1. The number of contacts in a database.  A non-customized ACT! database can hold up to 50,000 contacts. 
2. The number of database fields.  We have a client with over 725 fields and the system performance drops significantly at about 3,000 contacts.  
3. The amount of Notes and Histories.  Over time, Notes and Histories begin to take up a lot of space in an ACT! database.  
4. Uncleared Activities. Many people use the ACT! calendar and task list to schedule activities, but do not clear them after they are completed.  
   

Recommendations to improve performance:

1. Removing fields that are not used or needed.
2. Purge older Notes and Histories.  Use the Database Maintenance utility to do this. In ACT!, choose File | Administration | Database Maintenance | Data Cleanup.  To maintain on-line access to the purged data, first consider creating an archive database with all of the old data or the use of History Archive software by Crystal Clear Reports.  
3. Clearing completed activities.  Doing this will move the completed activities  to Notes and Histories, where they belong; It also allows you to easily schedule follow-up activities.  

Organizing ACT! Data

I can find my company's clients, prospects and vendors in ACT! by doing a Lookup | ID/Status.  How can I easily to track which contacts belong to another salesperson, are located in a certain region, have expressed an interest in a product line, service or anything else that my company sells?  We recommend the use of Groups.  Groups are typically used to track contacts that do not seem to have anything in common.  Groups keep track of contacts that are relationship independent.  For example, you might represent a number of vendors and want to track all of the prospects, clients, referral sources and employees that impact each vendor.   Let's say that you are in the commercial real estate business and you represent an owner of several office spaces.  Both you and the owner want to know the current and prospective tenants, vendors and anyone else connected to a specific office spaces or all of the offices spaces. You want to know all of the "activities, notes and histories" that relate to a given office space.  The solutions is simple!  Create a Group for each office space.   A contact can belong to one or more groups or subgroups. After adding contacts to a group or subgroup, you can view them in the Contacts tab and easily look them up by clicking the <No Group> rectangle in the lower right corner of the Contact window. Choose the desired Group from the pop-up. You can add contacts to a group or subgroup in the Groups window, by selecting individual contacts or running a rule that specifies the conditions for adding contacts.  Creating a Group in ACT! Click the Groups icon on the left side of the screen or from the menu, click View | Groups or just press the F10 key. In the Groups window, click Group | New Group. Click the Enter key. Adding Contacts to a Group - Multiple Contacts In the Group view window, click the Contacts tab in the lower center of the screen. In the center of the screen, click the Add/Remove Contacts button. In the Select Contacts From area, choose All Contacts, Current Lookup, or Selected Group. Select the contacts from the list on the left and then click the Add button  OR To select all contacts in the list, click the Select All button Click OK. Adding Contacts to a Group - A Single Contacts To add a single contact to a group or number of groups, click Contact | Group Membership OR <Right mouse-click> over the top portion of the contact window. To select the Group(s), <left mouse-click> each Group.   Click OK.