Author Topic: looking for.... (Read 3652 times)

csonni · « **on:** April 14, 2003, 02:24:00 PM »

I'm having a hard time finding a simple piece of software that will do the job and do it well. I have a small business (bookstore/gift shop). I've tried several inventory (POS) programs (Demos) but find they aren't what I need. I want to be able to enter Categories (Books, Videos, Music) with subcategories and items, along with ISBN #'s, description, Quantity in Stock, Quantity ordered, etc. I have Filemaker Pro (only good in OS9). I'd want something where you can click on a hierarchal list of categories and choose which category to go to. A search engine for items is a must. Why is this so hard to find??? Inventory Tracker doesn't do this, EZ Business doesn't- is there anything so simple out there? What I'd really like is an auto-alert when inventory on an item gets down to 1.

kelly · « **Reply #1 on:** April 15, 2003, 08:59:00 AM »

Just came across this. Looks like OS X only. $40. Free Demo.

Have no idea if it's what you're after.

http://www.macobserver.com/article/2003/04/15.1.shtml

http://www.intellisw.com/proinventory/

csonni · « **Reply #2 on:** April 15, 2003, 09:31:00 AM »

Thanks for the try, Kelly, but I already tried that one. It doesn't have drop-down lists and other options I need. There must be something out there.

kelly · « **Reply #3 on:** April 15, 2003, 10:12:00 AM »

Inventory search

Business Software

csonni · « **Reply #4 on:** April 15, 2003, 10:20:00 AM »

Kelly, I've done both of those searches already. Believe it or not, but none of those programs meet my needs. Surely someone must have a small business on the side that is using some simple program to keep inventory control that has the options I'm looking for. I don't need the barcode option, but I don't mind if it comes with something I don't need.

kps · « **Reply #5 on:** April 15, 2003, 10:36:00 AM »

What's your skill level with FileMaker Pro...and what version do you have?

FM 3 came with a pretty sophisticated inventory template consisting of three related files. As the bulk of the work is already done, it shouldn't take long for you to customize it to your needs.

I could send you the templates, they're about 400k uncompressed. If you're interested, email me. They may even be available at the FM web site. FM 5-6 and 7 will convert these files, FM will run fine in classic on OS X.

kelly · « **Reply #6 on:** April 15, 2003, 10:53:00 AM »

http://guide.apple.com/uscategories/business.lasso

http://forums.dealmac.com/read.html?f=1&i=...24587&t=1024587

http://forums.dealmac.com/read.html?f=1&i=...946241&t=946216

http://forums.dealmac.com/read.html?f=1&i=...853932&t=853932

csonni · « **Reply #7 on:** April 15, 2003, 02:19:00 PM »

KPS- I have FMP 5.5 version 1. I haven't done anything with this app. I heard it's a good database. I did try out the Inventory template, but it didn't impress me for some reason. Maybe I'll look at it again.

kps · « **Reply #8 on:** April 15, 2003, 02:45:00 PM »

csonni, it's not the same template I'm talking about. The version 3 template is an inventory system consisting of three files: products, sales and line items.

Edit:

Took some screen shots...

Data entry for products

Data entry for suppliers

Data entry for sales

Data entry for shipping

[ 04-15-2003, 04:28 PM: Message edited by: kps ]

jepinto · « **Reply #9 on:** April 22, 2003, 06:50:00 AM »

Take a look at this http://www.iuni.com/software/iusoftware.html

Built for OS X 10.2 or Greater.

csonni · « **Reply #10 on:** April 22, 2003, 11:45:00 PM »

Jepinto- thanks for the link. I downloaded iu software and tried it. For some reason the find option doesn't seem to work. It doesn't seem to be geared primarily towards inventory- mostly customer/product sales. So far, KPS's templates suit the best, except now I've got to find the time to enter all 3000 items of inventory- drats!. Right now I have them all listed on an Excel spreadsheet (workbook). What's nice about Excel is that the Find option works flawlessly. In AppleWorks spreadsheet, I had to scroll to to find each item and then enter or delete a stock item when sold or ordered.

kps · « **Reply #11 on:** April 22, 2003, 12:08:00 PM »

csonni...Filemaker can import XLS spreadsheets, you can even take a spreadsheet file and just drag and drop it on the Filemaker icon and it'll create a database for you....on the spot.

Rename the fields to match the names in the templates I sent you and IMPORT all your data...DONE!

Happy Filemaking...

csonni · « **Reply #12 on:** April 22, 2003, 02:14:00 PM »

KPS- I just tried dragging my .xls file onto Filemaker Pro icon. I was told it "couldn't be opened (error)." I made a copy and cut my data down to half and it still couldn't handle the .xls file. I like the idea of importing all my data, but is there an alternative route since FMP won't deal with my file?

csonni · « **Reply #13 on:** April 22, 2003, 02:16:00 PM »

Wait now. Maybe I'm suposed to do the renaming of fields before importing (dragging onto icon)?

Xairbusdriver · « **Reply #14 on:** April 22, 2003, 03:13:00 PM »

You might try here also:
FileMaker info site.

You might also try exporting that .xls file as a tab delimited text file, then import it with FM. I usually use its Import fucntion rather than doing the drag and drop routine, but it should be able to 'see' that data. Always amazes me when people use a spread sheet for a database!? Wonder if they do movies in Word? Word processing in iPhoto!

News:

Author Topic: looking for.... (Read 3652 times)