Tell me your pain

[bowcot84]

What bugs you on a day-to-day basis? What business processes cause you pain, aggravation and problems? What, in the last month say, has made you go "there must be a better way of doing this"?

My reason for asking....

I've spent my working life as a web developer and latterly team lead, digitising business processes, making things more efficient and life less frustrating for businesses.

Although I've always been paid well, ultimately someone else has benefitted more from the fruits of my labour.

Now, I want to reap the rewards from the efficient, scalable software that I write and the apps and programs I create.

So I'm looking for business pain points that I can solve, for you, for free, and then sell on to others who face the same hassles.

The finer details of commercial arrangements we can get into, but essentially, I'm keen to find the problem, solve it for you without money changing hands, and hopefully both benefit in the long term.

I'm all ears!

 

[Mark T Jones]

Knees, mostly.

 

[bowcot84]

Knees, mostly.

Now I'm interested. What business process keeps you on your knees a lot

 

[fisicx]

Right now it’s AI trying to worm its way into every bit of software I use with no means to turn it off.

And also knees.

And clients who don’t understand project creep. Or in many cases how to write a halfway usable specification.

 

[HFE Signs]

When people say 'reaching out', drives me nuts

 

[Mark T Jones]

When people say 'reaching out', drives me nuts

Except the Four Tops

 

[fisicx]

Except the Four Tops

Or Take That, Giorgio Moroder and Red Hot Chiili Peppers.

(Thank you Google)

 

[Daybooks]

Except the Four Tops

Unlike the Four Tops you usually find their follow up is that they won’t be there anyway!

 

[bowcot84]

Right now it’s AI trying to worm its way into every bit of software I use with no means to turn it off.

And also knees.

And clients who don’t understand project creep. Or in many cases how to write a halfway usable specification.

Ok, think there may be something around specifications. What tooling currently exists/do you use? Or is it so project specific that there no one size fits all? Everything I’ve worked has has specific user stories in Jira or similar ie “As a admin user I can delete a non admin user” that sort of thing. And then tests to support each user story. Then anything outside those is considered scope creep, and thus billable.

 

[bowcot84]

Unlike the Four Tops you usually find their follow up is that they won’t be there anyway!

I have to say I am loving the way this thread is going.

 

[Porky]

My daughter, a real pain...

She’s 21 and in last year of Uni and frankly it’s been one Drama after another since age 11 - exhausting, I’m told the first 40 years are the worst, help...

Think it’s a girl thing, lads are so much easier....

 

[fisicx]

Ok, think there may be something around specifications. What tooling currently exists/do you use? Or is it so project specific that there no one size fits all? Everything I’ve worked has has specific user stories in Jira or similar ie “As a admin user I can delete a non admin user” that sort of thing. And then tests to support each user story. Then anything outside those is considered scope creep, and thus billable.

It’s all custom work. No two projects are the same and they all begin with ‘I want an x that looks like website y’.

Don’t use any software. It’s a combination of zoom, Skype, email or whatever else the client uses. One only ever communicated using WhatsApp.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Right now it’s AI trying to worm its way into every bit of software I use with no means to turn it off.

And also knees.

And clients who don’t understand project creep. Orn many cases how to write a halfway usable specification.

What he said knees as well

My pain is customers and suppliers using AI this should be stopped immediately

 

[Mark T Jones]

Now I'm interested. What business process keeps you on your knees a lot

All h&s advice says lift with your knees not your back.

Whilst fundamentally sound, this does create the secondary issue that knees are taking the strain and will ultimately suffer

 

[RandyMarsh]

For my food retail business:
1) Balancing daily card payment totals against the amount paid. Sometimes there are discrepancies because the till assistant has entered the wrong amount on the card terminal keypad, or a payment failed to go through and they didn't notice, or a payment was made after the official end of day and got added to the following day's total, or any number of other reasons. And then I have to go through every card transaction in turn to find the discrepancy and account for it.

2) Spam phone calls. Please invent a deadly laser I can fire down a phone line.

3) Shoplifters. Not just the stealing, the way it makes discrepancies on stock control so I think I have more stock than I have.

4) Keeping track of expiry dates for stock and ensuring they are sold in date order.

5) Not being able to get quotes for business utility accounts without having to give my details to Bionic.

6) Having to write marketing copy for adverts in an upbeat tone when I'm a grumpy 52 year old.

7) Accounts software (Clearbooks) not integrating with pension provider (Nest) so I have to repeat payroll information on Nest's dreadful website.

8) Speaking of Clearbooks, the fact it now uses AI to reconcile bank transactions with your accounts and it is too stupid to match the names of the payees with the names of my contacts and doesn't notice when the payee has used an invoice number as a payment reference so it doesn't manage to match up any transactions correctly.

 

[Daybooks]

For my food retail business:
1) Balancing daily card payment totals against the amount paid. Sometimes there are discrepancies because the till assistant has entered the wrong amount on the card terminal keypad, or a payment failed to go through and they didn't notice, or a payment was made after the official end of day and got added to the following day's total, or any number of other reasons. And then I have to go through every card transaction in turn to find the discrepancy and account for it.

2) Spam phone calls. Please invent a deadly laser I can fire down a phone line.

3) Shoplifters. Not just the stealing, the way it makes discrepancies on stock control so I think I have more stock than I have.

4) Keeping track of expiry dates for stock and ensuring they are sold in date order.

5) Not being able to get quotes for business utility accounts without having to give my details to Bionic.

6) Having to write marketing copy for adverts in an upbeat tone when I'm a grumpy 52 year old.

7) Accounts software (Clearbooks) not integrating with pension provider (Nest) so I have to repeat payroll information on Nest's dreadful website.

8) Speaking of Clearbooks, the fact it now uses AI to reconcile bank transactions with your accounts and it is too stupid to match the names of the payees with the names of my contacts and doesn't notice when the payee has used an invoice number as a payment reference so it doesn't manage to match up any transactions correctly.

1. I suppose be grateful that you are not forced to use an accounting system called Horizon developed by Fujitsu and recommended by the Post Office. Do you need to go through every transaction to reconcile it everytime? Could you write off the under or overs monthly or quarterly and spend the time saved looking at ways to improve the process. You might find there are other reasons for the discrepancies. Match the effort to the rewards.

7. Whilst NEST’s website is atrocious have you not considered that it is equally atrocious that Clearbooks doesn’t integrate with it? Agreed, NEST is fine as long as you don’t need to log on to use it. Other payroll software is available.

8. Arguably an automated reconciliation is no reconciliation at all. Your experience seems to justify this statement.

Good luck with the others.

 

[xjr13m]

My daughter, a real pain...

She’s 21 and in last year of Uni and frankly it’s been one Drama after another since age 11 - exhausting, I’m told the first 40 years are the worst, help...

Think it’s a girl thing, lads are so much easier....

Absolutely this! Mine has calmed down now but for about 6 years everyday day felt like an episode of Hollyoaks...

 

[bowcot84]

1) Balancing daily card payment totals against the amount paid. Sometimes there are discrepancies because the till assistant has entered the wrong amount on the card terminal keypad, or a payment failed to go through and they didn't notice, or a payment was made after the official end of day and got added to the following day's total, or any number of other reasons. And then I have to go through every card transaction in turn to find the discrepancy and account for it.

This is interesting. Can I ask what systems you use to store till transactions and card payments? The issue being essentially there's nothing, (besides your eyes) to reconcile those, is that right? So a system that said "£28 card payment at 1300, no matching till transaction", "£28.01 till transaction at 1300, no matching card payment", that sort of thing would help narrow down where the discrepancies are? How much time/frustration would that save?

 

[Porky]

Absolutely this! Mine has calmed down now but for about 6 years everyday day felt like an episode of Hollyoaks...

@xjr13m

May I ask how old she was when you actually started to reap the benefits of less drama?

Had she moved out by then, married with children..... Mines 21 are you telling me there is hope on the horizon...oh I do hope so

 

[fisicx]

@xjr13m

May I ask how old she was when you actually started to reap the benefits of less drama?

Had she moved out by then, married with children..... Mines 21 are you telling me there is hope on the horizon...oh I do hope so

Mine is 29, single with a toddler and I only hear from her when she wants something. Usually money. The only benefit is she lives in Germany so I don’t end up being a free child minder.

 

[Porky]

@fisicx
Oh gawd sounds about right.....

 

[xjr13m]

@xjr13m

May I ask how old she was when you actually started to reap the benefits of less drama?

Had she moved out by then, married with children..... Mines 21 are you telling me there is hope on the horizon...oh I do hope so

Going to uni was transformational for her, plenty of drama in year one, but by the end of year two she had become a well adjusted young woman, now in her late twenties with a responsible job and two children, she's a joy to be around. So give it a little more time and you should be ok...

 

[Porky]

Going to uni was transformational for her, plenty of drama in year one, but by the end of year two she had become a well adjusted young woman, now in her late twenties with a responsible job and two children, she's a joy to be around. So give it a little more time and you should be ok...

Thanks for that - you have given me hope

This thread really does give advice to solve pains, who would have thought it!

 

[DoolallyTap]

Daughters put an invisible box on their heads when they are about 13 and it stays there until possibly 21 or older. Nothing gets past the invisible box in or out, and because you cannot see it you cannot take it off.

 

[Pish_Pash]

What bugs me?

the way Accountancy packages haven't kept up with market needs - e.g. need more that one VAT supplier? (for example for selling into the EU, therefore UK HMRC + German VAT) ...sorry, the computer says no.

Poorly documented APIs (or overly complex APIs ...Amazon, I'm looking at you)...or worse still NO API.

The Government - seriously, their idea to pay people 80% of their salary to stay at home was off the scale madness (cost aside, try getting people to be productive once they've been paid 80% of their salary to watch daytime TV), *then* have small business owners pick up the tab (most who didn't benefit from the wheeze & had to crack on through the pandemic). What do I mean? 25pct Corporation Tax anyone? Also, I reckon the budget will see entrepreneurs relief get whacked (now called Business Asset Disposal) ...massive transfer of wealth going on, from Small businesses ....to train drivers etc. We're all getting rinsed.

 

[Daybooks]

What bugs me?

the way Accountancy packages haven't kept up with market needs - e.g. need more that one VAT supplier? (for example for selling into the EU, therefore UK HMRC + German VAT) ...sorry, the computer says no.

Unfortunately accountancy software providers tend to impose prescriptive measures to everything from a base of not understanding basic accounting principles. You can do what you need with a manual ledger. Therefore you should be able to do so with an automated version. If you cannot it is the fault of the software - or more the reflection of the author writing the specification without full knowledge. I suspect you’ve explored options and hit one obstacle or another on the way. Microsoft Excel is often the gift that keeps on giving in these situations.

 

[Pish_Pash]

Unfortunately accountancy software providers tend to impose prescriptive measures to everything from a base of not understanding basic accounting principles. You can do what you need with a manual ledger. Therefore you should be able to do so with an automated version. If you cannot it is the fault of the software - or more the reflection of the author writing the specification without full knowledge. I suspect you’ve explored options and hit one obstacle or another on the way. Microsoft Excel is often the gift that keeps on giving in these situations.

Oh, I'm already semi-automated ...API (to retrieve data programmatically) -> MS Access (extract/process the data) ->Transaction Pro Importer (to export accounting data from MS Access) -> Quickbooks Desktop.

But waaaaay too many hours learning & coding...for a rather kludgey solution.

I'm convinced all the big software houses still wear flares....and listen to Disco on their walkmans.

 

[numbersrule]

I need an app that can look for correlations in two lists of data.

I am currently using Excel but it is time consuming.

Time consuming means discouraging and therefore an impediment to research efforts.

My daughter lived in NZ and recently moved to Australia. I'd love to see her again so I'm planning a trip down under next year.

 

[Daybooks]

I need an app that can look for correlations in two lists of data.

I am currently using Excel but it is time consuming.

Time consuming means discouraging and therefore an impediment to research efforts.

My daughter lived in NZ and recently moved to Australia. I'd love to see her again so I'm planning a trip down under next year.

You can do anything number related (and a lot more) in Excel. The trick is to be able to define and specify exactly what is required. Then the solution is usually straight forward. I use Excel for the key reason that I can automate many tasks and spend more time on either other things or automating more! Happy to take a look for you especially if it gets you a trip to see your daughter.

 

[Pish_Pash]

I need an app that can look for correlations in two lists of data.

I am currently using Excel but it is time consuming.

Time consuming means discouraging and therefore an impediment to research efforts.

My daughter lived in NZ and recently moved to Australia. I'd love to see her again so I'm planning a trip down under next year.

Most people instantly turn to Excel (as everyone is familiar with it), but quite often MS Access is the best solution for stuff like that....typically it makes time consuming data manipulation (repetitive) tasks a breeze.

 

[Daybooks]

Most people instantly turn to Excel (as everyone is familiar with it), but quite often MS Access is the best solution for stuff like that....typically it makes time consuming data manipulation (repetitive) tasks a breeze.

As good as Microsoft Access is – and it is good – the solutions need to be tailored to the user’s needs and requirements.

I’ve not used Microsoft Access for a good few year and even then it looked dated. Whether it has had a makeover since I do not know.

However I have yet to find Excel unable to do something – and that includes things you might ordinarily associate with a database environment.

I don’t know if MS Access still has the runtime option. If it doesn’t then it would be hard to justify buying MS Access for a simple solution; equally so if it does. As you will know the benefit comes from Visual Basics for Applications so the learning curve is probably the same for both Access and Excel in that respect. But Excel would be easier to understand for most.

How would you convince someone to purchase and install MS Access to do something that Excel would do perfectly?

Personally I think Claris FileMaker is a better solution than MS Access but it now suffers from a subscription based offering with no runtime solution to deploy to end users. All roads lead back to Excel. The gift that keeps on giving.

 

[Pish_Pash]

How would you convince someone to purchase and install MS Access to do something that Excel would do perfectly?

I'm not here to convince anyone - all I can say is that I'm very familiar with Excel & I'm very familiar with Access ...for "an app that can look for correlations in two lists of data." ...I reckon Access is the best tool in the Office Suite box (many business/households already have a copy of Office)

Either import the lists into two tables (or created a linked table to the actual files themselves) then VBA (&/or queries) will avoid the monotony/repetition.

And to save having to lean VBA....It's the kind of job/solution that someone on Fivver could knock up in 20 mins ...for minimal cost.

 

[Daybooks]

I'm not here to convince anyone - all I can say is that I'm very familiar with Excel & I'm very familiar with Access ...for "an app that can look for correlations in two lists of data." ...I reckon Access is the best tool in the Office Suite box (many business/households already have a copy of Office)

Either import the lists into two tables (or created a linked table to the actual files themselves) then VBA (&/or queries) will avoid the monotony/repetition.

And to save having to lean VBA....It's the kind of job/solution that someone on Fivver could knock up in 20 mins ...for minimal cost.

I am not suggesting MS Access would not provide a solution nor questioning your preference and like for it. It is a good product. But put it into the context of the issue raised our like or dislike of a product is irrelevant. The user has Excel, is comfortable with it, has data in Excel and is looking for a solution that Excel is perfectly capable of providing. Therefore importing data from Excel into Access and then possibly back again seems an unnecessary task.

But I acknowledge you are not trying to convince anyone to use Access as the solution; similarly I won’t try and convince anyone to use Tableau instead.

 

[numbersrule]

You can do anything number related (and a lot more) in Excel. The trick is to be able to define and specify exactly what is required. Then the solution is usually straight forward. I use Excel for the key reason that I can automate many tasks and spend more time on either other things or automating more! Happy to take a look for you especially if it gets you a trip to see your daughter.

Thanks for the offer Daybooks. But please be aware the lists have nothing to do with bookkeeping.
It's for one of my 'hobby' businesses. I'll have a look again and spend some time on it and I may be in touch.

 

[Daybooks]

Thanks for the offer Daybooks. But please be aware the lists have nothing to do with bookkeeping.
It's for one of my 'hobby' businesses. I'll have a look again and spend some time on it and I may be in touch.

The principle is often the same and one solution can have many uses. You are welcome.

 

[YasmeenLondon]

The number one thing that grinds my gears is the word "simple"

Simple takes time. Simple requires a lot of trial and error. It takes years of experience to get simple, yet some people use simple as another word for cheap or quick.