Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Pro Business Discussion => Topic started by: Ellis Vener on April 18, 2016, 01:07:18 pm
-
I've been using blinkbid.com but I am now deeply dissatisfied with it. It isn;'t that it is cloud based now instead of desktop/laptoptop based, it's how badly they have managed to implement the transition, something that became deeply frustrating and then infuriating as I did taxes this year.
So I would like recommendations for software for an assignment and licensing based commercial / professional photography business, for an OS X environment.
Is anyone using fotoBz X?
Are you "rolling your own"?
-
For pricing and numbers, I am "rolling my own," based on past experience. Also, my fiancée is a commercial photographer as well, and her and I will bounce numbers off of each other for projects.
For keeping track of business contacts, I use Daylite by Market Circle. I find it to be great at keeping track of contacts and jobs. You can create estimates and invoice within the program, send them to clients/prospects, create mailing lists, keep track of your schedule, etc. There are also a lot of plugins to take advantage of as well. You can also use the program on a single computer, have the server part of the software on a computer always on and connected to the Internet so you can retrieve you data from wherever, or purchase their cloud service.
For accounting and bookkeeping, I use Account Edge. You can sync Daylite and Account Edge, so when/if a proposal becomes a project, the invoice and contact info can be sent over to Account Edge.
-
After a day of research it is looking like FotoBiz X is strong contender to replace Blinkbid for me.
I realize that L-L is more oriented towards photographers who do self-assigned nature and landscape work as opposed to commercial, editorial and advertising photographers and here FotoQuote's features for quoting and licensing and tracking licenses for stock photography offer some real advantages over the other programs I have been looking at.
If I find anything more that is either positive or negative is positive or negative in my audition of FotoBiz X I will pass it along. If you have experience with it, I hope you will share as well.
-
Have Fotobiz. Don't like it and stopped using it. Feels clunky and badly in need of updating.
After a day of research it is looking like FotoBiz X is strong contender to replace Blinkbid for me.
I realize that L-L is more oriented towards photographers who do self-assigned nature and landscape work as opposed to commercial, editorial and advertising photographers and here FotoQuote's features for quoting and licensing and tracking licenses for stock photography offer some real advantages over the other programs I have been looking at.
If I find anything more that is either positive or negative is positive or negative in my audition of FotoBiz X I will pass it along. If you have experience with it, I hope you will share as well.
-
Have Fotobiz. Don't like it and stopped using it. Feels clunky and badly in need of updating.
Thanks for your input Dave. I know what you mean but it beats what blinkbid has done. What are you using instead?
-
Thanks for your input Dave. I know what you mean but it beats what blinkbid has done. What are you using instead?
Just went back to using Quickbooks for invoicing and Word for writing estimates for the time being. Still looking for something. Maybe will look into Joe's suggestions.