Our new accounting software now connects over a network. Your company file sits on a Mac or Windows computer, then other users can sign on as a client. Goldenseal already does that over a LAN (local area network), but the new app also lets you use the Internet to log on from anywhere. It will make life easier for any construction business that spends time on job sites, or runs business from a truck.
The next step: mobile apps that do the same thing from a phone or tablet. Networking code for them is similar, but user interface and operating systems are different. Mobile is actually five different platforms.
iPhones and Android phones are the most common, and also the most difficult. Because their screens are tiny compared to desktops, they need a totally different user interface. Ours will just be a simple list of fields showing data from a desktop server. Here’s a really rough mock-up:
You’ll drag up to see more fields. Swipe sideways to see breakdowns or Find mode. To enter data, press a field, then either choose items with a finger-press, or type on the tiny keyboard. Changes save to a desktop server over the Internet. Our subcontractor is working on that now.
Rather than switch modes in one phone app, we’ll have single-function apps for each type of record. One will shows contacts. Others will handle labor hours and simple material purchases. Beyond that, we’ll wait for user requests. It may be possible to design some sort of construction estimating for simple projects, but phones really are the wrong size for that.
Tablets are totally different. They have enough space to fit the current desktop interface, so there’s no need to design a new look. The hard part is operating systems. There are three options.
Apple’s iPadOS is evolving the iPad into a slightly smaller and cheaper Mac. It runs real apps like Numbers and GarageBand. The problem will be Qt. It supports iOS, but four generations behind. It’s still not clear how much of the full app it can move to iOS. If we are very lucky, the new accounting app will run on iPad: either as a client, or as a stand-alone. If not, then it will just look like the phone app. Maybe we can make the window two columns wide and a bit prettier.
Android tablets have a similar problem. Probably worse, since they don’t have a desktop cousin. Our contractor is working on Android first, but anything on tablet probably will just be a bigger-screen version of the phone app.
Windows tablets will be easiest, since they can run regular Windows desktop apps. We’ll test the new accounting app on one soon, to see how practical it is.
Laptop computers are not much bulkier than tablets, so they probably are the better choice for most businesses. You get a keyboard and track pad, plus normal desktop apps. It’s easy to plug in a mouse, trackball, full keyboard or other USB devices. However, tablets do provide an opportunity. I’ll discuss that more in a future post.
Meanwhile, our staff is back to testing and bug fixing in the regular desktop app, plus tweaking a few final details in the multi-user version.
Dennis Kolva
Programming Director
TurtleSoft.com
