You probably know what CRM stands for – Customer Relationship Management. We already have a list of open-source CRM software that helps small businesses.
Here, I talk about an interesting open-source web application that takes the same concept for personal relationships. Sounds unique, right?
Monica is an application that enables you to organize and record your interactions with loved ones. It is free if you self-host it and needs a subscription if you need the hosted version.
Monica: Keep Track of Social Interactions
It is tough to remember every little detail regarding your interactions with your family, friends, or colleagues.
You can use note-taking applications or knowledge management apps like CubyText to add some information. But those are not tailored to record your interactions. So, you will have to make some effort to add the information in a manner that comes in handy when needed.
With Monica, it becomes easier to add information about your family, work, the relation between contacts, activities, journals, reminders for important dates, debts, and more.
You can install it on your own server or opt for a $90/year subscription to get the hosted version.
It is interesting to note that the developer initially built it for his personal requirements.
Features of Monica
You get loads of options to add information about people and interactions in your daily life. Some of these include:
- Add notes about a person
- List names of significant others associated with a contact (their children, pets, etc.)
- Phone call logs
- Alternate contact methods for each contact
- Reminders for important dates and events with people. Birthdays are automatically set as reminders.
- Manage gift information
- Useful dashboard to see things at a glance
- Journal entry supported
It looks like Monica comes packed with various functionalities that make it an all-in-one tool to write journals, take notes, add contact information, add events, and more.
Unfortunately, there are no mobile apps available. You can access it from the web browser, but it may not be the best experience for everyone. So, if you stick to your smartphone for notes and stuff, you may want to look elsewhere.
Self-Host or Subscribe for Access
If you want a hosted version of Monica, you can look at its pricing page to know more.
For self-hosting, you need to head to its GitHub page and follow the instructions to download and get it installed. There are options to quickly deploy on Platform.sh or Heroku.
Check the minimum system requirements before choosing a server to host Monica.
There are no special premium features, and you get the same stuff when self-hosting it compared to its premium subscription for the hosted version.
It all comes down to convenience. So, choose what sounds good to you.
Head to its official website to get all the details and get started.