Wanting a program for my business

[CheekyKid]

Am looking for a freeware program that can keep my customers data, when they paid, when their subscription expires etc. any idea?

[Praxidike]

Excel? Well, not freeware but it seems to be widely available.

I think there are freeware versions too, Open Office I think it's called.

[signs]

Originally Posted by CheekyKid

Am looking for a freeware program that can keep my customers data, when they paid, when their subscription expires etc. any idea?

What do you do?

[Kahled]

Well if you don't mind getting your fingers a little dirty I would suggest going for something like mySQL.

Even if you start with a very basic table and simple queries then as time progresses you could expand the functionality.

[CheekyKid]

Originally Posted by signs

What do you do?

Working for a magazine. I'll check excel.

[Knyght_byte]

always surprises me when i hear of businesses paying out fortunes for software thats basically Excel in disguise...lol....if you need it to look simple for staff then i guess this can be useful if you dont know how to use a basic graphics editing program, but otherwise its a waste of money......granted it helps if you pick up a dummies guide and a couple other books on getting the most out of excel, but its not too difficult once you understand how the formula thing works.....my last employers used Excel to keep track of all call centre based revenue and employee KPI's (Key Performence Indicators)....

[andrew1810]

I'd say either excel, or something custom built using MySQL, depending how much effort you want to put in.

I have done both for different things and both will work well in this case (I use excel for accounts and MySQL for contacts, tasks etc.)

If you use Excel, have a look at adding a VBA form on the front of it, makes it much easier to add to

[eviljohn2]

It seems strange to me that forum members are suggesting Excel which is a spreadsheet program for performing calculations rather than Access which is a database program for storing data. From the information you've provided, Microsoft Access would be the appropriate MS program but more appropriately, using Openoffice Base which is a freeware program would be a more suitable choice.

[Knyght_byte]

Originally Posted by eviljohn2

It seems strange to me that forum members are suggesting Excel which is a spreadsheet program for performing calculations rather than Access which is a database program for storing data. From the information you've provided, Microsoft Access would be the appropriate MS program but more appropriately, using Openoffice Base which is a freeware program would be a more suitable choice.

Excel is a spreadsheet program, but can quite capably be a database too...simply a case of knowing what forumulae to use.........Access works using formulae too, it just has ready made entry fields.....however if you just use Excel then its going to be easier for the computer to handle than having both Excel and Access going.....which is why my last firm did it that way....they loathed spending money on updating computers...lol....(yet if they did update the computers we could work faster and get more calls taken.....strange how companies cut their noses of to spite their face sometimes..lol)

[andrew1810]

Excel is also easier to use, for someone who has never used Access before, it would be quite a daunting task

[pixelpixel]

Originally Posted by andrew1810

Excel is also easier to use, for someone who has never used Access before, it would be quite a daunting task

I find access that little bit better, but I do remember working for a company that just used Notepad for all customers details.

[Chris Muriel]

Loads of businesses used to use Sage. Is it still going and being updated ?
I recall hiring a PC (for a customer demo) about 10 years ago and it had Sage installed.
I found that I could use the default password and see all the customer and transaction details from a previous user.
I would have expected the renting company to have removed stuff like that before reallocating the PC (or at least remove the data files) .

Chris Muriel, Manchester