Making A Living

Hi everyone, This is a question for those more experienced with FMP 7. I've been asked to prepare a quotation to re-write in FMP 7 an entire system currently in FMP 6. The system functionality regards basically to inventory management, so it has the following files (most relevant): - Vendors - Customers - Items - Purchase Orders - PO Line items - Sales Orders / Invoice - Sales Order Line items System was developed by other consultant, and I was originally contracted to improve interface, performance (there is a lot of nested calcs that slow down the entire system), and solve other stuff. After almost 2 months of work, now customer wants to com…

Hi I have spent most of my career self employed in a niche business and wrote a solution to cover my needs...........I now find my associates (running identical niche businesses) are interested in my solution ?!* Like myself, most of my associates do not have a large budget So.....what is the best way to deal with this potential new career. Should I purchase developer and create runtime solutions ? What is the best way to sell this solution ? eg one off fee licenced with expiry dates :?? all comments bad or good will be welcome thanks marcia

I've been selling a lot more databases lately. Should I look at incorporating? I know that it won't save me much, if any, in taxes, at my present income level. I'm just thinking it might provide more protection if someone decides I'm liable for something, especially in the future if I start selling over the Web. What does everybody think?

Hi , I was wondering about the data collecting business model, I cannot find any companies that sell data, im not in search of anything particular, im just curious for this market, i find lots of companies that sell templates, or customized databases, but not with data included. is there any links you can give me on this ? Thanks Dan

Hi there I am doing small contracting jobs for individuals at an University. Now new guidelines on their side require me to carry a professional liability insurance (errors and omissions insurance). Does anyone have some hints or expertise to share on finding appropriate insurance for a small business owner? Fran

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could point me to information about creating FM solutions and then selling the product. I have only been a developer for individual companies, but I may be entering into an opportunity where we will sell create a solution and then license it. I will obviously need licensed copies of all software for each user, a contract, etc... but is there anything else I should be looking for? Any kind of checklist or something? Also what do you guys usually charge for solutions? how about upgrades and support? etc... Any info would be great since I am new to trying to sell a proprietary software solution. TIA.

Does anyone know of a free installer builder for OSX? I've found the Clickteam Install Creator for Windows, but haven't had any luck finding anything free for OSX. Thanks

Hi, I'm starting a collaboration with 2 other european developers and what we all considered a strength at the beginning of the reflexion phase in terms of knowledge sharing and experience is becoming a real pain now that we need to start. Any of you already faced this issue, or even have some good (even theorical) ideas how TeamWork can be efficiently driven, specially when trying to grasp FileMaker 7's one file structure ? Thanks for any idea...

This is a small job for a skilled FMP person but a big problem for us. We are going to start selling out products on Amazon but we need some help. We need to have FMP6 log into our amazon account and upload our products for sale. The two problems are cookies and the username+password. We have been using the Troi URL plugin which has the capacity to set usernames, passwords, cookies, etc. We have run out of time before our launch to figure out how to get the plug in to work. What we need is for you to work out all the kinks so that we can use FMP to upload our inventory onto amazon. If you want to use the Troi URL plugin or figure out a different way to accomplish t…

Need someone to build a company contact database (A 1.1 million business database) with developper. Nice graphics, search scripts, Exporting scripts, and avery labels printing scripts. Thats about it Please Quote

Strategic Alliance (

I am developing a rather simple inventory database for a boat dealership in Savanna, IL Map I am the only FM developer I know of at my firm and management and client want to make sure it can be supported if something happens to me -- e.g. transfer somewhere else, which is quite likely. If there is anyone in the Eastern Iowa, NW Illinois area who would like to make a couple of bucks on an ongoing support contract, PM me. I'll be glad to send you the finished files. (Right now it is just a stripped down demo, and the client has not yet signed an engagement letter.) -cman-

I'm new to the forums, but I've been stumped by a legal issue, so I thought I might try to find a concensus here. We are all familiar with the term "Filemaker Solution" and we all know what that is. The problem is that the word "solution" is not definitive. When we create a solution and distribute it, is it OK to call it "software"? I have found many instances that it is referred to as software, including many of Brian Dunnings solutions. There are other instances that it is referred to as simply "Solutions" or "Product". Filemaker is the real software and we are building beefed-up templates on top of that, so is a better term "Template"? I think th…

Okay, so I have a potential client who I would love to create a solution for. Everything this company uses to track their sales and company information is on paper. I wrote up a proposal for this client stating their business model, what my solution can do for their company and my past work experience building FileMaker solutions. The president of the company is very excited to get started on this solution, but has to present the proposal to the board of directors for budget reasons. The problem? One of the people on the board of directors thinks that FileMaker is a disaster and "not a very good database". Apparently, this person has seen a solution that I wor…

Dear friends suddenly the situation has become a little odd. Let me explain you. For a few years (quite a few!) I have been using FM for my own needs and for may office,, until I decided to use it for commercial purposes, somethin that has been pleasant from every point of view. So fa so good but... Now seems that the only solutions a "serous" company would acquire are the ones made with Oracle or Informix or something like that, my work, now is not coding or analizing the sistems but triyng to convine the prospective clients that FM is an excelent product. Hey, amigos help me find examples of large companies using our beloved FM please. Saludos,

Howdy. I am looking for a position with an established developer, to do apprentice level work, on solutions/files. I'm pretty proficient at the basics of db setup, my experience is limited to FM. I am interested in learning more programs outside of FM. Does anyone know of any apprentice level type jobs that would be open to someone like me? I will be living in the Portland, OR area, so unless I would be able to work over the internet, then I would want something in that area. I have only done development for a business I run with my wife, but I am looking for work outside of this, and I really enjoy the development side of things, and I know that wit…

Hello All: Well, I'm considering moving to the UK (dual citizenship) and I was wondering if anyone could clue me in regarding how prevalent (or not) FileMaker is over there, what the freelancing/consulting scene is like, what the rates were, etc... I've got a pretty good FileMaker consultancy going here in NYC, and just want to see if I'll be able to recreate that in London, or if I'll have to get an actual job instead. Thanks -Stanley

I'm not giving many details yet and only want serious people/organizations to reply. I have two peices of software developed in FMPro that have been selling around the U.S.A. for six years (approx. 600 clients currently). Current users pay a yearly subscription fee which is a good enough living in itself. Additionally, there are new purchasers and derivitive products that last year alone brought in $50,000 with an additional $100,000 contract being awarded that was nixed by the legislature and may come about this year. It's also important to note that I have done little or no advertising and yet have clients in 48 states! I was just blessed to find a nitch where my p…

So I've put together a Lab Information Management System (LIMS) for my own lab. (An analytical service facility) It basically allows for tracking of samples/clients/invoicing and it also controls access to the workstations that run the instrumentation using kiosk mode along with a small C++ app that disallows things like CTRL-ALT-DEL and the like. Since FM7 allows for better account management, I've added a nice IWP module that allows the ~100 users in my lab to schedule time on the different equipment. Now another facility wants to set up a similar system and they are interested in having me set it up for them. I'm trying to come up with an idea of what kind of …

I agreed to make some modification to the Filemaker 6 database for one company at no charge as I wasn't familiar with Filemaker and I thought it would be good learning experience for me. They were happy with my work and they paid me $1000 although I didn't ask for any fee. Now, they asking me to create a new Filemaker 7 database that needs to be completed in 60 days. The contract they sent me states that they will pay me $7500 for my work, and after acceptance of database, if they need any future modification they'll pay me $30 / hour. Also, they would have complete ownership to the software including code, documentation and my original graphic design, and they can use …

Hi, Having finished a couple of FM projects that fell into my lap while I was trying to figure out what to do with my life ;-) I want to make a more serious go at doing freelance FM development work. This forum looks very useful and it looks like there is a lot I can learn from perusing the archives, but meanwhile I wondered if anyone had developed and was willing to share a simple FM6 time & expense tracking and billing database. It would be a fun project to do on my own but I'd rather not spend time on that right now. Thank you, Chap

Sure Only 1 copy, multiple paste

The telephone rings and the voice on the other end, tells you they heard about you from 'so-and-so' and you come recommended for your skill, or perhaps you are the closest FileMaker Developer in a 50 mile radius. During this phone conversation you exchange pleasantries, and outline your services and or solutions, your skills and abilities, and some where in there you interject your modus operandi that you work on a contractual basis and that your hourly rate is $X per hour. After you've chatted with the prospect for 30 minutes they indicate they wish to utilize your services, and or are inquiring about your solution. Not knowing them from Adam you feel confident in y…

Hi all, I just bough FM Dev version and should arrive tomorrow at my office so I'm using the trial. I think the program from what I read sounds neat but I don't know anything about this program. I decided to go with Filemaker after convincing my boss that sorting and making calcs on several workbooks within Excel covering several thousands of records wasn't the most efficient way to go about things. Well, now he is going to expect me to create a forecasting and project management system that can track all of these things with a relational database. I love the idea and the project but I'm not so sure how long it would take me to develop something like this…

Can anyone send me a copy of a beta tester contract that I can modify to use as a contract between myself and those who will be beta testing my solution?

Does anyone have any published pricing guidelines to help explain to a client that during development of databases, sometimes developers discover that additional items not included within the scope of the plan come up? Specifically, the client is unconfortable with a 15% contingency (that would need to be approved by the client before I proceed) built into the estimate. Resources online would be helpful, so that I can point them to an unbiased third party. Thank you in advance.

Can I create a solution and box it up for retail? I've got bookstores wanting to keep supplies on hand and I didn't find anything in the FMDev license agreement stating I should not.

What had been your best, easiest, worst, most commonly used, or most cost effective way of copyrighting your FM solutions? I've never done any copyrighting before and am looking for directions -Jeff

Hey all. I'm a NYC teacher and I've been using FMP for years to make my job easier. During my endless search to simplify my own job, I have designed some ways that all schools could run more smoothly using FMP. I have no formal FMP training and, while my solutions are in no way amateurish, I feel as though I am missing some basic database skills and understanding. I am interested in pursuing FMP development as a second career, but I do not have a lot of money for training. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to beef up my skills? Any way to find a developer interested in having an apprentice or partner? Is there any place I can find someone willing to work on a pr…

I am thinking about trying to marked a standalone solution I developed recently. Now my budget is somewhat limited and I need to know about FSA membership. Is it worth paying the fees for FSA membership in your experience does it pay of in a marketing sense does it bring more business? Is it money well spent? Also any general thoughts on marketing standalone Filemaker solutions are welcome. Thank you for any answers.

I am a student working on a few projects. one of them is a plastic surgeon office that is completely uncomputerized. i am working on their database and chugging along fine. I will also have to buy all the computers, server, cables, and a copy of filemaker for the computers and the server (i am currently using my friends copy (yes, its legal)). My question is, how much should i charge? what is the cheapest way to do this? I am learning about filemaker and i am a complete guru when it comes to networking and, mass rollouts, computers in general. any help would be appreciated

I am a developer currently working on a database solution for fashion industry professionals. I am currently seeking a programmer who can help me finish this database for its release in August. I have been developing the concept for this database for 5 years, so this programmer would help me finish up the details, and would be compensated for his or her contribution. I would prefer someone who lives in Berlin, as I do, or in Europe so that we can work together in the same time zone. Please email me for more details. [email protected] Thank you.

Hello. I've made a small solution that consists of four files: assignments.fp5, software.fp5, computers.fp5 and help.fp5. Assignments is the "front end" that the user sees, it's mostly portals, etc into software and computers, and help is obviously a help file db. Right now, assignments.fp5 lives in the top level of the folder containing all of the above files, as I want the user to see it and click it (and not the others) to begin. I've put the others in another folder w/in this folder called "closet." The closet folder contains the support files that the user will not double click to open. My question is this: How do I have a user install this so that assign…

Dear FileMaker Developer, I

I may have a unique situation but I'd like some objective advice. The long and the short of it is this: a) I'm a small-sized developer. I created a database solution that works well in meeting a niche need for a sales process in the construction industry. c) I have a local client who has been using it for 4 years successfully, without complaint. d) This client represents lines for a LARGE international manufacturer of construction products. e) This manufacturer has been searching for a similar solution it can implement for ALL of its Reps across its various product lines and divisions f) They are VERY interested in MY product (thought I am bidding agains…

Hi, I have recently started working as an independent FMP developer and have a couple of clients, one of them is pretty big. I have some options of starting to work for a FMP consulting company, that will give me great training and experience. If I worked for the consulting firm my clients will become theirs, so I wonder if, in this kind of situation, I have the right to ask for a percentage of the money the company would make with "my" clients. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

OK, here is the deal.... I had worked as an in-house FM Developer for a certain company (COMPANY A) for over 5 years. I had developed about 10 major solutions for this company during this time; one of them being a very useful asset management solution. The company had to lay everyone off back in October of last year due to financial problems. Then another company (COMPANY : was working on an agreement to acquire COMPANY A. COMPANY B then decided it did not want to pay for the assets that COMPANY A was trying to sell to them as part of the "deal". Those assets included FM solutions I had developed. COMPANY B said it would only offer jobs to a few former e…

Hello! I'm a in house developer, but contemplating my own business. The main product would be a networked project management tool. It would suit teams working on larger projects with clear and mesurable goals. My main problem is estimating the market and below is a list of questions. I don't expect to receive answers to them. I'm just curious about how You guys are tackling these issues. ------------- How many users of FMP (per platform) are there out there (Filemaker wont answer)? Is it worth the effort to develop for multi-platforms? In what branches are FMP a common tool. EDU is given (but not a very interesting market) ? I guess right pri…

The company I work for has spent the last year and over $2 million on an ineffective ORACLE impementation. My interest with FileMaker prompted me to create some solutions to demonstrate 1)the capabilities of FileMaker and 2)how FileMaker allows the final users to participate in the database design process. The demonstration was successful. I now need to make a proposal to the company executives selling a FileMaker solution to compensate for the ORACLE shortcomings. This solution will have to interface with ORACLE, nevertheless. Please give me any information that will help sell the effectiveness and validity of FileMker solutions! TIA

Hi all, I'm after a few ideas on how to go about creating an activation key in FM. I've no problem with expiring the DB after 30 days if no key has been provided by the user. My problem is how to check a key is valid. The only solution I can think of at the moment is to "hide" in the solution a list of thousands of keys, when a user enters a key, it checks it against the "hidden" list for verification that it is a legitimate key. There really has to be an easier way than this! How do activation keys work in off-the-shelf software? I presume by some complex calculation that takes place when you enter the key, is this the way I should be heading? Man…

After several years of doing FileMaker work, I figured it's time to make it official and join the FSA. My question is, with FileMaker 7 around the corner, would it be best to wait until it came out? Since some of the benefits include evaluation software I'd obviously like to get 7 (I already own 6). But I'll go ahead and join now if membership means they'll send me 7 when it's available. I can't find any details of this on their site. Anyone know how it works? Thanks, Jeff

Does anyone know how I can get an estimation of the number of FileMaker users in France, or in Europe at least. This would give me a first view of my future market. 4D were prompt to react but no news from FMI so far. I was wndering if there were some financial datas or something public about it. Thanks.

You folks are the first to know... I'm taking the plunge and quitting my day job to pursue FMP development work in early February! Thanks to you good people at the Forum for your support and encouragement. My goal is to work with good developers in and around Sydney and generally get the teamwork-thing happening. I had a few offers late last year for FMP work but couldn't take them on because I was still tied to my day job, and I'd rather not do a job than do it badly. That won't be a problem any longer! I'd like to touch base with other FMP developers. My home phone number is 02 9958 3987 in Sydney Australia. Thanks.

hi all, this my first post here, hope it's in the right spot. i am currently working in the NYC area as an independent Macintosh tech/consultant/tutor/whatever-work-i-can-get guy. as many know the job situation here is pretty awful. so i've decided to add to my skills and hopefully make myself more useful and attract some new clients. i think the ability to provide solutions as well as support is a step in the right direction so i'm buckling down and teaching myself AppleScript and FileMaker Pro, for starters. my questions are: -what can i look forward to as a new FileMaker engineer looking for work, even an entry-level position with a company? -is there any are…

Hi, FileMaker.com was down some days ago. Some thought they were updating for FileMaker 7 so that all developers could finally smile. In fact, they were updating for their own applications so that FSA and other "developers" could cry Link What to think of this strategy ?

Richard Rabins of Alpha Software, Inc has graciously offered to make some copies of Alpha Five available to FMForums members free of charge. Interested members should email Richard at [email protected]. Please include your shipping and email address and if they like some background info on who they are. Once you have recieved the software and had a chance to use/evaluate it, please post your comments back here on FMForums so that all members can benefit. Thanks Richard and everybody at Alpha Software!

hi guys, Can anyone give me the interview questions being asked on filemaker pro? Please give me a list of those. thanx Raj

Hi guys, Very strange feeling to be on this Forum section... But as things are going on, I'll probably move on the other part of the scene in a near future. After using and "developping" my own databases from File Maker 2.1, I discovered how powerful this application can be, just browsing this forum. Asking stupid questions, implementing and developping some suggestions into my proper files at first....and suddenly tried to really follow one of these banners here "Members helping members" My files, even if not over in my opinion, are working like a charm now, I got very good feedbacks from my employees (yes, the boss did the job !!) as long as I was dev…

I have been developing databases for small companies as a side business for a couple years, but this is the first time where I had to travel. Over the weekend, I drove five hours each way to Vermont from my home on the Connecticut shoreline to meet at a client

Hi, I'm hoping to gauge the opinions of some experts here. I have two specific questions. Firstly some background to the situation. I work for a reasonably large company and part of my job function has included the design, development and maintenance of a reasonably large Filemaker solution that comprises 60 client users connected to FM Server and another 30 external users connected via a FM Unlimited web interface (CDML). In addition, the solution uses a number of plugins to perform tasks including moving files, completing web forms, sending mail and parsing basic XML strings. There are about 40 related FM databases in the solution. At a guess, it took approximatel…

Hi All, I'd like to join the FSA, but I'm in the Philippines. I've looked through the FM website, and get referred to GrandTech Hong Kong. It appears that they are only a distributor of FileMaker Products, and I don't think they have FSA in this part of Asia. Appreciate any suggestions on how I can proceed. Any one here in this part of Asia? Thanks!

We are new at this but we are using FM 5 for a geneolgy data base, name, date, event, father, mother, id, and source. All of the fields are different in most cases, but the source field can be the same for 20-30 records. I would like to high light the source fields that are the same and do like a copy down, so that we do not have to reenter the information in each field. I do know that when building the records we can do copy from previous record but thats only one at a time. Any suggestions would be very much apprciated Mike

http://newsletter.alphasoftware.com/nw146.htm

I am wondering what the possibilities of getting work using Filemaker are in the Los Angeles area. I have learned Filemaker over the past few months while working at the Walt Disney Company and designing a trailer and dubbing tracking system. I am going to get a second bachelor's degree in computer science focusing on internet development. I wouldn't mind working at a company where I could use Filemaker. I have good knowledge of Windows and Macs. I am also looking at learning MySql. Paul

First, this category has been really enlightening in helping me conceptualize all the nuances of the business side of development. Many many thanks to everyone

Dear All, i have been thinking if i should start developing FM Pro dbs/Solutions in my Spare Time for a bit of extra income. So i would like a little advice from you all. My day to day job is developing/upkeep of FM dbs at my work place i have been using Fm Pro for 3.5 years now. i started off by going on a FM Pro Bootcamp course. i don't pretend to be an expert and i would like to go on a few more courses but i seem to be quite good at creating solutions for users needs and solving problems. one of the dbs at my work i 'inherited' which at first was a bit of a pain as we all do things differently but i have managed to get the 'beast' under control. So …

Hello Does anyone know of any good (free, possibly) contract templates or legal text for FileMaker solution development? Would a FileMaker solution be considered intellectual property? What if I wanted to outline terms for retaining the rights to the solution so I can sell it to others, and terms for allowing them to purchase the rights to the solution. Thanks for all the advice. Ken

I'm curious if any of you are selling complete solutions either runtime or as Filemaker files on the low end (under US$100) and if you offer full access to the solution. Do you think that would help sales or is it giving too much away? Thomas

This story is going to make experienced developers cringe. I just spent 520 hours developing a solution for the nonprofit arts organization that I work for. No contract. I had no contract saying who owned the copyright. I didn

I've created a solution that has started to sell. What should I do? Do I need to have it copyrighted, a solid contract, both or something else? What should I expect to pay? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mark

Hi! I have been asked by a client to find out if you can continue to use FileMaker in a business that will have very strict requirements. It's a reasearch company in the pharmaceutical/bio-informatics industry and they need to comply with FDA "rules". I think I know FileMaker quite well after some years developing in it and I know that FileMaker has some very weak points when it comes to security, for instance. But I've never had so strict requirements on a system. The system would have to comply with "FDA Computer Complience, 21 CFR Part 11", which I have not read fully, but some of the requirements are as follows: * Authentication

Hey kids. The company that I work for has offered to pay for some training for me. If I can't find FileMaker training, what would complement my FM knowledge? SQL? C++? Visual Basic? Something else? Any ideas? Thanks. Paul [ April 08, 2002, 08:46 AM: Message edited by: pspafford ]

Greetings: I work for a financial solutions company. One of the brokers in my district office's region consulted my small networking side business. He needed a certain photo database solution that I am almost done creating (fairly simple). A few points to mention: I have not discussed price with this person yet, because he has been out of town. Also, my experience with these agents is that they are very "thrify" (cheap, in other words. Even though some of them can make $10,000 a month). So my crux is that I need to figure out what I should set the price range at. I have read the posts in this forum, and have receive some very useful pointers. I underst…

A customer of mine had a database developed. Unfortunately it didn't work properly and they stopped working with this developer. They had to pay a certain extra amount to get the database open-sourced. Then they came to me, I fixed the database and told the customer it wouldn't be open soured anymore after I made the changes because the way I develop is part of my trade secret and I don't want the customer to make changes in the scripts so that I have to fix it later when it doesn't work anymore (this might sound a little harsh, but I hope you know what I mean). Now the customer claims he didn't know I told him this and wants me to give him an open sourced version…

I use 5.5 Developer in creating Kiosk, run time soultions for small programs that are mass produced. I have not found any install script from FMPro (which I feel should be there) that allows my clients to auto install the program and place an Icon on the desktop. Has anyone suggestions over this? Who you recommend and any associated cost. Thanks Jason This is a classic example where I am all dressed up and no where to go.....

I've read through this forum, and have appreciated the info - thanks to everyone. I've been a full-time Mac consultant for nearly 7 years, and am trying to shift into Filemaker Solutions development - been tooling around with it for years, finally got some good scripting training, and have now landed (almost) my first major project. I'm still a little panicky about pricing issues - hoping that a specific question will bring more specific answers. I'd be very grateful for any help you pros can offer. My client wants two very limited-use databases for tracking the processes and schedules of a particular project, these two DBs will be related to two others, a contact file…

I have a somewhat complex 30 file solution that I use for my office. I have been told over and over by persons seeing it, "you should market it" but the idea of actually marketing it, providing support, upgrades etc is more than I care to do as my current field takes all my energy. As I have seen the "off the shelf" stuff, I think my solution can provide some competition. I would be glad, however, to just let someone else do the marketing, support etc and just give to codes etc to them for royalties or other arangements. Is this feasable? Any ideas how to get in touch with such a person or company?

Hi all. I am at the beginning of a mini-explosion of clients and setting a standard fee is quickly becoming a major issue. I began by offering a price per project price (it's an authenticated web/database combo), and then quickly discovered that it got out of control (should have read this forum first!). The basic program is the same (with of course enhancements I discovered along the way) but a great deal of customization for each new client. I reserve the rights to the product (the client only buys the license for their copy). My question is how to factor in the original design cost into the price for each client. The model I'm thinking of is x% of the original …

Hey kids. This may be another question that can only be answered with "it depends", but I'll try: It's another question about giving out master passwords. I may be getting a nibble on my first pre-packaged (non-custom) solution. I plan to have two prices. The first price will be for as is (you get the locked solution). The second price will be for the solution, PLUS all of the passwords. Do you have any standard rate for what that second price would be (maybe as a percentage of the selling price). The person I'll be dealing with has used FileMaker before, so "sneaking" FM in isn't really an option (not sure I'd be entirely comfortable with that anyhow). I'm not entir…

Code -- you meant programming code from FileMaker Inc? Or our programs called Scripts? In later case it may be difficult, because good reusable routine is about 10-20 lines in length

Some experts on this forum are charging 120 buck per hour. I am quite skilled on this also and my charge is in signature. But salaries here are much lower, then in US.

In the ever growing popularity of OpenSource software development spauned by Linux. How can FileMaker Developers benefit from such a business model? If you are a FileMaker developer and have created OpenSoruce licensing, we would like to hear from you. The very nature of FileMaker development doens't make it effective to support remote users [not to mention the whole upgrading issue]. When you are a one person shop. How have you employed the help by sub-contracting with local and remote developers? Your thoughts please....

Hi, I need to find out what it runs for a FM professional to do a database for one of my web clients, but this database is not for the web, at least not now. Here's what I know. They will to do a market research campaign and when they get all the data (name, contact info, industry, questionaire anwers, etc) They want it all put into a database so they can look at their data. It seem like a simple database. I'm new to databases and want to get a feel for what this will cost. I need to get a ball park figure of what FM professionals will charge. I need to know what is the low-end cost and the high-end cost, so when I hire someone to do it, I'l know what to expect. Plea…

I run a service business and have been using Filemaker Pro as our db program for the last 3 years. I have done 95% of the work on our db's and have a great basic understanding of the program. However our db's are disaster and will require a lot of hours of work. I am wondering if anyone can give me advice on some tools to help me develop our program myself or further my knowledge. Is it a better idea to pay someone to do some of the more complicated funtions? Is it possible to be self taught and very up to date on fmp? I should say also I love filemaker and get so excited about making our business run better. I would love to help other people make their businesses ru…

Hey kids. I have an opportunity to partner with a marketing firm on creating a solution for a niche market. They would make the sale - I would customize the template I've created (little things like inserting the logo and company name - maybe a few functions). We haven't talked money yet. I think that we could sell a lot of these things, so I'm considering not charging for the initial design, and taking a percent of sales instead (if they'll go for that). I don't even know what they will charge their clients for this database My question: What is an appropriate percent of sales? Of course, I would like to receive the highest rate possible, but I don't want to insult t…

Firstly: this Making a Living Forum gives some great answers and tips for new developers, like myself. Although I'm developing during my daytime job (as an extension of daily duties, my boss is happy with this expansion of his company) the blood starts to tickle when I read all this....could I make it as an independant developer....should I quit and start a business for myself..... Anyway, I got my first two small companies in line to make a DB for and neither of them have FMPro. So they'll have to buy it. My moderate sense of business tells me it would be easy money if we could purchase the program below market price, sell it to the companies and make money on it. And i…

Sorry, this isn't a scripting question, but I couldn't find a "chat" forum where I could post this. This is my story: I have a BS in biology, with intermediate computer skills. I have been working for a small bio-tech company during my senior year in College as a DB intern. They hired me on to do a complete redo of their DB. I taught myself FMpro, and worked for them at $11 an hour. Because they were a small company, they couldn't offer me a full time job after I graduated, so I am no longer working there. But recently, they called and want me to do some "DB consulting for them". Their DB has more work to be done. I have about 6 months of FMpro experience, but I …

Hello Chuck, i've also used Analyzer Lite (the only available for WIN) and, in some circumstances, i have found it helpful. I've replied Waves in Motion (as they ask in their filling form) in order to obtain the unlocking PWD but i'm waiting .... In my 26 years of programming experience i have SELF MADE my development tools (i'm very tired of this, believe me, but every time i fall in this temptation): the concept is simple: what is good for me and my projects management could not be the same for you or anybody else. I have used also sophisticated 3GL and 4GL tools but it is the same old story: in many circumstances you have to write, BY HAND, lines of hard code inter…

We are looking into using a copy-protection "Dongle" to prevent copying of our Filemaker solution...anyone ever use one in their apps?

Although this question may partially have a technical nature to it, it's seemed logical to ask it in this forum. My question is how do you logistically update a FM database (ie: add features, fix bugs, improve layouts), when both the data and the code are married to eachother in the same file, and your client is using the database at his office, but you want to work on it at your office. My last experience with database developement was with dBaseIV (remember that software?) and the program code was separate from the database file, making it possible to update the program code while your client is still using it and adding records to the database file. Do you have to c…

In a few months I will complete putting the finishing touches to my medical record database that appears to be better than the overpriced underperforming products currently available. Since I have been testing and fine tuning it in a local network for over a year, I don't foresee any problems. Any ideas on getting this to market? any ideas on finding someone to take over the marketing, sales, tech support etc, as I would like to get back to my medical practice full time and leave the tech stuff to someone else.

Hey kids. I've built a couple of databases for clients, and have become the database administrator at my day-job. I have done all of this just by "playing" with Filemaker - no training - which is one of the beauties of FM. I have a working knowledge of many other office applications (no other databases), and a little less operating system knowledge. My question: Is this enough to build a career/business on? Do I need to take a bunch of courses to learn other software and networking? I know that every little bit helps, and I have no intention of just sitting back on my laurels, but I'm just wondering how solid my future is with my current knowledge. Any, many and all re…

What's involved with collecting taxes and/or other legal issues if you license your product to a company for money?

I am not a FM Pro by any means but I do good work with what I know and I am still learning more every day. I currently am our companies SQl, Informix database admin and recently our FM Pro 5 "guru", so I do have databasing experience. I have recently picked up a job on the side to produce a FM database for a small company. I do not want to charge too much nor do I want to undercharge. I am not sure how to go about coming up with something fair. I also feel that I need to get a "Gold Star" so that they pass on a good word for me since this is only my first job. I have been in the IT field for a few years now but I have never done anything on the side like this, so this is …

I just built my first database for a client. I password protected everything so that they can't do anything they aren't supposed to (in other words screw around, or hire somebody else). However, since they are a graphic design firm, they are unhappy with the way that I made their invoices look. They have asked me how they can change the layout themselves. I'm trying to tactfully say, "I don't want you messing things up" and "I don't want to hand over my password". But I'm not sure how to handle it. They are very adamant about wanting to do this themselves. I have two questions: 1. How can I say these things to them diplomatically? 2. Since the invoice is in only one o…

Hello Forum I'm an FM Freelancer in the New York area & I was wondering what the FM Professionals around the country (and world) do to scrounge up business. How do you guys market yourselves (if you market)? How do you make people aware of the services you provide? Basically, how do you find the clients who need your services? Thanx in advance for all of the ideas, suggestions (and offers ) Later :-)

Have a question about what to charge a client. Client is a Advertising and Design business in Albuquerque, NM where I live. The owner has begun developing an inhouse database and wants some help with the implementation. Client has already built a lot of the DB and has a clear idea of what he wants to do, so I will mostly be building his ideas and adding some of my own ideas where appropiate. All of my prior work with FMPro has been with businesses where I was an employee doing other jobs as well as building FMPro apps. Judging on what I view here in the forum I would place my own ranking somewhere between intermediate to advanced. So my question would be what to charge th…