JWSmythe's Journal: Seeking Linux based CRM for service company

G'morning all,

    I was hoping one of you would have some advice for me. I have a friend who's looking for a piece of software. I know some of you actually work, :) Any ideas on the dispatch software used to send you out to sites?

    He needs a complete package for a traditional service based business (think handyman, plumber, air conditioning, etc).

    He needs it to handle:

    Grabbing the CallerID string, and opening a record on the customer support rep's PC

    Guiding the CS rep through questions to ask. General category, secondary category, blah, blah.

    Scheduling dispatch of a repair tech to the site

    GPS tracking of the repair tech

    Remote access by the repair tech on a handheld device (PocketPC based cell phone?), tablet PC, or laptop. (open to options right now)

    Scanning credit cards, checks, etc, for verification and processing by the home office.

    Printing invoices from the truck to give the customer.

    Exporting the data to a major accounting software.

    Ideally, it would be able to handle multiple businesses. For example, it may be Bob's handyman service, but they may do the accounting as "Bob's construction", "Bob's plumbing", "Bob's A/C repair", and "Bob's demolition", each with it's own set of books, although many employees probably work for both companies, and most calls may come into the same phone lines.

    They're looking for open source, running on Linux, if possible. Most of the packages they've found are very pricey, very closed source, and all run on Windows. You get exactly the functionality that you were sold, and no more.

    Thanks!