PBJ CRM 7.56 and four modules — the CRM as an app on your phone, with notifications

PBJ CRM 7.56, PBJ Helpdesk 7.29, PBJ Invoicing 7.35, PBJ Dispatch 7.13 and PBJ RingCentral 7.20 are out — free updates for everyone who owns the 7.x versions. Update PBJ CRM first, then the modules. The CRM has two small database steps (new indexes on the contacts table, and a table for the devices people turn notifications on for) and Helpdesk has one (new indexes on the tickets table). All three only add; nothing is moved or removed. Take a backup before you update, as always.

The CRM is an app now

Where your browser can install it, My settings shows an Install app button; on an iPhone it shows the Share → Add to Home Screen steps instead. The app opens straight into the CRM, its icon has shortcuts to Inbox, Today and Tasks, and it shows your unread count.

• Nothing about you is in the page before you sign in. The CRM loads empty and asks for your details only once you are signed in, and nothing about who is signed in is kept on the phone.
• Share a photo or file from your phone to the CRM and it lands in your own share inbox, ready to attach to a record or discard. Anything left unattached goes to the bin after a day.
• On a new person, Import from contacts (Android) fills in the name, phone and email from your phone’s contacts. It never saves by itself.
• On Android, the home-screen icon now shows the CRM’s logo at full size.

Notifications, for the things that are yours

Each person switches notifications on in My settings and picks what they want to hear about. Nothing is sent to anyone who has not asked for it, and the lock screen shows a plain sentence unless you choose to show details.

• PBJ CRM: a task someone gives you.
• PBJ Helpdesk: a client replying on a ticket assigned to you.
• PBJ Dispatch: the agent reminder for a visit assigned to you.
• PBJ RingCentral: a new text on a conversation assigned to you.
• PBJ Invoicing: an invoice of yours paid, or an estimate of yours accepted — which also shows on the bell under a new Paid & accepted row, with a Dismiss button.

You are never notified about your own action, and only about records you can still open. Your devices are listed in My settings with a Remove button, and signing out removes that device.

Faster, with nothing on screen different

The contact list, businesses, the deals board, file lists, the record bin, the ticket list, invoice totals and text and call history all do less work for the same answer. Same figures, same order, same wording — just quicker on a busy site.

Full details are on each plugin’s changelog: PBJ CRM, PBJ Helpdesk, PBJ Invoicing, PBJ Dispatch and PBJ RingCentral.