articles/Software/hardfactssoftware-page2
Published 01/10/2012
"It took me a week to learn it and paid for itself within my first tax return - I never used to claim for mileage, for example, until Foto SF prompted me to do so. In the first year I saved more with my mileage claim than the software cost me. Once a month you can go into the program and tot up your mileage and expenses. Then come the end of the tax year you can print a report off. My accountant has actually reduced how much he charges me because of these reports. It spits out all of your quotes as well."
"There's lots of different ways to use the software. I use it for all my regular packages, and if I want to send those to a client it will automatically fill in all the details, or if you need to do a bespoke quote there's that option too.
You can send the quote direct to the client from within the software or, if you like, print it out on headed notepaper. It also lets you check what you quoted for a job you did three years previously should the same customer come back. That I think helps boost your image of professionalism. And if ever I've had a problem with the software - typically down to user error, to be honest - support is such that it's sorted out within a couple of hours. You pay for the software once and that's it. It comes with FileMaker software, which is the engine that drives it, and the Foto SF is a skin and set of rules that sits on top of it. It all comes together - you don't have to buy any bits and pieces to add on to it. My organisation without that bit of software wouldn't be anywhere near as good as it is at the moment.
You can put a workflow in place so that coming up to a wedding you're reminded on a day-to-day basis what you need to do."
The prices are:
Foto SF Lite: £80 + VAT
Foto SF Pro: £145 + VAT
Light Blue Software
A name that crops up time and again in any software round-up pitched at pro photographers is Light Blue, which has been described as 'the management software equivalent of Photoshop'. Aiming to smooth the process of running a business for those who hate personal admin, current pricing for Light Blue is £295 + VAT, whilst online hosting remains £25 per month.
With a claimed number of users running into the thousands, what ensures Light Blue really comes into its own is ease of use. "We know what it's like to be confronted by software that's hard to get into," says Light Blue founder and wedding photographer Tom Catchesides. "So we've worked really hard to make Light Blue easy to grasp. For example, we've got over 35 free-to-view video tutorials on our website, which help people get up to speed quickly, and which our users tell us they love. And, of course, our tech support is legendary; we're always happy to answer any questions that anyone might have about getting to grips with Light Blue."
This straightforward approach has resulted in a lot of happy users. "I've been using Light Blue for about three years now, and it's changed my life for the better," Matt Pereira, multi Societies award winning photographer, tells us. "It really does keep everything organised. I can't impress enough just how easy it is to use and how important it is to me, and moreover just how great the customer service is."
The team at Light Blue software are really responsive to users' ideas too. "We love it when people suggest things, because it shows they're really getting under the skin of our software," says Light Blue Director Hamish Symington. "In pretty much every release we've issued we've had something that's been suggested by a working photographer." A case in point; Light Blue has recently been working with James Derbyshire and Julia Boggio to make Light Blue even more productive for larger studios with several staff. "The changes we've made over this year will also benefit smaller studios and one-man bands, helping them really understand how their business is performing, where the money's coming from - and, more importantly, where it's going," adds Hamish.
Talking of changes, as we went to press there were rumours swirling about a new version of Light Blue being announced at the end of this year, focusing on making data easier to share between Mac, PC, iPhone and iPad. When we pressed Hamish about it, he was cagey, but did admit they're nearing the end of a project that would "knock people's socks off". Given Light Blue's past form of coinciding releases with the Socieities Convention in January, it'll be worth watching what they come up with over the next couple of months...
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