I live and work in the land of software. If I had an idea worth building something for, I would pursue that myself.

It takes 8000 hours of OTJ training and somewhere around 680 hours of classroom time to become an electrician. Once there, you have in the neighborhood of another 4 years till you become a master.

I can learn to code online and probably become proficient at it within a few years.




On that note, see ya suckers!

 

Doesn't my question look like someone also attempting to learn from people's experience?

Flipping through posts is learning from the experience of others. Coming in blindly and asking a question about how you might build a product that you can sell to us is not the same thing, not through any stretch of imagination.

 

The other half of my company is a software developer; primarily sharepoint but we pretty much do anything custom database design. I can tell you, that all the software we use is off-the-shelf because there is nothing special about running an electrical business than any other business.


While I might agree that we could tweak or custom up some off-the-shelf stuff it is not worth it for us to do it even. The biggest issue, as with any business pretty much, is the collection of fees and meeting any government requirements for doing that. That involves a combination of inventory, accounts receivable, invoicing, CRM, etc elements. All the off-the-shelf software provides that to about 90% of the solution.


The other main issue is that the product must be a combination of stand-alone and on-line based. Most of the time, service workers may not be able to get a stable VPN connection to a server (direct or hosted)and the solution has to work in a stand alone mode. Most small ECs do not have the time or the knowledge to manage their own SaS if it was custom; they need to install more wire, not sit at a desk and figure out what the business resumption plan is if they install a self-developed patch for some MS update. So in the end, they have to rely on the off-the-shelf solution and then you are just like everyone else, selling subscriptions to a hosted solution that work for about 90% of what they need.


Cheers
John

 

@active1 posted this in another thread:

My list of Invoicing, custom database, & service call Programs / Aps:

Aptiva
Bella FSM
Field Service Management
Brilliant Database
Call of Service Canvas Software
Desco Esc
Emaint X3
Field Aware
Field EZ Field
Force Tracker
Field Promax
Field Squared
File Maker
Filemaker
Fleetmetrics
Form Connect
Freshbooks
Furgus House
Call Pro
Invoice ASAP
Invoice Machine
Job Logic Jobber
Jobi
Kick Serv
M Help
Mind Your Service
MPengo
My Task Helper
My Visual Database
Next Minute
Orical Cloud Service
PDF Export Technologies
Profit Rhino
Pronto Forms
Quick Base
Quickbooks
Ragic Rational Database
Razor Sync
Schedule Flow
Scheduling Manager
Send A Job
Service Auto Pilot
Service Box
Service Bridge
Service CEO
Service Fusion
Service Man
Service Pro MSI
Service Trade Commercial
Sim Pro
Software Sky
Boss Smart Service
Soffrend Foundation 3000
Speed Base Pro
Speedbase
Wintec
Work Cite
Work Flow
Work Flow
Max
Xero
Zoho
Creator
Zoho Invoice

That is all just a drop in the bucket of what is out there and available. Many companies are focusing on service based businesses in the electrical, plumbing and HVAC industry.

They have Ivy League trained developers and coders, millions of dollars in venture funded capital, and very good relationships with people like us. Many of us have invested a ton of money into software, and these companies do a pretty good job of listening to us and coming up with solutions.

That being said, there is always room for another player. So have at it, read through the threads, come up with ideas, and build the next greatest thing!

 

Thank you Switched, this is actually very helpful.

 

Anywho, not a big deal. Thanks anyway for your time.

 

electriciansandyco, you may have actually pulled wire with your uncle. You may have lurked here for a while like you said. If so, then you can take part in the forum, contribute a bit, and then you will find many people happy to help you.

But what usually happens is that the app developer lies, wants us to do the leg work so that he can sell it back to us, and is never to be seen again until he starts pimping his app. He does the same thing on the plumbing forum, and the cooking forum, and the sewing forum.

So, prove me wrong and I will happily apologize

 

electriciansandyco,
There is a certain member here who had no problem asking for software in another thread, but when someone comes here that will possibly write it, he seems to have forgotten about his previous post. I'm sure the OP of this will follow shortly with some helpful :icon_eek::no: comments.Here it is:

So the entire time I have been in business I have been using the iPad app called QuickSale to make estimates and invoices. It still works great, but I hate that even when I am in the office I have to use the little iPad instead of my big monitor.

I would like a different app (cloud based most likely) that can be used on the iPad, computer, and even my iPhone in a pinch. I don't want to use QuickBooks for this.

Here's the thing, I like basic and simple things, I HATE bloatware. I don't want a big software suite. No scheduling, notes, or any of that other crap they try to bundle. I just want a customer database and the ability to email a PDF estimate or invoice/receipt.

 

This is exactly the kind of thing that pisses me off. I have no problem not getting answers to my question, or even getting told that this question doesn't belong in ET, but this hypocrisy and sense of superiority is what make useful places like ET become useless, specially when directed at first time posters.

LOl, sorry, but I want real software... made by real developers.

Next you’re gonna tell me that I should have chicken steve’s CFO write me an app! :vs_laugh:

And once he has no more valid arguments he just recurs to insults by saying I'm not a real developer. Classy

 

@electriciansandyco I'd like to have a more fluid dialogue on this. I have, what I believe is, a good idea. Would you care to PM me your email or telephone number?

 

Of course, PMing you now.

 

Why am I not allowed to join? It says "In addition to professional electricians we also allow Manufacturers, Vendors, and Service Providers who work with electricians or in the electrical industry, on a full time basis, to join the site and join in the conversation."

On the other hand, hundreds, if not thousands, of questions are asked on this site. What is exceptional about the one I asked?

Don't let some of these hard A*%es get to you. You are asking a pertinent question.

I don't have any suggestions just yet but it has me thinking. There are some great apps out there already like conduit bending, various electrical formulas, etc.

 

I would like to see software that can weed out pictures of teenagers from p0rn, so I don't have to worry about the government locking me up and taking my stuff when I look at nude women on the internet.

 

To be honest I'm disappointed. Thought people would be helpful.

Interestingly enough, you completely ignored Steve's request "Software that tells me I'm dealing with deadbeats" as though it was an inappropriate response.

Although there is software out there that allows one to pay a monthly fee to do background checks on potential clients, it is time consuming, expensive, often sketchy, and often inaccurate.

Having an inexpensive mobile app that could one click a client's name/address and do a comprehensive background and credit check would be a wonderful app for tradesmen that deal with homeowners, prior to or during the act of giving them a quote.

You really missed one when you discounted this comment.

 

Hi Wildleg, thanks for your comments. Noted. I guess the context of the thread threw me off.

 

electriciansandyco has not made any friends yet

(Hey I didn't say it, just copied and pasted):surprise:

 

Most software for the trades has already been introduced. Maybe you just need to focus on a better way to skin the cat in lieu of re inventing the wheel.