Do you Use Pricing Software?

[rosetl]

Since we are on-line Grumblers, (and thus computer junkies of one sort or another) I'm sure many of us use some sort of pricing software and decided to come up with this survey! What type of pricing program do you use?

[Susan May]

We don't have a program for our store... yet. But we are looking into getting one.

What do you suggest?

[rosetl]

Since no one else is responding Sue May, here goes:

I suggest (as many prior have also done) that one get trial programs and spend some time playing with them. Practice by copying real orders for starters.

I also suggest reading as many prior posts in the area that you can find to help sort out what your actual priorities are. EVERY program has plus and minus points...and only you can determine the one that feels right for you. The more sophisticated (and thus higher priced) programs have a lot to offer....and are worth the bucks. And, just because one seems more popular doesn't make it right.

I think "update" service of some sort is a must. One of my compromises was having a quarterly update service instead of the "instant" service some provide. Things I thought would be really important or really cool to have moved up and down my priority list as I actually worked with the sample programs---with a list of things I had made up to check out what to look for.

Silly things come up -- I was showing one program to my co-worker and she noticed it didn't show UI or footage required on the order writing screen.(though it did on printed order forms.) With Christmas coming (and scrambling for in stock madness) it was impossible for us to see working around that-----sure, buy a thousand dollar program to still have to still use our charts to see if we have enough goods to do a rush order?

I don't even recall which program it was -- but I didn't buy it.

What became the crucial decision maker after I had weeded out a couple was getting the one I felt I could groove in the easiest in my shop to how we had been working manually---not just the writing of orders, but the entire sequence of events. My priorities might be totally different today. Somehow it seems easier to shift from program to program than manual to program?

Last year's Decor around this time had a listing of the programs with an attempt to compare them. I was not familiar with ALL of them.....though I thought I'd done my homework!

I happened to end up with the final 3 being Specialty Soft, FrameReady & Artisan FramePlus and chose the least well known, Artisan. And, of course, I strongly recommend ALL check out at least these 3 before making a decision!

I've rarely seen anyone complain about the program decision they made....at least for a few years.

[Framerguy]

Well I DID have one that I will complain about. It was from Gallery Software and I bought it back in the early '90's. It was terribly expensive with the accounting packet and was so complicated that I never did figure out all the program. I had an experienced accountant who did my books (and still does) and she wouldn't use the accounting portion at all because neither one of us could figure it out. She had her own program which we installed on my computer for her to use and never did use any of the accounting portion of the program from then on.

The support was terrible on this program! They didn't have a user's guide printed up when I bought the program so they sent me 4 looseleaf binders full of single sided pages that were rough drafts at best. They made little sense and I never did get a "real" user's guide. Their updates consisted of floppies with a few bug cures and no inventory updates at all, EVER!

In 1997 I decided to look around and I did exactly what rosetl suggested; I got some trial versions of 3 different software programs and tried them out. None of them being the one that I eventually bought. A framer friend of mine had bought FrameReady and had raved about it so I went to his shop one Monday and played with it for half a day. That was all I needed. I bought FrameReady and have been totally pleased with all aspects of the program.

Sure, there were items that I wanted to see in the version I bought. (v.3.0) I called the company and made suggestions and the next couple of version updates had ALL the suggested items added sooner or later. The latest version (v. 4.1) has more to offer than many of the higher priced programs out there and the maintenance fee is cheaper than many with free updates (all the way around) that get posted within a day or 2 of them hitting the developer's desk.

The people at SoftTouch Solutions DO listen to their users. And, if Bert has requests that would benefit the majority of his users, he will bend over backwards to see that those suggestions are incorporated into the program at some point in its development.

So, Susan, if you want a suggestion, that would be mine. Try FrameReady. It packs more bang for the buck than any of the packages out there, IMHO.

Framerguy

[FrameMakers]

I love FrameReady as well!

[Susan May]

Thanks guys, I'm glad to see some people who know what the Grumble is for.

Thanks again, and I'll let you know what we decide.

[Mel]

Sue,

I downloaded both FrameReady and LifeSaver, as well as the users' guide. I worked through each one and to tell the truth, it was a push. The LifeSaver people offered to extend their show discount date as had FrameReady, and the prices were close. LifeSaver offered to send me a CD tutorial, but I didn't get it until the day I was expected to make a decision. Trying to come up with some point on which to make a decision, I decided that they should have gotten that to me earlier, and because it was late, they should have extended the deadline. Because they didn't, I decided they must not be as proactive as I would want. So I bought FrameReady.

Now, I am very happy with FrameReady (and if you need the footage amount, click on Frame in the Work Order box and a box with pop up with that information), but I have to say that the responses I have seen from LifeSaver makes me realize I made my decision for the wrong reasons. They, too, are very responsive to their customers. And it turns out the deadline had been extended, but no one told me.

Anyway, the anticipated longevity of the company would be another major consideration. Both LifeSaver and FrameReady were developed by techie framers, and they both seem completely dedicated to their enterprises. One plus for FrameReady is that they are offering classes at the trade shows. That was the final plus for my decision to attend the LV show. It would have been a plus in the decision-making process, too.

Another unexpected benefit is the amount of time I save not having to do all the math. I was going to be real happy for the pricing accuracy, but the time saved is amazing to me.

Good luck with your decision. I'd never go back. It will probably pay for itself in the first quarter of the year, if it hasn't already. And I'm a very small enterprise.

[ChrisW]

I've been using FrameReady since 1.0 and I can't recomend it enough.

It's simply the most intuitive, adaptable program out there. Before we upgraded to 3.0 I revisited all the others and still came back to FR.

It's soooo easy to update and adapt pricing that I can get my co-op students from our local high schools after a 10 minute lesson.

I especially like the fact that I can add and edit ANY of the pricing fields. I do alot of specialty corners and french matting and I add all of these to the drop down menus with their own pricing schedule, NOT clumped into a "miscellaneous" button that has to be priced on a calculator.

Here's a JEWEL for those using FR. If you put -.01 in the discount box of the work order it actually ADDS 10%. Great for those fussy ones who always want a discount and chew up way too much design time. Just desserts I think. :D