SolutionMakers, Inc. Announces the Launch of 123sync™

One of the most daunting tasks of any business is managing the exchange of critical information between business management tools and accounting software. Solution development is typically a lengthy, expensive process. However for users who couple Intuit’s industry leading QuickBooks accounting software with FileMaker productivity tools, Seattle-based SolutionMakers, Inc. intends to change all that. On June 23rd, SolutionMakers® will launch 123sync, a solution that utilizes the FileMaker database environment to manage data integration with QuickBooks.

The SolutionMakers team develops QuickBooks integration solutions on a regular basis. Each project requires the execution of many comparable tasks, such as troubleshooting XML, formatting data, adding QuickBooks specific fields, and parsing QuickBooks errors. Eventually, tools developed to perform these tasks evolved and merged, leading to the decision to make this functionality available to the FileMaker ickBooks company file. There is no per user fee. Through July 18th, SolutionMakers will offer 123sync at a discounted rate leading up to their official 123sync rollout at the FileMaker Developer Conference July 13th though 17th in Phoenix, Arizona. During the rollout period, purchasers will receive $30 off the retail price. FileMaker Professional Users Group (FMPug) members and FileMaker TechNet members will save an additional $20 bringing the full discount to $50 off the retail price.

Headquartered in Seattle, WA, SolutionMakers, Inc. offers integrated business management solutions and FileMaker Authorized Training. Since 1995, their goal remains to transform technology into tools that their clients can use to grow and manage their business. These tools include solutions for project management, financial reporting, cost administration, scheduling, marketing program and promotions management, and other critical business management tools. SolutionMakers’ easily accessible customer service sets them apart in the industry. Best of all, whether you run your business on Windows, Macintosh or mixed platform networks their solutions are 100% cross platform compatible.

Additional information: Jody Bossert - Marketing and Project Coordinator, 1-800-237-3975 x103, jodybossert@solutionmakers.com, or visit our web site at http://www.SolutionMakers.com.

Web Viewer Reporting Techniques

This month Bruce Robertson will discuss web viewer reporting techniques, focusing principally on adapting open source web tools such as MIT Simile-Exhibit. See “http://simile.mit.edu/exhibit/” for further information on the exhibit. Once set up, these tools give the user a broad range of features for viewing, sorting, filtering and exporting a dataset.

Bruce Robertson is the president of Concise Design, located in Redmond, Washington. Concise Design provides consulting services and general business productivity development using FileMaker and other productivity tools including AppleScript.

He has over 20 years of experience with FileMaker and has spent eight years as a full time FileMaker developer. Bruce is FileMaker 9 certified. In previous lives, Bruce was a mechanical engineer working in Manufacturing Research and Development at Boeing. He also worked as a submarine vibration analyst. Much earlier, he was "professor of motorcycles" at Highline Community College, where he trained motorcycle and outboard mechanics.

Jason Young to Speak at May 2008 Seattle Chapter FMPug Meeting

Seattle, WA - Jason Young, FileMaker Authorized Trainer and FileMaker 8 & 9 Certified Developer will be speaking at the Seattle Chapter FMPug. Check out below what this month’s meeting will be about!

Pivot Tables and Cross Tab Reports:

Pivot tables or Cross Tab Reports are reporting tools used to display the joint distribution of two or more fields in a table. Typically this is done in a matrix, called a Contingency table, where one set of field values will be represented by rows, and another will be represented by columns. Most people are familiar with these reports from their experience with Excel Pivot Tables, so we’ll start by looking at the Excel functionality. We’ll then look at a traditional FileMaker approach of replicating this by using multiple relationships. We’ll conclude the presentation by looking at a new approach using some of the newer features available in FileMaker like variables, arrays, and the List Function, which open up some new ideas for gathering and displaying data.

123Sync™

We will also review a powerful new tool called 123Sync™ that synchronizes QuickBooks and FileMaker® Pro. In as little as an hour developers and FileMaker novices can integrate a database, stopping the redundant re-entry of data from FileMaker files into QuickBooks Accounting.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 from 6:30 PM until 8:30 PM. The meeting will be at the Washington Mutual Center, 1301 2nd Avenue, 42nd Floor, Seattle, WA 98101. Be sure to visit http://www.fmpug.com to register for the meeting (that way you can get past the security desk.) For the monthly Seattle Chapter FMPug raffle give-away, Phil Smith of FileMaker is giving away a copy of FileMaker® Pro 9. Laura Bowyer of SolutionMakers will provide snacks & coffee for the evening. Washington Mutual has once again donated the beautiful meeting space, the White Oak Room on the 42nd floor at the Washington Mutual Center in Seattle, Washington.

Not a Member Yet? Join Us for Free! For those interested in becoming a member of the Seattle Chapter Pug or who just want to find out what the fuss is all about, you are invited to attend a meeting for free. Simply register for the meeting at http://www.fmpug.com and you are all set to experience the Seattle Chapter FMPug.