Product ReviewsOffice software
There's no shortage of Mac business management software nowadays but Youmehub is almost certainly the most feature-complete we've seen. This Filemaker-based application not only manages time and expenses, but can also keep an eye on clients and suppliers, schedule projects, manage sales and purchases, and act as the hub of an email marketing campaign. Youmehub comes in three varieties, each targeted at a different market. There's a single-user offering suitable for self-employed designers, a multi-user version and a pricier developer edition that can be customised by those with Filemaker skills. Once a setup wizard has guided you through entering basic details about your business, you're presented with an understated home screen topped by a navigational bar, dividing the eight modules of the suite. The CRM (customer relationship manager) module split into sub-modules for companies and contacts, is the core of the program as it manages data accessed elsewhere. For example, contact details entered here are used when you create a job, generate an estimate, or start tracking your time. You can link multiple contacts to single companies, which makes things easier when updating company details. You can't sync with Address Book but you
A marketing mail sub-module enables you to manage letter or email contact with individuals or user-definable groups. Pre-built tags, again culled from CRM info, can personalise them. However, you can't extensively customise their appearance. The calendar module is clear but basic, showing appointments - entered through a pop-up window - in monthly, daily or weekly views. It supports reminders, although the program must be running for this to work. In the Staff module you can enter detailed time analysis and build expense sheets and schedules. Time sheets include job details and fields for time billed, but because of the lack of an automatic timer you have to manually enter details in the billing fields. You can view project schedules in either list or Gantt views. But there's no drag and drop alteration of scheduled dependencies. A functional asset manager can track media files which can be linked to projects or jobs and categorised, while sales orders and invoices can be generated and linked to a Products database that tracks stock levels. You can enter a restock value - but we weren't warned when we raised a sales order for a product with insufficient stock. You can group products though, so they can be easily added together to an invoice. Youmehub additionally includes a purchasing module that holds details of regularly bought items. There's no automatic ordering when stock is low but you can link purchase orders to jobs, in which case a job expense item is automatically generated. The program's individual modules may not be outstanding but they work together well. For its power, the single user version is very inexpensive but the program's real value lies in the fact that it can grow as needed. By Tom Gorham |
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