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Software for Membership Tracking and Inventory?

Posted by Cliff on from the running-a-business-on-free-software dept.

ZeLonewolf asks: "I'm a consultant to a customer who owns two franchises of a fitness gym. The computers they use to keep track of members and inventory run DOS programs written in the early 90's by a company that has long since gone out of business. My customer needs an upgrade badly. Replacement software to keep track of members and handle check-in and membership expirations, as well as inventory and point-of-sale data, costs $5,000 and up, so a free software solution is desirable. Does GnuCash do the job? Have Slashdot readers successfully set a small business up with Free/Open Software? What software have you had success with?"

2 of 36 comments (clear)

  1. GnuCash and BananaPOS by Chilltowner · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I ran my software consulting business on GnuCash. It was really pretty great, actually. Once you follow the tutorial and get a handle on basic accounting practices, I was able to handle all my expenses, invoicing, accounts payable/receivable, etc. Good stuff.

    A lot of people kind of react poorly to GnuCash because it isn't a simple checkbook app. In my experience, that's a shame. It CAN be used that way--I run my personal finances on GnuCash, too. But it's powerful enough to run a mid-sized business on.

    If your client is looking more for a POS app, take a peek at Banana POS. I don't know that much about it, but it is F/OSS and might be closer to a tracking application than GnuCash.

  2. some options I've seen by myz24 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As an IT worker for a YMCA we've recently been looking at software to replace our aging DOS application as well. I've looked at quite a few different packages and I'ved listed them below along with websites. Many of them are YMCA centric but they might still be of help.

    * Aphelion (http://www.aphelion.net)
    * Christensen Computer Company (http://www.cccsoft.com/)
    * Class (http://www.classinfo.com/)
    * CSI (http://www.csisoftwareusa.com/)
    * Daxko (http://www.daxko.com)
    * Finesstri (http://www.finesstri.com/)

    Those are a few that I've found during my search. I've personally seen Aphelion, CCC, Daxko and Finesstri. Daxko's pricing is revenue based where most of the others set a rate on number of users or other factors that might suit a small place well.