[Smudger]

Hi guys,

A guy has been in touch with me, he is friendly freelance and he has said that we would be willing to put together a custom "window cleaning database" in the veins of george, aworka, window cleaner pro etc. As some of you know we use WCP and have liked it, but there is no further development, we have looked at George and Aworka and all have pluses and minuses, we have an opportunity now to create a "dream database" The guy is very open to new ideas and obvioulsy wants to make an "all singing all dancing" piece of software that does ALL that we could need - right now we are looking for your wishlist, what would you like on a new database? We would like the ability to bulk mailshot, and bulk email, we would like there to be colour to show online payers etc, so its quick to see at a glance should we knock for monies? We would like to be able to block out days if needed ie holiday, staff holiday or whatever, maybe the ability to auto email online payers an invoice etc...

Anyways this is  a genuine opportunity - if there is enough interest, this could be in a beta version within a month - it would be really good to get as much feedback as possible to see if we can get this pushed forward.

Are there things you really  dislike on your current programme, tell me! Things you love on your current programme - tell me!

Thank guys.

[p1w1]

I use wcp and to be honest it pretty much does what is needed to run a window cleaning business but agree it could do more. I have looked at aworka but its just not for me, i'm not a fan of all this cloud computing etc plus i really like the layout of wcp the scheduling page is the best by far IMO then anything out there at the moment. Off the top of my head i would like
Bulk e-mailing option
Auto recurring expenses
Able to invoice and e-mail from the program
better reports then wcp like the ability to see how much is made from a particular service (this cant be done in wcp)
option to add next to customer how they got on your books (ie leaflet, canvass etc) and the option of an end of year report to see how many new customers where gained from each method

I'm sure i can think of more..but most importantly  i want a program that runs from my pc and is on my pc not in the clouds on someone elses server. Although wcp was a one of payment i would happily pay a subscription type payment method to keep the programmer interested in moving the program forward when it needed it thats where the wcp guys went wrong

paul

[brianbarber]

Make sure it's usable on mac, iPhone ipad

Mr B

[Smudger]

Another thing that comes to mind, is a "nice looking" invoice, invoices on WCP are very very basic.
Love the idea above of source of lead too, and auto re-occuring expenses is another great idea.

Anyone else for ideas?

[brianbarber]

Make it in to an app

Then can be phone, iPad etc, be so easy to use


Mr B

[Frankybadboy]

be able to make a work list drag and drop in to the right order and print out


something I just found out I cant do with george

[Carl@Cwc]

be able to make a work list drag and drop in to the right order and print out


something I just found out I cant do with george

aworka is the same on the planner.
u have to go into a massive list and start finding jobs

[Smudger]

The creator of this programme will be posting on here later, so hopefully we can have some more comments for him and he will be able to answer any questions - it would be great to get this to a beta version so we can all see what we think.

[Rob @ Cleaner Planner]

Hey all,

Rob here - the freelance developer Smudger kindly mentioned.

I was reluctant to butt in but Smudger urged me to "get involved" so you know this is for real!

So, in a nutshell my "thing" is building apps (web, mobile, sometimes desktop) that help people manage their businesses more effectively.

I've built all sorts of systems over the years - from a patient database for a mental health network, to a mobile app for social workers, to a quoting system for a forklift distributor.

Cheesy as it sounds, I always strive to understand what the user *really* needs from their software, in order to be more organised, productive and happy in their work / business.

Anyway... 'nuff about me!

Smudger asked if I would be willing to build their "dream" window cleaning database. I said sure I would, but the penny soon dropped that it wouldn't be viable as a one off bespoke project.

And then the thought crossed our minds that perhaps there's a larger opportunity here: to build the *perfect* window cleaning software for all you guys!

To pick up where George, aworka and WCP left some gaps, and give you a system that has everything you need, and crucially, continue to listen and respond to your evolving needs over time.

Pause (sorry, I ramble when I'm excited  )

Getting back to the point of this post. Is this something you would get excited about? Helping shape your ideal app - web, mobile or otherwise?

We've had some great suggestions for features so far, but I really want to get this post humming, so keep'em coming and I'll add them to the wish list!

If there is enough interest, I *will* build it, and I'll be looking for guinea pigs to feedback on Version 1

Thanks for listening,

Rob

[Carl@Cwc]

aworks but with all the features its missing, like daily events on the end like appointments etc
the ability to alter all a customer details with one click.
the ability to drag the jobs up and down a day on the planner.
really good earner for the right software when u think if only 200 people subscibed its £2k a month

[Smudger]

Another feature aworka misses (although it is being addressed - but it has been this way for some time!) is you cannot forward plan you can only see 4 weeks at a time?

[Rob @ Cleaner Planner]

Thanks Carl.

Might take a while to get up to 200 customers - but the potential's there if we can get this right as you say

Any monthly profit I make from this I'd divide by my hourly rate and plough straight back in to ongoing development based on feedback (and support of course).

Quite honestly it'd be great if I could make at least a part-time job out of looking after you guys on the software side. Would make for a nice change from chasing freelance work all the time

Anyway - feature requests noted. Seems the drag and drop planner is shaping up as a "must have".

[p1w1]

Hi rob

would this be a desktop version like window cleaner pro or a cloud based system. Have you downloaded wcp to get a feel of what is needed. I personally would love a more up to date program but i do like the layout of wcp.So basically if you intend to go along the desktop version way then i'm in.

Thanks
paul

[Rob @ Cleaner Planner]

Hi Paul,

I'm by no means looking to dictate here, you'll always be the best judge of what works best for you, but my preference would definitely be a web / cloud based system.

Key advantages in my mind:

1. Web / cloud is much, much (much!) easier to maintain and add new features. If I add a new feature to a web app, everyone benefits instantly. If I fix a problem with a web app, it gets fixed for everyone instantly. With a desktop app I've got to release a new version of the software, which you then have to download and install. After a few updates we end up in a situation where everyone is running different versions of the app, with different versions of the database (on their local machine), making it really difficult (and error prone) to push out new features. You end up having to bundle in a "migration tools" to bring your database up to the latest version. Not fun for anyone. Or you don't push new features at all - I imagine that's one of the walls WCP have hit.

2. If we go cloud, then it paves the way for releasing complimentary mobile (iOS / Android) apps that will let us do some really nifty things. Ideas off the top of my head include enabling you (or your employees) to tick off jobs as completed, sign up new customers etc while "out and about", and for headquarters (as it were) to be able to monitor how their employees are getting on throughout the day - just my initial thoughts, I'm sure you guys will have some much more creative and insightful ideas here!

Is your issue with cloud not so much about where the data is stored (cloud tends to be more secure in this regard, as it's double if not triple backed up!) and more that cloud / web often means the user interface is less intuitive and snappy than a desktop app? If so, I can assure you user friendliness, "snappiness" and productivity will be top of my agenda in building this. There are lots of things we (I) can do to create a "desktop like experience" on the web / in the cloud.

Haven't downloaded WCP yet but I certainly will if I move forward. I've had a good look at aworka but I'm getting the impression what people are after is a web / mobile based app that replicates the nice UI / layouts of WCP, but also moves the game forward (and continues to do so).

Sorry, I waffled again! Hope you get the gist and keen to get your further thoughts / input on this.

Cheers,

Rob

[dave0123]

tbh, i think aworka will pretty much do everything that's needed in the near future.. so i do see you struggling like WCP did to make any money out of it.

[Smudger]

HI there,

We did look at aworka and quite liked it until the forward planning problem, then it was a no go for us. Personally I think all of the programmes do want we NEED, but I would like a programme that would do things that I would like, mailhosts, bulk email, facebook, twitter interaction and lots of the other things mentioned by other here are great and would be really beneficial too.   My very short experience of aworka was that the forward planner thing could not be changed "overnight" or in a very short space of time, this concerned us, although other aspects of it looked ok, buy we went back to WCP.

We would really like to hear all opinons good and bad, to see if it is worth rob getting together a beta version. Keep the feedback coming

[8weekly]

be able to make a work list drag and drop in to the right order and print out


something I just found out I cant do with george

+1

[Rob @ Cleaner Planner]

tbh, i think aworka will pretty much do everything that's needed in the near future.. so i do see you struggling like WCP did to make any money out of it.

Thanks Dave, valuable input nonetheless.

I've no interest in doing this unless I can bring something genuinely new / useful / better to the table, so if aworka really have it nailed, I won't bother!

But, other comments suggest this isn't the case (for everyone).

Must be one or two things you feel are lacking with aworka - how about easier (e.g. drag and drop) job scheduling or better reporting on how your business is doing?

[Rob @ Cleaner Planner]

Thanks 8weekly - looks like a running favourite that one

[Rob @ Cleaner Planner]

Thanks Smudger  - didn't think of Facebook / Twitter integration (though I probably should have!)

How would you see this working? Wouldn't want to throw it in there just because everything's social these days if you know what I mean!

Perhaps a feed of your company Facebook and Twitter accounts would be handy though.

While we're talking integration, there's also scope to integrate with online accounting software such as Xero and KashFlow, for sync'ing contacts and invoices, if that would be at all useful...