine tune our web based CRM product, Leopard Catalyst, so that it continually offers more value.
The recent months has had us re-evaluating our plan structure. For many of our customers, we feel that structuring our plans differently would provide better value, make things much simpler and also bring more flexibility. So, instead of a per user, per month model which we are currently providing, we'll be switching to 4 separate plans.
Each plan will have a set number of users included into the monthly price, so as you hire or replace staff within your business, you'll have more flexibiity and not have to worry about pricing changes.
More details will be coming soon as we come closer to the release. Stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy some web based CRM, Leopard Catalyst style.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Event Management, Version 5 and a New Name
19 Apr 10 by Dan
Many things have changed today in the world of Leopard CRM:
Name Change to Leopard Catalyst
Over the years, as each version of Leopard CRM has been released, we've been realizing the vision for developing a software product that aims to revolutionize small businesses. With a vision this large, the term "CRM" just doesn't cut it anymore, so, we decided to change the name to Leopard Catalyst.
A New Website Design
To celebrate the name change, we decided to revamp the website design. We love the new look, and we feel like it gives a more accurate representation of what the software is all about.
Version 5 Released
The big feature in this version is Event Management. You can now book attendees for conferences, workshops, training sessions or any kind of event that you can imagine. This version also includes some minor bug fixes here and there, some of them related to speed improvements in some sections.
New Price
Not only have we been working hard on a brand name change, a new website and a new version, but we've also been working to reduce our costs. Recently we've been quite successful in this area with some recent changes. This means that we can pass on the cost savings to all of our customers! All current and new customers will now be benefiting from a cheaper per user subscription price. We have also removed the minimum user requirement as a part of the price change.
We hope you all enjoy the new changes!
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Good communication
25 Jan 10 by Cheryl
Good communication routines keep you in touch with your partners in business: your customers, your suppliers and, of course, those who care about you. Without it, you are only ever reacting rather than being proactive about what you can do to to improve the effects of whatever your partners are experiencing.
A CRM gives you tools which can help you to be that proactive business partner.
Think about what makes you buy...and apply that to what makes your customers buy from you...is good communication part of it? Developing and activating good communication routines takes time away from running your business, I hear you say. Yes, it does, but don't be so focused on the present and the minute that you forget to think broadly and for the future.
A CRM is a time effective tool that can assist you to maximise your precious time so that you have more time to spend with those who love you.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Novice CRM'ers
26 Oct 09 by Cheryl
If you have never used a CRM in your business processes it can take a little time to navigate your way through. A new customer of ours who in starting a new small business has decided to implement Leopard CRM early in her start-up process rather than later down the track. Her CRM journey is interesting to follow as initially she was not totally sure how best to manipulate her data in this new environment to get the most benefit.
While she understands the principles of tracking sales against time, customers and budgets, she has always done this either manually with good old fashioned paper and pen, or with the more updated spreadsheet method. As her customer base grew in the first few months she found both of these methods very cumbersome and time-consuming for many of her first customers wanted repeat business and this meant constantly repeating and transferring parts of her data between different spreadsheets. There had to be a better way!
Her research led her to investigate Leopard CRM with our 30 day free trial. She tells us now that while it took some effort to transfer her customer information and past sales data into the program it has been a learning experience that she feels was very worthwhile. Initially, she had some problems with realising that dates do matter as this is a major mechanism in being able to track your past sales and to forecast your future sales. Again, another learning experience when she had to go back through her past sales data and enter in the Closed Sales dates. Like magic, suddenly all her generated reports in the Sales function magically appeared!
So if you are new to using a CRM take some time to to fully investigate the power that is available to you. In the long run, a CRM like Leopard will save you time and therefore money, give you an improved understanding of your business operations, and enable you to track your customers' engagement with your business.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
CRM and qualifying your choice
14 Oct 09 by Cheryl
When considering incorporating CRM software in your business processes, you should be asking yourself some qualifying questions:
- Does the system do what you, as the client, thought it would do when you bought it?
- Does the system allow you, as the user, to accommodate your needs in an easy and intuitive fashion?
- Is the system easily configured to allow changing circumstances?
- Does the system place significance on your value as a client by providing a mechanism for you to give your feedback or to request new features?
- Is the system easy to use even for your staff who may not be comfortable with computers?
These might be simple questions but they assist you to differenciate between CRM offerings. If you can confidently answer 'Yes' to these then you are well on your way. A worthwhile and valuable CRM systen should be a CRM made easy.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
New Support Documentation
09 Oct 09 by Dan
We've just released some new technical support documentation on the website. Right now we have documentation on adding contacts, creating sales leads and importing data into Leopard CRM.
We're planning on adding more documentation over the next little while, particularly on some of the more complex features of Leopard CRM. If you'd like to be kept up to date on any changes, just subscribe to the RSS feed that is available from the support page.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Discovering more Leopard
29 Sep 09 by Cheryl
“ In business, there will always be obstacles and problems along the way. Being tough will enable you to work through them without becoming worn-out or negative. In fact, you should expect problems. That will save you the time wasted on surprise or dismay when they surface. Never giving up is courage. Courage is the opposite of fear. Do not allow fear to paralyze you. Mark Twain put it well: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.” Donald J. Trump from Solutions @ Work ezine (MCEI, April 2009).
I have been immersing myself in CRM, cloud computing, sales as a service, twitter and, of course, blogging. Without even leaving my desk I have been able to taste something of the world's knowledge bank on all these terms. Leopard CRM certainly taps into the internet's power and remote accessibility opportunities but it also is a web-based tool by which businesses can help to deal with "obstacles and problems along the way." If being tough about problems, as the quote from Donald J. Trump puts it, will keep you from becoming worn out or negative and that you would be better served by expecting problems than not, then early consideration of good quality tools and applications would surely help you in this endeavour.
I rather liked this quote and I thought it was worthy of being printed out and stuck on my office wall. Life is far too short to have time wasted on surprise or dismay.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Meeting a Leopard in the night
25 Sep 09 by Cheryl
I have just come on board with Leopard CRM and what a really fast education I've had to do regarding my knowledge of a CRM. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to learn something new in delivery techniques and to improve my technological knowledge.
If you're anything like me you may say hesitantly, "what is a CRM?" The fact is this is something that many of us have used in business for a long time. It's a way of tracking our customers, our sales, and our ongoing relationship with these two things in our business.
My other initial thought was, "what's so special about Leopard CRM?" We're looking at an online delivery that gives us remote access on a monthly subscription basis without a large capital investment in software. But that's not what makes it special - it is the team at Leopard. They are passionate about the work they do and everyone has a very personal investment into making this opportunity successful not only for themselves, but for their customers. I think this passion and this determination is rare in the cold world of business but it effectively contributes a strength, robustness and integrity to Leopard's CRM. It makes the product shine.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Leopard CRM Subscriptions Available Soon
26 Aug 09 by Dan
Well, Leopard CRM v4 has been available for trials for a few weeks and so far we've had a great response in trial signups. We're currently working on making paid subscriptions available, which should be ready soon. There may be a few extra little features coming also, but I won't give too much away about that yet :)
Please feel free to sign up for a free trial if you haven't yet, and don't forget to send through any questions that you have once you start having a look around.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Management Software
17 Aug 09 by Dan
In talking about Leopard CRM, the website mentions a lot of "managements":
Project Management
Case Management
Sales Management
Marketing Campaign Management
Contact Management
But what does it all mean? Well, when using the term "Management Software" we mean something special. At it's core, Leopard CRM is designed to help you manage your business. Now, for some people, "business" could mean more sales, better customer service, or the delivery of projects.
We understand that software is not the be all and end all, software is a means to an end, and we're OK with that. We view CRM software as a tool for business. So, when we use the term Management Software, what we really mean is software that helps you get the job done.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Leopard CRM v4 Released!
29 Jul 09 by The Leopard Software Team
We're excited to announce that free trials are now available for version 4 of Leopard CRM! Version 4 marks a giant step in the evolution of Leopard CRM, providing even more gains in efficiency for businesses worldwide.
Version 4 introduces some exciting new features to Leopard CRM including:
- Case Management, easily track customer service, technical support and similar incidents
- Email Integration, increase customer service levels and reduce double entry
- A new look and feel, making this the easiest to use version of Leopard CRM we've ever done
- A new Project Management system, including a new user interface and task methodology
To sign up for your free trial, just head over to http://www.leopardcrm.com now.
Kind regards,
The Leopard Software Team
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Version 4 about to be released
28 Jul 09 by Dan
We're excited to announce that trials for version 4 of Leopard CRM will be available from 12PM Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST), Wednesday 29th July 2009.
We're thrilled to see how version 4 has come together and we're sure that you'll love the new features and improvements to the system. Enjoy!
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Version 4 less than 1 week to go!
22 Jul 09 by Dan
All of us here in the Leopard Software offices are putting the finishing touches on the new version 4 of Leopard CRM. We're all very excited as version 4 has been in development for just under 12 months. It's been a long road as it's required a full rewrite of Leopard CRM from scratch.
Next week will see the introduction of free trials, new pricing, a new user interface, and new features and functions. We can't wait to see it all come together!
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Hosted CRM - Information at your Fingertips
07 Jul 09 by Dan
One fantastic advantage of using a Hosted CRM system like Leopard CRM, is that your information is available instantly to other people within your organization.
For example, Leopard CRM is designed to be a central part of your daily work. If you're manaing a sales team, you like to keep up to date on how the deals are progressing. Leopard CRM gives your salespeople an integrated system where they can record everything about your customers, sales leads, and any upcoming deals.
As you work within Leopard CRM every day, all of your team's data is instantly available for you to work from. You can respond quickly to problems or opportunities as they appear.
Old style CRM systems forced you to wait for syncing issues, or forcing your team to perform certain administrative tasks. Hosted CRM systems by design provide you with information as soon as it's entered by your team. Since Hosted CRM is a relatively new concept, some businesses may have never experienced this kind of flexibility in their everyday CRM systems.
Implementing Leopard CRM into your business could provide some dramatic new changes to how your business operates and responds to opportunities. These kind of changes could easily give you the edge over your toughest competitors.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Hosted CRM - Online and Available Anywhere
07 Jul 09 by Dan
Sometimes people ask me, what is the difference having a CRM system hosted online? Usually I would explain how Hosted CRM is just like using a web page, for example, searching for a contact is as simple as searching for something in Google.
Well, it occurred to me today that there is one more important advantage of Hosted CRM systems - you can access it anywhere, at anytime, with just a web browser. I've just recently started using the new iPhone 3GS as my phone, and I've really loved being connected to the Internet wherever I go.
It came in handy the other day when a friend mentioned that it was someone's birthday that very day. I quickly pulled out my iPhone on the spot and sent them a happy birthday message via Facebook.
This is a great example where Hosted CRM can be used to solve a similar problem. Let's say you're on the road, away from the office, and you remember something important that relates to a client relationship. Right then and there, you can jump online, login to your Hosted CRM system, and add your notes. This ensures that you won't forget it, and it'll be there to remind you when you're next looking up your client.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
An Update on the New Version of Leopard CRM
16 Jun 09 by Dan
I have some exciting news. The new version of Leopard CRM will be available for trial on 29th July 2009, and it will be branded version 4.0 instead of the original version number 3.0.
The final touches are going into Leopard CRM right now in preparation for the launch. It's been something that we've all been working towards for some time, so everyone at the Leopard Software office is very excited that the day is nearly here.
New screenshots will be posted on the website soon, so stay tuned for more information as it's released.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Version 3 Design Sneak Preview
17 Nov 08 by Dan
We've decided to give you all a sneak preview of the new version 3 which is almost ready for release. Below is a screenshot of the project screen showing the new graphic design and the new interface. The screenshot is scaled down a fair bit, but hopefully it's clear enough to get the general idea.
Remember, to be notified on the release of version 3, send an email to sales@leopardcrm.com.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Version 3 Coming Soon
18 Oct 08 by Dan
We've been hard at work creating version 3 of Leopard CRM. We've tackled version 3 with the following goals in mind:
- Increased automation. Since Leopard CRM is web based, we've wanted to bring a real ease of use to the core Leopard CRM system. All versions before v3 didn't have much in the way of automated administration. This meant that to sign customers to a trial system it had to have some manual intervention. We've designed version 3 so that customers will be able to sign up to a trial immediately through the website.
- Creating an API. Alongside the first goal of automation, we've taken advantage of some new development tools to add an Application Programming Interface (API). This will provide some great features for customers including the ability to integrate CRM data with your website. We're also paving the way for future features like synchronization with other applications like Outlook, iCal and the Apple Addressbook. It's unlikely that the API will be available with version 3.0 as more testing will probably be needed, but it's on the way.
- New and improved pricing. We've been thinking hard about how to not only make Leopard CRM better, but we've also been looking for ways to make our pricing and plans more accessible for customers. We've decided to transform our plan structure so that all customers can take advantage of Leopard CRM's feature set. We think that we've nailed the balance and found a great solution that will work for micro, small and medium sized businesses.
- New interface design. W've also worked hard to make Leopard CRM easier to use across the board. This has meant a total rehaul of the interface with new icons and graphics. We think it looks great and have had some positive responses from everyone who's seen it so far.
The final product should be ready soon. If you'd like to be notified when the new version is released, just send us an email to sales@leopardcrm.com and let us know.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Extended Sales Reporting for Version 2.1
06 Aug 08 by Dan
We've been hard at work developing the new version of Leopard CRM which will be v2.1. One of the major features that will be introduced is some extended sales reporting features.
Leopard CRM does a fantastic job of giving you an easy interface that allows you to comfortably work with it everyday. We're aiming to bring some powerful reporting that will show you exactly where your sales opportunities are coming from (or not!).
The goal is to provide ways to see sales totals across regions, staff, teams, geographic location and similar categories.
We're really excited about this release as this feature is the result of feedback from our customers. We have always intended to grow Leopard CRM in response to customers using it in the real world. This means that the product is effective and delivers great value for customers, instead of it being a hurdle to overcome.
It ends up that we're quite good at it, and we love doing it, so what could be better than that?
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Press Release: Finally, CRM Software that isn’t Boring
27 May 08 by Dan
Leopard CRM, a beautiful, fresh, red rose in a world of drab, corporate CRM competitors.
Melbourne, Australia, May 23rd, 2008 -- Leopard Software, a company overly passionate about CRM technology, have released their new product: “Leopard CRM” - http://www.leopardcrm.com. Born in the land “Down Under”, Leopard CRM aims to have small business owners everywhere sitting on the beach, soaking in the sun as their business leaps to a new level in automation and efficiency.
“Without small business, the world would end as we know it” quips the Founder of Leopard Software, Dan Harper. “Small business breathes new life and innovation into the global business community, but there is a cost,” Dan warns. “Small business owners all over the world are stuck being a slave to their business, just as they were slaves to their bosses in their previous lives.”
One of the most difficult transitions for a small business owner is to move from working “in” the business to working “on” the business. Even small business owners that are successful in making the transition can still suffer from sleepless nights wondering how on Earth the business will meet the next challenge.
Leopard CRM is designed to bring clarity to small business owners, bringing them a wealth of information about the business that they may have never seen before. Leopard CRM manages many functions of a small business including: sales pipelines, marketing activities, customer history, shared calendars and document management. Leopard CRM’s management of these core business areas provides the small business owner with important and timely information, assisting with future planning and current decision making.
“We’ve also made sure to make Leopard CRM accessible to the small business” Dan Harper notes. “Small business owners want the latest technology, but in an easy to use package at the right price.” Keenly aware of these factors, Leopard CRM was designed to be as easy to use as possible. Users can access information through a simple web based user interface, and all systems are hosted online so small businesses don’t have to worry about purchasing and maintaining expensive server equipment.
Visit http://www.leopardcrm.com for more information.
About Leopard Software:
Leopard Software is a company passionate about software and using it to transform small businesses all over the world. They are masters of automation and efficient business systems. Dan Harper, the Founder of Leopard Software, has been a CRM and IT expert for over 10 years.
Contact:
Dan Harper, Founder
Leopard Software
http://www.leopardcrm.com/crm/contactus
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Welcome to your new CRM System!
23 May 08 by Dan
In a recent release, we've added a welcome screen. This screen is seen the very first time that you login to your CRM system.
Because Leopard CRM is designed for an international audience, we needed something that would help users setup their system for their own local use. One prime example for this is with timezones on the shared calendar and appointments functionality. The Leopard CRM servers are set to UTC time, so to ensure that your reminders arrive on time, a timezone needs to be specified.
Another great feature of this new screen is the ability to import your data. Because importing and exporting data is an administrative function in an CRM system, it's "hidden" away in the Admin section of the system menu. Now, when you first login to your new CRM system, you can import your data straight away. This really helps to get you started and using the power of Leopard CRM as soon as possible.
If you have any ideas for how to enhance and improve Leopard CRM, we'd love to hear them, just send us an email from the "Contact Us" section of the website.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
New Website Design
28 Apr 08 by Dan
We're excited to launch a new version of our website today. New content includes:
- Detailed CRM feature coverage which gives more information about what each feature can do.
- New pricing model introduced and now available online.
- Free trials and signups are now only one click away!
- Some new screenshots, particularly the new dashboard featured in version 2.0 of Leopard CRM.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Sales Analysis Features Launched
08 Feb 08 by Dan
Our recent release for version 2.0 marks the launch of our advanced sales analysis features. The design was originally announced in this previous blog post.
We've aimed to provide a user interface that always reports on how your sales pipeline is progressing. This means that you don't need to run a specialised sales report to analyse your pipline, it's built right into the interface that you use everyday.
To see the end result, take a look at the screenshots or sign up for a free 30-day trial.
Find out more about small business CRM software.
New About Page
30 Jan 08 by Dan
We've just added an "About Us" page to the Leopard CRM website, you can read all about Leopard CRM and Leopard Software at:
http://www.leopardcrm.com/crm/about
Find out more about small business CRM software.
Web Based CRM Software
19 Jan 08 by Dan
Web based CRM software systems (like Leopard CRM), can give you a lot of advantages over traditional client/server models:
- No server infrastructure requirements
- Your fully featured CRM system is accessible from anywhere where you can get an Internet connection
- No need to manage server hardware upgrades
- No data backups to worry about
- The interface for web based CRM software can be as easy to use as as well designed web page, however, be on the lookout for interfaces that try to do things the wrong way, making things more difficult than necessary.
- Cross platform ability - switching to Mac? Upgrading Windows? No problem, as long as it has a web browser, your good to go
- Minimal data bandwidth use - client server models usually need to transfer additional information to the client, increasing network traffic. Web based CRM systems act as a super-thin client minimising the need to transfer large amounts of data.
When web based CRM software is done well, it can deliver many advantages to businesses. Some advantages are realised upon implementation, and some advantages are seen every year in reduced infrastructure costs.
Find out more about small business CRM software.