Which computer software’s suits small business’?

Hi there,

I own and operate a basic small computer repairs business.

Lately, I’ve been thinking of doing it up, which includes expanding a few more services and selling stock.

I want a software which can help me keep a track of all my stock, and work out the profit at the end of the day.

The software would be great if it has some sort of integrated calender, so that it can keep track of when my clients have booked me, how much to charge, what they ordered etc.

Can anybody point me to the right direction?

Thanks heaps!

You may want to look into something like IRM (Information Resources Manager). It’s not particularly suited to what you want as it was designed as a system for maintaining an organization’s (a University originally) computer resources (including tracking network hardware and software licensing), and for handling help desk tickets, but it is open source software and could be modified to do exactly what you need with some programming and such.

http://irm.stackworks.net/

A similar software I used at one point was HEAT, which I’m not sure of the cost on but it may not make sense to pay for something that doesn’t do just what you want.

There may be an open source package other than IRM which is more geared to your particular business though. I haven’t really looked for one, so I’m not certain.

Some of the typical accounting systems will have stock inventory tracking and similar financial reporting features for what you are looking for. One issue with using an accounting package that I could think of would be; do you really want something like this tied into your financial accounting or should they be separate? Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with either option, but only you can really answer that as it’s your business.

I think you may be hard pressed to find something to do everything you want in a nice neat package without going with a custom solution. You’re looking at two maybe three different types of functions to be served by this hypothetical software and while I’m sure there probably is some software out there that will "do-it-all", there are usually compromises involved of some sort.

If you are interested in the custom route I may be able to help you out there.

3 Responses to “Which computer software’s suits small business’?”

  • Candice M says:

    I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve heard Quickbooks does those things. Microsoft Outlook has a great integrated email/calendar feature if Quickbooks doesn’t have the calendar.
    References :

  • findithere says:

    I think you can do a little bit of research on quickbooks to see whether it suits your needs.

    http://www.computersoftwaredeals.com/SoftwareDeals-229536-Business_Accounting.html
    References :

  • tj says:

    You may want to look into something like IRM (Information Resources Manager). It’s not particularly suited to what you want as it was designed as a system for maintaining an organization’s (a University originally) computer resources (including tracking network hardware and software licensing), and for handling help desk tickets, but it is open source software and could be modified to do exactly what you need with some programming and such.

    http://irm.stackworks.net/

    A similar software I used at one point was HEAT, which I’m not sure of the cost on but it may not make sense to pay for something that doesn’t do just what you want.

    There may be an open source package other than IRM which is more geared to your particular business though. I haven’t really looked for one, so I’m not certain.

    Some of the typical accounting systems will have stock inventory tracking and similar financial reporting features for what you are looking for. One issue with using an accounting package that I could think of would be; do you really want something like this tied into your financial accounting or should they be separate? Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with either option, but only you can really answer that as it’s your business.

    I think you may be hard pressed to find something to do everything you want in a nice neat package without going with a custom solution. You’re looking at two maybe three different types of functions to be served by this hypothetical software and while I’m sure there probably is some software out there that will "do-it-all", there are usually compromises involved of some sort.

    If you are interested in the custom route I may be able to help you out there.
    References :

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