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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>----- Original Message ----- </FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>From: "Cy Shuster" <</FONT><A
href="mailto:741662027@theshusters.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>741662027@theshusters.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>>I use Quickbooks and a Palm. =
There seems
to be a natural division of data <BR>> between customer tracking, =
scheduling,
and accounting.<BR>> <BR>> For example, in Quickbooks, I don't =
have a full
customer database (and their <BR>> customer database add-on is very
primitive): I enter most transactions as <BR>> Sales Receipts (since =
I'm paid
on the spot), and use a handful of dummy <BR>> customers: Mr. Cash =
Taxable,
Mr. Cash Non-Taxable, etc.; those totals are <BR>> good enough. =
I only
enter into Quickbooks the customers who don't pay the <BR>> same day =
(and
those I enter as Invoices). These are the only ones that I =
<BR>> enter
twice -- and I don't need driving directions, etc., in
Quickbooks...<BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial>I'm familiar with =
Quickbooks - I used
it back when I did environmental consulting. I see you idea of the dummy =
customers - indeed, that would keep a lot of stuff real simple. Do you =
give your
customers a receipt? If so, how & what kind?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I know the functions/features of Quickbooks are =
quite
extensive. My guess is that we would only use the basics. Would =
something
like Quicken Home & Business have all the functionality the =
piano
technician might need?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>FWIW, I have been using PTBiz for years. I like =
it - I
don't love it - but it does what I need it to. The one BIG thing I don't =
like
about it is that I can't run it on a PDA-type computer like a Palm Pilot =
or
whatever it is they have now.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <BR>> My full schedule and =
customer
database are on my Palm, so my schedule is <BR>> always at hand and
current. On the Palm, you can enter data into the Note <BR>> =
field on
almost any record type. For customers, I put driving directions =
<BR>>
and service history there (there's a nice shortcut "ds" for "date stamp" =
<BR>> that inserts today's date; see Prefs | Shortcuts). Don't =
forget
that data <BR>> flows both ways between the Palm and Palm Desktop, so =
you can
do major data <BR>> entry on your PC and then just sync =
up.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3>Are there places =
for recording
stuff for calling for next appointment? Piano type, model, serial =
number, etc.?
Can you search the database? Can it do things like give you weekly list =
of calls
for appointments that need to be made? This is critical for me because I =
have a
group of clients that wish for me to call them at their regular =
intervals to
schedule the next service appointment.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT =
size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3>Terry =
Farrell</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR>> I looked at Time and Chaos, and honestly didn't see many =
more
features than <BR>> what Palm Desktop has.<BR>> <BR>> Of =
course, I'm
only tracking 150 customers, but I'm still only using half of <BR>> =
my Palm's
2 Meg of memory.<BR>> <BR>> --Cy Shuster--<BR>> Bluefield,
WV</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>