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What
is a custom database like? Well....
 ...imagine
waking up one morning to discover that you had a new, attractive
assistant. You find that this person
understands every nuance of your business, knows all the employees
and all the customers. This assistant happily handles every mundane
aspect of your operation without error or complaint. The assistant
frees you from the day-to-day workload and
enables you to deal with more difficult business issues and
decisions.
That
attractive assistant is actually a custom database.
A
custom database mimics actual company workflow. That?s why they
are so powerful - you don't have to change any company process, just
enter the data into a symbolic representation of the company. And
because they so closely parallel the actual company operation, users
very quickly come up the database learning curve.
FM
Associates' custom database design gives you the freedom to run your
business instead of managing the details.
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Custom database designs
let you enter, find, sort, see and share business data in ways that
you might have not been able to in the past. Seeing your company
information clearly helps you make good business decisions. As a
result, your business runs more smoothly and efficiently because...
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You
can interpret your data in new ways
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You
make far fewer errors, for example in quoting or billing
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Your
data is easily accessible to anyone you choose - even over the
Internet, in real time
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Your
reports are designed in the way you want them
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Databases
can generally find information more quickly than any other
method
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Data
doesn't get lost
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Data
is easy to backup and archive
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Your
business systems are more consistent, less subject to human
interpretation and vagaries
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Custom database designs
let you enter, find, sort, see and share business data in ways that
you might have not been able to in the past. Seeing your company
information clearly helps you make good business decisions. As a
result, your business runs more smoothly and efficiently because...
-
You
can interpret your data in new ways
-
You
make far fewer errors, for example in quoting or billing
-
Your
data is easily accessible to anyone you choose - even over the
Internet, in real time
-
Your
reports are designed in the way you want them
-
Databases
can generally find information more quickly than any other
method
-
Data
doesn't get lost
-
Data
is easy to backup and archive
-
Your
business systems are more consistent, less subject to human
interpretation and vagaries
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When
is a custom database appropriate?
When a business becomes more complex,
and especially when you need to relate one group of data to another,
a custom database can provide a perspective that no off-the-shelf
product can do. |
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 For
example, one client needed to graph the number of people working
on a specific job each day by time of day. The person's name,
date, log in and log out times were the only raw information
provided. Simple off-the-shelf software was not available. FM
Associates solved this problem by dividing the day 15-minute time
segments and creating a special program to automatically read the
log-in and log-out sheets and calculate a value for each day and
time segment. |
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another case, a client needed a simple MRP (Materials Requirement
Planning) function built into an inventory database. The problem
involved predicting raw material shortages when those materials were
typically shipped by sea and took about 30 days to arrive. The MRP
information helped the owner decide, on a product-by-product basis,
which and what quantities of raw materials should be shipped by air
(a more expensive shipping method) to provide his end-customer with
uninterrupted supply of finished goods. |
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 FM
Associates builds affordable, customized software applications that
step out of your imagination and onto your computer screen. And our
tool of choice is FileMaker Pro, the most powerful, flexible, and
expandable database program in the world.
A
properly-designed database exactly meets the needs of your
organization. Metaphorically, it makes your computer think in your
language, so that you are not forced to think in the computer's
language. |
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Our
custom databases are tailor-made exclusively for your business.
We listen carefully to your needs and translate that into a very
easy to use program application that gives you the answers you want,
when you want them.
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 The
first thing you'll notice about our databases is how different one
is from the others. That's because every one is uniquely
customized for each client's specific needs. Your FileMaker Pro
database system will be custom-tailored especially for you!
The next thing you'll notice is how similar
our databases are to one another! All of our databases bring
FileMaker's legendary ease-of-use to the next level, by sharing
common user-friendly elements such as intuitive "file
folder" tabs and easy-to-understand buttons.
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fact, our custom database design operation is made as obvious as
possible. Our designs are intuitive, logical, yet powerful and
infinitely customizable. We want you and your staff to use the
database, not spend countless hours reading a training manual. You
get a custom database design drawn from our 20 combined years of
FileMaker programming experience and our common sense business
approach to bring you the very best FileMaker databases available.
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Custom database advantages
2008 FM Associates