No, Virginia, there is not a version of Act! for “the Mac.” In fact, there has not been a version of Act! that was Apple compatible since Version 4. And yes, I agree, it would be nice to have one. So please, don’t call me looking for a Mac compatible version of Act!. And no, I don’t know of any Mac CRM product that comes close to Act!.
Mac users: Swiftpage is listening to you and I keep hearing rumors so stay tuned. However, until the announcement comes of a new Act for Mac version I can offer you a few alternatives for using Act on your Mac.
ACT for Mac Work-Arounds
Use Act! for Web
Act! for Web offers approximately 90% of the functionality of the desktop version of Act! and is a great alternative for companies that have mixed environments of Windows and Mac machines. There are a number of ways you can deploy Act! for Web
- Purchase Act! Premium and install the software on your own Web server
- Pay someone to host your database for you. The pricing may vary but will cost you about $400/year.
This will give you the best of both worlds in that you’ll be able to access the entirety of your database on your Mac machine. You’ll also have the benefit of having someone else be responsible for the maintenance of the Act! database since it will not reside on your machine. The downside is that if for some reason you don’t have access to the Internet, you won’t have access to your data.
Act! for Mac Virtualization
Virtualization, via programs such as Parallels or VMWare, allows you to run both the Mac and Windows environments on your Mac. In essence you are partitioning of a part of the Mac’s hard drive and installing Windows. That will allow you to install Act! on the Windows portion of the hard drive, and continue to use all of your other products on the Mac side of things.
This option is a bit pricey as you’ll need to purchase several items:
- Abundant RAM memory for your Mac
- The Windows operating system
- Virtualization software such as VMWare or Parallels
You can typically purchase a bundle that will include the Windows operating system and the virtualization software for around $500.
Synchronize Your Act! Data to Your Mac
If the above solutions seem a bit too rich for your blood I do have one final solution which is to sync your ACT! data from a PC into your Mac using a program like CompanionLink.
. However, this solution has two huge caveats:
- You must have Act! installed on a windows computer
- You must be willing to be content with just viewing your contacts, activities and a few notes on your Mac.
Granted, these two areas might be regarded as deal breakers by many Act! users and you will be foregoing most of Act!’s wonderful CRM functionality. However, if at the end of the day you only need to view your contacts and appointments, this solution might just work. You will also have the added benefit of seeing your contacts and appointments on all of your mobile devices including your smart phone and tablet.
If you would like to learn more about Act! CRM please contact one of the Act! consultants at Tech Benders.
Hi Karen,
Do you perhaps know if it is possible to connect MS Outlook for Mac to the Act database? So if I send an email to one of my contacts, this email shows up automatically in his/her Actfile?
Thanks.
Unfortunately, when you install Act in a “virtual” environment on a Mac it’s like having 2 separate computers so the Outlook on the Mac side could not communicate with the Act on the windows side.
It’s a real shame there’s no ACT! for Mac. I’ve been using Mac since 1991 but had to end that when I switched to Mac about four years ago. I’ve tested many CRMs, both offline and online, but none came really close to what ACT! is able to do. Maybe with the increasing number of Mac users and demand, Swiftpage will see an opportunity and release a compatible version.
If you really love Act you might consider trying the web version. The pricing is very affordable and you get the same look and feel that you have in desktop Act.
Hi Karen, Thanks for the post. I am new to Mac, and bought it with Parallels — for this very purpose. However, have you run into questions about font sizes? So far, ACT! is unusable to me as the font sizes are all screwed up. I’ve tried a few workarounds to no success. I’ve reconfigured field font sizes, and gotten some ability, but the system fonts are still all too small. Thanks for your thoughts. –All this might force me to the web version, which I’m trying to avoid for multiple reasons.
Hi Don,
We’re seeing a lot of that lately. Ironically we see larger and larger desktop monitors and smaller and smaller monitors on tablets and other mobile devices. Needless to say it’s hard to view something as graphically intense as Act on those tiny monitors when most layouts were designed for larger ones. The number one culprit is changing the Windows default font to “large;” try setting it to small and see if things look better. You might also take a look at this Knowledge Base article that offers additional suggestions: http://kb.swiftpage.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/26349/kw
There are very strong rumors that SwiftPage is almost ready to launch ACT for Mac in early 2016. I am curious if you have heard this yourself. I know you are close to the people at ACT and SwiftPage and was hoping you could shed some light on this.
Regards, Mark
Hi Mark, I actually just came back from the Act Global conference. The new version, v18, is slotted to release on December 8 of this year. And no, there has been no discussion of Mac compatibility other than making improvements to the web product to make it work better with the various browsers including Chrome. I did see a lot of the “Swifties” walking around with Macs. For the most part they use Parallels to run Act on their Macs, or use Act on a hosted environment. The price of hosting has gone way down so that is a good alternative.
I have used ACT! for 12 years in a Windows environment and love it. But, for a variety of good reasons, am going to switch to a Mac. I like the Mac Virtualization approach and would like to know how much RAM I should have in my MAC to successfully run Parallels.
Hi Jean, I’d recommend 4-6 Gigs of RAM. Not sure if you also will run Outlook under Parallels but if so I would look at 6-8 Gigs. The recommended memory is actually 1 G but I find that much too small.
I use a mac and have been trying Act Premium Web. I like to do a lot of mail merge(snail mail) each month. I have Microsoft Word for Mac 2008 installed. Will I be able to use this feature? If not is there a work around?
Thank you in advance
Hi Bob,
The big problem for Mac users looking for a CRM solution is that most CRM solutions require an SQL back-end which will not work in a Mac environment. One solution is to install a virtual Windows environment on the Mac using something like Parallels or VMWare. However, those environments can get a bit costly once you purchase the extra software and memory required. The other option is to run a hosted version of your CRM solution which works great for the majority of users. Act! offers act e-marketing which means you can send out email blasts in the Mac environment. However, in your case you want to send snail mail and Act for Web will not recognize your Mac for Word. However, you could use the Act Word Processor; although it doesn’t contain all the bells and whistles of Word it might just work for your basic mail merge needs.
I have 2 computers – one a pc (running act! program) and one mac (which I want to use act premium web).Can I realtime sync/update and share my contacts, groups and notes from my pc act program with the mac running act premium web?
Hi Edan,
Absolutely all of your Act data would be shared between your 2 machines. When we host your database we allow you to use either the web/browser version and/or a desktop remote “offline” database. In your case you would use the browser on the Mac to view your Act data, and could either use a browser or an “offline” database on your PC. If you decide on the offline database option (my favorite) you would use Act exactly as you’ve used it in the past with one exception. Any changes you make would automatically transfer to the cloud (and therefore be viewable on the Mac) and any changes you made on the Mac would transfer from the cloud back down to your PC.
can I export my data from Act into an Excel, for example, and then import that into a Mac-based CRM, or Salesforce, or something like that? What is recommended?
Switching between CRM products requires that you can both export information OUT of the existing product and then IMPORT it into the new product. An ACT user can export out Contact, Opportunity, History, Activity and Company information using Excel but not your Notes. Then like Humpty Dumpty you’ll have to put it all together again in the new product. Most vendors will require “GUID’s” to import the information and these do not come as part of the basic Act exports. Other vendors will allow you to import Contacts and Companies but not extras like Notes and Histories. To get this done by an expertise could become pricey.
My recommendation before you move to Salesforce – and their pricing model – is to move to Act for Web which you can use on your Mac at a fraction of the Salesforce price.
If you switch to using Act for Web, can you sort the data fields the same way, and can you view all of your clients’ notes, customized fields, all contact info., etc?
Hi Susan,
SwiftPage has studiously been eliminating all differences between the desktop and web versions of Act. So yes, hosting means you will be able to perform most all of the tasks you’ve grown accustomed to including sorting, working with notes and having customized fields. If you’re interested in seeing a demo or getting some great pricing contact me directly at Karen@TechBenders.com
Karen,
I’m debating on which way to go. I have used Parallels before and need to reorder all over for my updated system. It naturally would be an unplanned expense at this point for another computer but it looks like there would be a yearly charge for Parallels now.
Hi Doug,
Wow – seems like everyone is hopping on the subscription band wagon. Not that I can blame the manufacturers – they need to have recurring revenue in order to remain in business. Plus Microsoft updates have been playing havoc on many software programs lately; we all need our vendors to keep on top of changes and that takes money. No one can be expected to work for free.
I took a look at Parallels and it seemed pretty cheap at $20/year. Don’t think you could get a new computer for that price! Plus there just aren’t any comparable products to Act in the Mac world. If you like your Mac I’d stick with Parallels.
I used the desktop version years ago and I know there isn’t a Mac version available.
If I buy or subscribe to act for the web will I get full functionality and is there a mobile version or component that will work on my iPhone.
I’m currently using LACRM it’s ok but the major drawback is no email integration and I need email logging, syncronicity, on both the desktop and mobile components.
I’ve been in this quandary for a while and my final resort would be to just buy a windows machine dedicated to the CRM but then you’re lugging two machines in addition to massive email confusion when an immediate response is required and the only thing to hand is an iPhone or iPad.
Hi Tom,
Glad you found me at TechBenders.com.
I cringe slightly every time I am contacted by a Mac user. Yes, you could get access Act via your browser; I would recommend using Chrome. And yes, you would have access on your iPhone and iPad. However you state that you want email integration and for me that’s the big “gotcha.” Act won’t integrate with the Mac version of Outlook so although you will be able to send email you will not be able to see your history in Act.
Rather than buying a PC just for Act you might consider adding a Windows partition to your Mac. However, this is also not an inexpensive proposition.
I personally think you should move to Zoho. For $360/year (or $36/month when paid monthly) it includes all of the Act features and then some so it’s actually a bit cheaper.
If you think Zoho would work here’s a link for a 30 day trial to Zoho One: https://payments.zoho.com/ResellerCustomerSignUp.do?id=4bf9b5b0fa1f292e0f510e0e0b8ebfcd