SugarCRM is a capable, free-to-use CRM solution for sales, marketing, and service teams. It allows you to record interactions with a common list of clients, run automated campaigns, and manage your pipeline.
It should be noted that support for the open source version of SugarCRM was discontinued in 2018 (Opens in a new tab). However, it remains a simple, powerful platform that is completely free to use and has most of the same functionality as many paid CRM platforms. In this guide, we provide step-by-step instructions for getting started with SugarCRM.
How to Build Your Own CRM with SugarCRM: Preparation
Before you start using the free, open source version of SugarCRM, you’ll need web hosting. We used Hostinger (Opens in a new tab), a leading provider that typically offers rates as low as $1.99 per month. However, we did manage to get our readers an exclusive deal and Hostinger web hosting bag for FREE!
Manually installing a self-hosted program like SugarCRM is a complex process that requires some technical skills. Fortunately, Hostinger’s auto-installer enables you to install it on your server in just a few minutes.
Once you have purchased hosting, simply log into your Hostinger account and go to Hosting > Manage > Website > Auto Installer. Follow the instructions to install SugarCRM. Full instructions can be found here (Opens in a new tab).
Many hosts offer some kind of one-click installer, while others require you to install SugarCRM manually. This can be a tricky process, and you should reach out to your host’s support team if you get stuck.
Step 1: Initial setup
Follow the link from Hostinger’s automatic installer to get started with SugarCRM. This will take you to the initial Sugar login screen. Enter your username and password to begin the initial setup.
Then, Sugar will give you a series of prompts to name your company, upload your logo, choose the base currency, set up your email server for automated email, set the date format, time zone, and more. Simply follow the instructions and fill in all relevant information to finish the initial setup.
Step two: import the data
On the next screen, you’ll see several options for other initial tasks, such as adding customers and importing existing data.
Unless your business is new, you will likely have existing customer data that you will need to import into SugarCRM from another source. For many small businesses, that data source is a spreadsheet. But if you’re converting from another CRM, you may need to export that data to a spreadsheet first.
Before uploading your spreadsheet, click to import your existing data, then follow the instructions until you reach the SugarCRM template link. Download the template, reformat your spreadsheet to match, and then import that template into SugarCRM.
If you need additional guidance on this step, be sure to check out our guide on how to migrate a CRM spreadsheet to CRM software. (Opens in a new tab)
Step 3: Update your general settings
Once you’ve imported the data and accessed the main SugarCRM dashboard, we recommend updating your general settings. Head to the Administrator menu at the top right of the main dashboard and scroll down until you see the System menu.
Under the System settings option, you will find several customizable settings regarding user interface, proxy settings, and more.
You’ll find several other settings menus on the admin page, and we suggest exploring them to configure SugarCRM in the way that best suits your business. For example, the Email Settings menu lets you customize how the system uses email.
Step 4: Create Users
In the admin panel, you will also find the Manage Users menu. This enables you to create new users, manage existing users, and update personal information.
To create a new user, head to User Management > Create New User. Fill in the information required to complete each profile, and hit the Save button. You can specify user settings under the Advanced tab on the Create New User page.
Simply add your username, state, and last name to create a user profile, but we suggest adding as much detailed information as possible. You can also assign user roles under Administrator > Role Management.
Step 5: Get to know the studio
Finally, we suggest heading to Admin > Studio and checking out some of the design tools on offer. Here, you can customize the layout of your CRM platform, customize the way different modules perform, and even create new modules if you want to.
summary
At this point, your CRM platform should be well set up. You’ll need to keep working on it to ensure it’s fine-tuned to suit your business, but we covered the basics of installing and setting up SugarCRM.
If you don’t want to work through the process of setting up a self-hosted CRM platform, we suggest taking a look at our guide to the best CRM software. (Opens in a new tab). Also check out our guide to the best CRM for startups (Opens in a new tab)and our article on why you need CRM software (Opens in a new tab).
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