Successful Solution
FileMaker Pro makes it happen — organizing inquiries from prospective clients, helping to handle the registration process, administering billing programs, in short handling all the necessary data–management functions at the camp office. And Jim himself created the program with no outside consultants and no expertise in database design. "I read the manual and bought a couple of self–help books," he explains. "I used a template to create a data entry form for each camper, and wrote scripts and forms to create the output required by departments within the University. Now, we can access our information much faster than before. It used to be registering 800 children for five weeks was a difficult process and printing forms for registration, balances, and so forth was even more difficult. But now, using scripts, buttons, and forms, we can access and print any information we need with just a click."
FileMaker Pro saves time and makes it easier to find entry errors. We provide our customers with rapid information retrieval, which is very important when you're registering about 180 kids in two hours on a Sunday afternoon!
— Jim Richardson, Head Coach, Women's Swimming, University of Michigan
Jim considered using Microsoft Access, but soon settled on FileMaker Pro instead. "I chose FileMaker Pro because I preferred its format for creating databases," he continues. "And I was told by our IT expert that FileMaker Pro would do more in the long run."
And so it has. Jim's system is compact — two databases containing about 2,800 records total — but it gets the job done quickly and reliably. "FileMaker Pro saves time and makes it easier to find entry errors," Jim notes. "We provide our customers with rapid information retrieval, which is very important when you're registering about 180 kids in two hours on a Sunday afternoon!"
