An interesting problem

The pricing program for PC (WPP4) has been behaving itself nicely. I've been working on a couple of minor improvements, including being able to create a file on mouldings that can be imported into the new Android App.
That was until a framer rang me up with a problem concerning the Invoice number.

The problem -
The invoice number can be increased in "Setup" > "Options". The idea was that you may not want to start with invoice number "1". However, this framer had a (quite reasonable) scenario of changing the invoice number to reflect her financial year, for example "1314001". She saved the new invoice number value and then tried to save an invoice - this produced an error and the invoice couldn't be saved. The problem was made worse because invoice number couldn't now be decreased in the "Options" form.

The reason for the error goes back to the original design of the database some 6 or more years ago. Each column in the database has a data type, for instance the"DateCollected" column in the table "WorkTickets" is datatype "date". Well the datatype of the "InvNum" column in "WorkTickets" is "integer". All well and good you think (well, I did anyway). But type "integer" in this form of database turns out to be "int16", a number made up of 2 bytes which has a maximum value of 32,787. A much better choice would have been "long integer" ("int32"). This number is made up of 4 bytes and has a maximum value of 2,147,483,647.

The Solution -
Once the data type has been set up in the design of the database it is very difficult to change. Certainly trying to change it programatically would be likely to throw up more problems than it solved. So, if you need to use numbers larger than 32,000 for your invoices here is what to do, "Export" your database and open this copy in Microsoft Access.
You will see a list of Tables at the left hand side. Choose "WorkTickets", the "WorkTicket" table and its data is now shown in the main pane. We want to get to the data types, so go to "Views" at the top left and choose "Design View". Now the Field (Column) names and their datatypes are displayed. Click on "InvNum" (second one down) and at the bottom of the screen its Field Properties are shown. The first one is "Field Size" as "Integer". Click on that line and from the drop-down box select "Long Integer" instead. Save the changes and close Access.
Now all that remains is to "Import" the modified database file back into the program. This will throw up a warning saying the database is corrupted, continue to import? (This is because we've changed the structure of the file.) Click "Yes" and the new database will be imported anyway.
You will now be able to use large numbers for your invoices.
Phew!

A frame pricing app for Android devices

If you went to the Wessex stand at the Spring Fair on Sunday or Monday you would have seen what I think is a world first - the first Android Picture Frame Pricing App. ever!

Wessex Pricing App. on HTC Wildfire S

I was amazed by the enthusiastic reception, it certainly seemed to fulfil a need to be able to price frames on the move. From market stalls to home visits, people kept coming up with new scenarios to use it in.

The App. was so new that there were still some finishing touches to do to it. These have now been completed and it will be available to download from the Wessex website very shortly.

App. on 7" tablet, with Wessex Professional in background

I'm also working on integrating the App. more closely with Wessex Professional, so the prices issued are the same.

Watch out for WPP4 (ver 4.2.5).

Some changes in ver. 4.2.4

It's that time of year again, just before the NEC and I've just finished putting together the latest version of the Wessex Pricing Program (4.2.4).
It contains the latest Wessex & Frinton lists as well as some tweaks that make the program easier to use. The main ones being - better deposit information, and in the Customer records, details for how much the customers has spent, how many jobs etc.
I've made a small, but interesting change to the way the program works out the price of multiple items. Users may have noticed that 2 items are not always double a single item (eg one frame = £24.44, two frames = £48.89). This is because the program works out the price of one frame to many decimal places, then multiples by the number required and THEN rounds to the nearest penny. (eg. one frame = 24.44401,this equals £24.44. But two frames = 48.88802 this rounds to £48.89) Working out the price this way is the most accurate but not the most logical to us humans.
The effect is even more noticeable if the framer is using the "Whole Pounds" option. Using the above figures - one frame = 24.44401 equals £25. But two frames would equal £49.
So, now all that is changed, by rounding the price to the nearest penny for the first frame and then multiplying by the number required. Leaving us with I hope a more user friendly experience.

New features in ver. 4.2.3

It's the middle of the year and as usual I take the opportunity to update the program with upto-date price lists and fixes for any problems. But I couldn't resist adding some new features which is why the latest WPP4 is version 4.2.3 (it's on the Wessex website to download, remember to sign in).
Some of the new features are rather technical and will be detailed in future postings. So, I'll start with the most straightforward.

• Customer statistics. In the Customer section of the database there is now a tab titled "Stats" - click this to see some information about the customer. (see below)

• The Database Utilities have been rewritten to make them more practical. As this can get a bit complicated they will have their own posting shortly, but you can get an idea by the screenshot below.

• In "Setup" > "Options" > "Turnaround" is now a box for "Predictive workflow". This allows you to set the maximum number of items you want to work on in a day. If that number is exceeded for a normal completion day then the following day is suggested as a completion date. This can, of course, be over-ridden. Certainly we've found that it helps to even out the work flow.

 

• In the Mouldings section of the database a new view has been added - "Moulding needed". This looks through all the jobs on hand, adds up which mouldings are needed, compares the quantity with the stock and flags up what will need to be ordered -Phew!

There's a lot to digest there, but I think you'll find the new features very useful.

Wessex Professional and the Cloud

Back from the NEC and the buzz word there was "Cloud" & will the program work with it? My honest answer was "I don't know."

For those not in the know the Cloud refers to files held on a remote server which are accessed via the internet by a local computer. For instance, GMail emails are held on a remote server and are looked at by the user from whichever computer they happen to be on.

So, while Wessex Professional has always been able to use a networked database (say one computer in the shop, which talks to another in the workshop). What happens if there are 2 shops miles away from each other? You can't use wifi, you can't use a wired network, you need some way of putting the database file on a remote server and allowing the 2 (or more) computers to access it.

For a number of years now I've been using remote backup storage to protect my important files. This is done automatically and the remote server appears as a "network location" on my computer. The system I use is called "SafeSync" by Trend Micro
( http://uk.trendmicro.com/uk/products/personal/safesync-solution/index.html.)
There are also other companies - have a look at - http://www.thetop10bestonlinebackup.com/cloud-storage

I experimented with putting a test database file on the server and told the program to use it as the networked database. I found that it could be read and modified as easily as a database file on a traditional network.
There's the answer then, but it's worth bearing some things in mind - your internet connection needs to be pretty solid (if it goes down you won't be able to access your data). On the other hand the file is safer on the remote server than on your own computer (servers are much more reliable than your personal pc.).

As usual, thank you to all the people I met at the Spring Fair and in particular for your fresh ideas.

New goodies for Christmas

At the last NEC Spring Fair (2011) I confidently expected that we had the definitive version of Wessex Professional. I'd even started on the groundwork of a completely new program (which at the moment goes by the highly original name of "WPP6"), but it wasn't to be. As usual it was customer feedback that provided the spur. "Why can't the program do x?" or "It would be nice if it did y." or worse "Surely it's incorrect when it does z." So, development has continued and the result (instead of being held until the NEC 2012) has just been posted on the Wessex website (25/11/11).
The new version is 4.2.0 and I thought it might be good to look at the new features.

1. You can now view the breakdown of the price (ie. Frame = £xx.xx, Mount = £xx.xx, Glass = ... and so on. (See above)
2. The main form has been resized so it fits onto Netbook screens better.
3. Reading from the database is better coded (instead of using similar code on each form to read from the database, the code is in a database Object in one place - easier to maintain, more efficient and reliable).
4. If a moulding is not in the database you can enter "GUEST" in the moulding box and then tell the program the width and the wholesale cost per metre. Now - the program remembers those 2 figures, so if the customer wants prices with different glass, for instance, you don't have to keep entering the width and cost each time you give a price ( as you had to previously). 
5. In the full version when creating or editing the mountboard records you can now enter the RGB colour value of the board for a more accurate printout of the colour. Of course you have to know what that value is in the first place! (I think we might be ahead of the mountboard suppliers here).
6. Again in the full version, you can save the Invoice as a PDF, so you can email it to the customer if needed.
7. An image (BMP, JPEG or TIF) can be used as a letterhead for the Invoice (full version only).
8. This is the big one - customers have been crying out for this and we've listened! You've always been able (in the full version) to use the Excel files from the Wessex website to update all the Wessex & Frinton moulding records (over 2,000 of them). This feature has now been extended to the Basic version. (see the screenshot below)

Also there have been lots of little "fiddley" changes. For instance, when printing an invoice the program will now put a full stop after "Mr" or "Mrs", but not after "Lord or Lady", or say you have 5 jobs on one invoice and the customer decides not to go ahead with number 3, instead of ending up with Job 1, 2, 4, 5, they are now renumbered 1 to 4.

So, a Christmas present to all our users. Go to the Wessex website and download this (free) update. Make sure you've made a copy of your database & labels/values files. Install and marvel enjoy!

Just think about it people!

Some ideas are awfully seductive and really look the business, that is until you actually have a think about what the implications are.
One of those is the idea that a frame pricing program could produce a price from your hourly rate. Gosh, that sound good doesn't it? So, if you award yourself a pay rise, all you have to do is up the hourly rate.

Let's examine this for a moment. -
In order for the program to produce the price it has to know how long it takes you to do various jobs. Now I've been a framer for 35 years and still find that sometimes (with a following wind) I can cut a mount in under 10 minutes from start to finish, whereas other times it can take well over half an hour, because (choose one or more) there was a mark on the board, the customer's work was measured wrongly, there was a mistake in the maths, the wrong colour was used etc. etc.
Multiply that by all the other items that go into making up a frame and this hourly rate idea doesn't look quite so good.
Also, different staff members are likely to take different times to perform the various jobs. One might be able to cut and join frames really quickly, but take an age to fit up the work. Sure, a program could be written that could cope with all that, but it would be so complex as to be unworkable.

As for the idea of awarding yourself a pay rise by upping the hourly rate, well it just doesn't work like that. - Your wage rises come from extra profit, and that isn't achieved by making a change in a computer program. It comes from extra turnover and/or higher quality framing. It's something that needs to be actively planned and worked for.

All the above is why the Wessex Pricing Program works from the other end of the price - the price charged to the customer. It makes setting up the program much simpler and copes with many of the pricing anomalies that creep into framing. It also makes you the framer take responsibility for your prices and not abdicate that responsibility to a computer program.

So, in conclusion, if you are the sort of framer who turns out frames like widgets on a factory production line and enjoys fiddling with computers - go for the hourly rate option, the real framers amongst us know better.