# Biz Management Software



## billm75 (Feb 15, 2007)

Hey folks,

I was wondering if you could help me locate some biz management software that will allow for:

- Quotes
- Invoices
- Inventory Management
- Markups/Discounts
- Contact Management

I'm personally NOT a fan of Quickbooks, but that's just me, not the software. Looking for something a bit less robust, will have an accountant handling that side of things for me. I just want to create quotes, invoices and keep track of the business supplies.

Thanks!


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## RedEye (Aug 18, 2006)

Have you tried quicken?

don't know if it fits your needs or not though.


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Hey Bill look at t invoicer, I think there is a u tube video you can look at. I heard its simple it may be to much so I don't know .

R.


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## billm75 (Feb 15, 2007)

Thanks for the tips. Quicken isn't robust enough, yet I am not a fan of the Quickbooks program. (i'm finicky).

I'll look into T Invoicer. Thanks


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## threadsemb (Feb 11, 2007)

I am looking for something along these lines too. More for order management than just accounting. I was hoping for actual reviews and some ideas about prices (the sites rarely say how much and I hate to get on a salesman's radar before I have done my own research). 

Anyone using any of these or know more about them?

EmbTrak: Automating Embroidery Workflow
Screen Printing Software - Embroidery Software - Shop Management Software
Screen Print Embroidery Promotional Products Software

Is this the kind of thing T-Quoter is?

Stacy


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## markthenewguy (Mar 17, 2008)

darnit bill, your accountant will frown at you when you stop using quickbooks. 

it makes it so much easier to do financial statements, reviews, and such when a client uses quickbooks. 

might not matter though if you aren't worried about statements


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## Peace2TheRest (Feb 6, 2008)

Try PeachTree.......it has been optioned to me from a lot of different people.....

Honestly Don't know if it is what you are looking for but maybe it is,......usually has a 30 day free download.


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## Heidi (Sep 13, 2006)

We've used Fast Manager since April of 2004 and I wouldn't have it any other way. It does everything! 

A bunch of suppliers catalogs come pre-loaded in the software so once you get your price matrix set up, you're ready to go. Plus the catalogs get updated every year which takes the worry out of wondering if my pricing refelects any changes. The program does quotes, work order processing and invoicing all in one. It has a purchase order wizard that coallates all your orders for the day so you know what to order from the suppliers. If something is on backorder, it can track that too. It has a job board so different people can log in (artwork people, production people, order entry people, etc) and see what stage the order is in and what they have to do for it. We're a mid-size family owned business but this robust program would be perfect for any size business.

If you invest a small amount of time to learn all its features (video tutorials are on their website) it will easily pay for itself. You can see my glowing testimonial on their software here. (It's the top one.) We used to do all paper sales. I have no idea how we'd function *without* Fast Manager now.

Another great thing about this software is the programmer's support...he has a wish list that you can post ideas you'd like to see added to the software. He's added a couple of things already for me and no doubt for others as well. The software gets updated about once every two months with cool new additions.

I don't know any supplier/vendor/programmer that I like enough to stand at their trade show booth and help promote their product. But for this guy...I would!


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## threadsemb (Feb 11, 2007)

Thank you, Heidi! And that was just the type of info I was hoping for. 

I am right now working with a t-quoter.com 30 day trial. There are things I like and don't like to so far.

I will check out the trial on FastManager.

I really want to be able to set my own prices. I do have a "matrix" but it is based on barks, case pricing and for items below a certain figure (hats, canvas totes, tees), I mark up on top of that. Is that possible?

And, do you imagine there is any compatibility to add in promotional products (all out-sourced) with the FastManager?


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## Heidi (Sep 13, 2006)

Fast Manager has a 30-day trial as well. When I said "price matrix", I was referring for printing/embroider/heat press/dtg, etc. That's the only matrix you'll have to create and it sounds like you've got most of that figured out. 

The product catalogs are pre-loaded and you can override those prices if you want to. We don't override any prices, the program has a "markup maintenance" section that you decide how much percentage to either add to a product's wholesale cost or subtract from your desired retail cost so it's all done for you automatically. This is how you set your own prices. Plus you can set minimum amounts you'll sell items for. 

_Everything_ in that software is customizable to how you run your own business. That's why it's so good for all sizes of shops. We sell asi products too and for that you just enter the product on the fly. It's really easy once you watch the video tutorials online. Fast Manager covers all types of products, all types of printing including DTG, heat press, sublimation, etc...even outsourced items.


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## billm75 (Feb 15, 2007)

Fast Manager looks great, but I don't like the ongoing monthly fee. I want to buy it once. Not 12 times a year.

Ugh...I appreciate everyone's help, I'll just have to settle for something here eventually I guess. Ifn' I were a coder, I could put my own together.....


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## threadsemb (Feb 11, 2007)

Downloading now, BeenThereBefore!
I am a believer is working smarter and the price tag is very reasonable if it works in my opinion.... and I'll be letting y'all know!

Stacy


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## Heidi (Sep 13, 2006)

threadsemb said:


> Downloading now, BeenThereBefore!
> I am a believer is working smarter and the price tag is very reasonable if it works in my opinion.... and I'll be letting y'all know!


Stacy- I promise you won't be disappointed! There are some things that a shop just can't be without...and business management software is one of them. We love using it.


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

I'm using Quickbooks because I got tired of trying to keep track of inventory and expenses in an MS Access database.

Let's just say that Quickbooks idea of supporting inventory and my idea of supporting inventory are 2 completely different things. I can track shirts. I can track designs. To combine the 2, I have to 'build assemblies'... It's a royal PITA.


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## Heidi (Sep 13, 2006)

Fast Manager exports to Quick Books too. We don't use that feature here but there are videos on their website that you can watch to learn more about it. That might be the perfect solution for someone who is already using QB and doesn't like it.


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## threadsemb (Feb 11, 2007)

Update:
I tried out T-Quoter and FastManager.

I have two days left in my T-Quoter trial and although I LOVE the Dashboard on the T-Quoter, it doesn't seem it will support my pricing structure. (Which I always thought was so super simple.) I did come up with some workarounds with Tech Support but I would lose being able to put all product types on one invoice (like DTG priting, embroidery and promotional products for example).

Looks like I might go with FastManager which recommended here. The only disappointment there is that the demo version is actually the Pro version which you don't figure out until you buy the "regular" version and lose some of the functionality from the demo, namely the task scheduling which was the primary reason I was looking for software in the first place. 

I don't have it all working yet even so we shall see.

Interestingly enough, I go no response from my online inquiries to other software companies. Well, maybe a phone call (which I am never around to get) but no e-mails even. Isn't that strange? If I can't get a response when I want to BUY something, you got to wonder what support they will give once you own it.


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## Heidi (Sep 13, 2006)

threadsemb said:


> Interestingly enough, I go no response from my online inquiries to other software companies. Well, maybe a phone call (which I am never around to get) but no e-mails even. Isn't that strange? If I can't get a response when I want to BUY something, you got to wonder what support they will give once you own it.


I'm not entirely clear...exactly which software vendors are you saying failed to contact you for follow up? 

I would be really surprised if you said it was the guy from Fast Manager. They are really good about helping me out when I have a question.


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## threadsemb (Feb 11, 2007)

No, FastManager definitely responded promptly to all my questions.

The ones I didn't get responses from:

Screen Printing Software - Embroidery Software - Shop Management Software or
http://www.t-boss.com/ 

I got some screenshots from EmbTrak: Automating Embroidery Workflow but there wasn't a demo or anything so I didn't really know how to evaluate it.


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## jiarby (Feb 8, 2007)

I use quickbooks 2008 premier wholesale & manufacturing edition... good for managing inventory and assemblies. so-so at contacts. great for quotes and invoicing (of course)


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## cookiesa (Feb 27, 2008)

I have been using inflow inventory, so far so good. There is a demo which is limited to about 100 contacts/orders etc from memory. But being new to printing I have a retail beackground and it works well for me, probably because it is similar to what I am used too.

Worth a look and the free demo, although limited lets you try all the functions

Tfalk It is interesting your comments on MS Access... I have toyed with the idea of setting up something but using Open Office so it would be free. If there are enough people to help out perhaps we could build one based on this for everyone to use free.


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## harryvent (Aug 8, 2016)

Take a look at Apptivo. I've been using this inventory management tool, apart from this tool I can easily handle all my orders, purchase orders, supplier's details, keep track all items and sending invoices. I think it suitable for who all are looking for more integrated application for managing business processes in a single portal.


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

Harry, hopefully they figured this out 8 years ago?


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