DetailBiz vs ACT Software

S

Shawn F.

New member
I am looking for software program for my computer and possibly smart phone to help keep me organized, up to date and send out reminders to customers for my auto detailing shop. I'm a full service detail shop and soon to be retail shop selling detail supplies. My plan was to purchase ACT in March since I know lots of people use this with small businesses and have very little complaints with it. Recently I've been seeing DetailBiz product being brought up on forums, advertising, etc but since it's so new I have many concerns. One is customer support and reliability if it goes down. Also it's a new company so what if it fails and I cannot retrieve my customer and shop info?

I like that it's tailored to detail shops and mobile guys doing this kind of work specifically but also I like that with ACT I can spend a few hundred dollars and own the actual program instead of being stuck with monthly charges. I'm assuming if I canceled the charge then all history would be lost or gone because I no longer use the service too?



Does anyone here have any experience, suggestions, opinions or input on which program to go with here? I'd greatly appreciate it in advance!
 
I suggest getting your own "owned" solution. As you identified, you'll be paying monthly forever. Not to mention that one day, those monthly rates will get increased, and you have no protection from that. Also, your customer's information would now be stored "in the cloud", which opens you up to all kinds of liability concerns if that information ever got lost, or was accessed by someone not authorized. I could go on for 2 pages, but my opinion is, and always has been, to go with an "owned" solution that YOU have full control over.
 
Hey Shawn,



My name is Ryan White, I am with DetailBiz. I would like the opportunity to walk through the product with you to give you feel of the entirety of what DetailBiz has to offer. We offer excellent customer support and we are here when you need us. Our product is powerful but was designed for intuitive operation. There are challenges that detailers face on a regular basis that are industry specific and DetailBiz was built to tackle these issues. Your data is yours to keep. DetailBiz is securely deployed on the Google App Engine so you can be sure that your data is safe. We decided to go with a subscription model to give our users the ability to get going immediately for a low monthly charge rather than a steep up front cost. With DetailBiz there is no need to download anything and your management software can go with you wherever you or your employees are with a simple internet connection on any device. We are consistently improving our system and most of these enhancements come at no charge to you. Our price is not going to change. We be adding additional modules that can be purchased for an additional fee but our base price is our base price. The team behind the creation of this product has decades of experience in the detailing industry and there is not a system in the world that can say that. We are adamant about taking our industry to the next level and are here to help you take your business to the next level. Give us a shot, the trial is free for 30 days with no obligation and you can begin using it immediately after you get your sign in credentials. CLICK HERE for the free trial sign up form. Feel free to call me to talk about the needs of your business and how DetailBiz can help. I'm readily available and can be reached at 502-403-4183. Thanks Shawn, I hope this helps and I look forward to talking with you more.
 
WAS said:
I suggest getting your own "owned" solution. As you identified, you'll be paying monthly forever. Not to mention that one day, those monthly rates will get increased, and you have no protection from that. Also, your customer's information would now be stored "in the cloud", which opens you up to all kinds of liability concerns if that information ever got lost, or was accessed by someone not authorized. I could go on for 2 pages, but my opinion is, and always has been, to go with an "owned" solution that YOU have full control over.
Click to expand...



WAS makes some good points. If you're dealing with high-end cars and clientele, they may not feel comfortable knowing some of their personal info is "on the cloud".
 
Ryan, lets say I do the 30 day trial offer and once 30 days is up I decide to wait a month to purchase it. Will I have my old info saved from the trial offer or will all of that be gone since for one month after the offer I will not be using the product? Also I plan to call and talk with you on this more but to clear up with everyone's concerns on this forum since I've seen this so called "cloud" being mentioned multiple times, what do you have to say on this? Is this true that the info will be on it (I am not familiar with what cloud exactly is yet) and accessable to the public?



Thanks for the immediate response Ryan and the rest of you guys!
 
Shawn F. said:
Also I plan to call and talk with you on this more but to clear up with everyone's concerns on this forum since I've seen this so called "cloud" being mentioned multiple times, what do you have to say on this? Is this true that the info will be on it (I am not familiar with what cloud exactly is yet) and accessable to the public?
Click to expand...

The "cloud" is the internet. Basically, your information, whatever you enter into the software (your client's information, their addresses, their phone number, invoices, etc) is stored off-site, as in not in your physical location. The issue with that is two fold. First, there's the fact that the information is transmitted and received via the internet (that's how it gets from the "storage" location to you). This can be made pretty secure, but there is still the risk of the information getting into the wrong hands. Second, and this is the bigger issue, if someone "hacks" the information, YOU are liable for it. Even though you don't physically store the information.



This can be a bit confusing if you don't understand the technologies at work, but let me try and give you an analogy. It would be like accepting a vehicle for detailing from a customer. It's an overnighter, so you store the vehicle in your neighbour's garage (because you don't have one). Someone breaks into your neighbour's home that night, goes into the garage and steals the vehicle. Ultimately, yes, it wasn't YOUR house that was broken into, but YOU are still liable for the theft.



Ryan has posted several times regarding his software, but has never answered questions or comments made regarding security and "cloud" liability. I've brought the issue up myself more than once. This leads me to believe that he, a) doesn't know and can't answer, or b) knows this limitation of "cloud" based software, and is ignoring me because there's nothing he can say or do to change it.



I know I'm coming off kind of rude, but I'm just stating facts. And we, as business owners, have the right to be fully informed before we make a ignorant decision that could cost us big time one day.
 
Thanks for your input WAS, I understand your position and there are many people that share your opinion on cloud based application, and the facts are that there are valid points to both sides of the "cloud vs. local debate". Please read the snippet below.



Google's immense security investments help protect customers

"Google's large investments in physical and process-based security are passed on to customers. First, Google is able to hire many of the worlds leading security experts to protect our systems and conduct cutting-edge security research. Our data centers are hardened with many of the latest measures in security precautions, including biometric access controls and multi-tiered security perimeters. Furthermore, Google has implemented a multi-layered security process protocol designed to help keep customer data safe. Our processes have been independently verified in a successful third-party SSAE 16 Type II audit to verify our confidentiality, integrity and availability of customer data. Finally, Google is able to efficiently manage security updates across our nearly homogeneous global cloud computing infrastructure, so customer aren't exposed to known vulnerabilities until they install security patches themselves."

(Advantages of Google's cloud ? Google Apps)



DetailBiz is hosted within the Google Cloud Infrastructure and securely deployed on the Google App Engine along with over 4,000,000 apps worldwide from start ups like us to Fortune 500 companies. If you are worried about the security of your data, you must understand that your personal computer in far more vulnerable to security breaches. Whether you like to admit it or not, your computer is connected to the internet and there are thousands of ways for hackers to access your personal data and it happens all the time. Being hosted in a Google cloud infrastructure gives you and your data around the clock professional security monitoring. At the end of the day we could likely go back and forth on the "cloud vs. local" debate with both sides having valid points.



And to answer your question Shawn, your data will be held in our database for you to recover for one year after cancelling your membership or choosing not to continue with the free trial.
 
Ryan, thanks again for the response. I will give the 30 day trial a shot and see how it works... I will soon be starting a retail side to my detail shop as well selling detailing supplies so hopefully this program will help with this as well and be able to separate the two sides of the business.
 
That's great Shawn! Make sure that you click the link that takes you to the training video when you get your welcome email. Also, remember that I am here to personally help guide you through the system to ensure that you are fluent with the features and functionality. Please don't hesitate to shoot me an email or give me a call if you need any assistance.



Ryan White

[email protected]

502-403-4183
 
Sounds great Ryan! I will be sure to write a review as to what I find and how I like it as well. As for those worried about info being put into "the cloud", I will do some more of my own research on this as well.
 
DetailBiz said:
Google's immense security investments help protect customers

"Google's large investments in physical and process-based security are passed on to customers. First, Google is able to hire many of the worlds leading security experts to protect our systems and conduct cutting-edge security research. Our data centers are hardened with many of the latest measures in security precautions, including biometric access controls and multi-tiered security perimeters. Furthermore, Google has implemented a multi-layered security process protocol designed to help keep customer data safe. Our processes have been independently verified in a successful third-party SSAE 16 Type II audit to verify our confidentiality, integrity and availability of customer data. Finally, Google is able to efficiently manage security updates across our nearly homogeneous global cloud computing infrastructure, so customer aren't exposed to known vulnerabilities until they install security patches themselves."

(Advantages of Google's cloud ? Google Apps)



DetailBiz is hosted within the Google Cloud Infrastructure and securely deployed on the Google App Engine along with over 4,000,000 apps worldwide from start ups like us to Fortune 500 companies. If you are worried about the security of your data, you must understand that your personal computer in far more vulnerable to security breaches. Whether you like to admit it or not, your computer is connected to the internet and there are thousands of ways for hackers to access your personal data and it happens all the time. Being hosted in a Google cloud infrastructure gives you and your data around the clock professional security monitoring. At the end of the day we could likely go back and forth on the "cloud vs. local" debate with both sides having valid points.
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Like you said, we could go back and forth forever on the cloud vs local debate. Google's App Engine is indeed a nice development, and has been deemed pretty secure, but it's app engine is not the only thing you'll be dealing with in a hosted solution environment. And I might also mention that Google itself is not impervious. If you all remember, Sony declared a network intrustion and potential loss of customer information several months ago, and I'm sure no on expected that. None the less, I won't carry on a back and forth, just letting everyone know that it's something they want to think about.
 
The #1 one hosted CRM solution is Salesforce.com and it is the most widely used customer/prospect database for all kinds of organizations. 3 million companies trust all their information on customers and potential customers to Salesforce.com, a "cloud" solution. If done right, the Cloud presents a low security risk.



Act, without customization is just a database / contact list. It is not "detailer specific". Now I don't know anything about DetailBiz, besides a visit to DetailBiz website, but it has functionality that might be useful to many packaged in one solution. Using the right tools can make you more efficient in your business management tasks. Which can lead to more time doing the hings that make you money.



(DetailBiz Please note: you list capabilities / features but never show the screen captures. A suggestion: is to make the product tangible and show a few of the most important examples. It might help answer questions that someone may have.)
 
Thanks for commenting on this thread MX823. I would like to point everyone involved here to the Auto Detailing Network blog to view screen shot examples of what DetailBiz has to offer. I am also going to include a link to a live recorded webinar of a training dubbed DetailBiz 101. This should give everyone here a basic understanding of what DetailBiz can offer to your business.



Screen Shots: Detail Biz - Detailing Business Information

DetailBiz 101 Video: DetailBiz 101: Jump start your success! on Vimeo



Brief Feature Overview:

Central appointment setting

Zone specific scheduling for mobile detailers

Manage customers and their vehicles

Create custom services and packages

Create quality control checklists that correspond with specific services and packages

Manage suppliers, inventory, and equipment

Send automated reminder emails

Protect your business with touch screen Vehicle Inspection Reports

Create custom quotes on the fly

Remotely track the progress of your active details from anywhere

Schedule your customers next appointment at job closure

Automatically send email invoice to customers

Access and email any past Vehicle Inspection Report on demand

Manage employee data

Run business intelligence reports on demand

The list goes on...



Thanks again everyone for getting involved here and sharing your opinions!
 
Forgive me, DetailBiz, but I do have to ask: are you a paid sponsor here on Autopia?



Just thought I'd bring it up before someone in a position of power dings you for marketing....
 
Does this program work with MAC and iPhone products? I have been waiting until the 1st of March to start the 30 day trial offer and been reading the site and just thought about this...
 
Well guys, I figured I'd update this thread on what I have most likely decided to use. I am most likely going with ACT software since it's readily available, price is right and it's well known. The only thing I do not like about it is that it will take a lot of training to learn and to setup to my particular use. The Detail Biz program seemed nice because the hard work was already done for you and it had a lot of cool features. I tried to use the Free Trial version on DetailBiz but Ryan said they are no longer doing the Free Trial right now so I cannot comment on the program at all. It does look interesting but too new and I am out of time and NEED something to use now because I have clients lined up and backed up all on paper so I need to get something that I can start setting up and learn right away.

If there are any other opinions out there on other programs besides ACT and any info/tips on how I can stay organized, I'd greatly appreciate any help! I need to be able to keep track of materials, customers vehicles and what work I did last and if they sign up for a routine package or not, reminders, etc. Then there is the pricing and tax side that I need to keep up with for tax time so I can give the government all my money so they can pass it out to people who don't want to work. ;)
 
I'd like this BUMP this thread back to the top to hopefully get some more info here... It seems that DetailBiz is no more? Their site doesn't work, they are not coming up on Google Search, etc. I am still hesitant on ACT because it is for such a broad range of businesses and tasks that it seems it would take months to get organized how I would need it. Pretty much the 5 top things I need to have to help stay organized are:

1.) Client reminders- I need something to remind me or automatically send them a reminder on specific dates of when their car needs to be done again.

2.) Remember what I did last on a customers vehicle

3.) Remember what I charged last on a customers vehicle

4.) Keep track of inventory

5.) Keep schedule of vehicles that need to be done.



There are some others I cannot think of now but for me those are the major things... Any info on a program, software, etc would be GREATLY appreciated!
 
Shawn, as posted in another thread:



"They've shut down. Sent me an email a while back. Not enough interest to be worth keeping going."



So much for the "awesome" in the cloud software. Now everyone who was using it has to start over. Another reason to go with your own solution.
 
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