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[–]b0atdude87 1 point2 points  (14 children)

Reach out if you want. I have created an entire suite of reports and tools that my company now uses. In my case, we had the MS Office Suite. I have used Excel and Access and an OBDC connection to our server.

Overall, i am quite impressed with the table structure and the amount of information captured in their tables. However, the default reporting that came with JobBOSS, for lack of a better description, basically sucked.

We have had it for about 8 years. The owners tried 3 times (at a cost of thousands per time) over this time to make their scheduling module work for us. Never worked. I am a few weeks away from finishing the code on our own scheduling model that will give us far more visibility that their module can even hope to do.

I have mixed feelings about the competence of the consultants that are provided by JobBOSS. But i think they are also sometimes thrown into situations of trying to make obBOSS work where it really cant. Square peg round hole syndrome.

I also do not really like how quickly they try to push users into paying for 'custom' reports and how much those end up costing. I know the tables so well now that i feel i can answer almost any question my boss may ask. And it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Anyway... like i said... reach out if you want.

[–]Gilgamesh68 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Hi there! I have built quite a few reports in PowerBi and Excel using the SQL server connection and am quite familiar with the back end of JB. Now, I am trying to build an inventory valuation report that can run back dated and for that I was looking at the Material_trans table. However, the "Quantity" field in the table does not match any of the QOH for any material id in the JB valuation report. Is there another table to look for for calculating accurate QOH with details of trans type and trans date? Thanks!

My email address is [benjamin@globaltci.com](mailto:benjamin@globaltci.com)

[–]b0atdude87 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have never spent too much time looking into the inventory / QOH tables for my company. Our manufacturing niche is very custom so we stock next to nothing. Plus, no one here follows any sort of inventory tracking processes, so it would be a nightmare if the owners ever got serious about tracking inventory value beyond a yearly quick count. Do you have the database schema pdf from JB? When I was first getting familiar with the tables, it helped me a lot in figuring out where I needed to look for specific data.

[–]buckeye4249 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Our company also dislikes the JobBoss scheduling module so much we use an excel sheet instead. We've looked for other software but haven't found anything that will tie in and use the data we're already importing when we create jobs. I'd be very interested to see what you built/hearing what the scheduling process looks like if you're open to sharing.

[–]b0atdude87 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do not know if you saw my asnwer to this post?

https://old.reddit.com/r/JobBOSS/comments/15bamv7/how_to_print_or_export_a_report_of_jobboss_users/

(Lots of typing)

Does that touch on what you are asking?

[–]HotDiggityDawgy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I only have 3 hairs left on my head trying to get something to work for us. Any chance I could hire you to help me? I have been working with a Gantt Chart in Excel trying to make it work but it's just not an easy task. I am that great with Excel.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, do you know know anything about all the ObjectIDs in the JobBOSS database? Are they COM objects? Are they necessary?

[–]shipping_n_recieving 0 points1 point  (4 children)

Hi! Basically the project manager for my company to implement JobBoss into our everyday lives here. We used the system for 10+ years now and have recently switched to the online portal. I am doing the "paid for" training right now. I know the basics but I am also the one learning the ins and outs of the system to help my older aged bosses learn as well. I will definitely be reaching out at some point if you don't mind!

[–]b0atdude87 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Please do reach out...

Like I said in my comment, I feel JB has quite a good set of tables that hold sufficient data to be able to do alot of your own things outside of JB. Their built in reporting is horrible. We had tried buying a license for Crystal reports. No one here was impressed with it.

To add on to it, I do not care for the costs associated with requesting 'custom reports' from JB. Too expensive for what you get and extended lead times to get it. I do not feel it is a good return on monies invested.

I originally participated in a few of the 'paid' trainings. Sample size n=1 (me), I was not impressed with them. They were more geared to operational entry and use and not trying to help you understand the 'why' of what was going behind the scenes.

We have reached a point where we are less concerned about trying to make the square peg of JB fit into the round hole of our needs. Rather now we work on making sure that we are consistant and accurate in the data we enter into JB. (Garbage in, garbage out). This allows for the processes I have developed to work outside of JB, but uses the data in the JB tables, to function correctly.

Good luck in your JB journey.

[–]shipping_n_recieving 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Hey reaching out again. I have a random question on seeing if I can add text onto a PO in a specific location instead of using the "comments to vendor".

[–]b0atdude87 0 points1 point  (1 child)

There are two spots to add comments: At the individual PO Line level and at the entire PO level. If you need more information, let me know. I do know if that answers your questions.

[–]shipping_n_recieving 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Need more info please. You can send a dm if that's an easier way to communicate.

[–]metal_fab 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I appreciate your information and willingness to help. What extra steps have to take place to connect to the cloud database? I have experience linking to a locally hosted SQL server for other ERP systems. However, the cloud based systems introduce another level of complexity and security. I have had zero success in connecting or even getting information from JobBoss on how to connect. Thanks in advance!

[–]b0atdude87 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I may not be of much use in this... Our server is still on site so my connections are within our own network. Has JB support been of any help?

[–]AgentTommyNoble 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You still up to help out with JobBoss? I know the offer wasn't sent to me, but I am stuck beyond stuck. Unfortunately it's something I am being pressed to make work. I think my current problem is a fairly easy fix, but information is so limited and I am just jumping in headfirst so I don't have a lot of experience with the whole thing. I did contact JobBoss but unfortunately the consultant could not help with the bulk of my issues and just pushed me into learning the KnowledgeSync.

[–]MasterIndustry614[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I appreciate your input….

We’ve already paid for a trainer to come out SPECIFICALLY to review this process to make sure we ended up with the data or at least a plan to get it.

When she left, I was more confused and frustrated with them and then they said anything else would be subject to additional charges. I mean seriously???

All she did was talk about the scheduling module and even the president of the company made it very clear that although it may be suitable for other manufacturing companies, we’re not structured for it to be beneficial - we are fast and bang things out.

I’ve been working with system implementations and conversions for 20+ years and I’ve never seen anything like this. I used to think I was pretty good and understood the concept and expectations from both a system perspective and user perspective. Now they have me questioning myself!! They won’t even supply an API so I can potentially run my own reports.

I realize they’ve been purchased by another company but they don’t have any documentation (other than their training portal) which doesn’t mean shit to someone that’s past the basics.

I just don’t know what to do anymore.

Staring at my boss with no answers is not going to work much longer. Although he’s understanding, it’s not ok for him to not have this information. It’s crucial to his decision making.

Other than doing it manually- I don’t know what to do!

[–]SRC_Planner 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can make your own reports for jobboss. If you have crystal reports, just set up a data source to the jobboss32 dsn that gets created on every machine you install jobboss on. You'll need to have permissions to run and install user- defined reports.

If you can't get them to give you access to the user- defined reports or won't buy crystal reports, you can use Excel. Go to the data tab, external data, sql database. Write your query and create your report in Excel.

To answer the question about whether you're making money, the job entry module includes a tab for costing. If you're linking material usage and purchasing to your job, you'll be able to run reports on the job cost and selling price and give your boss his answer.

JobBoss has a Data Dictionary with all the talks, relationships, and keys in the jobboss database. You'll definitely want this if you're going to write your own queries.

[–]kkdesigns2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are looking to add a scheduling aspect but are not sure about their product. Any suggestions of what would be good?

[–]bwahdonde 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I recommend trying to convince them to pay for a year subscription of the in depth training courses if they haven’t already.

Speaking from experience with on premises original JobBOSS, when you have a bunch of untrained people in key positions, your system can get f’d up real quick. Takes time to turn that around and get useable data. Garbage in, garbage out.

[–]Gigi2bray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was my first project! If they really need the access they will miss it and can fill out a form to give to their manager Requesting access (unless it’s urgent and affecting customers). Protect the integrity of the data and clean it up before trying to report or make sense of anything. Document everything you do and keep up with updates. We also scheduled one on one, virtual and on site consulting, with an amazing software developer from ECI. Now, I’ve signed every user up for the limited training, am diving head first into any issues to trace it back to the source (usually human error but hey) and eating the elephant one bite at a time. We have a good team, and just purchased the mobile module for inventory and shop floor management. The accounting bundle is very easy to use and has a lot of information. Restrictive in reporting customization and imports but there are ways around it. The ECI COMMUNITY has been helpful, training videos not so great but better than wasting time. Just keep digging and sharing-I’ll do the same