To take this a step further I would love to see email---->ticket intergration so we can generate tickets based on emails from automatic monitoring systems (jffnms), for our Service Monitoring and Control functions.

I think the asset management module would require a major overhaul to make it fully ITIL compliant to reflect Configuration Items/Problem Management and become more of a CMDB. Maybe you could find a way of importing data from another Open Source application, my eye is on OCSinventory as a possible asset management solution.

In addition a fully feature quotes/invoice module with a multi currency capabilties would also be very very nice.

Email -> Ticket integration would be pretty simple with something like procmail on the back end to parse the email, and then sending to Centric using our XML-RPC to receive and enter tickets.

It's also really easy to do this from a web form, and we have customers doing it today.

I would say that the Quotes module is coming along. There are some usability issues, but we're using it here at Centric quite nicely. We will soon tack on an Invoice piece. My feeling is that if you just change the word "Quote" to "Invoice" you have much of what you need.

Tom Manos wrote:
Email -> Ticket integration would be pretty simple with something like procmail on the back end to parse the email, and then sending to Centric using our XML-RPC to receive and enter tickets.

It's also really easy to do this from a web form, and we have customers doing it today.

I would say that the Quotes module is coming along. There are some usability issues, but we're using it here at Centric quite nicely. We will soon tack on an Invoice piece. My feeling is that if you just change the word "Quote" to "Invoice" you have much of what you need.

Hi Tom

I've spent a LOT of time looking at various CRM system - Sugar, vTiger, Centric, Centraview, OpenCRX were the top contenders. One area where they have all been really weak has been invoicing and payments. Most have a quotes module, but lack the other side of invoicing and payment recording (as a minimum).

As a minimum (and having read loads on this topic in vTiger forums) I'd suggest that any invoicing module needs:

• bulk invoice creation (i.e. you can invoice multiple customers simultaneously with a standard invoice (eg for subscriptions)
• payment recording (with allowances for partial and multi invoiced payments)
• product discount pricing ability - really part of the products module a good (but very complex example of this is in OpenCRX)
• flexible application of tax to products (ie tax types separate from the product data) so u can apply multiple tax types to any given product / invoice

Don't get me wrong I'm not suggestion going the Compiere or SQL Leger route (ie not full ERP) but just enough to make a system which allows u to quote on proiducts at leats a closed loop ie. [Optional Quote]>Order>Invoice>Payment>[Next Optional Quote] etc.

This data should be exposed to portal users for payment tracking etc.

ps. What is the expected release date of the invoiceing capability u mentioned?

regards

Martin

ps. Not finalised yet but looks like Centric will be our chosen system (u beat OpenCRX on interface and interoperability - also try creating an invoice in OpenCRX!)