Business Contact Manager For Outlook 2013 < 2024 >

Before the era of cloud-based CRMs like Salesforce or HubSpot, Microsoft offered BCM as an add-in for Outlook 2010, 2013, and 2016. Unlike the standard Outlook Contacts folder, BCM was designed specifically for small businesses (typically 1-25 users) who needed to track sales opportunities, marketing campaigns, and project histories without leaving their email environment.

For Outlook 2013, BCM was a game-changer. It provided a dedicated database (SQL Server Express running in the background) that sat alongside your mailbox. It allowed users to link emails, appointments, and tasks directly to specific business accounts, opportunities, or business contacts (as opposed to personal contacts). business contact manager for outlook 2013

  • Setup steps (high-level):
  • Considerations:
  • If shared DB: on server run BCM Server Configuration (or install BCM there and choose “Create a shared database”), then on clients choose “Register to an existing shared database” and supply the server & instance.
  • Set company name, default currency, user information.
  • Let BCM create default templates (Accounts, Business Contacts, Opportunities, etc.).