Help with wedding base
I am starting this new chat as the other one got long and i now have made a sample database and have a lot of info to better understand what i am trying to do.
Here is the info.
Here is a sample database i made that included some sample data in it from the different CSV files i need to use.
This is a small wedding and portrait photography bsuiness we do 120 to 140 jobs a year that would need to be tracked.
I would like to use Ninox for this if i can get it all set up for our use.
I have watch a lot of the videos and read many help files and if anything i think i am more confused now then when i started.
I think the hard part is dealing with different CSV files i need to load in that are a little different from each other.
So i made a different table for each one.
I have been trying a program that lets me match up the CSVs by header name but i have to many different cols so it is still a problem.
Here is the program it seems to do a lot https://www.easydatatransform.com
The program also will let me load in a header template file with only the cols i realy need in the order i want them in and load in a CSV and it matches it up great. But it dose not cut out the extra cols i do not need unless i do it manual using check boxs to uncheck the ones i do not want.
The program maker may add in this feature but right now it is not in it to auto remove the unwanted ones.
So i guess i will have to load in the full CSV with all the extra cols i do not need unless Ninox can handles this somehow?
Here are the CSV files
Sample CSV files - One from each Product item we sell.
This is how they come into to me from our website.
They include a lot of extra information that dose not to be included in the database.
The main first part of each one is the same then it runs into custom areas for each item that the cols then do not match up to be used in the same table.
If i could use them all in the same table that woudl be great but i have not found a way to make that work right but i do not know how all this works very well.
The plan for this working would be to take every CSV file i get from each booked job and import it in to be all filled in ready to use.
Or drop the CSV into another program to strip some of it out before taking it into ninox. Just have not found a fast way to do this yet/
I might still get the easydatatransform program for this and use a custom header template for each of the different items and then do the manul un-checking of the items i do not need to load in. it will push the extras to the end making it easy to fine to un check. And hope they add this feature in soon then it will be auto done fast.
I do not have any of the family portrait jobs we also do in as CSV as i do not have the CSV export set up yet on that website. I need to add in the special fill in area for the customer to fill in and check out and pay then i will get a custom CSV from that as well to use.
Right now we take payment for them over the phone and i have been entering in the data manual to track it all.
I can make a table that includes all the information we will take in. It will be different from the wedding versions as we will not have a bride and groom or their ages.
It will have basic customer info and then a list of names and ages they fill in for all the people in the photo shoot.
Bamboo Sunshine has 50 cols
Rustic package has 46 cols
Heart in the sand has 43 cols
Beach Divine has 44 cols
Towers of love has 44 cols
Two hearts united has 43 cols
Wedding officiant has 38 cols
Payments has 16 cols
What i would like it to be able to do.
Track all the jobs and information. See screen grab for basic info i would like to see on a dashboard from Apple Numbers i am current using. Seems like basic stuff.
Track payments made for help we pay for larger jobs just one person.
Would be nice if i could take in a payment for a wedding package and have a invoice/ payment recept auto made we can send to the customer.
A lot of out customer make payments on the wedding package for months up to the wedding date to get it paid off. We may see from 2 to 10 different payments some pay as little as $20 a week for months and each time my wife hand make a e-mail payment and new due amount to send to them and put it all in books she used to track it all.
On the Dashboard page have a customer look up that looks into all the customer tables from all the jobs. Look up by name or by phone number.
Brides text us all the time and we get one all te time that says something like - Hi this is Mary what is my ballance due.. and thats it no wedding date or other info we have to guess who they are as we may have 4 or 5 Marys we have booked.
So if can look up Mary and see a list pop up of all Marys booked that would be great but also look up by phone number as if we do have many Marys we can then look at the phone number to find her.
Need all CSV files that get loaded in to be added to the calandar as we will only load in booked jobs. I think i have that working. i have tochang on import the text are to say Date. Any way to have it use the date as a date ? right now it imports in a date area as a text area and will not work unless i change it on import.
Would also be nice if we could have all e-mails for each customer be tied to that customers account. We use Thunderbird e-mail with a mix of e-mail from our own sites and some G-mail.
I see that e-mail templates can be made that woudl be very helpfull to for sending replys and so on. My wife sends out a e-mail after a bride books with us with a lot of links and information in it for othr wedding services and places to stay and so on in teh area. Then other info for protrait customers.
Maybe click to call would be helpfill with time and date of call and how long the call was tracked.
I would like to get all this working and then make a new version for each year so non of the info is all mixed from each year. After a wedding we almost never hear back from them past a day or two so no need to track anythign except for data tracking for marketing and see numbers to compare from year to year.
?s i have are
Can texting from Apple cell phone or other device be used somehow and tracked to a customers account easy?.
We end up using more text talking with brides and other customers now days then anything.
Am i messing up a table? I see when working in a table it lets me cut out items i do not want to show. Is that removing it all the way? will this mess up newer CSV imports for that table?
If i get e-mail working right can an item in the attachament area be included in an out going e-mail? We send out PDF parking permits and wedding permits we can place in that area for each customers account?
App version VS cloud version. I am thinking we only need the app verson as it is jusy me and my wife no one else will be using it.
It says it can run in icloud dose that worlk well?
So my wife can access it on her cell phone when we are out. she books many jobs when we are on the way to other jobs our on the road so needs to check a calander to see if a date is open or not fast. Other then that it should all be used at home.
If i could get the basic feature working to get started that would be great like the info i get now in Numbers in the screen grab sample.
I would like to maybe made a different database for tracking business deductions of for supplys we buy for the business.
Random ? is their a simple way to get a CSV file for each item you buy from Amazon to pull in to a database to track items?.
I have a lot to learn in Ninox but little time very soon as we are about to go into our summer seasion and we will working almost every day and i am editing photos every night.
Any help on all this is greatley appreacated..
14 replies
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Here is the data info i need to be able to see and track.
ee
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Hi Ed
If your csv imports are working well for you then I would keep these and continue to import your csvs as you have been doing. You need to have a single master table that brings together the information from each of these import tables so that this can then be aggregated (sum, count, etc) in a dashboard. The transfer of data over to the master table can be scripted and it only needs to transfer the salient fields (date, cost, payment, etc). At the same time I would also link this to the import table (for reference) and to the dashboard (for speed).
There would be one script per import table. If you would like a demo version of one let me know.
Regards John
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John Halls Yes sure as i am a bit lost as what to do next.
The reasion i wanted to remove items from the csv table load in is that some of the items are very large. I have a built in contract it is loading into a col all text and other text areas that are not needed and two and three of the same item. i want today and renamed some so they have different names but only need one version in the table as it is teh same info.
Here are a few screen shots of everythign the CSV is bringing in Lots of stuff i do not need in the table.
I could not load in the top one as it keeps timing out it is larger.
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Edward I can not get any of the templates on the website to load in i get this when i try to load any in.
I wanted to see how some of them are built but they dont work?.
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That is quite a list of tasks you want to accomplish. It is all doable within Ninox. If you are planning on doing it yourself, be patient as there is a learning curve when transitioning from a flat spreadsheet to a relational DB. If you need it faster then you might need to look into hiring one of the many Ninox partners to do the heavy lifting.
How much work are you doing to match field names in your imports?
I ask because you say you don't need all the data in the CSV, but you still import all the data. You can choose not to link columns in your CSV to field names. This will then not import any data that you don't need.
Which is why I ask how much of the field name matching are you doing manually with every import. If you don't do any then this can be an added burden, but if you are already doing the work then you can just modify it a bit.
I agree with John that you should merge the relevent data from all your separate tables into one master table.
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Been out of town all day and just got back and have been thinking about how i can merge everything into one table. I will work on that.
But have ?s on that if i murge them all into one will i be able to somehow show different data based on the different job types? So i can see the numners for portrait VS wedding VS smaller wedding packages we offer. How would i break all that out?
Work to match file names - many do not match but that program i posted about can do it i am still running a demo of.How can i import the data CSV in and not link the ones i do not want? when i import in i do not see a option to not use a col. It just gives name maping or name change? And can a template then be made to do this same thing each time i add in a new booked job?.
Thanks
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to not import a column just don’t drag it to match a field. You don’t need a field to match each column.
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Fred I have zero experance coding in Ninox i am a new user.
(to not import a column just don’t drag it to match a field)
I do not understand this as when i import in a new CSV file it brings in all the fields into the import area here is a screen shot of what i see. I do not see any way to not use some of them? In the drop down it has no option to not use one or cut some out?.
I have 7 different job types i worked on last night and have two of them all done. Will have the other 5 done today - So i will be able to merge all of them into one today. And i looked up info on the web plugin i am using and i am also able to re-name the fill in areas different from what the customer sees that get expoted in the CSV so i will have shorter names now as well in the database more easy to deal with.
I still do notknow how i will break the numbers out from each different job typ as they do not have a job typs listed in the CVS file coming in.
I am hoping that i can add in a drop down list to the table so i can pick the job type for each job after importing in the CSV and hope it can then be filtered by that one job type field i add in.
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I just put all items into a data base so i can see what needs to be fixed to merge them all into one more easy.
I will go into the website and change some of the fill in areas so they match some others to be the same. I might have to come up with some new wording that covers all of them.
For excample i have one named - Pick your flower color .. But on another package it says - Pick your flower accent color.I will change all of them to - Pick your flower color - to be merged into one.
Have 5 or 6 more i will re-name so thay are all merged into one.
But i will still have around 20 cols that i do not need to be loaded in filled with text and dups of other same cols and others like IP address, ID, Form ID, Contract agrement and more all not needed to be loaded in.
I should get all this done soon and start a new version database starting over.
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Still learning new things everyday. I didn't even know you could import a CSV as a table.
Try opening a table, then select the gear icon and then select Import data and here is where you match fields to columns.
You will see Ninox trys to match field names to column names.
Since this is a repetitive task, it seems like to me the best method would be to continue with your original plan of a table for each company that you import from so you can match field names without having to manually match them. Then you only create the fields for data you need.
Once you get the hang of that, we can show how to write a script that will copy the data from the company tables to your master Jobs, or whatever you want to call it, table.
Because I'm a nerd, I've been fooling around with a script that will copy the customer data into a customer table. When you are ready, I can share that.
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Sorry to hear about the crashing. I too use the app version. I've only experienced that when trying to delete a lot of records. If it happens every time then I would recommend reaching out to Ninox for help.
Content aside
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