Creating software?

Rich08

rmg1 wrote: »

From what you put in previous posts, Excel could be made to do what you want in fairly short order. The best thing to do is write a detailed plan of what you want the software to do, how you want it to look and what outputs you want and then post it as a reply on here. I'm good with Excel and VBA (the programming language behind it), and I'll give you what help I can.
Another good place to go for advice with Excel is http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10
You'll need to register (which is quick and free) and the people on there can always help with even the most outlandish of problems (as I've found out!!)

Hello rmg and thanks for your reply
The limitations i have in the excel version is its ability to update all records / prices from the invoices...what im aiming at is to be able to input invoices and storing them as a record of invoices but also by recording the invoice items and prices the application will update my inventory , food costing section and also total invoices against sales (gross and net percentages calculating automtically ) ..so or example i receive an invoice for say a sirloin steak which i record in the invoice section....when it comes to costing the selling price of the steak at say 280 gms then it already has the correct price taken from the invoice and calculates the cost and sp on whatever gp% i set it at....in turn when i count stock i already have the most up to date price taken from the invoice for the sirloin steak and inputting the daily sales mix against the purchaes i get a gp% figure thrown up automatically with the only real time consuming part being inputting the invoices and invoiced items into the application in the first place.
The applications ive seen online simply dont have all the functions id be looking for set up in a way that would hold the average chefs attention span....in fact the cheap accountancy packages ive looked at are more suited to the tasks id want than the custom built chef/caterers packages out there but they still dont meet all the requirements(for example menu compilation and menu engineering are nt available in these packages.

Alot of the above i have already up and running in my spreadsheets with the exception of the ability for it all to link through automatically from the invoice to the stocktake section and also im struggling with a way to automate the food costing areas.
It does seem that what i really need is a crossover between a spreadsheet and a database in one application.

thanks again for your input and any other thoughts are very welcome

Rich08

isofa wrote: »

Hi Rich,

It's looks like it's been built with VB (Visual Basic, or something very similar for Windows, hard to tell exactly), it's not a very good design IMO, the toolbars look like they are from the 80s. It looks flat and lifeless, very dated. You could achieve this quicker with a custom Access system, migrating to standalone VB later if you wanted to.

You need database tables, so to be honest I'd start to look at database development rather than the Excel route, although agree with rmg1 the basics can be done in Excel. But Excel isn't a database and it lacks the power and speed of a true database.
I've written some complex apps in Excel, including a relational database (to prove it could be done) in Excel and VBA, but it's a waste of time, as you have to write every last routine, databases have all the data manipulation and query language built in. You also have to manipulate data cell by cell in Excel (in general), but in a database you can batch update millions of records using a language called SQL, writing what are known as queries.

Books - get some books

Hello isofa
I do agree with what you say about the application looking very dated and when i downloaded the trial version i found it to be very clunky and lacked alot of functions id want for it to make a real difference to the time i spend on stocktaking/foodcosting etc

Ive spent sometime reading up a little on databases etc and it does seem the way to go as long as the spreadsheet abilities are there.

The issue i do have that makes me want to build or have someone build my own software is that whaever i do come up with i dont want it to be dependant on another application (for example selling a food cost control system with the need for the purchaser to buy say excel or a database package first would be very off putting id imagine to anyone considering buying)

But i do need to keep the ball rolling and so i think ill look into putting it onto database as being the next step then take it from there.

Thanks for your time in replying to my questions and very much appreciated.

isofa

Rich08 wrote: »

Hello isofa
I do agree with what you say about the application looking very dated and when i downloaded the trial version i found it to be very clunky and lacked alot of functions id want for it to make a real difference to the time i spend on stocktaking/foodcosting etc

Ive spent sometime reading up a little on databases etc and it does seem the way to go as long as the spreadsheet abilities are there.

The issue i do have that makes me want to build or have someone build my own software is that whaever i do come up with i dont want it to be dependant on another application (for example selling a food cost control system with the need for the purchaser to buy say excel or a database package first would be very off putting id imagine to anyone considering buying)

But i do need to keep the ball rolling and so i think ill look into putting it onto database as being the next step then take it from there.

Thanks for your time in replying to my questions and very much appreciated.

You'll need a lot more time to create a standalone application, and it'll have more support issues in general. Nowadays you could even look at some web technologies to achieve the same. Else VB is a good starting point.

Most small business users in general (if not all) have at least the standard version of MS Office, so writing a system in Excel wouldn't be a problem. A lot of offices use MS Office Pro, so you could use Access. However the Access developer version comes with a licence to distribute the whole system free with your custom application. FileMaker has a developer version which allows the same, but only for standalone versions, networked versions need to licence the full application.

Hope that helps!

Rich08

Hello isofa
Thanks for the reply
I downloaded ms visual basic 2008 last night that benjus kindly left a link for and watched the tutorials then playing around with it.(so far ive progressed to changing the font and background in form 1..oh and renaming form one:rolleyes: but hey, its a start.)

Im currently working away from home but this weekend im going to show my daughter the application to see how she gets her head round it(shes very good in html and website building so although obviously different i do think she ll grasp this better than i can and in turn help me learn a little more.)
I googled some tutorials on writing code in VB but i cant figure out whether the software im looking to build could be done with with ms vb 08?and if so if anyone could recommend a good book on vb that would be great.

If this all proves to be beyond my scope then working with ms office and trying to combine the data base and spreadsheet function will be the way i go for now but im keen on giving vb a try and worse case scenario is i learn a little programming so cant be all bad.

Im not keen on a web version as i know from experience chefs are very impatient with online apps (eg i have to fill out my staffs hours online and i get frustrated at the speed it all works at)although support would be so much easier if i wanted to expand the consulting in time so not ruling it out.

Thanks yet again for taking time to reply and the advice im getting here has helped massively....rich

jinx_uk_98

are you thinking of reselling this software? or is it just for your own use?

[Deleted User]

isofar has hit the nail on the head in all of his posts on this.

You could do this for yourself in Microsoft Access, so if I were you I'd go to the local library and get some books on SQL (Structured Query Language) and Microsoft Access and sit down and allocate time each day to work through the tutorials and learn the programs, then when you start to build up and understanding of the applications you can start applying this to starting this project.

isofa

be_alright wrote: »

isofar has hit the nail on the head in all of his posts on this.

You could do this for yourself in Microsoft Access, so if I were you I'd go to the local library and get some books on SQL (Standard Query Language) and Microsoft Access and sit down and allocate time each day to work through the tutorials and learn the programs, then when you start to build up and understanding of the applications you can start applying this to starting this project.

Cheers be_alright

PS SQL = Structured Query Language, pronounced "Sequal", if my Uni days were correct :beer:

isofa

jinx_uk_98 wrote: »

are you thinking of reselling this software? or is it just for your own use?

Post 4, Rich08 said "......and to be honest id try to market the end result at a fraction of the cost of some other kitchen cost control programmes." :rolleyes:

[Deleted User]

isofa wrote: »

Cheers be_alright

PS SQL = Structured Query Language, pronounced "Sequal", if my Uni days were correct :beer:

That's it! I rarely have to use it, or even refer to it as anything other than Sequal if it is being batted around.

ingresman

As you've got hold of the express VS tools you wil be able to use the express SQL Server database. It's free, no licence stores up to 4gb of data and supports just about everything its grown up brothers will do. It's also very well intergrated into the other microsoft tools.
Gird your loins though you'll need to get up to speed on database design, database implmentation, program design, userinterface design then do the actual coding. This all while your doing Chef work ?
Here's my radical idea. It seems what you want to is fairly simple when you boild it down. I presume you have a local technical college (6th college near you ???). They will be teaching A level computing, get in touch with the head of department and see if he can advertise a short programming job for one of the students for over the summer. Give them a few hunderd quid to do it. Everyone wins, you get to chef/run your business - student gets some money and experience.
hope this helps !