Those of you running PCRT

[Big Jim]

I am on the brink of paying for PCRT for my shop.

I am interested in a couple of things though for those of you already using it,

1 - Do you run it on your own in house server or are you running it on your hosting ?

My concern here is that if I were toi run it on my web-hosts server it would slow the program downm however if I ran it in shop I am using a windows based server and have a steep learning cure regarding PHP and MYSQL.


2 - Are you running it on Windows or Linux ?

Those of you running it on a windows based server have you ran into any problems up to now ?
I tried to use linux server once and kind of stopped once it got to a flashing cursor stage, I have almost no linux experience though so this was really trying o jump in at the deep-end before I had even learnt to swim 5 metres.


Thanks
James

 

[Martyn]

Mine is hosted Linux and it runs fine from home. Out onsite if I pickup 3G it's fine but if not it is slow but I complete most things I want to do onsite. Sometimes I wait til i'm back home to email receipts, thank you letters etc.

 

[4ycr]

mine is also hosted on my web server but of you were to host it in house then something like XAMPP would work. There is not a lot of PHP to configure, mainly just the database access credentials.

 

[krutoi]

hosted on my (Linux) web server... works great and easily accessed from anywhere

 

[16k_zx81]

Hostgator here. Server is in Huston TX. I am in South Australia. No complaints about speed.

 

[AlaDes]

I prefer to run it on my web server versus in house because of reliability. You never know when something might go wrong with an in house server and I'd be without it if I was on a service call.

 

[JustInspired]

Was running ours on a mac mini for a couple of months using MAMP. (Can also run it on WAMP and LAMP etc if using Windows.)

Finally decided to host it with a decent UK hosting company that I also use for reselling web space. Reasons include being able to use the repair status and email features more easily since I don't have to start opening ports on my router and installing modules that don't come with MAMP.
I have a cron job set up to send me a copy of the database every night via email and I keep the mac mini intact so I can import the backup and have reasonably up to date info in the case of internet or host failure. Works really well.

If you are paranoid about installing it on an external host you can always install it in a password protected directory so you have two logins. Set the browser to save the password so it doesn't become tedious.

 

[Big Jim]

Well if you guys are having it hosted it must be good enough


My next concern with this software since posting this is.
I have been looking at the screen shots of it and I think the customer documentation looks a bit .....wel.......amateur.
I currently use my own basic job tracker that I created in Excel using VB and I used the invoice template from the TN business kit to create my printouts which look very professional and it also allowed me to print the T&Cs on the back (using a duplex printer)

Is this something I would be able to customise using PCRT ?

 

[4ycr]

I don't see why not, it has an image folder so just save your images over theirs should do it.

I have sen customers happy with just a bit of hand written paper so I would not say it was amateurish.

 

[Martyn]

PCRT is being updated frequently and Luke is reads the feedback on the PCRT forums which you get access to after you buy it. I think the package is very professional. There are a few people on the PCRT forums who make their own customisations.

I can email you a Repair Report, Claim Sheet, Invoice & Receipt if you want but I have made no changes at all to the standard ones other than within PCRT admin.

Pm me your email if you want them.

 

[Big Jim]

Thanks Martyn PM sent.

Perhaps the screenshots on their website don't do them full justice.
I will wait and see what Martyn sends me looks like.


I just really like the look/feel of the TN business kit and have gotten used to it I guess.

The one thing I do like about PCRT is the canned responses you can tick and add to the report. They look like they could help answer stupid questions without hardly any extra work from us.

 

[techguy13]

I run PCRT on my hosted Web site and access on my Ipad. It doesn't work as good with Android OS. I love being able to get my clients to sign there claim tickets and repair reports using the Ipad. When I am onsite I just use it tethered with my smartphone. They read it, sign it and then I email them the document. The thing with running on a hosted site is that they have all the backend software you need to keep it running smoothly. I love it, best thing I have ever bought and customers love it, very professional.