POS reccomendation

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alacrity8

alacrity8

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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Alacrity Frame Workshop
I know I've seen a comparison of some POS software on the Grumble before, but I cannot find any with a quick search.
Doing a search for POS comes up with nothing.
Searching Software comes up with too much.
Thanks in advance,


Brian
 
Go to Mike Labbe's profile page, there is a link in his signature.

There were also about 10 annual "Technology surveys" which included POSs that might be helpful.
 
To clarify above,
Searching software comes up with too much that is not related.

Thanks again,

Brian
 
David Waldmann said:
Go to Mike Labbe's profile page, there is a link in his signature.

There were also about 10 annual "Technology surveys" which included POSs that might be helpful.
Click to expand...

Thanks David.
I'll look into those
 
If you ask most framers, they will tell that they "love" what they have. Possibly it is because either they haven't used anything else or are so deeply entrenched into their current system that they are "afraid" to do it all over.

A POS system can be THE most powerful tool in your business as it is "responsible" for what you will charge (and if used) can yield significant data that will help you make business decisions based on facts and less on emotion or, "I think".

With that in mind, I could never think about such a long term investment and relationship (because THAT is what you are really buying, not just "some program" but the assistance after installation and the ability to have custom "tweaks" written to make the program more tailored to your busines)s - WITHOUT eye to eye meetings with representatives of the companies, the ability to see the screens, try the programs and perhaps take some "free" courses offered by each of the companies.

A trip to the WCAF could more than pay for itself if you ONLY went software shopping. Some of the most talented and experienced framers in the industry will be there. You will have networking abilities to discuss with end users (and also industry leaders/users who might not post on this forum) of their true experiences.

I will share that I invested a substantial amount of money in one company for a system that never worked (it was intended to link my multiple stores and be able to track real time inventory) and learned my lesson the hard way.

I would also ask those who are the "consultants" in the business what they use/recommend because should you decide to avail yourself of their coaching, having/using a system that they are familiar with might be a significant advantage.

GO TO THE WCAF.
 
http://www.getthepictureframing.com/gfaq/software.htm

This is the link you're looking for.

From what I understand these days, there are the three major players: Frame ready, Lifesaver and Specialty Soft.

Personally, I have Specialty Soft. I like it but it is not intuitive at all. I would think any of those three have advantages and disadvantages. I chose SS because of a industry leader's recommendation. I am not completely positive if I would do so again and I would definitely research the others much better.

I know that SS offers a demo disk and assume the other two do as well. That's where I would start and see which one you like best and which one would fill your needs. I can't imagine switching systems as it would be a lot of work to transfer data so I'd probably work with 2 systems for a while.

Good luck in your search, hope the link helps.
 
Good advice. I'll add that it's best to try all 3 (or 4) free demos, and pick the one that feels right for your business. Ask questions and test out the tech support.

Here is the link to the other document, which has the results from 12 years of techie polls for the framing industry. We used to do them every November, until folks lost interest. It's still interesting to look at the trends.

http://custompictureframing.com/poll_results.htm

Best regards,
Mike
 
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