Shop Management Plug in and programs for decorated apparel biz

[GKitson]

Hey TSB guys and gals,

I am updating a list of software suppliers who provide management programs/plug-ins to our industry and I want to make it as complete as possible.

Want to make sure I don't miss anybody especially, the new players so here is my request.

Please respond here, so all can benefit, with the programs you use and if you are willing to express an opinion or two on the product usability.

I maintain a list of white papers on various subjects that I make available to consulting clients and seminar participants.

I am looking for vendor contact info as well as program name etc.

I will verify info with the supplier before inclusion but I am sure I don't have all the current products.

If you don't want to share on TSB e-mail me at greg@mindseyeg.com.  I will be happy to provide the list to any who ask after I have it compiled, I am always updating so when you see a new supplier let me know,  no rating system or endorsement implied, just contact info for contrast and compare shopping.

Thanks,

~Kitson

PS.  Oh yeah when I get the management program list updated done I plan on doing the same update with my list of art/rip stuff so if you want to save time send both.

[mimosatexas]

Would love a comprehensive list like this, especially if it was organized in some way by upfront cost and monthy/yearly subscription costs.

[T Shirt Farmer]

http://www.shopvox.com/

We have been there Beta for the last 9 months.. so close but so far away... product started as SignVox and is being re flavored for our market.

[mk162]

Here is a quick list with the systems I know(and what they would cost us up front/per month)


T-quoter(which is pretty much dying if you ask me) $0 upfront/$40 monthly
Price-it $500/$70
Precise by Impress $2100/$400
ShopWorx $8000/$200
Printavo $0/$100
TeeCal $171/$60
Fast Manager $300/$110
Cyrious $1400/$192
TeeChimp $0/$70
ShopVox $0/$150

Some of it might be outdated and for that I am sorry.

[Frog]

Here is a quick list with the systems I know(and what they would cost us up front/per month)


T-quoter(which is pretty much dying if you ask me) $0 upfront/$40 monthly
Price-it $500/$70
Precise by Impress $2100/$400
ShopWorx $8000/$200
Printavo $0/$100
TeeCal $171/$60
Fast Manager $300/$110
Cyrious $1400/$192
TeeChimp $0/$70
ShopVox $0/$150

Some of it might be outdated and for that I am sorry.

At over $10,000 the first year, ShopWorx also makes the coffee and accompanies the boss on weekend "business" trips, right? 
 

[Ron Pierson]

Hey all - Frog.

I have Shopworks. Yep UBER EXPENSIVE - however - it will save you so much time and effort in all areas of your business...... The money you save will enable you to hire a person to just make coffee and accompany you on business trips. While you are drinking your coffee on your trip, you will be able to "see" ANYTHING going on in your shop at any given time (provided you have a log in somewhere). We have 28 users and the full updated program - an absolute gift when you are trying to RUN your business rather than WORK in it. There is so many things it has solved in our 4 years of use that I can't count them all.  I spent years doing research before writing the check. I wasn't prepared for the unseen benefits that came with it.

I do not work for Shopworks and do not get a commission in any way. I am not familiar with any of the newer full shop programs.

[Frog]

I think that it is obviously better suited to larger businesses than some of our smaller friends.
We'll have to see just what shakes out of this effort by Greg

[mk162]

Ron, there is no reason another program can't do what ShopWorx does at a fraction of the cost.

ShopVox is on it's way to doing that.  We just signed up and while some things aren't what they should be, it's a great program so far.  We are looking to migrate over on Jan 1st.

My biggest gripe about shopworx will always be ditching QuickBooks.  Everything we do ties into QB, payroll(not through QB), our CPA.  And not to mention over 20 years of data.

[DannyGruninger]

Shopworx here..... While it does most things very well it's lacking so many "new age" things that I would love to have. I have visited some shops lately that have developed their own internal programs(mostly based on filemaker) and the programs were damn impressive. I would love to have one of the shops license me a version but I haven't been able to talk them into that yet. Some shops I've been in are entirely paperless/everyone uses tablets which is the direction I would love to take my company. I've been saying it for years but this industry really needs a cloud based software that is as robust as shopworx yet exhibits a very user friendly interface.

[Ron Pierson]

Oh...I agree Shopworks isn't the end all program but it is way better than what we had before. Yes - abandoning Quick Books was the scariest thing for me - OMG - all that data...Well - you still have it and Shopworks does a good job of transferring the financial Chart of Accounts from past years. Sure - it's just a line item but if you really need details about Quick Books for 2008 - just keep a copy and go back and look. The only reason you would need that stuff Quick Book style is if you are getting audited (God Forbid). All your customer, vendor, Product, ect. data is transferred over as well. Fair warning - set it up right and you will get what you are looking for in the reporting area. Payroll is an expense - you enter it in Shopworks just like you enter it in Quick Books. The neat thing about Shopworks is the work order (either digital or paper). This work order starts building itself into an invoice the minute it is entered. After all the data has been applied to this work order, all you have to do is review for correct data and push the invoice button. Everything about that work order blows itself into your chart of accounts as you have directed it to do so - magic. Work order 12345 turns into invoice 12345. Loose a piece of paper, or someone does "funny" things to it...like try to make it disappear. - {insert theft here}, no problem - it's digital. Back end controls allow you to be the king of deletion - no one else unless assigned. There is massive controls in this area of Shopworks and it is where the program shines. Will Quick Books do this - NOPE. I think Shopworks will allow tablet usage but we don't use it that way. We are still stuck in the 19th century with clipboards. BTW - the days of double entry are gone. It's an All-In-One package.

I would like to see other coders put something together that is cheaper for the smaller shops - makes perfect sense. Someone will, it's just a question of when...
Danny - you mentioned other shops impressive stuff - wonder how much effort and cost it took to get their program just where they wanted it. Filemaker is a good start - Shopworks runs on it. Shopworks is cloud based if you want that - we passed.

I applaud Kitson fro bringing this topic up - thanks to his effort, we all may get ahead of the curve on this.

[ericheartsu]

I know of one coder who is working towards a new solution. I haven't talked to him in a couple of weeks, but last i heard, he was trying to bridge the gap between printavo and shopworx.

[mk162]

shopvox has the potential for this.  Printavo is a great idea, it just doesn't have the features we need.

Shopvox is a little complex in certain parts, and I hoping they streamline it a bit.

[GKitson]

Thanks for all the great conversation regarding this topic.

I simply want to update my resource of Shop Management software vendors for decorators to use to get their questions answered about what they need for their individual business.  Typically this question comes up when a biz owner loses track of stuff and can no longer answer simple, "Where is it?" questions

This is one of those "I don't know what I need, until I need it things", and everyone needs some help to establish their list of priorities.

What I need to do that is complete contact info, software & hardware description regarding what is required to make it work, initial investment, monthly/annual continuing investment, training options, no more than a 100 word value description of benefits and options along with no more than 3 user references and the date info updated

I am not going to rank and the list will be purely alphabetical by software name.

~Kitson

[mk162]

I think you should have a death match between them to find out the real winner.

Honestly, I really wish the T-quoter folks could have done more with the program.  It was a great start, but it just never made it to the level it should have been.

That being said the cloud based programs are cross platform, updated automatically and usually pretty robust.  It's a much easier thing to update in most cases.

[GKitson]

I think you should have a death match between them to find out the real winner.

Honestly, I really wish the T-quoter folks could have done more with the program.  It was a great start, but it just never made it to the level it should have been.

That being said the cloud based programs are cross platform, updated automatically and usually pretty robust.  It's a much easier thing to update in most cases.

Octagon or full globe with motorcycles