Experience with jewelrydesingersmanager?

Orchidians–

Are any of you using “jewelrydesingersmanager”? If there’s been a
discussion of this–I apologize for the repetition.

If you are familiar with it, do you like it? I’m a full-time studio
jeweler–not doing retail shows any more–just wholesale and
consignment.But I have a pretty big inventory and have yet to find
the best way to manage that and the books, etc.

The other issue for me is that I use a Mac, so I’d also have to
install software that would allow me to use the jewelry
software–since it’s only available for pc’s. What are your
experiences with that? (I think it’s called Virtual PC.) Any help is
appreciated.

Carolyn

There are two versions, Jewelry Design Manager, and Jewelry Design
Manager Pro.

I’ve used the Jewelry Design Manager, and I liked it well enough. It
was very handy for pricing finished articles and keeping track of
inventory. It also has a nice report section where you can have it
build catalogs, with retail pricing, wholesale pricing, or cost - or
all three simultaneously. You can include pictures with descriptions
of finished pieces for creating a catalog.

What I didn’t like is that the program didn’t remove anything from
inventory until you showed the item as sold.

It also has a section where vendor details are kept, along with
inventory. There is an accounts receivable where you can build a
customer mailing list, and an invoicing function for sales.

I haven’t used the Pro version, but I’ve heard it has a few more
bells and whistles making the program even more robust.

Betty

What are your experiences with that? (I think it's called Virtual
PC.) Any help is appreciated. 

Virtual PC works really well, but it uses a lot of memory. Make sure
your machine can handle it.

Elaine

Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay

Hi Carolyn,

(I think it's called Virtual PC.) 

I have no experience with the jewelry management software that you
mentioned but I can tell you that you should have no trouble running
it (or other Windows software) on your Mac using Virtual PC providing
that you have sufficient RAM to handle the job and use the correct
version of VPC for your setup. If you have insufficient RAM, it will
be extremely slow. If you want to contact me off list with your specs
(computer type, RAM, OS version), I should be able to help.

Beth

I use a Mac, so I'd also have to install software that would allow
me to use the jewelry software--since it's only available for pc's.
What are your experiences with that? (I think it's called Virtual
PC.) 

Carolyn,

I haven’t any experience with the software you are considering, but
I do have considerable experience with Macs. I have been a Mac user
for over 20 years (since they first hit the market). I detest PCs,
but I have to use them for my POS and inventory software. Virtual PC
works quite well and allows you to use all of your Mac peripherals
and share your IPS–whether dial-up or broadband. The only major
complaint I have about VPC is that it does not run as fast as a
native PC. If speed is not a major factor, then the VPC alternative
is a lot less expensive (and more user-friendly) than adding a real
PC.

Del Pearson of Designs of Eagle Creek in Beautiful South Texas
www.eaglecreekcs.com