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Ask Slashdot: Business Software for Linux?

Posted by Cliff on from the new-ventures dept.

Delta asks: "I am currently looking into starting a company of my own and need a whole new area of software, to mange contacts, run billing systems, so I need software like SuperOffice and Point-of-Sale systems, but I want to run Unix! Can anyone recommend such software? And perhaps a good schedule prog? It's pretty obvious that I would need stability, I cannot have the system go belly up, as any bussiness would soon follow in such a case. Another advantage would be the ability to use the databases through a web interface, or being able to carry local copies on laptops and so on. All software under this topic is of huge intrest." Can Linux be used for those generic purposes in a sales-oriented business (read: Linux as cash-register?)

7 of 202 comments (clear)

  1. Burlington Coat Factory by tweek · · Score: 3

    check around for articles on slashdot and other sites about Burlington Coat Factory rolling out linux to all POS machines in the company. If i remember right, at the time it was the largest mainstream coporate rollout of linux into production environments. Course, as usual, i could be wrong. the point is that it has been done. i remember seeing at ALE last year a company that has CC proccesing software (similar to ICVerify) for that particular purpose. Back to burlington, I think they wrote thier own package though. It wouldnt be too hard to write something like this in php3 or whatnot and have it private network webenabled. If you do that, you have a host of contact management web apps to read and borrow code from or get ideas from. Just a few ideas.

    --
    "Fighting the underpants gnomes since 1998!" "Bruce Schneier knows the state of schroedinger's cat"
  2. Linux Business App by wsandman · · Score: 3

    Check out AppGen. Costs some $$$ but is generally a well built application. Has modules for General Ledger, Accounts Recievable, Billing, etc. Basically any business function needed. And it runs on Linux!

    --
    W. Sandman III
    1. Re:Linux Business App by spartan · · Score: 3
      Most all the entries say the same thing as this one, with respondents replying with check out this POS or that Accounting SW. I think he was requesting a well integrated application that did Contact Management, Correspondence, Accounting and POS.

      While it's easy to chime in with easily identifiable solutions, most of these sound to be narrowly focused and that is the problem that the author laments. You're probably telling him what he already knows, that there is an abundant supply of narrowly focused applications for a broad number of tasks, but there is not a well integrated solution for all of them.

      Can anyone provide direction as to a program that does it all, or of anyone who has integrated other programs to address all these tasks? If yes, then you can answer this guy's question and would be a help to me as I have been looking at the same problem.

  3. Linux Financial Stuff Summary by SEWilco · · Score: 3
    I think Browne's list of Finances and Linux is a good starting point for this kind of info.

    I think #2 lists almost everything mentioned thus far and includes the simple things up to the big boys with lots of modules. It needs more work, as AppGen gets no description while others get more reasonable detail.

  4. GNU Enterprise by Jonas+�berg · · Score: 4
    For the economy aspects of running a business, please check out the new initiative, GNU Enterprise.

    This is only vaporware at the moment, but we're duscussing business software and the needs around it on our mailing list. If you're interested in that topic, please join us.

  5. Linux POS by bsapot · · Score: 4

    There is a company from Canada that wrote a Point of sale system in tcl/tk. The company is called Linux Canada Inc. at http://www.linuxcanada.com.

    There is is another company that did the same thing but I have not been able to find the for about 1 year.

    Good Luck
    Bryan
    Get a life get Linux

  6. Point-of-Sale Software by palpatine · · Score: 5

    As for the POS software you're looking for, there are quite a few options available.

    Samco has an extensive offering of business accounting applications that work with Linux, including POS. Check out the screenshots of their POS module. J.S. Software provides accounting and POS software, and they support Linux. LinuxPOS from Linux Canada is also available.

    Funny how all three of these companies are Canadian. Don't worry about accounting tax differences too much, though--Canadian companies (have to) create software with other countries' tax laws in mind.