What is a Contact/ Client Management (CCM) Database?

Many organizations work with a large number of individuals who need to be tracked - i.e. clients in social services programs, special education students, or even volunteers. Client/ Contact Management Databases can range from the very simple to the very complex.

Beyond just basic contact information, organizations sometimes require additional information regarding people's preferences and schedules - when is a good time to call a person? Is a volunteer available only on Saturdays? Is Wednesday the only day a client can meet because s/he has child care? Also, you need to determine if keeping track of these people can be done in a regular comments box, or if you need a structured weekly or monthly system where you check off certain criteria. Will you need to sort people by events, or services provided, or school? Will you need a daily check list of people you need to contact? Some database have special functions that automatically tell you when you need to contact someone, or check to see if a subscription is overdue. Organizations may also wish to track information about donors or clients that simply can't be standardized. Broad categories - like donation events - are often built into pre-designed packages, but small details are not. Finally, organizations may want to link their database to a series of forms they have developed in MS Word, for example, and have set up as mail merges.

Contact/ Client Management databases are one of the most common kinds of databases that are used in organizations. They can range from simple mailing address lists to volunteer tracking systems to complex social service case-load databases.