What software to use for streamlining our detail businesses?

[RenuAuto]

I know there's been a lot of talk about DetailBiz lately and hopefully it's creator can chime in here, and another business-owner-friend said that "Appointments Plus" sounds like what I'm looking for, but I also wanted to see what everyone was using or what they suggest I research more.





In essence, I'm trying to find a software that will allow me to:



-Have a calendar online where clients can schedule their own appts.



-Keep track of all my finances incoming from customers/outgoing, ect. (tracking records is a big priority this year)



-Allow myself and employees to view/edit from our phone. (iPhone preferaby).



-Help me track details about each appt (i.e. have employees clock in/out for each appt. so I can track exactly how long different services are taking. See how much time is being eaten up driving. Find out percentages of appts. that stick or fall out, ect)







Interested to see everyone's input :wavey

 

[WAS]

Said it before and I'll say it again, you want your own solution that YOU own and manage. Otherwise, you'll a) be paying a monthly fee forever, and b) have no control over your information, since it will be in the "cloud".

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

Said it before and I'll say it again, you want your own solution that YOU own and manage. Otherwise, you'll a) be paying a monthly fee forever, and b) have no control over your information, since it will be in the "cloud".

Thing is, you pretty much HAVE to have a "cloud integrated" solution if you are going to let customers schedule their own appointments online. Doesn't mean you shouldn't also have an on-site backup of everything, by all means you absolutely should. But the cloud isn't so scary if you know how to manage it properly.



I totally understand your fears, but I only agree with them to a certain point.

 

[WAS]

Thing is, you pretty much HAVE to have a "cloud integrated" solution if you are going to let customers schedule their own appointments online. Doesn't mean you shouldn't also have an on-site backup of everything, by all means you absolutely should. But the cloud isn't so scary if you know how to manage it properly.



I totally understand your fears, but I only agree with them to a certain point.

Integration is fine, because customers are choosing to send their own personal info to YOU and only you. There are ways of doing this safety and securely. Putting your customer's info (that they gave to YOU and only YOU) into the cloud opens you up to liability. If your "cloud" provider gets comprimised, you're still on the hook, even though it may not have been your fault at all.

 

[RenuAuto]

That's an interesting point WAS. When you talk of having "YOUR" own solution that you control yourself are you talking about a software system that is kept local on your computers only (rather than web-based) or are you talking about a solution you've engineered completely yourself (i.e. Full-Form-Excel Sheets or other solution).

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

Integration is fine, because customers are choosing to send their own personal info to YOU and only you. There are ways of doing this safety and securely. Putting your customer's info (that they gave to YOU and only YOU) into the cloud opens you up to liability. If your "cloud" provider gets comprimised, you're still on the hook, even though it may not have been your fault at all.

Anything you do in a business setting opens you up to liability. You wouldn't say "I refuse to use buffers because I might be liable for doing damage," you recognize you're taking a calculated risk and put pad to paint. This is no different.



I'm not going to get into a big debate with you on this because you've made it quite clear in the past that you're set in your ways and your views on this subject, and that's fine for you. All I will say is this: I've worked in the web hosting industry and in doing so, I've seen "cloud application" implementations from a background perspective, and I've seen sites get hacked. What I can tell you is that generally speaking, the sites that wound up getting hacked had pretty careless security holes in them that could have been easily prevented. I can also tell you that those issues were nowhere near as prevalent as you might think.



As long as you're dealing with a reputable and diligent provider that pays attention to security as an utmost priority, you should be just fine.

 

[WAS]

That's an interesting point WAS. When you talk of having "YOUR" own solution that you control yourself are you talking about a software system that is kept local on your computers only (rather than web-based) or are you talking about a solution you've engineered completely yourself (i.e. Full-Form-Excel Sheets or other solution).

I mean something hosted locally on computers YOU have control of.

Anything you do in a business setting opens you up to liability. You wouldn't say "I refuse to use buffers because I might be liable for doing damage," you recognize you're taking a calculated risk and put pad to paint. This is no different.



I'm not going to get into a big debate with you on this because you've made it quite clear in the past that you're set in your ways and your views on this subject, and that's fine for you. All I will say is this: I've worked in the web hosting industry and in doing so, I've seen "cloud application" implementations from a background perspective, and I've seen sites get hacked. What I can tell you is that generally speaking, the sites that wound up getting hacked had pretty careless security holes in them that could have been easily prevented. I can also tell you that those issues were nowhere near as prevalent as you might think.



As long as you're dealing with a reputable and diligent provider that pays attention to security as an utmost priority, you should be just fine.

No, you're right, I wouldn't say that I refuse to use buffers, but you're comparing apples to oranges. A buffer is in MY possession, and I control how it's used. What you're comparing to is the equivilant of accepting a client's vehicle, and then bringing it to the "cash-wash-r-us" guys to do the detail. If they screw something up and burn through a panel, YOU are liable for it, not them.



I make such a big deal about this because I work in the IT industry. I see how businesses and individuals so willingly throw all their information into the cloud without even blinking. That's fine if it's your personal photo or music collection, but when it's someone else's information, it's a different story. If your clients knew what you were doing with their information, do you think they would still give it to you ? A good portion probably would, but there are some that definitely wouldn't.



Put it this way, there's a reason payment processing software and hardware has very, very strict regulations (called PCI compliance). Ask those "cloud" folks if they're even close to PCI compliant. Bet you 99% of them don't even know what PCI compliance is. Point is, putting all your client information into the cloud is risky, and unless you've seen the backend where it's being kept, it's a risk that you couldn't even begin to calculate. Maybe you'll never have an issue, but maybe you will. Why risk it ? It's not really any cheaper to go your own way considering that you won't have be paying monthly fees for as long as your business is alive.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

Put it this way, there's a reason payment processing software and hardware has very, very strict regulations (called PCI compliance). Ask those "cloud" folks if they're even close to PCI compliant. Bet you 99% of them don't even know what PCI compliance is.

Well, I know of at least a few of those types of services that are PCI compliant... but you're right there aren't many.





I guess all it comes down to is do your homework before you choose any sort of solution.

 

[WAS]

Well, I know of at least a few of those types of services that are PCI compliant... but you're right there aren't many.





I guess all it comes down to is do your homework before you choose any sort of solution.

If a provider is PCI compliant, then it's worth considering. There's just so much of that "cloud" stuff out there right now that is so vulnerable. It's scary actually.

 

[RenuAuto]

You've actually opened my eyes to a whole 'nother issue I didn't expect to be so complicated. How can we check services for PCI compliance?

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

You've actually opened my eyes to a whole 'nother issue I didn't expect to be so complicated. How can we check services for PCI compliance?

I would first and foremost just ask the provider if their application and hosting is PCI compliant. Either they'll respond with "huh?" or "no," or they'll say "yes," at which point you could follow up by asking if they have a verification report they can share with you.

 

[safetyman2010]

I know there's been a lot of talk about DetailBiz lately and hopefully it's creator can chime in here, and another business-owner-friend said that "Appointments Plus" sounds like what I'm looking for, but I also wanted to see what everyone was using or what they suggest I research more.





In essence, I'm trying to find a software that will allow me to:



-Have a calendar online where clients can schedule their own appts.



-Keep track of all my finances incoming from customers/outgoing, ect. (tracking records is a big priority this year)



-Allow myself and employees to view/edit from our phone. (iPhone preferaby).



-Help me track details about each appt (i.e. have employees clock in/out for each appt. so I can track exactly how long different services are taking. See how much time is being eaten up driving. Find out percentages of appts. that stick or fall out, ect)







Interested to see everyone's input :wavey

I'll relate what we've done over the last 24 months and the results.

1. Quickbooks - It's pretty much the easiest accounting software I've tried and in the US they have a lot of really innovative features/options such as mobile apps and an online version. We use this to manage all our billing/invoicing, accounts payable and payroll.

2. Virtual Phone System: Grasshopper | Manage Your Calls Online - we have had a couple minor hiccups with this one but overall I LOVE it. $50 a month gives us a 1-800 number, unlimited extensions, call logging, ability to route phone calls to ANY phone, anywhere, any time. Indispensable for us

3. Google Apps - We host al our company e-mail etc through google and use google calendar to schedule all our appointments. It works beautifully and is available via google calendar online and is pushed to our company iPhones/iPads. All our e-mail is also via g-mail and is available online and pushed to our iPhones.

4. iPhone & iPad - can't rave on enough about this. iMessage/Facetime/e-mail + phone calling to keep in touch with each other and our customers.



Our productivity and contact with each other/customers is 100% improved via these tools. I highly recommend everyone look into it.

 

[RenuAuto]

I'll relate what we've done over the last 24 months and the results.

1. Quickbooks - It's pretty much the easiest accounting software I've tried and in the US they have a lot of really innovative features/options such as mobile apps and an online version. We use this to manage all our billing/invoicing, accounts payable and payroll.

2. Virtual Phone System: Grasshopper | Manage Your Calls Online - we have had a couple minor hiccups with this one but overall I LOVE it. $50 a month gives us a 1-800 number, unlimited extensions, call logging, ability to route phone calls to ANY phone, anywhere, any time. Indispensable for us

3. Google Apps - We host al our company e-mail etc through google and use google calendar to schedule all our appointments. It works beautifully and is available via google calendar online and is pushed to our company iPhones/iPads. All our e-mail is also via g-mail and is available online and pushed to our iPhones.

4. iPhone & iPad - can't rave on enough about this. iMessage/Facetime/e-mail + phone calling to keep in touch with each other and our customers.



Our productivity and contact with each other/customers is 100% improved via these tools. I highly recommend everyone look into it.

I think this was exactly the answer I was looking for. I am already using Google for my mail services and and iPhone as well so it may just be a matter of sitting down with my I.T. brother and really setting everything up for the business. I'm looking forward to exploring this more.