Software that lives on the computer at the counter.
The program the front desk runs all day, built for Windows and Mac around how the work already runs, and wired to the same records as the website.
- Runs on
- Windows and Mac
- How long
- Longer than a website, dated in writing
- Price
- One build fee, then a monthly
What you get
- Windows and MacBuilt once and shipped for both, so the office machine and the laptop at home open the same program.
- Drawn for the jobScreens laid out for the steps the work takes, in the order it takes them, with nothing on them the job does not need.
- Works offlineKeeps working when the internet drops, and catches up on its own when it comes back.
- Wired to the siteThe app and the website read the same bookings, orders, and customers, so nothing is entered twice.
- Talks to the hardwareReceipt printers, barcode scanners, label printers, and card readers, driven from the program rather than from a browser tab.
- Updates itselfA new version arrives on its own, and nobody walks round the building installing it.
What a local business runs on a desktop
Point of sale
The ticket, the receipt, the drawer, and the day’s takings, on a screen that never asks anyone to sign in again.
The workshop screen
Today’s jobs, what is waiting on parts, and what is ready to go out, on the monitor in the bay.
The back office
Invoicing, stock, staff hours, and the reports somebody rebuilds in a spreadsheet every week.
A kiosk
Check-in, ordering, or sign-up on a screen customers use themselves, locked to that one job.
Questions
How long does it take?
Longer than a website, because there is a program to build and a back end for it to talk to. You get the finish date in writing with the price.
What does it cost to run?
One fee to build it, paid once before the work begins, then a monthly to host the back end, publish updates, and keep it running on every machine. What moves the price is how much the program has to do.
Do I need a desktop app, or is the site enough?
Most of what a business does runs in a browser. Which one you need gets settled on the first call, before I quote anything.
The site is enough whenThe work is done from different machines in different places, and nothing on it needs a printer or a scanner.
A desktop app earns its place whenOne machine runs the same job all day, the internet cannot be trusted, or the program has to drive hardware on the desk.