A client needs to produce multi-page quotes, invoices and purchase orders with non-inventory products.

A typical small business is limited in product offerings based on inventory, generally a few thousand products, tens of thousands at worst. Because these products are custom and non-inventory my client has hundreds of thousands of products from multiple vendors with price lists changing at various times…

I proposed an Access Database with price lists formatted and linked allowing easy updates. Simply change the titles for each column and I can parse the files: gather pricing, description, discounts, product numbers, etc. and format all into a form that collects the quote, then generate printed quotes in custom reports.

Should be an interesting project.

As with many brokerages, SOLD RES does not have a central office, opting to meet clients in their homes and work from a home office to reduce costs. The group needed business branded email that linked to Outlook and their mobile phones. They also wanted a shared calendar and contacts, and collaboration tools to allow them to work on marketing and client proposals quickly without having to commute.

I proposed a Google Apps implementation bringing all of the necessary tools together in a single system that I can remotely administer.

There have been some issues with blackberry that we’re working through, otherwise the solution was rapidly deployed and extremely cost effective at $50 per user account per year for all services.

Email, contacts & calendars are auto synchronized across laptops, web and phones. They’ve saved hundreds on MS Office opting to use online documents which allow them to collaborate and share documents and spreadsheets. And, I created domain wide share allowing them to upload any other files they need brokers and agents to have access to current copies.

I’ve deployed this solution dozens of clients to date, most feedback is extremely happy with the solution. The primary issues I’ve seen to date are users entrenched in Outlook, though I’ve been able to work with those users and they generally see the benefits in time.

An alternative to this is Microsoft online tools. This is more expensive, and most small to medium businesses have opted for Google Apps to date. However, Microsoft online tools have a great look and feel, and users adapt to them much quicker than with Google Apps.

A client selling a service where it is difficult to set sales appointments wants to distribute sales brochures via Acrobat or PDF documents. Employees need to be able to input their contact information, the basic client information, and some of the terms of the potential contract into the document. Not difficult, we just added some form fields for prospect information and created a template for each employee so they don’t need to input their information each time.

The interesting part was the clients idea to add video to the document. They wanted and opportunity to stand out,  introduce themselves to the client visually and audibly. Cool concept, but had a few issues.

The files are going to be distributed via email. That limits the file size dramatically, not the best issue when dealing with video.

The goal was to have the client open the Acrobat file, see the presentation, and then have the video start (without sound so prospects don’t jump out of their seat).

I initially thought of linking the video files into the Acrobat document and serving them via a client web server. The problem was that linking a file to an outside server scares Windows (causes an alert to pop up asking the prospect to allow the video – that won’t work). Windows, rightfully, sees a request from an email to an outside server as a possible threat.

I resolved the video issue, the document looks great, opens quickly, the video starts without audio, and the file is easily emailed…. I’m interested to see how my clients prospects respond.

The initial test project called for one wireless bridge to a canopy that was rolled out on weekends during business. One end point was connected and pointed toward where the canopy would be setup for business. The other bridge was connected to the back of the canopy and powered up each weekend.

Powering up the bridge only on weekends was a concern, as was the distance the wireless bridge would need to span (roughly 1,500 feet). The span was clear line of sight, I mounted the bridge on top of the main building and outside the canopy (the bridges are weatherproof).

This initial test project worked extremely well, and we’re currently implementing two additional bridges.

Always love an interesting challenge.

Designing for t-shirts is sometimes difficult, really depends on the printer, and the number of colors in the process. This shirt has shading, not easy when you’re working on a charity budget, but we pulled it off and everyone seemed very happy with their shirts. Always cool to see hundreds of people running around in the shirt I designed.

My client needed connectivity across their leased campus for payment processing. It would allow them to accept credit cards at small, unconnected outside buildings and give them future access to their private network for a POS system to simplify accounting. The first step was a proof of concept focusing on connecting credit card machines to the network.

Trenching and laying ethernet cables was an option. However, buildings are scattered across the campus and multiple trenches would be needed. Further, the land is leased and obtaining approval would be difficult.

An alternative that I suggested was a set of wireless bridges tying the campus together at the main building. These bridges provide a seamless point to point connection; bridge end points appear as though they are directly connected to the main network.

]]> http://www.techproscc.com/2011/05/15/hello-world/feed/ 1 http://www.techproscc.com/2010/12/20/custom-access-database/ http://www.techproscc.com/2010/12/20/custom-access-database/#comments Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:13:31 +0000 Jeff http://www.techproscc.com/?p=204 Starting a New Project.

A client needs to produce multi-page quotes, invoices and purchase orders with non-inventory products.

A typical small business is limited in product offerings based on inventory, generally a few thousand products, tens of thousands at worst. Because these products are custom and non-inventory my client has hundreds of thousands of products from multiple vendors with price lists changing at various times…

I proposed an Access Database with price lists formatted and linked allowing easy updates. Simply change the titles for each column and I can parse the files: gather pricing, description, discounts, product numbers, etc. and format all into a form that collects the quote, then generate printed quotes in custom reports.

Should be an interesting project.