jammin31 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Hi All ! Curious to know peoples opinions on which alarm handling software you feel is best and also why you feel its the best ? Alarm Master ? Cash For Windows ? Others ? Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrHappy Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 If your thinking CRM software for an alarm installer, both your examples are popular. I use the cheaper one- 6 minutes ago, jammin31 said: alarm handling software This term make me think of ARC software eg- Sentinel+ Quote Mr Veritas God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaunb1905 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 We use System 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammin31 Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) I have been using Alarm Master but in all honesty its a nightmare, keeps freezing up and have experienced a whole world of small niggles with it. Not heard of System 8 before ? any good ? Whats peoples thought on Cash ? Edited April 12, 2016 by jammin31 typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaunb1905 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 3 hours ago, jammin31 said: I have been using Alarm Master but in all honesty its a nightmare, keeps freezing up and have experienced a whole world of small niggles with it. Not heard of System 8 before ? any good ? Whats peoples thought on Cash ? It's good to be fair, works well for alarms and extinguishers. Takes some getting used too but couldn't cope without it now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammin31 Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 has anyone got a rough idea on the general costs of these systems so i can weigh up the pro's and con's on this too ? Are we talikng thousands ? or something in the region of a couple of grand ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lwillis Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I think cash was around £15k AM is above half the price. it will depend on what modules you go for etc. As with everything tho you'll med to spend time inputting all the data for it to work for you instead of against you we've had AM for about 3 months and it's still not right, missing stock etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammin31 Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 Any others at all ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElecTech Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 When you say "alarm handling software" what exactly do you mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammin31 Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 Software like alarm master that manages engineers jobs, customer and system details in full as well as stock management, sales and so on. ive been an avid user of AM but dont like it so now we are looking to replace this with new software altogether but wondered what people use and find good, also most importantly including the pda or mobile phone compatibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammin31 Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 (edited) I've heard about something called Click too if anyone has heard of that and I believe PC Data do a cheap basic platform called Base ? Edited April 14, 2016 by jammin31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammin31 Posted April 17, 2016 Author Share Posted April 17, 2016 Does no one else bother with alarm management software then ? i thought this was compulsory based on Ssaib or Nsi requirements for all the different reports ect ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrHappy Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 Cash 4 Windows Alarm Master Alarm Tracker Winsims Are software for fire & security co's Click is general contractor software which may be suitable for a fire & security co's System 8 was targeted at fire extinguisher co's ? If you don't like alarm master, speak to mentor Quote Mr Veritas God Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaunb1905 Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 1 hour ago, MrHappy said: Cash 4 Windows Alarm Master Alarm Tracker Winsims Are software for fire & security co's Click is general contractor software which may be suitable for a fire & security co's System 8 was targeted at fire extinguisher co's ? If you don't like alarm master, speak to mentor Yeah it does fire and security alarms also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammin31 Posted April 17, 2016 Author Share Posted April 17, 2016 Ive not heard a great deal about Alarm Tracker or Winsims ? am i right in thinking there not so good ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenzo Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 I'v tried many over the years and many demos and I still haven't found one that will do it all the way we want. After spending thousands over the years we still use Sage50 with recurring invoicing/customised templates for accounts, Ez Management for Scheduling/Quotes and Outlook/Word for all else. It depends a lot on whether you want a fully integrated system (accounts, engineers, scheduling, stock, SMS, CRM, iPhone, Android etc....). As with all software of this type it is only as good as the work you put into the setup of it. The big question is how much do you want to spend upfront hundreds or thousands and how much is the ongoing service costs (again hundreds or thousands). PC/ Server Based: Cash 4 Windows, Alarm Master , Tracker Pro, Winsims, Ez Management, Clik Software, Sage CRM, Alarm Manager, - favouirites/cost effective are EZ Management, Tracker Pro & Clik Software There are also quite a number of cloud based options which may suit depending on your requirements, try: Click Software, ServiceM8 (Service Mate), Service Max, Fieldaware, Synchroteam - favourite/cost effective ServiceM8 Whatever you choose the key is to research it fully and trial run it for min 3 months. If you find the holy grail be sure to share it with the rest of us. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 I've looked @ ServiceM8 and it ticked a lot of boxes, the killer for me was they only support Apple. Quote Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ee8mjb Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 If you can afford it, and you're prepared to spend the time getting it right, Protean. Once it's set up it basically runs everything. It even understands my engineers. It's one of those programs that just does everything, and does it well, but it needs a massive financial and time commitment to implement. Well worth it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 3 hours ago, ee8mjb said: If you can afford it, What sort of £ are you talking per head? Quote Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ee8mjb Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 It was about 25k ish for 8 office seats and 10 engs, plus ongoing maintenance if you want it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 Cheers, why such a big admin to eng ratio? Quote Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammin31 Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Thats a huge amount from the off ! I think i will try the others as a demo first and see what suits us best but im sure there is a basic requirement of the SSAIB and NSI of information and reports we have to provide via this type of softwate ? Or have i just made that up ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lwillis Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 6 minutes ago, jammin31 said: Thats a huge amount from the off ! I think i will try the others as a demo first and see what suits us best but im sure there is a basic requirement of the SSAIB and NSI of information and reports we have to provide via this type of softwate ? Or have i just made that up ! PC data have BASE which is a basic version of alarm master aimed at small ssaib - doesnt have PDA links or anyhing tho but will run the false alarm stat reports etc, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammin31 Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 On 18 April 2016 at 3:39 PM, norman said: I've looked @ ServiceM8 and it ticked a lot of boxes, the killer for me was they only support Apple. And whats wrong with apple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 14 minutes ago, jammin31 said: And whats wrong with apple Nothing if you use Apple... Quote Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.