Help!!! with managing orders

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Daniel

Daniel

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2004
Messages
5,921
Location
Reno, NV, USA.
No I do not need secretaries.
what I do need is reliable way to keep records for group buy orders.
I also would love to have something that is accessible from multiple computers like an online data base sort of thing.

Just in the off chance that something like that exists here are a few things I need it to be able to do.

Store all identification and shipping info. this includes

Date
IAP Username
link to IAP contact
any real sounding name viewable from the IAP site.
Name and address payment is made under
items ordered
total of order
billing info (was info on how to pay sent)
payment info (includes amount payed and transaction number or other)
link to payment transaction
special instructions field (does not need to be huge but very necessary)
Shipping status. (Pending, shipped, Received)
link for tracking info.

I also need to be able to set it up to actually calculate totals for orders as well as itemize those charges.

track separate total costs such as pay pal fees, postage, shipping and product costs.

regardless of weather the program generates a seperate page for each order I need a way to keep a running total of all orders as well as a way to easily tell what orders are at what stage of the process. what has shipped what has been billed what has been paid for and what has not even been billed.

at this time I do all this from a spreed sheet but that is proving to be a sytem that is deadly with errors. calculations can and will just randomly change and it is far to simple to move or delete infomation without meaning to. I need cells that can be locked so that the info cannot be changed without meaning to etc.

As the group buys grow they are being moved to a order form that includes all itmes I offer thorugh group buys. so he system needs to expand as group buys do. this expansion will be in the number of items listed on it

eventually I hope to simply offer all itmes on my web site through pay buttons which will then solve the problem of some form of record on all of this. it will not be convenient though as each order will be a completely seperate page. I need a sheet that has all orders on one page. or as close to that as I can get. at lest a list of orders and if they have been billed, payed and shipped at the very least.
 
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Sounds a like a major project. I just use a spreadsheet myself.

I keep separate columns for; IAP username, Paypal username, Notes, item cost, insurance, shipping, paypal fee, calculated total, actual paid, shipped date

Keep a printed copy for times that is not convenient to access the worksheet then reconcile every now and then.
 
how about Google Docs. It's a free service by google that lets you store an excel spreadsheet online and access it anywhere.

"Create documents, spreadsheets and presentations online

1 of 6 next

Create basic documents from scratch or start from a template.
You can easily do all the basics, including making bulleted lists, sorting by columns, adding tables, images, comments, formulas, changing fonts and more. And it's free.

Upload your existing files.
Google Docs accepts most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT, etc. So go ahead and upload your existing files.

Familiar desktop feel makes editing a breeze.
Just click the toolbar buttons to bold, underline, indent, change font or number format, change cell background color and so on."
 
Well, I read your post again and this will solve the storage problem, but I cannot help with the programming problem. That is way beyond my feeble skills. I know that between excel and access, something like this can be made. I had something made for me at work, but I have moved out of the position I was in and no longer have access to the database or the person who created it for me. Sorry.
 
I will look at Google Docs. Since everything is already on a spreadsheet it would be a simple move.
I am not a computer wizard myself so i always have the feeling that those that know only got a real good rolling on the floor laugh from my list of what I want. Nice to know I am not that far off the charts.
 
MS Access

Daniel,

Do you happen to have MS Access - it is a Database tool with reporting and form services built in. It typically comes with Microsoft Office Professional.

I do software development and have used Access and Excel to manage things like this. I could help if you are interested.
 
I'm not an Excel whiz; but it seems that every thing you want to do can be done by that software. True, it is a little too easy to mess something up with a careless key stroke or two; but that is pretty much true of any software.

Whenever I use Excel for a serious project. I make two copies of the spreadsheet. I label one as the daily working copy and one as the archived copy. I always work in the daily copy. When I am absolutely sure it is fully correct, I save it as the archived copy. That way I always have a copy to fall back on if I screw up something while actively working on the daily copy. Not 100% foolproof; but almost nothing is.:wink:
 
Hey Dan,

I just wanted to second google docs. I use it for various other "tracking" tasks and the ability to access it anywhere is hands down, an amazing feature. Yeah, an online webapp would be nice that would generate invoices, etc, but that would be a major undertaking.

Chris
 
You also have the option of freezing columns or specific fields within excel and you can also use visual basic scripting language in Excel. There are inherent issues with using Excel's calculations tools especially when you are adding/deleting rows and your calcs are tied to those rows that have been removed.

Jimbob91577 has offered assistance and I would take him up on it. MS Access or another freeware alternative might provide a better solution to your "Use Case" as you outlined it above.

Excel has some pretty powerful features you can use but you kinda need to be an Excel Power User to take full advantage of those features.

- David
 
Daniel,

I've been looking for something similar, but haven't found anything that is as customizable as I would like. It also sounds like you want to store a couple fields that are not necessarily standard (like the IAP data). You might be able to store that info in some sort of notes field though.

Some of these sites are geared more toward freelance work; some might be overkill; some may be cost prohibitive; some may not fit your needs. Nevertheless, here's a couple articles that may be helpful:

http://sixrevisions.com/tools/20-invoicing-tools-web-designers/
http://freelanceswitch.com/money/7-online-invoicing-apps-for-freelancers/

Hope this helps,

Paul

P.S. I really like the BillingManager from Intuit.
 
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I just went to Google docs and uploaded an old file that is a duplicate of an old group buy. I then got my wife to log on from home. (I am at work). that was fun. I can see everything she is doing on the form and we can both access it at the same time and be on the same account!!!

It is a quick easy answer to what I need but does still have all the weaknesses of a spreadsheet. I know these cannot be completely eliminated. entering data in the wrong cell is not nearly as much of an issue if I am the only one using the sheet. I have become well practiced at checking and rechecking. My wife has recently started trying to help me keep track of orders etc and she is not nearly as aware when she did something and even if she does she has no idea how to fix it. so I am sort of in the place I need. it might be a moot point though if I can keep the records myself from any computer.

what I am running into right now is that I have two or three group buys going with orders in as many as three threads, my pm's or my e-mail. I will get on the computer for the first time ech day at between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. any orders that have come in the night before I see but am at work and cannot do anything with them. as the day progresses I get several other messages dealing with various things and by 2:00 P.M. when I get home and can process orders I am fairly removed from those first orders I saw. there is becomeing more and more of a risk of a post, PM or e-mail either getting forgotten or even deleted before it was even replied to. being able to tend to orders as I see them will be a huge help on it's own. also I never know what my wife saw and took care of and what she has not. so having one common file makes it easy as I have already shown her how to not enter anything until it has actually been done. an example to to calculate an order total. fill in the column for that order and then since you are already right there jsut type in that the payment info e-mail has been sent. but I told her not to do that. with me it only takes one distraction between typing sent in a cell and actually sending the e-mail for me to not remember if I really sent one or not.
I only get addresses from pay pal payments so having an address is an indicaton that there is a payment somewhere that sort of thing. Basically my record keeping sytem needs to mesh with my work habits to some degree. spreedsheets actually work well for that.
 
I know how to freeze titles, which is real handy when you have 50 columns of orders and need the next order info that is in column B at Column CZ.

I have asked several people at work about being able to lock cells. never have had anyone tell me how to do it but have been told it can be done. this would prevent any accidental entries in set cells. cells with the price per item are not as big a deal as the ones that have a formula in them. I have had my wife accidentally type a number in a cell that was a sum for a formula. at the time it was displaying a 0. then she changes it back by typing 0 rather than undo, not knowing an entire formula just got deleted.

there are some other things I have not yet gotten a real grip on. maybe there is no answer to them. gathering every bit of info possible is often important. the reason is that most members have no realization of what is taking place at this end. for them there order is the only thing they know about and they will contact me as if I am aware of the details concerning them. it is all a natural thing to do. I have actually gotten e-mails that look like this.

I was just checking on the status of my order.
Bill

seriously, except for changing the name I have actually received this exact e-mail several times. Now I know that in this small friendly community I should know who Bill is. except I have never know Bill by much more than his IAP username which is something like fingerlickin.

I can usually find Bills order believe it or not if I have recorded every name I am able to locate. recorded his e-mail address, and at times I have only been able to find a particular order by having the city or state they live in recorded. you know that little thing under there username on there posts. yes I record that also. I get lots of payments that the only way I know whos order they are for is the address.

there are two currently that always get me. they are so far out there that I actually have them memorized now so i can usually find them with little problem. but do all group buy people a favor.and it you order stuff under your real name. do not pay for it through your business. certainly if your business name does not have your name in it.

Basically names change in these buys faster than my wife changes her mind. tracking it all is a challenge at times.


dasimm said:
You also have the option of freezing columns or specific fields within excel and you can also use visual basic scripting language in Excel. There are inherent issues with using Excel's calculations tools especially when you are adding/deleting rows and your calcs are tied to those rows that have been removed.

Jimbob91577 has offered assistance and I would take him up on it. MS Access or another freeware alternative might provide a better solution to your "Use Case" as you outlined it above.

Excel has some pretty powerful features you can use but you kinda need to be an Excel Power User to take full advantage of those features.

- David
Click to expand...
 
I put two of my files on Google docs last night. since then I have had to enter 4 or 5 orders and everything has been fine. feels a little awkward to me but that is because what I have been doing has become well ingrained in my system. i will be keeping records on my computer as usual as that has proven to be a system that i do not mess up a lot of orders. so until google docs has had the opportunity to prove itself I am just not willing to throw all my eggs in that basket.

I also have a person or two that are working one something specific to my needs. thanks to all for the help as always. it seems to never fail. the fastest path to an answer is to ask the question here.
 
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