database

[Michael Musial]

Hi

I have tried many different ways to keep my customer database. I started out 
with the usual 2 boxes of 4X6 cards.  In 1985, my first computer database 
was on a floppy based PC using PFS File, a flat file database. It worked 
fine until the floppy started to fill up. I then used Q&A, another flat file 
database on my first PC with a hard drive. I used this for some time. My 
next system was with Microsoft Access. I used a relational database system 
with this. I also bought Ken Hale’s PianoDB and tried  that with Access. 
PianoDB just did not fit my needs, so I went back to MS Access alone, 
tweaked a bit more to my liking. I eventually started to hate Access because 
it was so hard to customize/troubleshoot without a LOT of reading of 
manuals. Very frustrating. I also have a very low opinion of the Microsoft 
product activation method.. I started looking for something else. I tried 
Time&Chaos but it was just too klunky for me, no matter how much I tweaked 
it. I eventually settled in with Filemaker Pro. I love this program! It is 
easy to learn and set up. Tweaking to ones liking is very easy compared to 
other databases I have used. The install CD contains both the PC and Mac 
versions.

I use Filemaker Pro 8.5 as a flat file database. For each customer I have 
the usual info plus a place to have a photo of each piano. I take a picture 
with my cell phone of every piano I tune, and send it to my iBook using 
bluetooth. I can then import it into my customers file with two clicks on my 
laptop.That whole process takes about one minute. I have over 1200 customers 
in my database, so a picture can help a lot to remind me who the customer 
may be.

Like any good database I can search for any combo of information..  like 
"Kawai RX-2s last tuned 1 year ago in Anytown..."

Filemaker has a Pocket PC version  that I used for a while which links with 
the desktop version to enable me to have another means of access to customer 
info. It is great if you just want to have a mobile version of your 
database.. I would not recommend it as a method of data entry. For reference 
only it is good. Since I always have my laptop with me I decided having the 
same info on my PocketPC was overkill. I stopped using the PocketPC version.

I carry my laptop in my toolkit and enter the customers info onsite. This 
works best for me.
I try to keep this system as simple as possible. I make invoices by hand, 
and track my income through my appointment book/ledger.  If you buy 
Filemaker online you get a productivity package that includes some invoice 
templates that you can modify if you want. I can not imagine carrying a 
printer into a customers house. My toolkit is too full already.

I use a postcard system to remind my customers of their next time for a 
tuning. I can export the relevant info each month into a mail-merge file, 
open it up in  another program on my Mac called SOHO Labels and Envelopes 
and print my "last date tuned" info and customer address on my custom 
postcards.

I made a simple web page with a screenshot of my database and a sample 
merged postcard

http://neesium.com/database/


Michael Musial RPT
Vacaville, CA

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