I'm confused.  We purchased some Platform Licenses for some non-sales employees.  But it seems they can't create/edit accounts or contacts.  This is a problem as you can't email someone without adding them as a contact or associate a task with a contact if you can't create that contact, etc!  Also, in this case they should be able to edit accounts.  I called SF and they said that Platform Licenses can't do that, which makes no sense.  Here is the text that describes the license.  It clearly says you can or am I misreading it (see bold)?

Designed for users who need access to custom apps but not to standard CRM functionality. Users with a Salesforce Platform user license are entitled to use custom apps developed in your organization or installed from Force.com AppExchange. In addition, they are entitled to use core platform functionality such as accounts, contacts, reports, dashboards, documents, and custom tabs. However, these users are not entitled to some user permissions and standard apps, including standard tabs and objects such as forecasts and opportunities. Salesforce Platform users can also use Connect Offline.Note
Users with a Salesforce Platform user license can only view dashboards if the Running User of the dashboard also has a Salesforce Platform license. They cannot edit or create new dashboards.
For Salesforce Platform and Salesforce Platform One license users, the Platform standard app is the only app listed in the Force.com app menu.

Users with Salesforce Platform user licenses can access all the custom apps in your organization. For a list of the total number of custom apps available in each Edition, see Salesforce Editions and Limits.

Each license provides additional storage for Enterprise and Unlimited Edition