Optical software

[JAD1790]

We are a small local optical chain. We do not have a lot of funds to spend on optical software and I was wondering if anyone has found a workable software to keep a data base of patients,for both eyewear and eyecare. Most of that which I found has been too expensive and using MSAccess is ok but not ideal either. Any suggestions?

[10 Pence Short]

If you can find yourself a local MS Access nerd then it would be easy to create anything you need. Lot's of Optical software in the UK is based in part around Access.

You'd be surprised how clever and powerful you can make an Access Database. All you need is someone who can write Visual Basic. Plus, of course, you can build the program very specifically to YOUR needs, all at a fraction of the cost of packages that costs $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to do everything you just don't need.

Just a thought from a computer nerd.

[Darryl Meister]

I'd probably go with 10 Pence on that one. There are several companies that specialize in developing proprietary data base applications or customizing their data base products for businesses. However, they usually charge a lot of money and generally their software would be overkill for your purposes, so you'd be paying for a lot of features that may not even be useful to you. If you have an Access developer in your area who does a good job at a reasonable cost, I would give him/her a call and at least discuss getting a quote for the job. Most MS applications, including Access and Excel, can be completely customized to fit your needs.

There are some optical-specific packages out there as well, which are probably a great deal more affordable than those customized "enterprise" software applications. These would already be tailored for eyewear and eyecare data bases. For instance, I think Luxottica offers one such package, or at least did at one time, but I'm sure that there are others.

Best regards,
Darryl

[John R]

Ok just how good is you computer person as there are "FREE" products to be had....Try this link to FreePM Its going to require a bit of work installing quite a bit of stuff, but could be what you are after.