Jim Lawrence
accessd at shaw.ca
Tue Mar 25 14:38:23 CDT 2014
Hi Bill: That is true. A business has to be a certain size and have a certain volume of sales before invoicing and the subsequent POS type system is important. I have found that a custom POS system usually runs between 5 and 10K. Few businesses can afford to drop that amount of cash, at one time, so they limp along with some Office version, usually unlicensed, using the word processor, spreadsheet and sometimes even the database to substitute for a real POS system. (I usually like to get such a client either a real licensed copy or install a LibreOffice version.) Over the years I have built a number of systems for trucking companies and interesting enough my last major invoicing (POS) system was for a plumbing company. True EBay and PayPal do not show the traditional, at the counter sales system but rest assured, even though their business model is over the internet, every transaction you do with them is being recorded and billed appropriately...and you can download an invoice from them. The truth is that many businesses are small enough that they do not need all the full business system in their company but one day the IRS will come a knocking and if there are insufficient record keeping, it can get very expensive. I have spent many days, over the years, in the offices of the Income tax bureau, for myself and sometimes for clients, being grilled for receipts and documentation. Well ordered Accounts payable and receivable printouts are mandatory...fortunately this is one thing I learned very early in my career...my first major programming gig, after I went free-lance, was designing a full custom system, for a chartered accountant who owned a wholesale book store. Aside: A good friend of ours, a singer, had not kept her receipts for costumes and travel expenses and as far as I know she is still paying off income tax debts. Now she pays an accountant to keep record of all her profits and expenses. Considering that she barely scrapes by, it was a hard lesson learned. All that said, every business needs a good invoicing system but very few small businesses are willing to make the investment but the truth is, that a good POS/invoicing system is the cost of doing and staying in business. Over the years I have been called in to make many a MS Access database tracking systems and unfortunately it is after a company has been losing money, for years, from poor record keeping. In summary, there is lots of businesses who could use a good business tracking system and if you can assemble or boilerplate a system (MS Access) together fast and cheap they would be interested. If you hope to be able to build a extensive well paid custom system for clients, those clients can be few and far between and it takes a number of years to build up a reputation. Unfortunately, many well heeled clients, think MS Access is little more than a toy. Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Benson" <bensonforums at gmail.com> To: "Access Developers discussion and problem solving" <accessd at databaseadvisors.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 6:59:13 AM Subject: Re: [AccessD] Unbound Form Check For Changes Lots of Truckers, plumbers, Website designers, hole in the walls, people who are paid on 1099s, have no automated systems Do you call ebay and PayPal a POS system? I send out Word invoices and bill for my time. I promised a friend of a friend I would (eventually) build him a driver notification tool in Access. He can only pay $500, and it has already taken me 20 hours, undertaken in fits and starts, and I am nowhere near done. He just doesn't make the money from his business that would give legs to a real IT budget and (sad for him!) I am the best Access Developer he knows, and I am none too good. Other businesses must be in this situation and custom development is way above what they think they can afford. I am convinced unless I am told differently that many of those 5 million plus "small businesses" are really small, and don't have or need or have time to run or deal with maintenance of a POS Or Payroll Or Inventory Management Or Contact Relationship Management, or any number of systems, and after them come the ones who outsource everything, and after them come the ones who buy canned programs off the shelf, or software tailored to their market. I am not sure what we're debating. I said MS Access has no appeal to a lot of businesses because large businesses fear it, small ones don't want to buy and have it customized and maintain it. On Mar 25, 2014 1:32 AM, "Jim Lawrence" <accessd at shaw.ca> wrote: > Hi Bill: > > Correct me if I am wrong but are not the major systems in all businesses > the POS. Accounting, advertising, human resources, inventory and analysis > are very important but without the POS there is no business. > > Jim > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bill Benson" <bensonforums at gmail.com> > To: "Access Developers discussion and problem solving" < > accessd at databaseadvisors.com> > Sent: Monday, March 24, 2014 9:49:53 PM > Subject: Re: [AccessD] Unbound Form Check For Changes > > Jim, Maybe I was not clear, I am saying there is hardly a need BEYOND a POS > system and most of the ones I have seen are not MS Access based. They are > coded up and maintained as canned solutions and there is no general demand > for Access Developers to customize in house. > > If your experience differs...? > On Mar 24, 2014 9:51 PM, "Jim Lawrence" <accessd at shaw.ca> wrote: > > > Hi Bill: > > > > I made my livelihood, for almost ten years supporting various > > franchises...none of them could do without a POS system...there is > probably > > a hundred different flavours of POS systems out there. Every company had > > their own special products. > > > > Some of the senior company programmers had worked their entire lives on a > > particular product version...it is amazing how many proprietary packages > > are out there built on just about every database you have heard of and > > many, I would bet, you have never heard of. > > > > In the bigger centres, or any place where there is reliable internet, > > everything is going web based. > > > > Unfortunately, MS Access has never managed to be considered appropriate > > for either corporate desktops or the web. The product, though it has an > > immense list of features, has suffered the same fate as now has befallen > IE > > and Windows 8.x. Once, the curse of the developer community has been > placed > > on a product no amount of advertising dollars can bring it back from > > oblivion. > > > > Jim > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Bill Benson" <bensonforums at gmail.com> > > To: "Access Developers discussion and problem solving" < > > accessd at databaseadvisors.com> > > Sent: Monday, March 24, 2014 5:23:10 PM > > Subject: Re: [AccessD] Unbound Form Check For Changes > > > > A huge number of businesses use outsourced IT, no IT at all, or canned > SW. > > Many would say that they survive on web mail, a smartphone, and either a > > tablet or a Mac or both. > > > > What does being a small business necessarily have to do with using a > > database, a lot tools are pay as you go for them... or they use Google > > Docs. I know people who use Word as their database, more who use Excel, > but > > many medical practices and shopkeepers, cab companies- use special > business > > management sw for their industry including contact mgt, POS, payroll, and > > billing... and an accountant who tells them what to file. They sure as > heck > > aren't asking for custom development in Access. > > > > On Mar 24, 2014 7:23 PM, "John W Colby" <jwcolby at gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > At the insurance company call center I wrote, they had 25 users in all > > day > > > and no sign of slowness. Their problem became (after 9 years) that > their > > > DATA outgrew the MDB containers. And yet they refused to even discuss > a > > > SQL Server express solution. Of course at that time the SQL Server > > Express > > > limited you to 2 gig containers which was not much help. > > > > > > The thing about any company is that often there are different > databases, > > > with different usage patterns. It is pretty certain that in a 100 > person > > > company, there will never be 100 people in the database. > > > > > > Furthermore the numbers say that over 4 million of those companies have > > > less than 20 people. > > > > > > There is simply no argument that SQL Server Express would be a superior > > > solution, even for these very small companies, but MDBs work fine there > > as > > > well. > > > > > > John W. Colby > > > > > > Reality is what refuses to go away > > > when you do not believe in it > > > > > > On 3/24/2014 7:00 PM, Jim Lawrence wrote: > > > > > >> Hi John: > > >> > > >> Valid numbers but what is the maximum number of people that can really > > >> use a bound version of the MDB. I have never seen more than about > twenty > > >> people (maybe less) and even at times, with that small number, with > > heavy > > >> usage things were really grinding. > > >> > > >> For the big numbers in data and users, I am still a real ADO fan. > > >> > > >> Jim > > >> > > >> > > >> > > > > > > --- > > > This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! 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