This section of the forum is for discussing the business and finance issues of the t-shirt industry. Which business structure to use (sole proprietor, LLC, S Corp, etc), how to handle billing, where to register your business and get the proper licensing, etc.
Neat piece of software. I'm looking for something more flexible though as I run DTG printing. It looks like there are a number of fixed items in the costing segment.
If this application were more configurable and supported product imports, it would be pretty close to what I am looking for.
Anyone else found similar applications?
A dream application would:
1. allow import of product catalogs from vendors,
2. support image associations with each product per variation,
3. generate mockups based design files and product images (like custom shirt designers do except be able to save the mockup for reference),
4. generate work orders,
5. support multiple users on a network.
6. be priced from $500 or less.
I was really impressed by FastManager. You can set up your pricing tables any way that you would like and it is compatible with Quickbooks meaning no repetitive data entry. What is it lacking for you? Not having product images or is it priced too high? I'm interested to hear others opinions on the software as I have been researching management systems. I have also looked into ASI Computer system's Profitmaker but it is mored honed into ASI distributing and manufacturing rather than a printing and embroidery production shop.
I am not sure if estimate would be what you are looking for but when I talked to them at sgia last week they said they were going to be adding dtg to it. At least that is what the woman told me
I am not sure if estimate would be what you are looking for but when I talked to them at sgia last week they said they were going to be adding dtg to it. At least that is what the woman told me
Which product is this? Do you have a link to look at?
I was really impressed by FastManager. You can set up your pricing tables any way that you would like and it is compatible with Quickbooks meaning no repetitive data entry. What is it lacking for you? Not having product images or is it priced too high? I'm interested to hear others opinions on the software as I have been researching management systems. I have also looked into ASI Computer system's Profitmaker but it is mored honed into ASI distributing and manufacturing rather than a printing and embroidery production shop.
I dislike the price for T-Quoter and Fast Manager. While I agree specialized software costs a hefty coin, I still think the software is over priced. Believe me, I'm not cheap or trying to get the milk for free, I just think the software should be more affordable. I think $500.00 is a far more reasonable target for software.
I liked the simple approach of the Pricelist product and my first looks at their costing/estimating system. FastManager's invoice generation interface was very cool and my favorite to work with. T-Quoter's work order form with its simple placement graphics made a huge difference in conveying the order between parties when we tested it in house. There are more pros and cons but that is just a quick one liner highlight for each application so far.
If I were scoring the applications based on each module that affected my business, none of them really worked for me. Each application has had something really solid about it but none of the applications managed to hit a 9 in one area and at least 7s in the rest. It was more like 9 in one category and possibly an 8 then a mix of 6s and 5s.
If I'm spending $250 or less that might be appropriate but when I get to $500+ and $1000+ markers, I want the software to fire at all levels.
I will try to find my business card I got from them. It is sign software but they said they were going to be adding dtg.
Not sure if this is what you are looking for but it did look pretty nice when she went through it.
Here is a link but I am not positive that this is correct EstiMate Sign Estimating Software:
Neat piece of software. I'm looking for something more flexible though as I run DTG printing. It looks like there are a number of fixed items in the costing segment.
If this application were more configurable and supported product imports, it would be pretty close to what I am looking for.
Anyone else found similar applications?
A dream application would:
1. allow import of product catalogs from vendors,
2. support image associations with each product per variation,
3. generate mockups based design files and product images (like custom shirt designers do except be able to save the mockup for reference),
4. generate work orders,
5. support multiple users on a network.
6. be priced from $500 or less.
I'm having custom software made to do everything you need. The cost is only $40,000.00... so far.
I will try to find my business card I got from them. It is sign software but they said they were going to be adding dtg.
Not sure if this is what you are looking for but it did look pretty nice when she went through it.
Here is a link but I am not positive that this is correct EstiMate Sign Estimating Software:
I went to checkout this package. First turn off is that you have to pay to demo the software. $10.00 isn't a lot but just to try out the software left a bad taste in my mouth.
The DTG segment isn't ready yet but I did check out the embroidery segment. I didn't completely understand their slider concept for adjusting prices and the base prices seem high despite adjusting the costs to reflect my actual business numbers. Basically, the formulas in EstiMate have something I'm missing in the setup or is calculated without input from me that causes it to be quite far off from my spreadsheets.
The plug in system allows it to support a pretty impressive number of business types though.
I'm not trying to sound rude, but I don't think $500 or less is ever going to happen for what you are looking for. $500 is cheap for this type of application. I have been involved in some software projects myself and I think alot of people don't understand what is involved when developing software. This is the reason why more than 90% of software development projects either fail or go way over budget. Software is taken for granted. Most of the time that people hire programmers there are changes in the original plan which cause unforseen delays and even sometimes killing the project. I'm not at all saying this is should be reflected in the customers pricing, but software development is not as easy as "this is what I want, now go write the code". Alot of people don't take into consideration the countless of hours of testing and bug fixing. The next thing you know, there is an additional feature that would be great for the software and it is expected for a very low cost or free. Not to mention it ruins the projects timeline. I'm not writing this to defend the cost of certain softwares but to inform people of what is exactly involved in these projects.
I'm not trying to sound rude, but I don't think $500 or less is ever going to happen for what you are looking for. $500 is cheap for this type of application. I have been involved in some software projects myself and I think alot of people don't understand what is involved when developing software. This is the reason why more than 90% of software development projects either fail or go way over budget. Software is taken for granted. Most of the time that people hire programmers there are changes in the original plan which cause unforseen delays and even sometimes killing the project. I'm not at all saying this is should be reflected in the customers pricing, but software development is not as easy as "this is what I want, now go write the code". Alot of people don't take into consideration the countless of hours of testing and bug fixing. The next thing you know, there is an additional feature that would be great for the software and it is expected for a very low cost or free. Not to mention it ruins the projects timeline. I'm not writing this to defend the cost of certain softwares but to inform people of what is exactly involved in these projects.
Actually , I'm very aware of the costs of custom development, it was my bread and butter for many years before stepped away from that business.
I agree that custom programming is expensive and should be priced as such but I also think that custom development is not the same as creating a product for a vertical market. There is only 1 customer in a customized application and as such the cost will be high. The size and potential of the market will end up factoring into the final price of a software package but I do not think the solutions I have tried really justify their costs yet especially when the number of clients greatly exceed the 1 client you sell to in customized development.
A dream application would cost $500 or less. An application that costs $1000 or more needs to be much more suited to my business needs before I will commit to a purchase. While I understand that DTG is a new process to add into exisiting shop management software, even for things like embroidery I haven't been bowled over with what I have seen.
All of the software packages mentioned in this thread each do something really well but none of them average out enough to warrant a purchase in my mind and I'm still looking for a good package to invest in. Whether I'll pay $1, $500 or $2000 will completely depend on how well that package meets my needs and increases the productivity of the front side and back side of the house.
I think $500.00 is a far more reasonable target for software.
What qualifications do you have for making a statement like this? Do you have any idea how much time it takes to create a package like these? Marketing? Support? I was in IT for 20+ years, had own consulting firm, and know the expenses that go into a package. They are an industry spealized software thus they would cost more. Personally I do not own either. There is much more I would want to be able to handle our business. Look at Shopworks. 4500+ for it. Its like a lot on here you must decide if you want to have a hobbyor run a true business. Like I have said before most people know how to hammer saw, some electric work, plumbing...ect.... but if you build a house most would hire true professionals to do the job with the proper tools. Yes you can bang a nail in with a srewdriver handle but I wouldn't want that person on my job.
Alternatives to T-Quoter and Fastmanager 
