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Home: Video University Forums: Wedding & Event Videography:
database management (ugh)

ryan koral
User

Mar 19, 2008, 12:18 PM

Post #1 of 23 (741 views)
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database management (ugh)	Can't Post

yo yo.

i'm wondering what you guys are using to track your potential clients... i started using excel a long time ago and then moved to paper out of annoyance of having to open excel all the time when someone called or emailed... my system is pretty much white-crud (movie reference... anyone know which?)....

i'll write out client's name, email, phone#, date called, date interested in, when i called or emailed back, how interested they are, and any other notes (cer/rec/photog/etc). i would like to be able to track this in a more efficient way than just pen/paper.

any thoughts?

Ryan Koral
http://www.epicmotion.com/blog

Darrell Aubert
Veteran

Mar 19, 2008, 12:21 PM

Post #2 of 23 (734 views)
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Re: [ryan koral] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm interested in what other people are doing too. Excel can be a pain like you said. Anything better than paper?

Darrell Aubert
Ron Paul for President
Worried About A Nuclear Holocaust?

Bauerjoe
User

Mar 19, 2008, 12:32 PM

Post #3 of 23 (724 views)
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Re: [ryan koral] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm using a custom database I put together from Access. It's better than nothing but not what I really need. Alex Hill had a cool one that his staff made from one of those online meeting services (can't remember the name..Alex, if you're listening..chime in!). I tried the service as a demo, but couldn't figure out how to get it to do anything relevant. Someone could make alot of money by selling a template tailored to service businesses, instead of the usual B2B stuff you find out there. Hey, Kenneth, you do a lot of wedding. How do you keep track of all the info?
Joe Bauer

Yesterdays Memories Films
artistic cinematography

ryan koral
User

Mar 19, 2008, 12:34 PM

Post #4 of 23 (722 views)
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Re: [Bauerjoe] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

i think alex is using webexone.com.... i'm hoping there's something out there that is free/open source or something...

Ryan Koral
http://www.epicmotion.com/blog

Art Vandelay
Enthusiast

Mar 19, 2008, 12:51 PM

Post #5 of 23 (719 views)
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Re: [ryan koral] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

I am not the most disciplined following any system, but I like Gigbuilder, which comes free with a paid wedj listing.

Probably 90% of my inquiries come via the gigbuilder "check availability" calendar on my site. When the customer completes that form, gigbuilder creates a records with their contact info. I get an email sent to me and a text message to my phone so I know I have a new inquiry. You can do a lot of customization. Ron Priest is good source for gigbuilder knowledge if this interests you.

__________________________________________________
Dave LaBrec
Nashville Wedding Videos

Alan R
Enthusiast

Mar 19, 2008, 1:12 PM

Post #6 of 23 (707 views)
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Re: [Art Vandelay] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Same here. Gigbuilder is a nice system of keeping track of prospective and active clients. I do have a Bento database on my Mac just in case WeDJ disappears, but Gigbuilder is my primary database.

The text message that Gigbuilder is a really good way of responding quickly to a client. Clients are often impressed that I call within an hour or two of them putting in a request.

Alan Robinson
Bonnie Blink Productions

VidMan
Veteran

Mar 19, 2008, 7:47 PM

Post #7 of 23 (664 views)
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Re: [ryan koral] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

I've been developing a Videographer/Photographer event management system. My editing backlog has pushed it back a bit but it is funcational. When it is ready, I will posting more about it.

Brian
______________________________________________
VU Virginia Chapter

robcg
User

Mar 19, 2008, 10:49 PM

Post #8 of 23 (659 views)
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Re: [VidMan] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

have you looked at www.37signals.com?

- robert
--------------------
Godina Videography & Photography
www.godinavideo.com
www.godinavideo.com/blog
http://www.godinaphotography.com/

DRobin
User

Mar 20, 2008, 12:07 AM

Post #9 of 23 (648 views)
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Re: [ryan koral] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

I built a database in Filemaker pro. I would be willing to share the template.
David Robin
www.davidrobinfilms.com

Reelmoments
Enthusiast

Mar 20, 2008, 12:17 AM

Post #10 of 23 (645 views)
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Re: [DRobin] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

Dave I would love to get that template...I'm using a an EXTREMLY early version of filemaker pro - you may have used it to....nutplus! now I just gotta a new version of filemaker!
_______________________________________
Eric S. Model
www.reelmoments.com

DRobin
User

Mar 20, 2008, 12:30 AM

Post #11 of 23 (639 views)
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Re: [Reelmoments] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

Check your email Eric.
David Robin
www.davidrobinfilms.com

John Zale
Novice

Mar 20, 2008, 1:13 AM

Post #12 of 23 (625 views)
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Re: [ryan koral] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

Ryan,

I would suggest looking at Sage Software's ACT. It is a customizable contact management program. It also has the ability to develop form letters/contracts that will automatically fill in the pertinent info. If you have a dial-up modem connected to your PC you can have the program call your client automatically and it will keep track of the time spent.

Since it was originally developed for sales organizations, it has many forecasting and sales opportunities tools. Allows one to hypothesize how much revenue you would have if you closed ALL of your appointments.

Like Outlook, you can schedule calls or tasks and get a reminder popup. For those who also use Outlook, there is sync capability between those 2 programs.

I've been using it for a about 10 years and it keeps getting better.

Regards,
John Zale

In Reply To

ryan koral
User

Mar 20, 2008, 8:49 AM

Post #13 of 23 (611 views)
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Re: [DRobin] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

david - would love to take a look at it... i just was reading about fmp and bento... looks like bento is WAYYY more affordable... i'll download the trial of file maker pro. thanks!

Ryan Koral
http://www.epicmotion.com/blog

ryan koral
User

Mar 20, 2008, 8:51 AM

Post #14 of 23 (610 views)
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Re: [Alan R] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

hi, alan... how do you like bento? pros/cons? i would like my contracted workers to be able to get updates and access calendars - does bento offer this type of feature?

Ryan Koral
http://www.epicmotion.com/blog

ryan koral
User

Mar 20, 2008, 8:52 AM

Post #15 of 23 (609 views)
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Re: [robcg] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

so many to choose from.... robert - do you use basecamp?

Ryan Koral
http://www.epicmotion.com/blog

FTP
Enthusiast

Mar 20, 2008, 8:57 AM

Post #16 of 23 (608 views)
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Re: [ryan koral] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

I use ShootQ. It's basically built for photographers, but it's fantastic none the less. If you were at Ron Dawson's seminar at Video 08 he mentioned it there.

"There is nothing that drives a team forward like the fear of public failure, debt, and starvation. Leap off the cliff and start building the airplane on the way down and you might be surprised with what you can pull off."

�Tony Wright, founder and CEO of RescueTime

Reelmoments
Enthusiast

Mar 20, 2008, 10:09 AM

Post #17 of 23 (595 views)
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Re: [DRobin] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

thanks...looks good
_______________________________________
Eric S. Model
www.reelmoments.com

DRobin
User

Mar 20, 2008, 10:13 AM

Post #18 of 23 (592 views)
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Re: [Reelmoments] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yeah, I just wanted clean and simple.
The beauty of it is that you can re-design and tweak any element.

I only use it for client information gathering. Invoicing and billing etc is done another way.
David Robin
www.davidrobinfilms.com

Ron Priest
Veteran

Mar 20, 2008, 10:53 PM

Post #19 of 23 (555 views)
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Re: [ryan koral] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

so many to choose from.... robert - do you use basecamp?

Hi Ryan, I'll put my 2 cents in here if you don't mind. My initial contacts are tracked with Gigbuilder via wedj.com. With Gigbuilder my clients are able to pay their deposits and the rest of the payments via PayPal through Gigbuilder. Gigbuilder also prints my contracts and invoices which the client can print from the online event planer.

However, I've recently started using Bento as my main database to track clients info. I love Bento, it's a piece of cake to use, and very reasonable.

Now for project management (i.e. tracking each wedding as a total project and each edited sequence is a task associated with the project) I have been using AceProject at www.aceproject.com. IMO it's a much better program then Basecamp. Basecamp is very limited in what it will do while AceProject will help you track time spent on each task while also allowing you to set up permissions for users to login but have read only access (no write access) This is one aspect I wanted to have so I can allow my clients to log in and keep track of where I am at with their project. It has a built in forum for each project as well as a file upload/download area for each project. Just what you need when you have a client that needs to upload a document or pictures for you to use in your project. The other nice thing about AceProject is that it's free as long as you don't need to track more than 5 projects at a time and don't need to have more than 5 users. Once you need to track more you can easily upgrade to the next package allowing you to track up to 15 Projects and 10 users for $24.00 a month. Here is the price page if you want to get the rest of the figures:

http://www.aceproject.com/Packages-Regular.htm

So anyway, I use all 3 programs, Gigbuilder, Bento, and AceProject to serve 3 different purposes. Of course I suppose you coule use File Maker and program your own databases to keep track of everything, but I don't have the time to invest in that much database design and management.

One last thought, I really like Bento it a must have for me anyway!
___________________
Ron

Julie Hill
Enthusiast

Mar 20, 2008, 11:32 PM

Post #20 of 23 (548 views)
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Re: [Bauerjoe] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Hey there...

we use webexone.com. it's very customizeable and online so I can access records from EVERYWHERE which is awesome. such a great tool. we use it for EVERYTHING... from tracking potential edits, calendaring meetings and shoots for each person to tracking the editing process, materials, and cut-off dates. it's fab. the only thing that would make it better is a quickbooks element! For all our document storage we use ibackup.com. all contracts/forms are scanned and put in there :)

Oct 6th - 8th: Check the blog daily for videos and announcements! http://www.reframecollectiveblog.com

Ron Priest
Veteran

Mar 21, 2008, 12:54 AM

Post #21 of 23 (538 views)
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Re: [FTP] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

I use ShootQ. It's basically built for photographers, but it's fantastic none the less. If you were at Ron Dawson's seminar at Video 08 he mentioned it there.

Wow, a $200 setup fee that's a little steep. How customizable is it for a videographer to use since it's designed for a photographer?
___________________
Ron

FTP
Enthusiast

Mar 21, 2008, 12:58 PM

Post #22 of 23 (521 views)
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Re: [Ron Priest] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

The fee was totally worth it for us because it takes care of everything that used to really bog us down. There is a client log in, they can pay online, fill in their wedding details, submit their contract with an electronic signature. Plus, tons more for tracking leads. It's really great because you can set it up with automatic emails, so when a potential client inquires about a date, it will send them an email thanking them for contacting us and we will be contacting them soon. We use the emails to send to a couples vendors before the wedding too to introduce us, and to send them to see the trailer after the wedding.

I think $200 that saves me hours and hours of work every week is well worth every penny.

"There is nothing that drives a team forward like the fear of public failure, debt, and starvation. Leap off the cliff and start building the airplane on the way down and you might be surprised with what you can pull off."

�Tony Wright, founder and CEO of RescueTime

stevo
Novice

Mar 21, 2008, 3:26 PM

Post #23 of 23 (501 views)
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Re: [DRobin] database management (ugh) [In reply to]	Can't Post

Dave,

I just downloaded the 30 day trial version last week and I was trying to figure something for this topic. I would love to have a copy of the template if you are still inclined to provide it.

Thank you,

steve