Help Frameready help

Create a Post
M

murray kruger

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Nov 9, 2017
Posts
8
Loc
Costa Mesa California
Hi everyone,

We are experiencing something strange in Frameready. When I input any Omega Moulding or Universal Moulding it is basing the final price on the chop price as opposed to the length.
We have redone the updates to no avail. Does anyone have a fix for this? I am waiting on a callback from Frameready support but that could take a while.

Thanks
Murray
 
When you click on the frame, in the work order, at the left you'll see Modify. Click that and change the frame to length. You have to change the selection in the Price Codes to have all of the mouldings for those companies to be priced for length.
 
Melinda Tennis said:
When you click on the frame, in the work order, at the left you'll see Modify. Click that and change the frame to length. You have to change the selection in the Price Codes to have all of the mouldings for those companies to be priced for length.
Click to expand...
Hi Melinda. Thanks for your response. It looks like all the cost prices for those 2 vendors have been deleted and FrameReady is defaulting it the chop price. When we go to update the vendor in the spreadsheet preview prior to clicking proceed it lists the frame number and the different prices depending on join, chop or cost. The cost price is blank on all the moldings for both Omega and Universal. I think it is an error on FrameReady's side.
 
Have you given Frame Ready a call?
I had some questions, but was not in a hurry, so I sent them an email 10 days ago, and am still waiting to hear from them.
 
Update: We just got off the phone to another local framer and they are experiencing the same issue. There is a problem with the updates of three companies that we know of, Universal, Omega and Gryphon.
The problem seems to be errors in the coding. Word to the wise: don't do those updates until there is a fix.
 
I noticed this same problem with Omega defaulting to the chop price a month ago and immediately reached out to Frameready to inform them of the issue and asked how to fix it (assuming it was a quick fix on my end). My first e-mail to their customer support (because no one was answering the phone) was sent on February 29th. I didn't get a response until March 5th when Candice emailed me back and told me that they were aware of the problem and were hoping to have a "correction posted" by the end of the week. It's been over two weeks since then. The problem persists and my follow up email to Candice has not been replied to. In the meantime I've been manually entering the correct length price and markup for each Omega moulding I want to use. They appear to be having serious issues and I'm worried about what other glitches may pop up down the road that they take ages to fix without any communication (even just a heads-up email to all of their customers highlighting this Omega pricing problem so people can correct for it). After 8 years of using Frameready and being generally very happy with it, I'm strongly considering jumping off of this sinking ship and trying something else.
 
I updated those 3 in the last few days.
At least 30% of each are now listed as discontinued.

Frame Ready sent me a message about updating (and scheduling) to the new version a few days before I tried it.
 
There is another ongoing discussion regarding FrameReady technical issues.
It may be of interest or answer some questions.
www.thegrumble.com

Opinions Wanted - POS Software

I am in the process of evaluating my POS system and considering a change. What has really initiated this is the lack of vendor updates. Many new samples coming in from WCAF expo and I do not have even one update. There has also been a lack luster response from my current vendor. What POS system...
www.thegrumble.com www.thegrumble.com
 
Nikodeumus said:
There is another ongoing discussion regarding FrameReady technical issues.
It may be of interest or answer some questions.
www.thegrumble.com

Opinions Wanted - POS Software

I am in the process of evaluating my POS system and considering a change. What has really initiated this is the lack of vendor updates. Many new samples coming in from WCAF expo and I do not have even one update. There has also been a lack luster response from my current vendor. What POS system...
www.thegrumble.com www.thegrumble.com
Click to expand...
I would also recommend that all FrameReady users join the Facebook group Frameready Framers. This is where the most current information is being posted by the FrameReady folks.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/956671214509654 Log into Facebook

Personally, I'm still holding off on installing any vendor updates that are pending, until I am convinced that they will not introduce confusing information or behaviors.
:coffeedrinker2: Rick
 
I just got an email explaining that FrameReady has been acquired by Rain Retail Software.
They acknowledge the technical issues and have hired 3 new people for customer support.

I also got "Update Vendor Pricing" notices for Crescent, Bainbridge & LJ Artique matboards today, all installed no problem.
The LJ Moulding update however has given me error messages and won't perform the update.
 
Niko- thanks for that report. I have 5 vendor updates pending, but I've been waiting to install them until I heard whether it was safe. Guess I'll hold off on the LJ Mouldings too. I also heard the Gryphon update has issues.
It will take a while before the new hires are up to speed, no doubt. This acquisition is potentially good news, but I hope there is enough "institutional memory" at FrameReady to get the operating kinks worked out and to get the vendor update process working properly. I also hope the new hires have knowledge of the framing business as well as of software. That has been a key to the success of FrameReady ever since Bert DeRoo wrote it.
:cool: Rick
 
Rain is the same company that acquired Lifesaver.
The good news from that is they have all the updates from the vendors.

Edited: Based on additional information, my assumptions were not well founded, so I removed them.
 
Last edited:
Here is an email one of our customers received about FrameReady updates:

Thank you for contacting FrameReady Support. Unfortunately, the person in charge of the vendor updates resigned and did not train a replacement before doing so. As such we're being forced to learn the process from scratch and this is causing us multiple delays in getting updates out in the timely manner we expect. We understand that this can and will cause problems for our clients. If there are specific issues that arise we ask that you let us know. We are reviewing all of the concerns as they come in and if there are steps we can take to support our clients we will do so.



Thank you, Jacey
 
Nikodeumus said:
I just got an email explaining that FrameReady has been acquired by Rain Retail Software.
They acknowledge the technical issues and have hired 3 new people for customer support.

I also got "Update Vendor Pricing" notices for Crescent, Bainbridge & LJ Artique matboards today, all installed no problem.
The LJ Moulding update however has given me error messages and won't perform the update.
Click to expand...
Just tried again and the LJ Moulding update now runs.
The only changes the "Analyse" feature shows are to Nielsen metal frames.
 
Oops, I typed too soon.
There are also a small number of "Not Verified", and new additions of Alden and Metalia.
Looks like my FramedReady is all up to date. 👍
Keeping in mind my list of vendors is much smaller than most framers.
 
I was just about to jump aboard the FrameReady train (still doing handwritten quotes), but these recent threads have given me pause, along with the fact that my attempts to reach anyone at the company for basic information have so far netted me nothing but … crickets.

I totally understand being understaffed, but maybe leave that info in the recording so callers understand it may be weeks before they hear back?

That being said, their website doesn’t offer even a hint regarding process/pricing, so my questions to The Grumble community are:

1) is it software you purchase or subscribe too?
2) if subscription, is there an annual contract?
3) in your opinion, does the pricing for the basic version make sense for a solo-run shop?
4) are there regular price increases over time?
5) if you currently use FrameReady, would you still recommend it despite the recent hiccups?

Thank you in advance for any insight!
Cindy
 
I don't use FrameReady (I use Specialty Soft which is enough for my needs)

You buy the software. Then you pay for subscription. I can't remember how much the software was (bought it in 2008). My annual subscription is less than $500 and hasn't changed all that much. I don't know pricing for LifeSaver or FrameReady. SSS is pretty basic, no cloud option, which I am perfectly okay with.
 
I am the sole employee of a small one-person shop, also had been doing all pricing by hand for over 10 years.
I did research on a variety of pricing software for picture framers and landed on FrameReady Lite as the best fit for our situation.
As Ylva said, purchase upfront, then monthly subscription thereafter.

It does more than just give you a price to charge the customer. There are many other features that also improve overall business functionality.
My boss told me just the other week that he felt that it was worth the investment, as it increases our workflow in many ways, and we are better able to stay on top of constantly changing supply costs.
Our average income per job through the year has increased because of using pricing software.

Even with the recent technical issues, I would happily recommend FrameReady.
While there was some inconvenience to this small little shop, there was never any thought by us of jumping to a different service because of it.
The software still functioned with little problem for me, except for automatic updates to the product database not working.
Even then, after the updates got corrected for my vendors, there was very little actual impact.
The issues didn't cause us any serious loss of income. It didn't stop functioning completely. There were just some issues with part of it.
For much larger shops with multiple employees whose entire work-flow hinges on the software running without serious issue, I can see how serious technical issues would be a real problem for an extended period.
 
Ylva said:
I don't use FrameReady (I use Specialty Soft which is enough for my needs)

You buy the software. Then you pay for subscription. I can't remember how much the software was (bought it in 2008). My annual subscription is less than $500 and hasn't changed all that much. I don't know pricing for LifeSaver or FrameReady. SSS is pretty basic, no cloud option, which I am perfectly okay with.
Click to expand...
Thank you Ylva, I appreciate the info … definitely more than I gleaned from the FrameReady website. :-)
 
Nikodeumus said:
I am the sole employee of a small one-person shop, also had been doing all pricing by hand for over 10 years.
I did research on a variety of pricing software for picture framers and landed on FrameReady Lite as the best fit for our situation.
As Ylva said, purchase upfront, then monthly subscription thereafter.

It does more than just give you a price to charge the customer. There are many other features that also improve overall business functionality.
My boss told me just the other week that he felt that it was worth the investment, as it increases our workflow in many ways, and we are better able to stay on top of constantly changing supply costs.
Our average income per job through the year has increased because of using pricing software.

Even with the recent technical issues, I would happily recommend FrameReady.
While there was some inconvenience to this small little shop, there was never any thought by us of jumping to a different service because of it.
The software still functioned with little problem for me, except for automatic updates to the product database not working.
Even then, after the updates got corrected for my vendors, there was very little actual impact.
The issues didn't cause us any serious loss of income. It didn't stop functioning completely. There were just some issues with part of it.
For much larger shops with multiple employees whose entire work-flow hinges on the software running without serious issue, I can see how serious technical issues would be a real problem for an extended period.
Click to expand...
Nikodeumus, thank you for the insight; it’s super helpful to hear the investment feels worthwhile. And your thoughts on workability of the bugs in terms of a one man show are insightful.

Since it’s just me, I imagine hiccups would feel minor in comparison to the ability to quickly and efficiently create estimates that are (mostly, if not perfectly) accurate.
 
If it were me, I would wait until the dust settles a bit. There have been a couple of fairly large moves in the POS software for framers market in the past few months and you might want to revisit your options once they are all running smoothly.
I have Lifesaver (LSS) and just recently migrated to their Cloud based version and am currently going through the learning curve.
I used SpecialtySoft in the past, and have had a tentative look at Virtual Framer.
I have had no experience with FrameReady, but there are a lot of users that have stuck with it despite their challenges.
There are decent choices to be had.
 
I'm with Niko. Despite the recent issues, I still like FrameReady very much. The thing is, no matter which software you choose, there will be a learning curve and a period of tweaking the pricing formulas for your shop's particular needs. Most of us who use FrameReady did this a while back when the folks doing tech support were pretty easily accessible and very helpful (particularly Carol Graham, who has retired from the company). I am hopeful that under new ownership, and having hired a few new employees, FrameReady will be back to its reliable self. But, as Wally said, this might not be the ideal time to make your decision. Keep an eye on developments with FrameReady, Lifesaver, Virtual Framer, and others to see which way the winds are blowing in this very specialized arena of POS software from framers.
:cool: Rick
 
I scheduled an appointment for the FrameReady update a few weeks back.
That happened yesterday.
It went smoothly.
The only noticeable change is many of the icons have changed, but everything is where it was, and seems to be working fine.

In regards to the pricing for Frame Ready.
The Subscription is for the Vendor updates, and software updates.
You could buy the base program and not get the Subscription, but I find the updated Vendor information to be very useful.
It looks like they have gotten back on track, or are close to back on track with the Vendor Updates.
 
wpfay said:
If it were me, I would wait until the dust settles a bit. There have been a couple of fairly large moves in the POS software for framers market in the past few months and you might want to revisit your options once they are all running smoothly.
I have Lifesaver (LSS) and just recently migrated to their Cloud based version and am currently going through the learning curve.
I used SpecialtySoft in the past, and have had a tentative look at Virtual Framer.
I have had no experience with FrameReady, but there are a lot of users that have stuck with it despite their challenges.
There are decent choices to be had.
Click to expand...
Sounds like solid advice to wait a bit and see if the ‘dust settles’. I’ve gone this long with manual estimates so it’s likely less frustrating to continue as such, rather than dive into a program that I might struggle to get support on.

Really appreciate you weighting in!
 
Rick Granick said:
I'm with Niko. Despite the recent issues, I still like FrameReady very much. The thing is, no matter which software you choose, there will be a learning curve and a period of tweaking the pricing formulas for your shop's particular needs. Most of us who use FrameReady did this a while back when the folks doing tech support were pretty easily accessible and very helpful (particularly Carol Graham, who has retired from the company). I am hopeful that under new ownership, and having hired a few new employees, FrameReady will be back to its reliable self. But, as Wally said, this might not be the ideal time to make your decision. Keep an eye on developments with FrameReady, Lifesaver, Virtual Framer, and others to see which way the winds are blowing in this very specialized arena of POS software from framers.
:cool: Rick
Click to expand...
Thank you Rick; your point about potentially lacking tech support as I get up and running is another point I hadn’t really evaluated.

The combined wisdom definitely points to waiting awhile before making the financial/time commitment required to get up and running with a POS.

Your input has been super helpful and much appreciated.
 
alacrity8 said:
I scheduled an appointment for the FrameReady update a few weeks back.
That happened yesterday.
It went smoothly.
The only noticeable change is many of the icons have changed, but everything is where it was, and seems to be working fine.

In regards to the pricing for Frame Ready.
The Subscription is for the Vendor updates, and software updates.
You could buy the base program and not get the Subscription, but I find the updated Vendor information to be very useful.
It looks like they have gotten back on track, or are close to back on track with the Vendor Updates.
Click to expand...
Good to know about the smooth update … thank you! How often do you typically do updates? And you mentioned making an appointment; do you get on the phone w/ tech support and they walk you through it?
 
You don't really need to know much "computery stuff".
They are great at walking you through the process and will have you grant them temporary remote access to your computer so they can do the "techy" stuff.
Your part will be to learn how the features work, which is easy with FrameReady.
They have very good online Help and Knowledgebase websites, and video tutorials.
In regards to learning the software, I don't recall that I ever had to call them on the phone for help. I was always able to find what I needed to learn from the available resources.
The biggest learning curve for me was considering and determining several aspects of framing charges that weren't covered well when doing it all by pencil and paper.
 
As many of have said above, wait it out if you can. See how this plays out before signing on . Your time is precious and your data is your currency, sign on with a company that can show they will be good stewards of your data should this be moved to the cloud.
 
Another thing I like about FrameReady. Data is stored on the hard drive. We back it up onto a second network storage drive as well as back up onto a thumb drive.
Triple redundancy, always under our own control.

Something we "Small Towners" may need to consider...
The software still functions during times of loss of internet connection. Not often, but has happened here.
We couldn't process debit/credit cards or go online, but I could still work up custom framing price quotes, look up customer info., check pricing formulas, etc., etc.
Of course, pencil and paper also still works without any 'lectricty at all. 😁
 
alacrity8 said:
You could buy the base program and not get the Subscription, but I find the updated Vendor information to be very useful.
Click to expand...
If you don't get the vendor updates, you would be sacrificing one of the best advantages of using a POS system- keeping up with price changes, discontinuations, etc.
:coffeedrinker2: Rick
 
cgsanford said:
As many of have said above, wait it out if you can. See how this plays out before signing on . Your time is precious and your data is your currency, sign on with a company that can show they will be good stewards of your data should this be moved to the cloud.
Click to expand...
I’m leaning toward the combined wisdom of “waiting things out”, as few things are more frustrating than making an investment in something that feels cumbersome, when the whole point it to streamline.

Appreciate your weighing in!
 
Nikodeumus said:
Another thing I like about FrameReady. Data is stored on the hard drive. We back it up onto a second network storage drive as well as back up onto a thumb drive.
Triple redundancy, always under our own control.

Something we "Small Towners" may need to consider...
The software still functions during times of loss of internet connection. Not often, but has happened here.
We couldn't process debit/credit cards or go online, but I could still work up custom framing price quotes, look up customer info., check pricing formulas, etc., etc.
Of course, pencil and paper also still works without any 'lectricty at all. 😁
Click to expand...
I’m with you … give me hard drive vs Cloud any day! :-)
 
Rick Granick said:
If you don't get the vendor updates, you would be sacrificing one of the best advantages of using a POS system- keeping up with price changes, discontinuations, etc.
:coffeedrinker2: Rick
Click to expand...
Agreed, Rick! Pricing updates are invaluable for the bottom line.

Thanks again for the advice…I’ll be test driving the companies that let you demo for free while keeping a close eye on Grumbler comments/FrameReady’s FB page to see if things settle down a bit.
 
After trying another system and finding it lacking, Hubby researched a few of them. One called 'i-framer' was the easy winner, with great structure and flexibility.
But, it's based in Australia and didn't have many US moulding suppliers signed up. I think it was also only available online, rather than something downloadable.
(If this has changed, whoever knows, please comment.) So, we went with Frame Ready, and it's been fine. Not as flexible as i-framer, but great for what we need.
Also, I'm a weirdo who only uses it for pricing, and still writes my orders on paper, so there are some features we don't use. But, it's still good to have. Updates
are super easy. It tells you when they're ready, and all you do is make one click.

That said, it's still good to watch your suppliers for price changes between updates. If a company updates changes to a POS system on a quarterly basis, there could be
a couple of months when you're paying more for something, but it's still at a lower price on the POS. And one of our distributors is so bad at updating that I use another distributor's pricing on the product, because it's more reliable.
 
Shayla said:
Also, I'm a weirdo who only uses it for pricing, and still writes my orders on paper, so there are some features we don't use.
Click to expand...
That's what I do too, because I like to make sketches and notes as I design, and I don't like working from the computer-generated work orders. Once we decide on the design, I enter everything into FR and tell the customer the price, then use the customer contact and invoicing features to complete the sale. So I basically ignore using the printed work orders, and also the inventory features, because I don't keep a huge inventory. But I like everything else.
:cool: Rick
 
Last edited:
I also hybridize my intakes between hand-written notes and sketches during design consultations, to entering that data in FR for generating the pricing.
I don't have a computer at my design table, it's close by, but not convenient for inputting data on the fly during the consult (which would be nice).
My preference is to draw an actual diagram of the design with measurements on it. I can't just look at a row of numbers on a work order sheet and visualize what it's supposed to look like, especially with multi-openings, double or triple mats, etc.
 
Shayla said:
After trying another system and finding it lacking, Hubby researched a few of them. One called 'i-framer' was the easy winner, with great structure and flexibility.
But, it's based in Australia and didn't have many US moulding suppliers signed up. I think it was also only available online, rather than something downloadable.
(If this has changed, whoever knows, please comment.) So, we went with Frame Ready, and it's been fine. Not as flexible as i-framer, but great for what we need.
Also, I'm a weirdo who only uses it for pricing, and still writes my orders on paper, so there are some features we don't use. But, it's still good to have. Updates
are super easy. It tells you when they're ready, and all you do is make one click.

That said, it's still good to watch your suppliers for price changes between updates. If a company updates changes to a POS system on a quarterly basis, there could be
a couple of months when you're paying more for something, but it's still at a lower price on the POS. And one of our distributors is so bad at updating that I use another distributor's pricing on the product, because it's more reliable.
Click to expand...
I took a quick look at iFramer and like it’s simplicity, but couldn’t find a list of their supported vendors so sent a quick email asking if they’d expanded into the US market yet.

I also like Virtual Framer, but unfortunately they’re primarily Mac based, which would mean more capital outlay along with the associated struggles of running two different operating systems.

The rabbit hole of POS is a little deeper than I anticipated … but I guess it’s good to have options? 😅
 
I used to use pen and paper for design and invoicing.
I have let Frame Ready take that over.
It makes it so much easier for a small staff to not have to read my Hieroglyphics.
Heck, I can barely read them.
We use an iPad at the front counter in order to be able to clear the entire space for large projects. (there is an extra charge per computer/tablet)
Multiple opening I will still draw out, take a picture with the photo option, and store the drawing (map) with the art.
If I'm feeling adventurous, I'll add the multiple opening design to the Wizard before I finalize it (but after the customer has left).

I have not tried to use the inventory system, as it seems easier to just take a 10 minute walk around the shop to check what we are low/out of, that I hadn't previously written on an order.
 
Small Town Idaho said:
Stumbled across this (very helpful!) chart of framing specific POS vendors and figured I’d leave it here for future Grumbler’s-to-be doing their own research…

Frame Shop Software Comparison - Picture Framing Software & POS Programs for Frame Shops

Picture framing software & POS programs for Frame Shops. Side by side neutral comparison of more than 25 frame shop software packages.
www.getthepictureframing.com
Click to expand...

I really need to spend some time to re do that list in a better format, add a couple new ones, and have it hosted right here on the Grumble! (in our RESOURCES area)

This year for sure!
 
Small Town Idaho said:
Stumbled across this (very helpful!) chart of framing specific POS vendors and figured I’d leave it here for future Grumbler’s-to-be doing their own research…

Frame Shop Software Comparison - Picture Framing Software & POS Programs for Frame Shops

Picture framing software & POS programs for Frame Shops. Side by side neutral comparison of more than 25 frame shop software packages.
www.getthepictureframing.com
Click to expand...
Mike is too humble. (Mike being the G's owner). This is one of his many research projects he has done over the years. I know he hasn't updated it in a while, it's also a lot of work to do so.
 
Create a Post
Back
Top