Estimating Jobbing System Filemaker

[Daniel5660]

Hi All
I have been considering building a customer and prospect management system using Filemaker, then further develop with Estimating Jobbing and Invoicing. Wondered if anyone had been successful in the past. Could anyone recommend a UK based developer or just go it alone?
Cheers Dan

 

[Joe]

We do all of our in-house job tracking and estimating in FileMaker Pro. FileMaker is pretty easy to learn and quite capable. It depends on how much stuff you want to do whether you tackle it on your own hire a developer. If you have a lot of complex stuff or need it to integrate into other systems I would recommend hiring a professional developer.

 

[Daniel5660]

We do all of our in-house job tracking and estimating in FileMaker Pro. FileMaker is pretty easy to learn and quite capable. It depends on how much stuff you want to do whether you tackle it on your own hire a developer. If you have a lot of complex stuff or need it to integrate into other systems I would recommend hiring a professional developer.

Hi Joe
Yes basically thats what would help to start with, estimating and job tracking, then I can always add on later as i expand. Did you start with a Filemaker Basic Template?
Dan

 

[Joe]

I used an address book type of database that came with FileMaker 4 (back in 2001) to setup our customer database when I started this. After that I pretty much started with a blank slate for each database. FileMaker has a great community forum with a lot of info and help from experts when you need it.

https://community.filemaker.com/community/discussions

 

[michaelejahn]

So, you are going to build an estimating system - what is a jobbing system - will it convert estimates to a production order and then impose the job - is that what jobbing means ?

 

[Daniel5660]

Hi Michael
yeah convert estimate into works production sheet and track by works schedule through various stages of production...Hopefully one day.
Dan

 

[Craig]

So, you are spending your resources building off the shelf products that are already proven. Hmm, wish I had that kind of free time!

 

[Keith]

Good luck Daniel5660. Seriously. I agree with Craig, wish I had that kind of free time. But there are plenty of systems out there for all sorts of budgets. Yes, they all take a little bit of flexibility and concession to fit into your workflow whereas building your own means the opposite, you can change the software to fit your workflow. I'm all in favor of doing things yourself but would the benefits be greater or that much more advantageous? If you build it, it would be cool to see it.

 

[davehultin-mi4p]

It's been a LONG time since I've looked at Filemaker Pro, but I know it's up for the job. However, as others have already mentioned, building an estimating/production system will turn into a task that consumes you. You'd be much better off using that time to sell more printing instead of building an estimating system.