Get Mobile Consignment SoftwareCheapest Mobile Options for Consignment
There are 3 ways to achieve software mobility without paying endlessly for consignment software.
Programs like Best Consignment Shop Software are still available for a one-off price.
- Install the Best Consignment Software on a laptop (with sufficient power) and take your business with you wherever you go. Use free online backup services (like Gmail, 25 GB of space) so if data is lost while on the road, simply download the data from the online backup and go again.
- Install the software on a desktop computer at the shop (or anywhere) and use free remote-PC-access programs to access the shop computer from anywhere.
- While traveling around, download and install the BCSS demo on any Windows-based computer (at a library, client's office, estate sale...) and 1) download the data from online data storage or 2) email the data to yourself - and run the program with current data.
"It doesn't take a genius to avoid overpaying for software. It takes getting fooled."
Expensive Consignment Software Mobility
Web-based software is pretty cool. Most have modern conveniences and they are well designed, if not fairly easy to use - but at what cost?
Most if not all 'cloud software' is pushed by their providers as 'software as a service' which is a techy way of saying that software is no longer a product to be delivered for one price, but an ongoing service allegedly requiring ongoing payments. The software stops when the payment stops.
Simple formula: How many years you intend to be in business X 12 X the monthly fee. At $109 per month the 10-year cost of 'software as a service' is $13,080.
The not-so-obvious elephant in the room is placing your clients' data 'on the cloud' where there is absolutely no guarantee that their information can't be hacked and leaving your responsible. If you opt for cloud-based software are you going to get written acknowledgement from every client that she or he authorizes you to do so? If not you're putting the legal noose around your neck.
The glory of Best Consignment Shop Software is its long-term cost: $295 to $795 depending upon the level of software features needed. (The Virtual edition at $795 provides online services which do require a monthly server rental of $25.) Clients have been using BCSS since 2002, having paid once for years of dependable use.
Moreover your clients' data is stored on your computer. You can guarantee it's safety by keeping the computer disconnected from the Internet, making absolutely certain that no one can hack in.
Other Expensive Consignment Software Options
Some software vendors are well-practiced at blowing smoke over their long-term costs. The most egregious act of fraud is deceiving would-be users with support costs, claiming that their 'annual support fees' are "optional" without also mentioning the consequences of not paying the 'annual support fees' which are no service in any form and withholding of important software updates.
Heads up: There is no software program that will not have future issues, if for no other reason, changes in technology. When Windows sneezes every Windows-based software program catches cold and those software updates are no longer "optional" but mandatory to keep the software working as expected.
Software vendors who suggest that you will be able to use their software and never need updates are flat out lying to you. They don't know that. They can't know that.
These same purveyors have multiple ways of increasing costs over time. The 'annual support fee' will increase with time and it will increase when additional users or stations are added. 'Consignpro' will charge full price for opening a second location.
Remote Print with Consignment Software
Another handy free service is Google Cloud Print. With a Google account remote printing can be managed online as you roam around the country (or world). Need to print on the road. Aim Google Cloud Print at a printer near you (or elsewhere) and press the print button.
Of course there are mobile printers which fit nicely inside a mobile office carrying case.