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My wife counsells for a charity
The charity needs calendar software that also has a database element so that a client can be booked in and additional information can be seen, such as previous appointments, their record of attendance, counsellor last seen, etc
The software should link to existing client records, which could be migrated to a suitable format, rather than the information being entered manually with each appointment
The software needs to be wholly on their network to maintain confidentiality
And it needs to be cheap, so not too many requirements then!
If you want a free database try Open Office, it's completely free and contains a database similar to MS Access.
[url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org ]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org[/url]
There are a few different versions, Libre is one. Google it.
eM Client is a free email and scheduling program similar to Outlook.
Not sure if they could do what you want but worth a look.
Have a look on Sourceforge.net for loads of opensource stuff that may also do what you need.
Salesforce have a good NFP programme - salesforce foundation. First 10 seats are free. We use it for case management as well as fundraising. This may be a bit complex as you could need developer support to get exactly what you want. Also check out Highrise - [url= https://highrisehq.com ]https://highrisehq.com[/url]
As willjones alludes to, it's a crm that you need.
Plenty of free ones to choose from, but many are hosted.
I'd really question the 'needs to be on our network' requirement as admining something suitable could be a headache.
Sugar crm can be hosted locally - also look at MICROSOFT dynamics crm for not for profits.
As folks have said, this sounds more like Customer Relationship Management than a 'simple' calendar + database effort. A cloud-hosted system could be more versatile and more secure than an own-network-hosted set up. Unless they're off-grid with their network that is. Googling 'cloud hosted free CRM' elicited a few results.
Thank you all, I'll pass it on. Ironically I'm a LibreOffice user and I didn't think of Base, and I haven't the first idea how to use it...
The software needs to be wholly on their network to maintain confidentiality
A frequent comment from small customers.
Really, you think that in an organisation your scale with the expertise you (don't) have that you can maintain security better than a purpose designed secure infrastructure built for "cloud" access?
These are my standard, are you sure questions...
Have they ever had a virus (or other malware)? (Are you sure when EVERY machine last get checked?)
What controls would they have to stop someone copying the entire database?
Have they ever had a break in? Were computers nicked (or is this a risk that you at least forsee)
How would they manage back ups to protect against data loss, whilst maintaining confidentiality? (I know one place that answered that with "we take a copy home each week!")
Would this be accessible from "company" laptops used off site / at home? How do you stop leakage there?
How would they monitor and detect if someone did hack their firewall/router?
If this is mission critical how quick could you get back up and running with new server etc if there was a major hardware fault?
Could booking appointments via your mobile be useful?
eM Client seem to have made their free licensing more restrictive recently. You are allowed 2 accounts on the free software and if there is more than one login on the PC only one of those will benefit. It would seem their licences are available for 50% off quite regularly (£13 a seat) which may help.
If you are doing crm light and using Macs then BusyContacts & BusyCal may do the job (£40 each from the app store). [url= http://www.busymac.com/busycontacts/index.html ]BusyMac website[/url]