Using an iPad or iPhone and Filemaker Go is a game-changer for small business.
Filemaker Go on iPad and iPhone
By putting one single Filemaker database file into the cloud, teams of people can take core business data “into the field”, viewing and updating it in real-time. This could be the single most useful application for small business I’ve seen in years.
I’ve implemented a complete multi-user Case Management solution for a client in a fraction of the time it would have taken using Web 2.0 or other technologies.
Interested in talking with me?– leave a comment here and I’ll contact to you.
Looking for client data management for funerals weddings and celebrations.
Hi Michael,
I am getting busier with photography gigs – weddings, family etc. I don’t have an iPad or iPhone but I really need a way of keeping track of my customers, communication with them, finances, where I am at in the before and after shoot process. I am traveling a lot and I need to access it from either my desktop when at home or my laptop when traveling. Thinking about the ipad – but do I really want to haul that around with me too? Thanks!
Hi Julie,
Thanks so much for the great question.
I’m going to assume your laptop and desktop are Macs.
The iPad is a really capable device, especially the new one with the Retina display– wonderful for someone in your line of work and just gorgeous for the fun stuff too.
My instinct is to recommend leaving the laptop at home, and use the iPad in the field for your shoots and while travelling (it’s fantastic if you’re trying to travel light)… BUT, if you’re using your laptop for deep photo editing or shooting tethered, the iPad might not be enough. While it will do basic photo cataloging and manipulation, if you’re used to something like Lightroom it might not satisfy you.
Tracking your customers, projects/shoots, expenses, etc. with iPad can be done quite simply with stuff that’s built in like iCal, Contacts, and you could use Numbers ($9.99 on the App Store) to track your finances. Coupled with iCloud, the data can be kept in the cloud and accessed from all your devices.
The opposite end of the complexity/power continuum would be something like Daylite for customer relationship management and/or a custom Filemaker solution– both pretty complex and probably more appropriate for larger teams of people.
Nestled right between these options is something that’s really impressive for a fraction of the cost and complexity. Bento for iPad and Bento for Mac can keep data synchronized between your devices. It comes with numerous ready to use solutions that might fit your needs “right off the rack”.
Let me know if you have any more questions. 🙂
PS… I love your pictures!
Thanks Michael,
I love my Mac Air and use Lightroom 4 extensively (upgraded last week – yeah!) to manage all my photos when traveling and love my Mac desktop at home (just upgraded it to Snow Leopard). So I travel with Mac Air – love it! I just transfer the LR catalog over when I get home – so I can finish editing on the large screen. But I am getting too many customers to keep track of them with just e-mails. So I will look into Bento. I need to access all my client info when traveling – problem is it is all on my computer at home. So I am not sure I need an iPad – other then to keep my 18 month old grand daughter occupied – incredible apps for her and she knows how to turn on, find and use them – but I digress.
When a customer books a photo session with me I need to slot them into a database that helps me keep tract of everything from booking to final delivery and future orders and I need to access it from home and when on the road – which is every month. Bento 4 for my Mac doesn’t seem to offer this ability to access i cloud so I can see all the info when traveling. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2353407,00.asp Unless I copy it all to my mac air before traveling. But some kind of on line database might be easier. Your thoughts?
Hi Julie,
Cost and complexity of a custom cloud database could be a barrier… for example, purchasing a license of Filemaker for each of your Macs would total $600, development would be another 30 to 40 hours, then there would be the cost of hosting the database file– about $40 per month. I don’t know what kind of costs you can justify, but I suspect this might be prohibitive.
That being said, if you’re already signed up for iCloud and you’ve got your Address Book and iCal set to synchronize to iCloud, wouldn’t that work for you?– iCal and Address Book are surprisingly powerful.
If that’s just too rudimentary, check out StudioCloud.
I do have a couple of other ideas, but check that out for now and let me know if it’s getting closer to what you need.
Cheers,
Michael
Thanks Michael!
Okay I just upgraded my OS to Lion so I could get iCloud working – wow. This may be enough. I updated my calendar and my contacts and put client info in there and voila! It is on my laptop too. Now to think seriously about an iphone. So many thanks. This is a great start. I will see how proficient I can get with iCloud and iCal.
Glad you find this exciting… the Address Book and iCal are surprisingly powerful. In fact, in the coming days I’ll try to write a post about some of the features that you might use such as:
Address Book Groups and Smart Groups
Customizing the Address Book Card Template (custom fields)
Calendars and Calendar Groups in iCal
Moving Events between Calendars
In the mean-time, the built-in help for both tools is fantastic.
Cheers