Running a Small Business on the Linux Platform?

WinDOOR asks: "As part of a small-mid sized family business, finding a way to rid ourselves from the dependence of using Microsoft products is a very daunting challenge. I've been searching for a good Linux based ERP/CRM software that's adequate for use with about 20 or so users and that can handle light manufacturing and POS type order inputting. I've looked at Compiere, but consider the Oracle tax to be one and the same as the Microsoft tax. We don't have the money nor expertise to design our own solutions like the big corporations that have switched sides. What packages or vendors have you had the most success with? Is Postgre or MySQL an acceptable database backend? Is there a viable replacement for MS Access yet? What language would be best to learn if I had to create my own solution? Do CS Students do this kind of work to pay the bills?"

Comments

Not anymore

[Safety Cap]

PostgreSQL 7.4 is very fast. 8.0, when it goes gold will be even faster. The main difference if that PostgreSQL is primarily designed for people who know how to normalize their data and want to take advantage of the DB engine to do most of the heavy lifting/ensure referential integrity.

MySQL, on the other hand, is great for quick-n-dirty setups, but lends itself to poorly designed solutions that are a bear to maintain.

Bottom line: learn about data normalization before you do anything. If you're building something that will be extended and maintained over time, use PostgreSQL. If you're building a throwaway app, use MySQL. If your throwaway app will turn into a production system that will have to be maintained, use PostgreSQL.

Don't confuse the database and frontend

[leonbrooks]

There are many applications (pgaccess, Rekall, phpPgAdmin, dozens more, even OpenOffice!) which will grant you drag-n-drop style access to your database, whatever it is. This is the essence of what makes MS-Access attractive.

PostgreSQL, MySQL, ibFireBird are all good as back-ends. It's almost certain that the first two shipped with your Linux distribution.

OpenOffice.org

[mrholyschmidt]

OpenOffice can connect to both MySQL and PostgreSQL to save information. It also has form editors which look very much like those in MS Access. Its the closiest thing I've encountered on linux to an Access clone.

The trickiest part of using the whole thing is getting the connection set up to the database, and a simple google search will give examples of how to do it.

Re:OpenMFG

[rthall]

That url should be OpenMFG.com not .org. Sorry about that.

Compiere

[llefler]

A company is working on a Firebird modification called Fyracle that will allow it to integrate with Compiere.

I have to wonder if you aren't looking for the wrong solution though. Enterprise Resource Planning, for a business your size, is kind of like fishing with grenades. Sure, it will get the job done.....

Wouldn't something like GNUCash with a POS add-on and a inventory database pretty much cover everything?

How about SQL-Ledger

[recjhl]

From the Debian description:

A double-entry accounting program written in perl
Accounting data is stored in a SQL Server, for the display any text or
GUI browser can be used. The entire system is linked through a chart
of accounts. Each item in inventory is linked to revenue, expense,
inventory and tax accounts. When you sell and purchase goods and
services the accounts are automatically updated.
.
With the assembly feature you can build manufactured goods from parts,
services and assemblies. When you sell assemblies all the accounts
linked to the individual parts, services and assemblies are updated
and stock levels adjusted accordingly. If any item belonging to an
assembly is changed all assemblies are updated as well.
.
Invoices, Packing List, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Sales and
Purchase Order, Statements, Receipts and Checks are generated from
templates and may be changed to suit your needs. Templates are provided
in html and tex format. The tex templates are processed with latex
to produce postscript and PDF documents and can be sent to a printer,
displayed in a PDF viewer or sent out via email ...

See http://www.sql-ledger.org/.

Some Research Help for You Effort

[phyjcowl]

I've been researching situations like yours as this is an area I focus on for the analyst firm I work for. I can offer you some suggestions to help and a few stats. We have an evaluation tool FOSS Evaluation Center for ERP and CRM systems, as well as others with a combined total of about 7,000 functional criteria. We recently launched a new system (though we're still working out some kinks and refining it) to compare how vendors support these criteria but giving a priority advantage to the ones that support open source platforms, or are themselves open source platforms (both Compiere and SugarCRM are included). You can use this for free for a couple hours (more time requires a fee). It will also show you other vendors that run on Linux or support MySQL or PostgreSQL. If you want some stats about vendors supporting those systems, I recently wrote an article (sorry, there is a required free registration to read it). That shows the demand for the last year for enterprise systems that support those platforms, versus the enterprise vendors that actually support them. I'd be interested in discussing this more in depth as well, since I'm trying to build up more research in this regard and am thus, all ears to find out what people are seeking from vendors.

SugarCRM

[V.]

I've been looking for a CRM solution for my company, Venn Technologies, Inc.. IMO, the best Open Source CRM out there right now is SugarCRM. I covers the basics at least. It doesn't have hooks for issue tracking and billing just yet but they are working on that. Currently, I'm evaluating SQL-Ledger and GNUCash for tracking the financials.

Re:both

[Seraphim_72]

Why Yes there is. Open Office will create beutiful front ends for databases just fine, and it is a whole lot less work than hiring some CS student to set it up for you than hiring one to bring a custom solution on line. Also, though I have never used it extensively DBDesigner is a good access drop in from what I can see.

Sera