JobBOSS

Vantagens

Simple navigation, use of Favourites shortcuts, level of complexity is perfect for smaller organizations.

Desvantagens

Would like to be able to access more information directly from the Job (ie from an outside process, be able to access the Purchase Order that is linked to it).

Vantagens

The level of detail available about any project, material requirements for the project, routing steps, and tracking of progress.
A complete system available to manage every aspect of the shop from scheduling of employees and jobs, payroll, materials, and more.
XML support to allow you to use external programs to exchange data with JobBoss.

Desvantagens

Inability to really drill down from a broad overview of projects in the shop down to specific details of a single job.
Customer support for using XML extremely limited. Poor documentation on using it.
Does not allow you to require completion of a routing step before beginning the next. Ability to track progress is 100% dependent upon employees logging into a job and recording their progress without any enforcement policy within the program.

Vantagens

As someone who does look behind the scenes and works to dig data out of the system, I am impressed with the amount of information that JobBOSS does capture. Additionally, it is quite well organized in its structure. On the front end, the user interface is intuitive and lends itself to easy training.

Desvantagens

Reporting. The stock reports are reasonable for a company that does not need to dig into its data very deeply. But the analysis at deeper levels would either require purchasing many custom reports or have someone on staff that can dig into the data and create custom reports.

The scheduling module works best in an environment with minimal chance of perturbation. Systems that have a high degree of variation become hard to model accurately.

Vantagens

The biggest advantage that we see in JobBOSS is that it is well-suited to the small manufacturer and job shop. The modules are functional for our day-to-day operations, which allowed us to standardize and increase our workload and throughput by at least 20%. The interface is user-friendly. We were able to implement the software very quickly compared to the software we were using. The workstations in the shop have given us a good handle on time collection. We also use the QuickBooks integration and it works flawlessly.

Exact employees are very friendly and knowledgeable about their product. We get answers to our questions very quickly, and they are very helpful in solving problems we incur. The online portal is a huge asset for training new users and enhancements to the software’s customization.

Desvantagens

As good as the program is, there is room for improvement. We think it is just a few enhancements away from greatness. The software has several glitches that have not been fixed in the five years we have been using it. For example, you lose the information you are entering into a job or purchase order if another user is updating a related job or material. Sometimes, the software locks up and has to be forced to close and restart. This usually happens when you are trying to delete a raw material in a Job and select a different material; it's some kind of access violation. The updates of information changes between modules is slow and can be frustrating. For example, if a raw material is received from a PO and you want to add that material to a job and pick it from the inventory, you have to close the jobs module and reopen it to get the new inventory update; this should occur instantly. A few other enhancements would be nice (e.g.: autofill on names fields, uses of Return key to tab between fields, and a simpler method of customizing basic forms like can be done in QuickBooks).

We purchased the ShopBoss scheduling module with high hopes of solving our delinquent deliveries. After about two years of trying to implement this module, we abandoned it for our old manual method. The JobShop module needs a simpler and more flexible scheduling module. it requires way too much time in operator maintenance to keep it functional. In a job shop environment the schedule has to stay on the balls of its feet because the priorities are always changing. We can do the job faster than we can change the schedule in JobBoss.

Vantagens

I like the way all of the JobBOSS modules are interconnected, sharing data, and referencing all of the modules together. JobBOSS is a well-designed database that allows our company to manage all of our operations in one resource. From scheduling to inventory, to payroll, to bookkeeping, JobBOSS works for us. The Customer Portal is a huge asset, providing video training, online support, support documents, and an experienced and professional staff of Customer Support representatives that have always responded to any software support request within 24 hours--and normally within just a few hours.

Desvantagens

This product has so many elements, that it requires a strong software support person on location. JobBOSS requires much thought and preparation prior to implementation, but a company who does their research and commits to a dedicated effort before launching JobBOSS will quickly reap the rewards for the front-end effort.