Better Daylite Notifications with Growl
Daylite Growls…. Getting the best from your notifications
- Written By: Adrian Treahy (Daylite Master Partner).
- 10-12-2009
- Categorized in: Daylite, MAC Business
This article is part 2 of our Notifications article and focuses on getting the best notification system working for you. The standard notifications are good but with Growl (http://growl.info/) they are simply awesome. Growl just adds so much power to the way notifications work.
Getting Started
First step is to go to http://growl.info/ and download Growl and install it. This will install Growl into your Preferences where you can configure it to your liking. next restart Daylite and thats it! Daylite will be working with your Growl configurations.
Then click on the Growl icon and run through the option tabs to set up your Growl.
Notice in the list of Display types there is an SMS option. This requires that you sign up for a Clickatell account at (www.clickatell.com)
You now have a Growl system working with Daylite.
Linking Daylite to Your iPhone
Overview
In our practice we encourage our clients to minimise double entry of data as best practice. The tell tail signs are yellow stickies surrounding the monitor. And one of the areas where this can occur is when people are taking or making phone calls. Daylite has some great tools to streamline the phone workflow. This article will run through the use of your iPhone with Daylite.
Software Requirements:
Daylite
Dialectic Daylite Plugin
Dialectic
Setup
Troubleshooting — Lost iPhone Connection with Dialectic
1. Power down your iPhone then turn it back on.
2. On the iPhone, go to Settings > General > Bluetooth and make sure
Bluetooth is On.
3. On this same Bluetooth settings screen on your iPhone, if your Mac is
listed in the Devices table, touch the disclosure button next to the Mac’s
name and in the detail view, touch “Forget this Device”.
4. On your Mac, go to the Bluetooth pane of the System Preferences app and
make sure Bluetooth is enabled by checking the “On” button.
5. If your iPhone is listed in the device list on the left side of the
Bluetooth preferences screen, select it then click the “-” button at the
bottom of the list to remove it.
6. At the bottom of the Bluetooth preferences screen, press the “+” button
to add a new device.
7. Follow the onscreen prompts to add a new device. In the “Select Device
Type” screen, choose “Any device”. Continue and select your iPhone then
follow the default prompts until the iPhone and your Mac are paired then
quit the System Preferences application.
8. In Dialectic, go to your Bluetooth Phone Dial Method configuration and
select the “Standard” tab. Then, click the “Choose Phone” button and, when
prompted, select your iPhone from the list of paired devices (do this even
if your iPhone was already selected on the Bluetooth Phone Dial Method
configuration screen).
9. Make sure this Bluetooth Phone Dial Method configuration is selected for
your various call types in the Dialing Rules (see the documentation for more
help with this).
Running Daylite Server on a Mac Book / Mac Book Pro
Setting Up Daylite Server on a MacBook & MacBook Pro Laptops
Background
To run Daylite Server for external access and or run Daylite Touch you need to run the Daylite Server Application even if you are running a solo system. This can seem a tad daunting but it is quite simple. Most people run into problems when they are attempting to access Daylite from outside the LAN (office). For this to work DL requires the modem/router to have the DL ports open (6113, 6116 & 6117 for DLT) and forwarded to the Mac running the Daylite server application. The system also requires a static IP number that the world can find your MAC server on.
Think of your IP address like a PO Box number. This number allows web traffic to find your computer. You have 2 IP numbers; an internal (LAN) number and an external IP number. In normal server situations the Static IP number is obtained from your ISP. If you do not get this then the IP address from your ISP is called dynamic and will change from time to time. Once it changes DL clients will no longer be able to locate the Daylite Server.
When does this fail?
There are times when you cannot use a static IP or cannot obtain one;
- Many ISP’s do not allow static IPs with Cable accounts
- Laptops should not be used with static IPs as they move around and need to use dynamic IP ‘s (DHCP) to accommodate different locations
Solution
Use a dynamic dns service to overcome the lack of static IP. These services ‘report’ your local number up to a webserver so your client macs and iPhones can find the server.
Setting Up a Dynamic DNS service.
Go to www.dyndns.com/services/dns/dyndns/ and register for a free dyndns account.
From the free dyndns page click the Getting Started button on the right hand side at the top of the page and follow the registration instructions. The most important thing is to realise that the URL that you pick will be the address of your server in place of the Static IP number.
In the following screen you set the Hostname (URL) that you want to use. From the dropdown there is a long list of hostname options. In this example we are selecting puremac.dyndns.biz. So I enter puremac in the host name area and select the dyndns.biz from the dropdown.
Then at the bottom of the screen I select the services that are desired. For daylite just select Database. If you want VPN and FTP then select those services as well. Then add to the cart. NOTE… even though this is a free account you have to add to the cart and check it out as a $0.00 transaction. The final task is to click the activation link that was emailed to your email account. Once this comes through your dynamic DNS should be ready to use.
2. The dynamic IP update process
On a periodic basis (from 1 minute to 1 month) your ISP may change your IP number, when this occurs your local server needs to tell the Dynamic DNS service that you have been issued with a new IP address. This requires you to run a little application on your MAC that updates the server when the IP address changes.
Download the IP updater.
Once downloaded install the application and then start it and log into your account.
It is a good idea to add this app to your start up items so it is always running.
3. Setting up Daylite Server for the DYNDNS URL.
Launch the Daylite Server Application and unlock it (click the padlock in the bottom left hand corner). Then go to the Network Tab at the top of the window.
From the Network TAB then click the Edit button and enter your hostname in the window. Note as you enter the URL it may give you an error note saying that the IP address is incorrect… just keep typing it in.
Once entered close the window and lock the Daylite Admin Server.
Next step… Opening your ports and setup your port mapping.
Now that your DYNDSN is created and entered into Daylite Server Admin you need to ensure that your modem/router has the appropriate ports open and forwarded to the MAC running the server. For Dalite this is port 6113, 6116 and for Daylite Touch you require 6117. If you are not experienced with this you can go to the port forward website to find detailed instructions of setting up most common modems.
Marketcircle Introduces Auto Synchronisation in Daylite 3.10
One of the real strengths of Daylite is it’s ability for roaming and remote users to work with an ‘offline’ version of the database and then push any changes up to the server. The process involves the user selecting either an offline or online state for the database. This process has its share of problems such as requiring you to remember to take the database offline before leaving the office. When in a hurry this 5 minutes is often a frustration.
When Marketcircle released the Daylite iPhone App – Daylite Touch, the iPhone had to deliver with near realtime access to the database for users. The solution was micro-syncing… this allowed small data packets to be sent to and from the server at regular intervals.
Take the Pain Out Of Running An Online Store
The hidden pain of running an online store
- Written By: Adrian Treahy (Daylite Master Partner).
- 21-8-2009
- Categorized in: MAC Business, WEB & EMARKETING
As consumers become more comfortable and confident with ‘e-tailing’ traditional retails are being forced to take their business into the online space to service the demands from customer. A simple brochure-ware website is a lost opportunity that fails to capitalise on the power of the Internet for selling when your store is closed or to interstate and regional customers.
So there is a real need to extend your store onto the internet but how can this be done in a fast and cost effective way? How can you ensure the process is a success? And how can you maintain a balance between your business and personal life when you have so little time now? These are all very big questions and need to be carefully considered prior to making any firm commitments.
5 things to consider
1. Are your looking to sell to existing customers or obtain new ones?
2. How will use optimise your website for search engines such as Google?
3. Should you leverage Ebay?
4. How will you manage your inventory between the physical store and the online store?
5. How will you communicate with your customers online?
Some common pitfalls to avoid
Our experience has shown us a number of pitfalls that you need to avoid as you develop your web store. These are hard to avoid unless you have some expert advice to guide your decision making processes.
1. Buying cheap can be costly! The internet is full of software and service providers offering very cheap software such as web templates for $35.00, for example. At the face of it these look like great deals as you can have your website up a running in a few hours… in theory that is. All template systems come with some limitations which you need to understand before you buy them. These may limit your ability to make changes to your site; you will have limited support for browser issues when they arise; they may not be search engine friendly, they may be open to potential hackers… etc.
2. Hiring a web master or IT expert to build your site. These people are often good at coding websites and will baffle you with science but do they understand yourbusiness? Are they going to be around for the long haul so to speak? Will you be left with a half complete project with significant cost blow-outs?
3. An off-the-shelf eCommerce product often looks a great way to get your shop up fast without the cost of developing the software. And it is… but not all eCommerce systems are the same. The majority of software is developed for the US market which has very different retail requirements to the Australian or New Zealand markets. Take GST for example, we require GST to be administered is a specific way that is quite different to the US market. Most eCommerce systems are NOT Austrlan GST compliant.
4. Inventory control… is often overlooked by retailers as they rush to get their store online… fearing that they are missing the boat only to find that they are running 2 businesses woth double the work. In our opinion it is vitally important to have single back office inventory system that links your inventory to ALL your store location both physical and virtual.
5. Encrypted code files… your code is owned by the 3rd party provider and is often encrypted which limits your ability to work with other service providers.
Our Solution
As MAC-based businesses it is very hard to go past the LightSpeed Webstore system for retailers. This system has been developed from the ground up for small to medium sized retailers to take their businesses online in a fast and secure manner with proven technology backed by a major POS supplier.
The main features that that make this such an attractive option are;
1. Single product inventory management.
2. Full POS integration of the webstore and the retail store
3. Single customer and supplier database
4. Single invoicing and accounting system
5. Well designed flexible open-source system
Additional Reading & Case Studies
Daylite & Growl
Daylite Growls…. Getting the best from your notifications
- Written By: Adrian Treahy (Daylite Master Partner).
- 10-12-2009
- Categorized in: Daylite, MAC Business
This article is part 2 of our Notifications article and focuses on getting the best notification system working for you. The standard notifications are good but with Growl (http://growl.info/) they are simply awesome. Growl just adds so much power to the way notifications work.
Getting Started
First step is to go to http://growl.info/ and download Growl and install it. This will install Growl into your Preferences where you can configure it to your liking. next restart Daylite and thats it! Daylite will be working with your Growl configurations.
Then click on the Growl icon and run through the option tabs to set up your Growl.
Notice in the list of Display types there is an SMS option. This requires that you sign up for a Clickatell account at (www.clickatell.com)
You now have a Growl system working with Daylite.
Benefits of running an Apple CRM – Daylite
Should I be running a CRM application?
- Written By: Adrian Treahy (Daylite Master Partner).
- 21-8-2009
- Categorized in: MAC Business
One of the first questions that you need to ask yourself is…”Should I be running a CRM application in my business?” But many people do not know how to answer this question. It throughs up a host of other questions that need to be answered such as; what is CRM? What are the alternatives to CRM? Isn’t CRM for big companies with IT departments? Ann ofter results in the feeling that one could live without all the hassle…. better the devil I know and, anyhow, iCal and Mail are just fine!
And yes there is some logic to this. There is no doubt that the Apple Mail and iCal have come a long way in a few years, and now with Exchange intergration in Snow Leopard there is even more features available. The flaw in this thiking is that CRM (and Daylite) is not just a contact database and calendar on steriods. CRM is a way of managing your business and changing your business thinking.
In our practice we spend as much time talking to the customer about their business strategy as we do about the technology because a good CRM implementation is about mapping the software to the needs of the business in a very tangible way. This requires that the stakeholders all sit down and ‘calmly’ review how the business is running and perform a gap analysis, looking at the gaps that exist between how the business is running and how it should be running if the staff had the systems and the know how to deliver the outcomes. This process then drives the implementation plan for the CRM platform.
So… back to, What then does CRM mean? A bit of history, CRM systems developed out of the need for businesses to manage their customers more effectively while using database systems from telephony systems to marketing and sales functions. The first systems were developed for very large enterprises and over time systems have been developed that service the needs of smaller companies. As companies have embraced the use of digital communications such as email and the Internet and increased their use of digital documents the need for highly effective and efficient CRM systems has increased to the point now, when all businesses should be looking at some centralised management system or risk drowning in data!
Technology has also driven other changes that impact on this need. Fewer and fewer executives, sales and marketing staff have assistants or secretaries. The people wo used to know where files were stored are gone! We all now need to be able to access our customer information instantly. How many times have you had to hunt around the dusty corners (digital of course!) of your workstation or the server looking for files or hunted through your send items in email to find some correspondance? And what about finding documents that a co-worker has apparently sent to a client! This is one reason that Daylite is not called a CRM application but a Productivity Suite. As it does so much more that just manage you customer records centrally.
CRM Diagnosis – A simple test whether you need it
| Do you have a single Contact list for all employees? | Y/N |
| Can you see all customer communications (email, call notes, quotes, tasks, file references, PDF, marketing campaigns etc) with 1 click? | Y/N |
| Can you view all you new business opportunities by client or business type by sales pipeline stage in 30 seconds? | Y/N |
| Can you track sales rep performance simply without having to aggregate sales rep reports in Excel? (allow 2 weeks)… benchmark time=1 miin. | Y/N |
| Can you run emil marketing campaign quickly to your customer segments? | Y/N |
| Can your sales staff send sales quotes within 5 minutes of a sales call to beat the competition and look supper efficient? | Y/N |
These are just a few of the things that you should be able to do as standard business practice. If you are struggling with any of these things then you should seriously look at your systems.
