Customer stories
- Solutions guide
- Creative Pro
- K-12
- Higher education
- Government
- Non-profit
- Small business
- Medium to large business
- >Customer stories
McGinley Hart & Associates
FileMaker Keeps Nation's Biggest Highway Project on Track
'The Central Artery Project, the largest public works project ever
undertaken in the U.S., runs through downtown Boston. Our
responsibility is to ensure the preservation of more than 500
buildings that are impacted by construction,' explained David Hart,
principal and co-founder of McGinley Hart. 'In order to undertake
this task, we needed a cost-effective, yet sophisticated database
solution that could track each site, including administrative data
such as correspondence and billing.'
Working with Allison Glass, principal, PowerFiles, an independent
database developer specializing in the customizaion of FileMaker
Pro databases, McGinley & Hart has the right database tool to
run its office while keeping track of the nation's largest highway
project.
FileMaker Pro Grows With Us
'Previously, we kept track of information by filling out forms and
then inputting the data into a Microsoft Works database,' recalled
Hart. 'We quickly realized that the database didn't have the
capabilities we needed to keep very detailed information on the
several hundred structures we surveyed for the Central Artery
Project. We needed a database that was flexible enough to grow with
our expanding list of tasks.'
'Once we were up and running with FileMaker Pro, customized by
Allison Glass, we found that FileMaker Pro was so easy to use that
for most tasks we could develop new applications, manipulate
existing layouts and troubleshoot without having to call on outside
technical support. Now, all of our employees use FileMaker Pro.'
Simplifies Complex Tasks and Saves Money
'FileMaker Pro makes the complex tasks of tracking all of our
business information much more manageable,' explained Hart. 'Our
system consists of five major databases: records of potentially
impacted historic buildings; incoming/outgoing correspondence;
timekeeping; project information tracking; and templates for
various correspondence forms. FileMaker Pro helps us to organize
each of these areas.'
'Since FileMaker Pro is so automatic, we've significantly cut down
on our administrative support needs,' added Hart. 'Without
FileMaker Pro, I would probably need three or four more people to
manage what we're doing now. With fewer staff members and lower
overhead, we're saving up to $280,000 per year.'
A Click of a Button Saves Two Days of Work
FileMaker Pro software's quick reporting allows McGinley Hart to
reconcile its monthly billings in approximately 15 minutes -- a job
that previously took up to two days. 'With 700 different tasks and
twelve different billing rates on just one project alone, we used
to spend hours reconciling between two very large and complex
Microsoft Excel spreadsheets,' Hart explained. 'Now, thanks to
FileMaker Pro software's relational capabilities, we can do it with
just a click of a button. As a result, we only need our accountant
three days a week.'
Contact information
Contact Info for Customer:David Hart, Principal and Co-Founder
McGinley & Hart
(617) 227-2932
david@mcginleyhart.com
Allison Glass, Principal
PowerFiles
800-550-FILE (3453)
glass@powerfiles.com
Filemaker Contact:
Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com
- As part of its work preserving and renovating Boston's historic buildings, architectural firm McGinley Hart & Associates tracks the effects of one of the nation's largest highway projects on those historic buildings. Needing a cost-effective yet sophisticated solution to track information on several hundred structures, they chose FileMaker Pro.
- Architecture/Real Estate
- Small Business