Client Manager?

I freelance program a lot. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to keep details about my client's? As of this moment I am thinking about keeping this information about them.

Client Email
Client Name
Client Nick Name
Client Location
Client Introduced (Where I met him/her at, there contact info, as well as the date)
Client Paypal

After I have my client information set up, I'll set up something like the work provided by the client with the following information:

Job Technologys (php/mysql, vb.net, c#)
Job Site (if applicable)
Job Details (the features)
Job Start Date
Job End Date
Job Pay

I may or may not add details about the job such as what gave me a hard time, or what I learned.

Anyone know of a script that does this if I should keep client details? Should there be anything else added?

Psychotomus

The short answer is yes you should keep this information. Here are the reasons why.

Being a responsible businessperson. Keeping records such as those you describe in one place should make it easier to locate that information when you need it--for example if you have a question some months or years after completing an assignment.

Moving your business forward. A client roster that includes basic contact information and a description of the work you completed for that person/company (dates, tasks, payments, notes about dealing with this or that person) is the foundation of a good marketing campaign. I'd also add notes about any referrals the client has made.

You may not believe you need to do any "real" marketing right now but should you change your mind you will be sorry you don't have this information available.

It will also help you to understand how your business has grown over months or years.

Legal obligations. Assuming yours is a legal business, but this information will be important for you at tax time. And it will be important documentation for your clients should they be audited.

There are other reasons, too: I'm sure others will chime in with additional information. And, perhaps, a reason or two why this is a bad idea? ;^)?

I've used several different systems to keep track of client information, including index cards. I'm fond of the 37 Signals's "Highrise" but these days I'm using a database modified from a template I downloaded from the Microsoft Access site.

Keeping client information is essential for record keeping and future project leads (marketing companies for example are a good source of this).

I use the client management features in Quickbooks Online. I highly recommend them, they've changed the way I keep records for the better.

I agree with all that has been said. Keeping track of client information can be very important in most situations.

I have such a data base that I printed when I was dong admin support work for a custom home contractor a few years ago. (I built a home and then went to work for the contractor. I hung onto the list in the event I ever needed services as a home owner.) Now I see that it's a whole list of people I can potentially provide written content related services to......

Originally Posted by Libby I have such a data base that I printed when I was dong admin support work for a custom home contractor a few years ago. (I built a home and then went to work for the contractor. I hung onto the list in the event I ever needed services as a home owner.) Now I see that it's a whole list of people I can potentially provide written content related services to......

Sounds like legal grey area. Are you sure you had the legal right to retain that database that belongs to the custom home contractor?

Contacting them from a list you printed up to offer services is essentially spamming them.

Originally Posted by Libby I have such a data base that I printed when I was dong admin support work for a custom home contractor a few years ago. (I built a home and then went to work for the contractor. I hung onto the list in the event I ever needed services as a home owner.) Now I see that it's a whole list of people I can potentially provide written content related services to......

If thats legal it is certianly unethical, remind me never to give you access to my client database...

As a programming guy focused on specializing in computer security stuff, I can appreciate alarm bells going off in your head, but not to worry! When I say "data base", it was a paper copy of my boss's e-mail address book that SHE TOLD ME TO PRINT OUT so I would have it as a ready reference to do my job and in the event I needed services for my own house (that she built). It's something the boss felt that I should have and that I had permission to have---how can that be unethical? At this point, it is simply a listing of people I worked with who I know and who know me (I live in a small town). The point in all of this is that when starting out in business, or continuing in business, it only makes sense to make connections with people you know. There was no harm done, nor will there be.

Using that list for monetary gain is out of bounds from what your scope was to utilize that list. You said so yourself:

reference to do my job and in the event I needed services for my own house

Contacting them to "potentially provide written content related services to" is unethical, if it isn't illegal.

I used to work in construction (still do some times) and I collected all the information possible about the person I was working for and they did the same for me.
When a contractor issues you a 1099, they need your SS# !
So a lot of information gets passed around, in my case.