I was recently asked by a friend I know that runs a internet business (heh, I know too many people with internet businesses), to make the dispatch and invoicing system.. simpler.
I took a look at what they had at the moment, and .. I was surprised.
The invoice was this tabbed (you know, the key above Caps Lock) out design, and the details would be added underneath each column and it’d sort of fit into place, but still look untidy.
They want a system that can keep track of sales, they want to be able to output the documents that go out to the customers without much messing around.
Understandably, looking at the manual text entry for even.. the Date!.. they are needing to discover the power, the power of Office and it’s integration.
The use of Excel would be ideal in this scenario. I would likely use it for line by line searching and this would enable them to find customers by date, surname, etc.
Then integrate this with the documents used to be printed and delivered to customers, and we are left off with what can be a simple process, a one click process.
Perhaps this isn’t really news to … many, but I figure, a lot of people are yet to discover that many of the tasks they so do repetitively, can be taken apart, and the middle work reduced so much so that the only thing required is a little bit of guidance.
The data entry process in many scenarios is copy and paste, so the interface used for that should be setup in a manner that supports the copy and paste.
The interface should then validate the data, and check it’s all good.
The interface then fills in the parts of the document, and ensure all necessary data is correct, allow for a preview, and print the two copies needed, and keep track of the order.
That in essence is how you make life easier.
Telstra, the founder of “making life easier”, should have a bit of thought on just how to make life easier, or change the slogan.
Yes, I’m surprised I managed to work Telstra into this, but it is indeed possible.
I might make a challenge. Give me two seperate phrases, and let’s see if we can work Telstra into it? Could be a fun game. Not sure if they’d like that too much though..
Enjoy!