Filemaker, Bento or Numbers ?

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Hello,



I'm in a big dilemma, what should I use, Filemaker, bento or numbers ?



I need to manage data:



Local and not shared with anybody but myself

Customers around 250 with all kind of questions, requests that needs to be monitored and status needs to be updated

Invoicing is another application (invoice from Kedisoft) for the moment.



I'm looking at 3 applications that I have bought, Filemaker 10, Bento 3 or Numbers 09.



What should I use ? I have a feeling that filemaker can do anything I want but I need to put time in learning the thing better. I started with bento but it feel's strange, there's like not much added value in this thing for me ? Numbers seems to be more easy and can keep track of all the data and I will have to learn close to nothing but doesn't really provides any thinking and controlling for me like filemaker could do.



But isn't programming filemaker something stupid if you only are 1 person working with the data ?



Thanks for any help, or any ideas.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sternone View Post


    Hello,



    I'm in a big dilemma, what should I use, Filemaker, bento or numbers ?



    ....



    One of these things is not like the others. Filemaker scales up to an enterprise-level database management system. The platform is used to develop standalone double-clickable apps. Bento is a personal database manager. Numbers is a spreadsheet. It is not a database manager.



    Presumably, you have some task that you want to accomplish using one of the apps that you are considering. You have, however, not given a clue what that task may be. If you would tell us what you are trying to do, then we might be able to suggest the best tool for the job. There is no guarantee that any of the three apps under consideration would be the best fit.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    Thanks for your reply.



    I need to keep data of all the customers.



    I need to enter all the questions that these customers ask and follow them up.



    I need to take note of all the specific orders some customers will order with their prices.



    I need to see how much products we have on order.
  • Reply 3 of 8
    Given that list of criteria, Numbers should probably be avoided. It can get unwieldy in no time. I developed solutions at a Fortune 100 company using Excel and Access; some of the Excel solutions were massive, but required significant planning and testing; that resulted in well done projects - much work). This kind of project sounds easy using Excel/Numbers, but it gets cumbersome very quickly, because it often required duplicating data (which a database setup should avoid).



    I have never used Bento, but FileMaker should work well for what you need. And keep in mind that requirements will always increase, never decrease. FM should have all future requirements. The key is setting up the structure of the data correctly the first time (in database speak, normalize the data).
  • Reply 4 of 8
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    My guess is that your needs can be satisfied with an off-the-shelf app. I read good things about Big Business. It does everything that I listed and more.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    bbwibbwi Posts: 812member
    Find a hosted solution, maybe Salesforce.com. You can concentrate on the data and let professionals manage the app, the backups, the coding, etc...
  • Reply 6 of 8
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sternone View Post




    But isn't programming filemaker something stupid if you only are 1 person working with the data ?




    It is if you are the only one managing and extracting information out of the database...



    On the other hand, if other people are going to request specific information from your database, then it makes perfect sense to create a full fledge database, even if you are the only one entering data...



    Small databases sometimes create more problems for the developer over time... From my experience, I sometimes create a database that serves only me, later to find out that with a few changes it serves the information needs of others. Sometimes these changes are simple, other times you almost need to rethink the entire structure of the database...
  • Reply 7 of 8
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    It is if you are the only one managing and extracting information out of the database...



    On the other hand, if other people are going to request specific information from your database, then it makes perfect sense to create a full fledge database, even if you are the only one entering data...



    Small databases sometimes create more problems for the developer over time... From my experience, I sometimes create a database that serves only me, later to find out that with a few changes it serves the information needs of others. Sometimes these changes are simple, other times you almost need to rethink the entire structure of the database...



    Dave I would suggest numbers and filemaker (together), bento is a more consumer App. Did you check http://www.filemaker.com ?



    Numbers has improved dramatically since our last release, but may not have the tools just yet for what your looking for, so you could use Filemaker for the heavier projects.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MobileMe View Post


    Dave I would suggest numbers and filemaker (together), bento is a more consumer App. Did you check http://www.filemaker.com ?



    Numbers has improved dramatically since our last release, but may not have the tools just yet for what your looking for, so you could use Filemaker for the heavier projects.



    I have been a Excel/Access/VBA developer for years now...



    Personally, I think Number is junk compared to Excel (especially on the Windows side of Excel). I feel the same way about Bento. As a person who knows databases, Bento too is useless to me. Way under powered...



    I tried over the years to get into File Maker Pro. I just can't. Not only is it significantly different than Access, but it seems very, very under powered compared to Access. With the underlying power of VBA, File Maker just doesn't fit my needs...
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