I need some advice on a database to be integrated into a website so that a business can manage their client’s services. I will give you an over view of what is needed and what the business does- The business provides services and products to one off customers, repeat customers and also have clients on monthly and annual contracts. The website should be easily used by customers and the business owners Customers should be able to- Order new products and services, sign up for new contracts, upgrade contracts etc. This should send notification to the business owners Monitor annual contracts Update contact details Update delivery details Update payment details that are integrated into a billing system The business needs the website/database to- Inform them when a client has updated their info, paid for a service, Accept new orders for products and services Automatically bill clients at renewal dates or send email reminders Update the database when jobs have been completed Communicate with clients on mass and individually Can a system like this be easily integrated into a website? Can it be easily integrated into an ecommerce payment system? There are no problems getting merchant accounts for this business. Are there off the shelf products that can be used or will this require a bespoke website build? Can someone help with this? Have you got experience building sites with a database like this? Mods - I was not sure where to post this so if it needs moving please shift it
That's a lot of functionality you're looking for. Are you wanting something canned that does that? I doubt you'll find something that fits exactly with your needs. For a data-intensive site like this I'd probably look to a tool like IronSpeed Designer (www.ironspeed.com) since it's great at creating custom data entry pages and the backend logic you're looking for. It's a .NET-only platform but it's easy to work with and can generate whole web sites very quickly. For a Linux solution you've got me. If I was hired to do it I'd probably look at something like Ruby on Rails to scaffold something together as a proof of concept and work from there. But you're looking at a moderate development cycle.
Thanks for the information. I had imagined that a database similar to that which many people use to manage web hosting accounts would suffice. Perhaps I will need a custom built solution.
If anyone can help me with this please drop me a PM. I am looking for an experienced developer that can handle this project. You should have a porfolio to support your claims. I only want to hear from DP members with history. If you have no itrader and you have only been a member for a few weeks then I will not respond to your PM. Thnaks in advance, CCK.