Comments on: Billings 2 http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/ TheAppleBlog, published by and for the day-to-day Apple user, is a prominent source for news, reviews, walkthroughs, and real life application of all Apple products. Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:41:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Steve Begson http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-122651 Steve Begson Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:32:49 +0000 http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-122651 Invoy is the most stunning app for invoicing you'll find. Much much better then billings. Doesn't allowed edit template, but the app is so cool to use that you should really give a try. Invoy website and company http://www.emptyfactory.com Invoy is the most stunning app for invoicing you’ll find. Much much better then billings. Doesn’t allowed edit template, but the app is so cool to use that you should really give a try. Invoy website and company http://www.emptyfactory.com

]]> By: Billings 3 Brings Welcome Updates, Fresh Design | The Apple Blog http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-121038 Billings 3 Brings Welcome Updates, Fresh Design | The Apple Blog Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:00:25 +0000 http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-121038 [...] wrote about Billings 2 shortly after it debuted in early 2007, and if you compare 2.0 vs. 3.0 you’ll immediately see [...] [...] wrote about Billings 2 shortly after it debuted in early 2007, and if you compare 2.0 vs. 3.0 you’ll immediately see [...]

]]> By: PaulB http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-110315 PaulB Sun, 30 Sep 2007 23:54:08 +0000 http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-110315 Check out iRatchet. Much preferred over Billings and simple to use. The developer is also very responsive and dedicated to his product. Check out iRatchet. Much preferred over Billings and simple to use.

The developer is also very responsive and dedicated to his product.

]]> By: Daniel B. http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-110304 Daniel B. Sat, 29 Sep 2007 20:26:00 +0000 http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-110304 Saying that Billings template design/customization interface is "complicated" is like saying that a nuclear explosion is "inconvenient" - An understatement if there ever was one. Billings "design interface" is downright UNUSABLE. Half the time the "Cmd+Z" (undo) is unresponsive, trying to copy+paste elements between open templates messes up their relative spacial arrangement. There are are hardly ANY context-sensitive (right-click) menus, and to add insult to injury, there is absolutely NO DOCUMENTATION WHATSOEVER detailing the customizing process. (Yes I watched your 3 minute movies, wow!). I'm VERY DISAPPOINTED and will probably end up going back to QuickBooks, even if it is total overkill for what I need. You folks have a product with a lot of potential, but customizing invoice look/feel (and reports) is the cornerstone of your product whether you realize it or not. Your interface (customization) utterly stinks! Its like a maze of madness! "fields" do not display the data they should, it's just a nightmare. Getting help from you guys has equally been impossible - I'm Willing to PAY FOR IT. Ugghhh!!!! Saying that Billings template design/customization interface is “complicated” is like saying that a nuclear explosion is “inconvenient” - An understatement if there ever was one.

Billings “design interface” is downright UNUSABLE. Half the time the “Cmd+Z” (undo) is unresponsive, trying to copy+paste elements between open templates messes up their relative spacial arrangement. There are are hardly ANY context-sensitive (right-click) menus, and to add insult to injury, there is absolutely NO DOCUMENTATION WHATSOEVER detailing the customizing process. (Yes I watched your 3 minute movies, wow!).

I’m VERY DISAPPOINTED and will probably end up going back to QuickBooks, even if it is total overkill for what I need.

You folks have a product with a lot of potential, but customizing invoice look/feel (and reports) is the cornerstone of your product whether you realize it or not. Your interface (customization) utterly stinks! Its like a maze of madness! “fields” do not display the data they should, it’s just a nightmare. Getting help from you guys has equally been impossible - I’m Willing to PAY FOR IT.

Ugghhh!!!!

]]> By: PaulB http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-108177 PaulB Sat, 28 Jul 2007 21:11:02 +0000 http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-108177 Comment and Question - I've been using Daylite for years and have in that same span of time been on a quest to find a more useful, intuitive application for my Mac CRM needs. Daylite still doesn't integrate with Mac Apps well enough, makes exporting ANY data nearly impossible. And, as a CRM, makes it hard - unless you are willing to do hours of work customizing the shit out of it - to do simple things like set up a timed follow-up phone call. This is not an intuitive app and has cost me untold hours of productivity. Having said that, there aren't any good alternatives in the mac CRM market yet. Billings. I hate MYOB. iBank, a recent purchase, simply isn't advanced enough - I can't for the life of me figure out how to create a simple balance sheet. I've been searching for the right app to handle invoicing in order to separate my invoicing from my accounting. Billings looks promising except that best I can tell Marketcircle has once again created a completely standalone app. Nice app but completely useless if you can't export a file an accounting app can read ... MYOB is not a competitor of Billings. Why can't the developers see that by creating an app that works WITH an accounting app is good for sales? The question: Can Billings export a QIF file? Comment and Question - I’ve been using Daylite for years and have in that same span of time been on a quest to find a more useful, intuitive application for my Mac CRM needs. Daylite still doesn’t integrate with Mac Apps well enough, makes exporting ANY data nearly impossible. And, as a CRM, makes it hard - unless you are willing to do hours of work customizing the shit out of it - to do simple things like set up a timed follow-up phone call. This is not an intuitive app and has cost me untold hours of productivity. Having said that, there aren’t any good alternatives in the mac CRM market yet.

Billings. I hate MYOB. iBank, a recent purchase, simply isn’t advanced enough - I can’t for the life of me figure out how to create a simple balance sheet. I’ve been searching for the right app to handle invoicing in order to separate my invoicing from my accounting. Billings looks promising except that best I can tell Marketcircle has once again created a completely standalone app. Nice app but completely useless if you can’t export a file an accounting app can read … MYOB is not a competitor of Billings. Why can’t the developers see that by creating an app that works WITH an accounting app is good for sales?

The question: Can Billings export a QIF file?

]]> By: BK http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-102244 BK Fri, 23 Feb 2007 11:51:01 +0000 http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-102244 I agree about the template editor being extemely complicated at first glance however onece you get used to it you suddenly realise that complicatd = extremely powerful. It allows you to create extremely detailed invoices and reports and is worth the price of the app alone. Version 1 of Billings was really not very good so props to MarketCircle for doing all the work to make Version 2 such a huge improvement. BTW: Billings is currently being offered for sale at maczot.com at a 41% discount. Today only. http://www.maczot.com I agree about the template editor being extemely complicated at first glance however onece you get used to it you suddenly realise that complicatd = extremely powerful. It allows you to create extremely detailed invoices and reports and is worth the price of the app alone. Version 1 of Billings was really not very good so props to MarketCircle for doing all the work to make Version 2 such a huge improvement.

BTW: Billings is currently being offered for sale at maczot.com at a 41% discount. Today only.

http://www.maczot.com

]]> By: AJ http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-101547 AJ Tue, 06 Feb 2007 15:29:34 +0000 http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-101547 Let me explain why we didn't use XHTML, HTML, CSS or RTF. Those technologies don't allow for proper page breaks, page numbers, totals at the bottom of the page, stretch line items table even if there aren't enough line items etc... We've tried all those technologies and many others and they just aren't good enough. If we used those technologies, Billings would produce similar invoices to all the other time billings apps out there - and that is just not good enough. What we have in Billings is more powerful than it needs to be - but better that then not enough power. Remember also that all reporting is also done through the designer and you can build a report that pretty much does anything you want (with the data we have). So while there are some complications, we are going to make things simpler as we move forward (for example the Options dialog which allows you to customize an existing template with just a few clicks). AJ Let me explain why we didn’t use XHTML, HTML, CSS or RTF. Those technologies don’t allow for proper page breaks, page numbers, totals at the bottom of the page, stretch line items table even if there aren’t enough line items etc…

We’ve tried all those technologies and many others and they just aren’t good enough. If we used those technologies, Billings would produce similar invoices to all the other time billings apps out there - and that is just not good enough.

What we have in Billings is more powerful than it needs to be - but better that then not enough power. Remember also that all reporting is also done through the designer and you can build a report that pretty much does anything you want (with the data we have).

So while there are some complications, we are going to make things simpler as we move forward (for example the Options dialog which allows you to customize an existing template with just a few clicks).

AJ

]]> By: Lordmike http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-101519 Lordmike Tue, 06 Feb 2007 07:00:32 +0000 http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/05/billings-2-review/#comment-101519 SAP and Movex ftw! :P Looks like a good app, shame about the overly complicated template editor. I suck at making templates. But I could probably learn. Will see if my wife allows me to buy this app. Could be good for her new started business. SAP and Movex ftw! :P

Looks like a good app, shame about the overly complicated template editor. I suck at making templates.
But I could probably learn. Will see if my wife allows me to buy this app. Could be good for her new started business.

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