# shop management software



## richs198121 (May 28, 2009)

can anyone suggest a shop management software that works with mac computers


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## gearbranders (Oct 16, 2009)

I don't have a suggestion for shop management software because I'm still looking myself, but I thought I'd tell you that you don't have to be limited to Mac versions of software. You can run virtual machine software like Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion that allows you to install virtual machines on your Mac in which you can install almost any operating system you want. 

I installed Parallels last month and I love it. I'm now running Windows XP on my MacBook Pro and I can switch between Mac and Windows without re-booting. Windows XP is basically like another program running in another window on my Mac.

I decided to run Parallels because I had heard the Quickbooks version for Mac doesn't have all the features that the Windows version does. Also, I have a bunch of free trials of shop management software that only works for windows. Not to mention, if you want to run CorelDraw on your Mac this is the way to do it. Now that I have Parallels, I am not limited to only software built for Mac. It's pretty sweet. And it's also pretty crazy the first time you see Windows loading up on your Mac!


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## gearbranders (Oct 16, 2009)

FYI - Your Mac has to have an Intel-based processor to run Windows with Parallels.


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## richs198121 (May 28, 2009)

thanks for the info ill keep looking into the best software


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## Printavo (Oct 7, 2007)

Anyone know of Mac/Pc good stuff out there for shop management?


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## mikelmorgan (Nov 1, 2008)

We designed our own using Filemaker. Works great.


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## RavensFan (Mar 4, 2008)

Shop management software can be tricky - you can have it do everything or just simply track your processes. What EXACTLY do you need your software to do - that might help people narrow down a solution for you.

We are in the process of researching as well and have yet to find one that fits exactly what we need but have looked at a lot of them.


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## ejdowse (Oct 13, 2010)

It appears that this might be an unmet need for some savvy developer out there. If you could find your dream software package, what would you want it to do?

The obvious: inventory, billing, prepare quotes, work on Mac or PC. What else?

How important would the following be: multi-user capability? mobile or off-site access?


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## mikelmorgan (Nov 1, 2008)

ejdowse said:


> It appears that this might be an unmet need for some savvy developer out there. If you could find your dream software package, what would you want it to do?
> 
> The obvious: inventory, billing, prepare quotes, work on Mac or PC. What else?
> 
> How important would the following be: multi-user capability? mobile or off-site access?


The software we use will meet all these needs. It is customized to our shop. We use this software to clock in and out on also. The problem is we know how to use it but when I share it with other businesses they get frustrated because they are not familiar with it. It can be as simple as you want or as complex as you may want. Bottom line is you will have to learn any software you buy. Like the graphic softwares they aren't easy. 

The other thing is what are you willing to pay for any software that does these kind of things. A lot of people in this business aren't willing to pay for quality anything. They are curing shirts with heat guns and flash units. Creating artwork with free software off the internet. Stealing designs from the internet and printing licensed art without permission. So what is a software like this worth? If I customized a program for most shops they would not be willing to pay a fraction of what is it worth.

The software we use is Filemaker. It can be customized to do anything you may want. You will either have to learn how to program it yourself or pay someone to do it. It literally runs our shop. So far this year it has handled 2,742 work orders. Each work order has the bid on it, the instructions on printing and anything you may want to know about any order that has gone through the shop. It produces a daily work schedule, like I said it runs our shop. 

You get what you pay for. Down load a trial version of filemaker. Do some home work and you can develop you own system. Good luck.


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## Printavo (Oct 7, 2007)

Interesting. I'm a web developer and currently working on a great solution I think can really help everyone


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## ejdowse (Oct 13, 2010)

mikelmorgan said:


> The other thing is what are you willing to pay for any software that does these kind of things. A lot of people in this business aren't willing to pay for quality anything. They are curing shirts with heat guns and flash units. Creating artwork with free software off the internet. Stealing designs from the internet and printing licensed art without permission. So what is a software like this worth? If I customized a program for most shops they would not be willing to pay a fraction of what is it worth.
> 
> You get what you pay for. Down load a trial version of filemaker. Do some home work and you can develop you own system. Good luck.


You are completely right Mike - realistically, people probably wouldn't want to pay for it. The company I work for hired my husband 2 years ago to create a custom system and he definitely is not getting paid what he's worth. The system he has put in place (and is still developing) would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy and a purchased product would not be easily customizable. (I'll have him build my system when I'm ready for it - still getting started now).

He uses SQL - which is an open source database programming language/system (not 100% certain personally). It's been well over a decade since I've used Filemaker - does it support multi-user inputs (at the same time that is)? I know MS Access is roughly equivalent to Filemaker and while it tries to allow multi-user inputs, it causes problems in practice.


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## mikelmorgan (Nov 1, 2008)

ejdowse said:


> does it support multi-user inputs (at the same time that is)? I know MS Access is roughly equivalent to Filemaker and while it tries to allow multi-user inputs, it causes problems in practice.


Yes multiple users input data into this software but they cannot be working on the same work order at the same time. We have 1,000's of files in our system with 5 users all at the same time. You can view a file I have open but can't input until I get through.


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