Matthew,
I just purchased the software and am in the process of setting it
up. Geeze, I wish I purchased it years ago. The set up in intense,
especially because I have a very large line (well, at least I think
I do!). If I would have started using it and inputting years ago the
task wouldn’t be so daunting. It is incredibly detailed.
I purchased it so it could help me with ordering my castings from my
casters, my beads (yes, beads), my chain, findings, etc… After
every show I’d come home, do a paper and pencil tally of what I sold
with all the components and then look through every aspect of my
inventory for what I have/don’t have. And then with paper and pencil
figure out what I needed to order, and where I needed to order from.
I would always forget something, have to order at the last minute
pay extra shipping, add things I didn’t need to meet minimums.
Essentially, scramble because I wasn’t as organized as I need to be.
My plan is to come home from a show, enter in my PO’s turn them into
"Order Confirmations", fax them to the customers with the ship dates
and then tally up what I need to order. It keeps track of what’s in
inventory and what’s been used and what you have to order. Once I’m
up and running on it, it will be a dream come true. You can track
what’s been ordered, the most popular pieces, etc…
It is incredibly easy to use. I downloaded and printed out the
manual but haven’t had to crack into once. It’s very, very user
friendly. You can also call them directly if you get stuck. I will
probably discover lots more cool things it can do once I get through
the initial inputting stage which I am doing a little each day. You
can check them out on-line and see examples and actually browse the
features of the software on line. If you have other questions, call
them directly, they are very helpful and friendly.
I would highly recommend it.
No affiliation, just a very happy (fingers tired from inputting)
customer!
Amery
Oh, I use filemaker pro to track my customers and to do mailing
lists. It’s a database program that you customize to suit your
needs. A little more on the computer geek side, luckily my husband is
a wiz at it for when I get stuck. But you can track mailing lists,
correspondence, types of accounts, active accounts (so I can have a
list of all the active accounts to take to shows) etc… I love it.
Once again, the initial set up is pretty daunting, but I use it all
the time.