Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum so please bear with me if what I ask seems to be a little "off". I currently run a small business and basically this is a one man operation. Ever since I started my business, I have been in search of the "perfect" software solution to help me run and manage my business. I'm sure that no one software does all of what I want, but basically this is what my ideas are and if any one out there has come across some programs that they think would answer most of these needs, I would be so grateful.

Currently I use Simply Accounting (I live in Canada) but do the majority of my business selling to the U.S. It is a decent program, but I have to do too many manual reports and re-entering of information.

The following would be my ideal situation
A) Customer orders placed through the web are given the option to choose the shipping method, and the shipping charges are shown on their sales order. When they submit the order, it gets automatically processed into my accounting system and forwarded to the warehouse for packing and shipping. The customer receives a confirmation of their order and invoice.
B) Warehouse enters tracking number into the finished order and it gets sent to me where I turn the sales order into an invoice in the accounting system. Customer is emailed shipping notification.
C) Customer info screen shows is a combination CRM and Sales history so when customer calls, all of their info is in front of me.
D) Integrated CRM / Mail Order Management system.
E) Multiple Currency
F) Inventory control system for multiple warehouses

Basically, I want a system that does it all but because I am only one person, I can not afford a high end software program. I would be willing to spend between $500 - $1500.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Did you saw www.thricesoft.com ? There peoples can make programs as you want :)

I haven't looked too closely at this, but perhaps a combination of Salesforce.com and something from their App Exchange may fit the bill...

Welcome to the forums, cliff! Boy you really start with a bang, dontcha? ;)

$1500 is a pretty tough price point to meet for programming that fits your requirements. The biggest issue is integration with your warehouse(s). Number two is integration with your accounting system(s).
A) Customer orders placed through the web are given the option to choose the shipping method, and the shipping charges are shown on their sales order.Most shopping carts do this in conjunction with an electronic merchant account for processing the payment.When they submit the order, it gets automatically processed into my accounting system and forwarded to the warehouse for packing and shipping. The customer receives a confirmation of their order and invoice.They do NOT usually do this. Executing this idea involves an analysis of your accounting and warehouse tracking system, and more than likely custom programming to take the data returned by the sales process and make it mean something to your inhouse systems.B) Warehouse enters tracking number into the finished order and it gets sent to me where I turn the sales order into an invoice in the accounting system. Customer is emailed shipping notification.This would all be part of the customized programming, unless your current warehouse tracking system has already got the capacity for converting the sales order into your invoice format and for sending email confirmations.C) Customer info screen shows is a combination CRM and Sales history so when customer calls, all of their info is in front of me.This would be dependent on the nature of the back end CRM programming. If it doesn't already have this capability, it would need to be added. It also sounds like you want this to be an integral part of the accounting system, although that would not be an advisable security risk (keeping tracking data used by your sales and fulfillment staff in the same database as payment data, which should be encrypted separately).D) Integrated CRM / Mail Order Management system.All part of the custom programming. You'd still need order entry to handle the incoming mail orders. They would enter data into the sales fulfillment process, confirm payment by using the merchant account's "virtual terminal" service, and then hit the custom button that sends the info into the warehousing system as if it were an online order.E) Multiple CurrencyHandled by the merchant account. You might need a conversion process in your accounting programming, depending on the merchant service.F) Inventory control system for multiple warehousesHoo boy. That alone will run you ten times the $1500 top end you mentioned. Are the warehouse systems exactly the same? Is there a secure tunnel between them for processing data? Are you talking about bar code scanning or manual inventory data entry at the warehouse?

In order to build a system that does everything you'd like it to do, your operation would need to be analysed from the bottom up. Many things within the existing system would probably need to be changed to fit the new way of doing things, including retrofitting your inventory system and re-training your employees. Many years ago I programmed a proof of concept for a similar integration project for a major aerospace parts manufacturer. They spent over $80,000 on that demonstration, alone, and went on to spend over $12M dollars implementing it.

Reorganizing your entire supply chain is a huge undertaking, even for a small business.

Start small and keep it simple. The requirements you've listed will never be met at the price point you mentioned.

Good Luck

What is this, the joke of the day?

You certainly suffer from a severe case of wishful thinking.

There is one package I used to sell that might come close, but since I have not dealt with them for a decade or so I can't guarantee anything. The accounting would be a download / import if they do it.

The program is Mail Order Manager (MOM) from dydacomp. It seems to me their basic system 10 years ago would fit your budget, but I have no idea now.

I found that at that time their support was about the worst I ran into. I was selling Point-of-Sale systems and other vertical market software and had a good rapport with many support operations, but they could make anyone annoyed. (Maybe like a Mom?)

I know I'm a little late in finding this thread but wanted to reply since Pete was kind enough to mention Dydacomp's Mail Order Manager software. AKA: MOM.

The program still exists and has been updated through the years to address all the evolving needs of ecommerce, mail order and traditional catalog merchants.

Happy to say that the price point still accommodates small to medium sized operations and that Dydacomp's support department has greatly improved over the last decade. I guess that fact that we are still in business and working with new and old clients alike helps support the fact that Dydacomp continues to improve its products and services on all levels.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions to help Cliff or anyone else determine if MOM is the best solution for your business.

Hope this helps in the meantime and look forward to the continued dialogue.

Rob