Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Wayne Fowler on November 11, 2010, 05:29:34 pm
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I've been on the free trial with aworka for a few weeks now and it's been working really well so am very tempted to continue with it. But before I start paying, I thought I'd ask here for your views of online systems as an alternative to traditional programs like George and Window Cleaner Pro, to check I'm not missing something! I haven't seen many mentions of aworka on the forums, but I think that might be because it's a new system? I tried it because I found my options to be limited as I am avid Mac user...
I read elsewhere on this forum that the guys behind Window Cleaner Pro are moving online so maybe this is the way its all going, but not everyone has been supportive! It seems quite a few people object to paying monthly for an online service instead of a one off payment up front. I don't think I have a problem with the subscription, considering I can earn a few hundred a week and aworka is only a tenner a month. I don't want to encourage another 'this software is better than that software' debate, but I'm interested in any thoughts about online vs software package.
I'm new to this forum and new to window cleaning so please be gentle with me!
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do u have a link to it?
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You'll never guess! ;D aworka.com (http://aworka.com)
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depends on how big you are, i use a pad and pen and have no probs
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£10 a month looks good would you recommend it I use googledocs spreadsheets
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I really like it. When I bought my round, it came with a spreadsheet that the previous owner had developed but I couldn't get the hang of it. Chris (the guy at Aworka) imported the spreadheet into Aworka and everything seemed much easier! If you're interested, you can sign up for a free trial and see if Chris will import your data for you so you can see if it works for you.
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@Blue Monkey I could probably do the day-to-day stuff with pen and paper, but what about your end of year accounts? I wouldn't fancy adding it all up by hand. And how do you do invoices? I've got used to creating an emailing invoice in just a couple of mouse clicks...
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its easy i do weekly sheets with what i made that week and waht i spent and what it got spent on, do this for evey week,
i only give out 3 invoices so i just print them off with what every amounts are on it, the rest either pay cash or online
accounts are easy, it all depends on how simple you make it
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It is a personal thing for some a book works best, others a spreadsheet, George, WCP etc, etc.
Organising and running a round is fairly straight forward and all of the above will work, Aworka is no different.
I moved from George to Aworka (Paul at George introduced me) as it better suited my needs.
Aworka is very new - I think Chris has produced a really well thought out easy to use application and I wish him every success - time will tell
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Hello I'm Chris Powell from Aworka. Thanks John and Wayne for your kind words about my new service! Bearing in mind that I am obviously biased, I think the advantages of online services in general are...
- No software to install or upgrade
- No worries about your PC breaking down or doing data backups
- Accessible from any computer connected to the internet (and I'm working on Smartphones too!)
- Multiuser access so great for teams
Paying a ongoing subscription for an online service might be off-putting for some, but (a) its not very much and (b) it provides the funding to constantly improve and maintain the service for the benefit of users.
Having said all this, I have to agree with John: if you're happy with the way you do things, there's probably no reason to change (except to Aworka ;D)
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This is funny wcp are doing a new program as we speak now this is posted i wonder if kate1 has a new user id ;D
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Hmmm I wonder ;D
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was kate1 a guy posing as a woman??. it was wierd for a woman to spend so long on a wc forum.
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I think the main point being this is far cheaper than what wcp new program is .
£10.00 when the other was quoted @£25 to £35 if i remember right. Also there is now the trust element as well . But the Aworka software does not show any working platforms on there web page which lets it down as you have to use a trail to see what it can do, but i would like to see before i try.
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Hello again... I promise I'm not kate1 (but I'm sure she's very nice)! I have just joined this forum after Wayne emailed me to let me know my new service was being discussed...
I know I need to do more to show Aworka in action before you sign up. Perhaps a video demo or something? For now, you can look at the Quick Tour to see some of the screens. The other thing I could do is import some demo data for you to play with if you sign up and don't want to put your own data in right away, or I can import your own data for you.
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chris can you edit or delete the columns that you dont need on the customers list as i would not use the customer name column
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Sorry, not at the moment. My priority is to try and keep everything as simple as possible and easy to use, so there aren't too many configuration options to confuse things. However, I'm open to ideas and will be striving continually evolve the system to meet the needs of users. I've included a Feedback link on the side of the site that allows you to suggest features and changes to the system, then other users can vote for the features they most want, which should mean the best new features get developed first.
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Microsoft excel. It does exactly what it says on the tin!
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what the difference between microsoft works speadsheet and microsoft excel ???
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Microsoft Works is a sort of home version of Microsoft Office. The spreadsheets are basically the same, but Excel has many more functions (that you'll probably never use) and costs a lot more.
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plus if u need excel to work a program, it wont work with works spreasheet, this is one of the reason why i didnt buy wcp as am not buying excel as well
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Hi Chris,
I am interested in Aworka, can you tell me how it sorts VAT.
Is it able to allocate VAT to certain jobs and not others, IE, commercial and domestic.
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For each job, you can specify whether the price includes VAT, excludes VAT or is not VAT-able (no VAT).
So for example:
if the price is £10 inc VAT, you would charge £10, and keep £8.51 net after repaying the VAT to HMRC
if the price is £10 ex VAT, you would charge £11.75, and keep £10 after repaying the VAT
if the price is £10 no VAT, you would charge £10 and keep £10, nothing to HMRC (not sure you could ever do this as a VAT registered window cleaner though!?!?!)
Aworka obviously does all the sums for you and puts the right amounts in the right places.
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Your links won't work for me, so I'm unable to 'see' it working.
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Try typing aworka into Google instead...? Should be the top link in the results.
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Hi all,
I didn't know this thread was about software- or cloud even, so didn't bother with it.There have been a few threads lately and some have become very heated.I was livid.
There is no doubt that software is very important.The people who have the knack with excel have no real idea of what they are missing.There are three elements to a wc biz
operations
marketing
Admin
The trick is to be brilliant at all three.
As regards admin, round software management is a must.Maximum benefit, minimum investment of time.Doesn't any one know what IT stands for. Information Technology, this is what computers are for.
As regards MACs i use these and use a programme called parrallels.
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For each job, you can specify whether the price includes VAT, excludes VAT or is not VAT-able (no VAT).
So for example:
if the price is £10 inc VAT, you would charge £10, and keep £8.51 net after repaying the VAT to HMRC
if the price is £10 ex VAT, you would charge £11.75, and keep £10 after repaying the VAT
if the price is £10 no VAT, you would charge £10 and keep £10, nothing to HMRC (not sure you could ever do this as a VAT registered window cleaner though!?!?!)
Aworka obviously does all the sums for you and puts the right amounts in the right places.
Thanks Chris,
My Interest Level just went up, it sounds like it may be very good for me so will take a closer look ;D
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Try typing aworka into Google instead...? Should be the top link in the results.
I can get to your site but YOUR links ON the site dont do anything!
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Sorry I misunderstood. What internet browser are you using? Aworka needs Internet Explorer 8 or better still Firefox, Safari or Chrome to work properly. I suspect you may be running IE6...?
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I had a look and thought aworka was good if a bit basic.The profit and loss account was something the others haven't got but otherwise it would be a backward step when we already own more sophisticated programmes.
If enough work is put in by newbs it may come up to speed later.
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Slumpbuster, what program are you using at the moment? I'd be interested to hear what you think is missing from Aworka. I thought it covered most of what I need, but I'm interested to see if there are other things I can automate that I haven't considered (I'm lazy like that!)
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Hi Wayne
Applications such a Service CEO can provide additional features such as contact mangement, assett management, detailed reporting and such like it.
However I find they also bring unwelcome complexity and and of course additional cost.
What I like about Aworka is it's simplicity, it's easy to understand, has a nice
graphical interface and at this point in time does exactly what I need.
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Hi Slumpbuster
You stated that "it would be a backward step (to use Aworka) when we already own more sophisticated programmes"
I would be interested to hear what they are...
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Is this for real, seems awfully staged ?
Haven't we been here before
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Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned the particular online service I'm trying. My original query was really about the pros and cons of online vs a software package. Looks like it doesn't really matter, people are more concerned with features.
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Is this for real, seems awfully staged ?
Haven't we been here before
I agree David it does appear staged, but does it matter as long as we get to hear about new equipment or something of benifit,
Its for the good of us all.
I suppose I would test the water to see what the reaction is before jumping in head first too.
If people show an interest I guess advertising would be the next step.
I think people worry about the forum police ;D
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their are loads of people on here that depend on fancy software & flash tools that all cost money
you don't need them plus alot of suppliers that supply the software and tools take the pee with their prices and take us for idots.
I think that we are making our overheads bigger than they need to be i am quite happy with my spreadsheets and work cards.
if you did go with an internet program i would always have a backup hard printed copy of your customer files just incase your info is deleted or if your internet goes down.
about a year ago i had no eletric for about a week due to a edf eletric power cut so if you dont have a back up you will be in trouble.
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it's easy to backup , send yourself a email with backup attached ;)
You can access it anywhere that has internet .If you are that worried send it to a few email accounts, they can't all go down lol
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Had a look at the program , I am quite impressed with the screen shots
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I don't mind the plant aspect Dave, as stated does it matter? And how else are we going to hear about this unless some guy comes on here and asks and another gives great reports? Ever since Mickey Rooney shouted hey guys lets put on a show as a child actor i've always loved it when people ham it up.
Features in a programme?
I can enter details name address, any frequency any price.
I can group details into rounds.
I can print works sheets for defined dates for selected rounds.
I can search jobs for debt reconcilliation
I can run reports, print invoices, maintain jobs.
I can enter expenses and add expense catergoriies.
I can back up to a stick etc.
I can work offline.
Now show me what you've got.
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Talk about over complicating a very simple procedure! ::) ;D
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Slumpbuster... Aworka has all the features you list, except...
You can only print worksheets for all jobs on a day, not per round. However, if you have multiuser enabled, you can print separate worksheets per user per day.
You have not said what reports you run, but Aworka currently has a summary of your financials, showing total income for each month for each round and expenses for each month in each of your categories.
You can download your data at any time (and put it on a stick if you want to).
Working offline isn't possible, but will be soon (modern web browsers already have the capability to store data offline and resync with the server when available, I just need to make use of it in Aworka).
Extra features not on your list? I suppose the biggie is multiuser access if you need it. If you work as a team, each user has their own login and access to their own jobs and expenses, which can be allocated and coordinated by one master/admin user. Smartphone access will be another big feature, but that's not quite ready...
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Yes i can see many benefits.
The expense is not great, and if you do a simple cost benefit anaylsis you win hands down.The people with paper or excel are luddites.
I'm pretty much a one man band but have a huge customer base (for me) and debt reconcilliation is a big issue.I bank my cheques daily but have to remember to knock them off.I down load my bank account as an excel spreadsheat and have it in the window above my programme open at search and knock things off as i go.
The less time i can spend on admin the better.The fewer mistakes i make the better.
I hope a few sign up with you.One issue i think you will find is data export.