This is not Andre: it’s Manny, Andre’s husband. A few weeks ago I started helping her out with the business side of her art practice: bookkeeping, communications, marketing, etc. One of the challenges Andre was needing help with had to do with a good software to manage her art works (inventory, invoicing, exhibitions, customers, etc.)
After reading through a couple of posts that reviewed software packages, by Erin Sparler and Alyson Stanfield, I ended up trying out these four packages.
Note: the research intentionally left out PC-only packages. I focused on Mac apps and web-based apps.
eArtist (made with FileMaker)
URL: www.artscope.net/eArtist
Some Pros:
1) One time fee… however, it’s on the hefty side: $125.
2) It has ALL the reports you can dream of and more, including the ability to print out price labels for show, etc. etc.
3) It allows you to edit prints of an edition at the individual level.
Some Cons:
1) Design is not “pretty” (straight edges, gray-looking).
2) Usability is not great, pretty much a consequence of using FileMaker as a platform!
3) Data lives within the computer where you install the app.
Conclusion:
*** BEST OVERALL PACKAGE I COULD FIND. ***
Artwork Archive
URL: www.artworkarchive.com
Some Pros:
1) Very clean design: a-la-Basecamp.
2) This is the only web-based application I found during this research, which has the potential downside of leaving you hanging if their company goes belly up: a fairly important risk to consider.
Some Cons:
1) Subscription model, not one-time. They need to pay their bills: I get it. You can do a free trial to give it a shot.
2) Reporting lacks some important functions. Couldn’t figure out how to include prints and runs (their name for editions) together, as part of comprehensive reports of Available works.
3) Editions couldn’t be customized at the piece level. For example, if you have a run of prints for a piece, but they are framed differently and/or different size, it cannot support it.
Conclusion:
AS MUCH AS IT’D BE LOVELY TO HAVE A WEB-BASED TOOL THAT’S NICELY DESIGNED TO DO THE JOB, PASSING.
vBook v3 (made with FileMaker)
URL: zoftware.fr/vBook_en.html
Some Pros:
1) One-time payment (not a subscription model) = 39 Euros
2) Offers a 30-day free trial for you to get a feel for the user experience.
3) Interface available in English, French, and Italian
Some Cons:
1) Interface design is counter-intuitive (Search, for instance).
2) Lacks (at least in an intuitive way) the means for artists to enter editions (prints) corresponding to an original.
3) Data lives within the computer where you install the app.
Conclusion:
COMPARED TO ITS FILEMAKER PRO-COUNTERPART ABOVE, THIS ONE IS SUB-PAR. PASSING.
GYST ( Getting Your Sh*t Together)
URL: www.gyst-ink.com
Some Pros:
1) One-time payment (as opposed to subscription model) = $129 (also on the hefty side)
2) Everyone seems to love it and recommend it, and they seem to have a great sense of humor (hence the name of the app), but…
Some Cons:
1) I tried to install it 3 times, one of them after a fresh reboot. Not even once was I able to get it to even install.
2) It was the heaviest (in terms of file size) of all the apps I downloaded.
Conclusion:
AS MUCH AS I WANTED TO LIKE IT, ONE CANNOT LIKE AN APP THAT ONE CANNOT EVEN INSTALL… PASSING.