Open Source Back Office

V-P

I'm looking for an open source back-office system for a convenience store/gas station. I'm sure most of you guys aren't really too familiar with anything like that but if anybody knows of anything, please let me know so I can take a look at it.

ardichoke

What, praytell, do you mean when you say "back-office"? What tasks do you need the software to do exactly? Is there some piece of commercial software we can look to for comparison?

V-P

I'm looking for it to keep track of inventory. Ideally, I'd like it to latch on to the Gilbarco Veeder-Root POS system (it's their Passport model) we have and automatically subtract from the records when an item is sold but that's a bit too much to as of an open source system. Otherwise, I'd still like it to keep a list of all the products in the store, their prices, and how many we have in stock. Here's the brochure for something that would work, but isn't open source:

http://www.insightrs.com/downloads/insightRS_brochure.pdf

Straight_Man

V|P wrote:

I'm looking for an open source back-office system for a convenience store/gas station. I'm sure most of you guys aren't really too familiar with anything like that but if anybody knows of anything, please let me know so I can take a look at it.

This will get ean be customized by you if you dig into its software, but expect to share the results of your labors with the dev team under the dual licensing terms. You also cannot distribute the result for money. If you want the dev team to do the work for you, the charge the EU equiv of 100 dollars per day. also, from your end, since they speak french well and english poorly, you wouuld need the services of a translator.Free they have developed crude core functions which they distribute as source code from multiple dev languages. Expensive unless you have a translator friend and a willing shell out a lot of custamization money. Talk to people on the mandriva.com forum, where this dev gruop hangs out some. Also, look on sourceforge.edu. sourceforge.edu is indexed as to software general topic by function and application. the reason this group hangs out on Mandriva.com is that partially by buying the business Mandriva distro on DVD people get a trial verrsion somewhat customized for a French retail store business.

Straight_Man

Here is a more practical suggestion:
Seel if your local discount store yet sells both a machine with a barcod labeler and barcode reader and software for same customized to hook into bundled Quickbooks Pro software. Whats the point? You get a combo fairly modern computer, barcoding for literally transforming your inventory system and having a robust accounting software set that can use the barcode data to inventory item. They, the discounters, will probably have the bundle at less than a thousand dollars certainly, and if you wheel and deal a little you may get it for 600 dollars. this is bacause the Quickbooks consultants that work as both Intuit marketing partners and Intuit product specialty customizing people.

Note that if go to Intuit.com you will be able to see what Intuit has on hand ready to ship out. This would need perhaps a bit of back-and-forth with the barcode subsystem people via phone at first.

Straight_Man

Straight_Man wrote:

Here is a more practical suggestion:
Seel if your local discount store yet sells both a machine with a barcod labeler and barcode reader and software for same customized to hook into bundled Quickbooks Pro software. Whats the point? You get a combo fairly modern computer, barcoding for literally transforming your inventory system and having a robust accounting software set that can use the barcode data to inventory item. They, the discounters, will probably have the bundle at less than a thousand dollars certainly, and if you wheel and deal a little you may get it for 600 dollars. this is bacause the Quickbooks consultants that work as both Intuit marketing partners and Intuit product specialty customizing people.

Note that if go to Intuit.com you will be able to see what Intuit has on hand ready to ship out. This would need perhaps a bit of back-and-forth with the barcode subsystem people via phone at first.

The barcode device mfr and bundler supporter and doer for barcode support was named Zebra. Thir stuff as to Windows supporting basic barcode device to info sharing is is also decent. Thier bundles of this are available with two versions, one for Peachtree Accounting but not Peachtree First Accounting interfacing, and one for Quickbooks Pro. Inventory module interfacing.

Peachtree except Peachtree First Accounting,is designed for Small to Mediium business as to what it is targetted for. Implementing Peachtree\Zebra bundles fully could run $2,000 to $4,000 dollars. I once worked for a very tiny consulting and custom computer building company in Florida that did Peachtree and Intuit QuickBooks consulting and some configuring.

ardichoke

WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN

Straight_Man

Here:

http://SourceForge.net/, then use searcher, typing in Inventory. You will get 752 results. SourceForge willl automatically detect O/S and Desktop or Server. Then when you use its Searcher it will try too filter results depending on what it detects for you before it shows them. Ignore anything that says ERP, in the description.

I have a degree, bachelloreate, in an odd specialty: Computer Based Information Systems. This is part software, part hardware, part function flow diagramming, part control flow diagramming. I am old enough to have about 30 plus years of experience in retail sales and management.I worked for Hardware store chain full time I also had some courses that were oriented in in Management theory, to have underlying understanding of Mangement theory. I've been a friend of Primesuspect for over 30 years, since the 1980s or earlier if I remember right.. I live in Florida. I have part of a College degree in English Literature. I have part of a degree In Manufactoring. I will be 58 on December 15 of this year. I apologize for going over your head so much. I tried to help best I could,

Kwitko

ardichoke wrote:

WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN

Ah, I see you've met the member formerly known as AGeek. If you need translation, please don't hesitate to ask me or Thrax.

Thrax

Legends never die.

Straight_Man

Right. Unfortunately, I am too old, too experienced, and too smart for my own good. I know Primesuspect well. When I was in 4t grade, my attendance in a local school district caused me to be intelligence tested multiple times. The result? Above the tests's abilities to quantify (give number result for): It was reliable to 140 IQ. I heard my parents discussing the results one night you see. Thrax and Kwitko, stop proving your egotism. I, like my father, do NOT suffer fools glaldy Among other things, he also guided me. By the way, I've been Brian\Primesuspect's friend since he was 15- who do you suppose suggested and encouraged him to use a Bass guitar to get rid of his anger? ME. I told him I did not want to be on the staff of this place in the virtual sense. Yes, I was Ageek, and Primesuspect made it so at my request. Yes, further, I was two other UID names successively. I will NOT BOTHER asking Briam\Prime to change my UID name agaain . UID, User ID. My intent with this, is to address what stands proven as sarcastic criticism, if the posturing is taken away. BTW Thrax ANiD Kwitko, No longer will I burden Prime with the somewhat agony of deciding he has to get me IP banned. I CHALLENGE BOTH OF you together to be both more brevious and easier to understand while giving as complete if somewhat technically worded series of translations. BTW, evendictionaries use more simpler words to explain a specialty terms.

V-P

Straight_Man wrote:

Here is a more practical suggestion:
Seel if your local discount store yet sells both a machine with a barcod labeler and barcode reader and software for same customized to hook into bundled Quickbooks Pro software. Whats the point? You get a combo fairly modern computer, barcoding for literally transforming your inventory system and having a robust accounting software set that can use the barcode data to inventory item. They, the discounters, will probably have the bundle at less than a thousand dollars certainly, and if you wheel and deal a little you may get it for 600 dollars. this is bacause the Quickbooks consultants that work as both Intuit marketing partners and Intuit product specialty customizing people.

Note that if go to Intuit.com you will be able to see what Intuit has on hand ready to ship out. This would need perhaps a bit of back-and-forth with the barcode subsystem people via phone at first.

So easy a caveman could do it.

Straight_Man

The reasons I am slower to anger now include:

1. I am taking psychoactive meds, at the behest of a Psychiatrist by him prescribed for me. These are dampening my thinking.
2. I both pity you two for and am angered by your disguised attacks.

Straight_Man

V|P wrote:

So easy a caveman could do it.

Precisely and Exactly so., IF you are willing to pay for a bundle.

Straight_Man

BTW, Kwitko and Thrax, ask Prime who had him as a co-sysop on the primitive and early preweb forum thing hosted on a self-expanded Atari ST. To get the latest software versionsI I evaled beta BBS software., and BTW, I was taught Tort Law by my Fahter, who had the legal library to back it up. It was used. He got an honorary PhD in transportation law, and used the knowledge gained even in retirement. My father also insisted I read all of the Corpus Juris Secundum translated into English and report on what it meant section by section.

Basil

BuddyJ

What about this?
http://www.openbravo.com/

I'd go so far as to say don't follow AGeek's advice to ignore anything that says ERP. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning (basically a fully-integrated business operations and financial product). A full ERP implementation would be what you're trying to create by merging inventory services into your accounting/POS system.

My company is an ERP development firm specializing in niche oilfield industries. I'm pretty up on this game.

Straight_Man

Buddy J wrote:

What about this?
http://www.openbravo.com/

I'd go so far as to say don't follow AGeek's advice to ignore anything that says ERP. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning (basically a fully-integrated business operations and financial product). A full ERP implementation would be what you're trying to create by merging inventory services into your accounting/POS system.

My company is an ERP development firm specializing in niche oilfield industries. I'm pretty up on this game.

ERP is for big, large companies, and extremely unnecessary for one to five store chains. Done right, it runs upawrds of $10,000 for full system cost. Thus, the shorter to use "ignore ERp." Also, the thread starter said "for A store."

ERP full implementation would be like an A60 main battle tank running over a squirrel.