The new accounting software is almost ready for its first public release. Enough features are functional that it can run a business. The interface is better than Goldenseal’s, and the database is reliable and solid.
A few known problems still lurk in the code. Most likely there are plenty of unknown ones, too. However, the only way the app will reach perfection is to get user feedback.
Our staff has tested the new app on our own business accounting for more than a year now (sporadically). We run it side-by-side with Goldenseal, and make sure they both work the same. Sooner or later, a bug turns up that takes time to fix. Then the new file lags behind and needs to be trashed. Each test cycle lasts a bit longer.
Problem is, testing is tedious. We never do enough of it. Good programmers check to make sure their code works, but that doesn’t catch every possible error. When we’ve hired full-time testers, they rarely last more than a month. The work is just too boring.
Another problem: there are plenty of features that we don’t use here. The only way we find out about how they should work is from user feedback.
To increase the number of eyes looking, the new app will start as free accounting software. Anyone can use it, current Goldenseal owner or not. When polished enough, the app will cost something, but that will take a year or longer. Anyone on a tight budget can keep the final free version and use it forever. They just won’t get updates after that.
The new accounting/estimating software will be permanently free for Goldenseal users who prepaid for the update, many years ago. We’ll also give free time or a discount for each bug report that’s not a duplicate of what we already know.
If nothing else, Goldenseal users should try converting their company file to the new format. The process is easy: it works great for our data, but may have problems with yours. The sooner we learn about errors, the sooner we can fix them.
Up until now, we’ve used the Qt debugger to build and test the new software. It doesn’t create a working app that users can download. Qt has a process to build finished app packages, but it’s not easy. Our staff is wading through the instructions now. It may require help from a Qt expert.
After the first release, new versions should be available every week or so. There won’t be instant bug fixes, but we probably can get most of them zapped and published within a release cycle or two.
Quite honestly, our staff is extremely burnt out on this project. It has been a long, long slog. Having specific bugs to fix will be excellent motivation to keep us in the grind. Most software problems take longer to find than to fix, and we’re good at fixing. Each success gives a jolt of that sweet, sweet serotonin.
Dennis Kolva
Programming Director
TurtleSoft.com
