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Filter 105 vetted FileMaker Pro reviews and ratings
Reviews (1-25 of 40)
February 18, 2020
FileMaker Pro
My team uses FileMaker Pro to track our sales pipeline opportunities. We use it as a way collaborate with our partners who are outside of our organization so that they can also have visibility and assist us with tracking deals as well. It’s a great tool to provide updates and see an account’s status at a quick glance.
- Different ways to view data.
- Endless possibilities of what data to input.
- Move to the cloud.
- Faster speed.
October 18, 2019
FileMaker Pro works well for complicated databases
We use FileMaker to keep track of our transactions and revenues associated with sales and commissions paid. We also keep track of various aspects of each sale and how each category breaks down compared to total sales. We hired a developer to design a custom program for us to use for these purposes on FileMaker.
- It is extremely versatile, if you are, or have a good programmer, it can be used for many purposes to organize data.
- It seems to not take a ton of RAM to run, my computer has no issues running it.
- Although the file can be stored in a cloud, I like that it is a locally run program, regardless of internet access.
- It is very technical, you have to really know what you are doing to come up with the initial use.
October 17, 2019
All in One
We use FileMaker Pro daily for building our product and gathering all the information into one section to make it easily accessible throughout the company. This helps us when creating the merchandise since all the information we need is in one program. It creates an easier process when bringing merchandise to life.
- The ability to store all different types of information. This eliminates the needs for additional programs.
- The ability to pull multiple styles of exports. There are so many details and you can build the exports to be exactly what you need.
- It can be used across multiple departments, allowing each one to contribute the information they need to build the product.
- Descriptions only allow for a minimum character count, forcing a lot of abbreviations.
- When merging styles, it can remove images.
- Sometimes, information can be missing when pulling exports.
June 29, 2019
FileMaker Pro
FileMaker Pro is used as our ERP system, and is being used by the entire company. It keeps track of customers, vendors, and inventory.
- FileMaker does a good job of allowing customization to layout and design for ease of use.
- FileMaker allows us to control who can access certain areas in the system for security and business needs.
- FileMaker is user-friendly for data entry purposes.
- Building reports can be cumbersome.
- We're unable to print a doc generated in FileMaker without having to download the pdf every time.
- You're unable to sync a line added to a purchase order after the PO has already been synced to QuickBooks.
April 30, 2019
Filemaker Pro for all Business Needs
We currently use Filemaker Pro across our entire organization as the tool to create our VIN Numbers for the boat trailers we manufacture. Filemaker generates the VIN label, tire tags, and the certificate of origin to be able to register the trailers through DOT. It has been formatted to include all relevant and legal data to be able to register with the DOT.
- Formatting for specific needs
- Capacity to store data is huge
- Server support if interested but not necessary.
- Autosave can be a huge con
December 18, 2018
FileMaker keeps your event files organized
Our entire organization has used FileMaker Pro for many years for our event planning. It helps track food and beverage as well as setup needs for hundreds of events. We can add budget cost centers as well as A/V equipment and other needs we may have to the event plan.
- tracks dates & times
- tracks food and beverage
- tracks costs centers
- The food and beverage portion is a bit clunky when trying to type what you need
- There is not enough space in the rooms needed portion for a large campus-wide event
November 16, 2018
FileMaker Pro Library Software Review
We use FileMaker Pro to help organize our catalogs of backgrounds and props. We also built a custom set up to help maintain a library of animal talent for our shoots. It helps us to search by MANY different methods as well as generate quick PDFS that we can send to clients and other people in the studio. Most of the production staff in the studio uses FileMaker Pro. You do have to have the system stored on a server so that many people can access that, but for a larger company like ours, that wasn't really an issue. The ability to format the program and generate layouts that work best for your needs is pretty great. Although that part of it can be tricky, and takes a bit of time to learn. Searching inventories is really simple, though.
- FileMaker Pro makes searching through internal inventories very easy. You can search by many different keywords.
- FileMaker Pro is very simple to use when populating the inventories and catalogs.
- The software is very customizable. Which is great for many different types of uses and businesses.
- Customizing FileMaker Pro can be tricky for people who aren't super familiar with that type of work.
- The software is really good, just needs a little more user friendliness or simplicity.
December 18, 2018
FileMaker Pro At Work
FileMaker Pro is used across our organization. We utilize its flexibility and scalability to manage and monitor our core business.
- FMP allows us to easily add information and fields to existing applications as our business needs dictate.
- FMP works very well with a workforce that is spread throughout the country.
- FMP allows us to add roles to individuals so that we can tailor their views to what they do.
- FMP Server can be difficult to work with at times. Not easy to migrate to a new server.
FileMaker Pro is the key to our business. It is our CRM as well as our data management. We use Filemaker Pro and Filemaker Go combined to create mapping and routing for our clients. All reporting is customized via FMPro.
FileMaker Pro is essential to our business, making sure that we are organized and stay on top of our day to day operations.
FileMaker Pro is essential to our business, making sure that we are organized and stay on top of our day to day operations.
- Customized database. We have all the information that we need and could possibly want at our fingertips.
- Organization. We have client information, vendor information, and personnel information organized in a logical and secure way. Because of the custom settings, only certain people are able to view all of the data - while others are only allowed to view what is needed.
- Working with FMGo - we are at the forefront of reporting technology. Our people personal work independently across the country and we see their results in seconds.
- Making changes is sometimes difficult and we do work with an FM developer. While we like our developer, we do wish it was easier to do on our own.
- FMPro is sometimes glitchy with how it outputs data. Because we've been working with it for so long and it's so customized, we have work arounds, but something we just want to be able to export things as spreadsheets in the first place. :)
May 21, 2018
FileMaker Finesse
FileMaker Pro is used across the whole company in every department. It is the main ERP we use. And works well enough in every department but it does work better for some departments than others.
- It is very customizable. Our IT department can add or remove anything our company needs which helps as we grow and our needs change.
- Our purchasing department likes the fact that creating a PO is intuitive and sending POs to our vendors is very simple.
- Our sales department likes that quotes are always saved along with a version of any changes. It also turns quotes into invoices with a simple click which makes the fast-paced sales easier.
- One issue we have is that the accounting portion of this software is not easy. It takes a lot of extra labor to do easy things. Like creating debit memos.
- Because it is so customizable it can open things up for errors that shouldn't have been there so people weren't allowed to add whatever they wanted.
- The last thing I would say is that the version we use does not allow us to pull a lot of marketing reports and we always have to involve IT to help pull the simplest of reports, like if we want a list of email addresses for our customers.
July 23, 2018
Filemaker to save the day!
Filemaker is the heart of our organization. It runs every department in one to degree or another. For each department, we have automated processes which have cut down on hours of work for our organization. Each business work flow is highly custom, and therefore an out of the box solution was not going to work. Filemaker has allowed us to put in place a solution that is tailored to the way we like to do business but also allows us to grow and change process flows quickly that wouldn't be possible using standard development technologies.
- Develop custom solutions very fast
- Simple to use for non-developers
- Easy rollout of solutions company-wide
- Easy setup of server to host custom solution
- Developer features need to be beefed up - namely adding the ability to search code for a phrase or keyword and the ability to do the same in the "relationship graph" in the database.
- Add ability for users to edit the same table record at the same time by version control.
- Allow Filemaker Server to use more than 1 core; currently multi-processing is not supported and it can be tricky to find just the right server to support the application you've built to the fullest capacity.
FileMaker Pro is used across departments to manage a massive database that tracks our sellable products. Currently, we have approximately 20 users at any given time, all of whom can actively update the database as long as they are not updating the same record. The program manages a variety of information about the product, which is highly modifiable and easily updated via Excel imports or manually inside of the record. Customized exports are used to generate report outs and access real-time information regarding our available inventory.
- The relational database management system makes the program highly customizable to fit the needs of any product. You can add a ton of information to each record and update your inventory on a regular basis with an Excel import or manually inside of the record. It has the capability to incorporate barcoding, which can manage your available inventory with ease.
- The scripting language allows FileMaker to automatically calculate complex algorithms automatically or generate report outs with the click of a button. This allows for greater UI, especially with active users who are not familiar with writing code. Almost all of our internal data is linked to the FileMaker database
- The server license allows many users to update the database in real time, which is handy if your inventory is constantly changing. We have users with Macs, PCs, iPhones and handheld tablets linked to our FileMaker database and they are updating the information constantly throughout the day.
- If you invest some time into formatting and scripting the database, there is a high ease of use for users without knowledge of any programming or FileMaker itself.
- Cross-platform consistency - the iPhone version is not nearly as functional as the desktop version, which could cause troubles if you want to update your inventory with a mobile device while actively performing a task. The layout is cluttered and inconsistent.
- The development of a functional database will require a highly skilled FileMaker programmer, or multiple people working to address specific requirements for the database. This could take months to construct and can be costly if you want to create a highly customizable database with the proper scripts.
- The Excel exports are rather simple and require re-working if you are trying to make anything visually appealing. I'm sure more backend programming could be performed to address this issue, but for the average user, the programming and links can be rather complex.
April 23, 2018
Filemaker, making life simple
We run Filemaker for Sales, Stock control and Reporting. We typically moved from segmented spreadsheets to relational database and this mostly translated to less time on admin and more on sales.
- Reporting is very easy and managers setup their own custom reports.
- The layout tool is very WYSIWIG and simple to master.
- The scripting is very straight forward with very little programming understanding required.
- The online SaaS versions are still a bit slow.
- Would love to see true SaaS services.
- Built-in Adwords and similar integration, typical of other SaaS tools
May 17, 2018
Filemaker Pro is awesome!
We use Filemaker Pro across the entire organization. Everyone is trained and we use it every day for Contacts, Leads, Deal Registrations, Quotes, Purchase Orders, Time Keeping, Shipping/Receiving and Expense Reports. I don't think it poses any problems in our business, we have always used it and will continue to use it happily.
- It works great for Quotes and Purchase Orders.
- One thing I love about Filemaker is how it interacts with MYOB our Finance App
- Filemaker is always great at timekeeping
- I have no complaints regarding Filemaker, I think its a great app
February 05, 2018
FileMaker - the perfect solution for a custom database.
FileMaker serves as the “brains” of the operation. Every order is entered and tracked through the entire production process. Employees can see at a glance everything they need to know about an order.... what raw materials were ordered, when they arrived, changes requested by a customer, when the order is expected to be delivered.
- Sorts and classifies data according to your exact search parameters.
- Makes detailed information easy to find.
- Produces up to the minute progress reports.
- Have typically needed to purchase outside reference materials to help understand harness the powerful FileMaker.
November 13, 2017
FileMaker Pro: Good but....
We have used FileMaker Pro with our day to day operations in our business. It was used to track projects and integrated into some marketing functions of our business. It helped with organizing, accessing customer records and did some reporting. It would help us print directly from the database into Word format as well.
- Easy to complete a mail merge inside the system, without having to download contacts and re-upload them. Very simple to print personalized post cards or emails to groups of clients at one time.
- Lots of customization options, for reports, mail merge etc.
- Easier to do online
- Making it simple to format and changes
July 18, 2017
Filemaker is my moneymaker and my problem solver
I am a FileMaker Certified Developer. I develop solutions for others so FileMaker is my tool for creating solutions for others. I also use it personally to track my invoicing, time billing and producing/formatting content for several websites that I do. I also do contract work for other developers where I use FMP to quickly analyze data files so the client can understand the data they are dealing with.
- Slicing and dicing data. Pure and simple. If I have to look for trends or understand highs and lows of data or quickly formulating file paths for incredibly complex websites I can do it quickly.
- Easy to learn interface that allows for quick prototyping of tools that people think they need to have on much "larger" (expensive) platforms. The beauty of FileMaker is you can quickly build what you want as a prototype, then most likely years later when they are still trying to get the expensive stuff to do the same thing, you just keep using it.
- Now that they have added REST support and increased encryption you can also build some complex and highly secure solutions that eliminate the need for buying third party plugins or services.
- FileMaker, as a company, also brings out new versions on a regular yearly basis. Each year they add something that is greatly extends the development power making it easier for me to bring in customers.
- The tight integration with the iPad and iPhone is a top value in itself. Why spend a ton of money for an iOS app that you have no control over when you can use FileMaker to get the job done fast and in a cost effective manner?
- I had some big complaints about how to edit calculations and scripts, and not being able to print/export PDF from server but with the last 2 versions I can't complain any more. Those got added.
- Syncing records between iOS and Filemaker Server still requires a developer to accomplish. Although I make money doing it for others I wish there was some "central" method of syncing that everyone can follow.
July 07, 2017
FileMaker in the hands of Storganise
As a Filemaker Pro developer, our company assesses the needs of small to medium businesses and will often recommend, and supply, a bespoke Filemaker Pro package. We use the software ourselves, in our office administration, invoicing, expenses, data collection, contact management, and inventory management. It is used across the whole company and saves us hours of admin by centralising the data we work with.
- Easy to use - we create very basic apps at one end of the scale, up to whole suites of software at the other. At the entry level, it is quick to learn and can have a "citizen developer" creating something useable and rewarding within hours.
- Expandable - we recommend starting small with an answer to your most pressing requirement. Then as your staff get used to the way the software helps, there will naturally begin the questions - "Can we get it to do this...?"
- Unlimited - there is no real limit to the size and quantity of data that can be stored. We have happy customers with small contacts applications under 50MB and others with huge archives of Music and Video over 100GB
- Constantly Updating - there are new releases of the software every year or so, adding extra functionality for new directions to be taken, but the core of the software remains the same
- As developers, there are areas we like to see updated. In the new version 16 a lot of these have been done.
- Scalable usage of mobile licenses would be a good step forward to allow transient mobile users to access the main database without the need for an extra licence
- A revamped system for finding developers through Apple's website would be nice. The current one is a little out dated.
We use FileMaker for delivering cross-platform database and custom apps which are process platform (Windows, Mac OS, iOS and WebDirect) for small and medium enterprises covering a wide spectrum of sectors.
- Rapid application development of bespoke solutions for multiple platforms.
- Scales well from single to hundreds of users.
- Very easy to adapt and maintain solutions.
- Well suited for novice database learners or seasons developers.
- Integrates well with other technologies to act as 'digital glue' to combine different systems - works well with with SQL solutions with ODBC; web APIs via REST APIs/JSON, etc.
- They do have a unique advantage in the market as they offer an on premises deployment option as well there being private cloud and AWS hosted options.
- FileMaker does not pitch themselves as a high-end enterprise platform: they don't pitch themselves as a solution for systems requiring thousands of concurrent users. Ironically this can be done with integration with other technologies to improve scalability.
- FileMaker themselves don't offer consulting or training directly - you need to look to their FileMaker Business Alliance partners for anything other that initial software installation support.
- They do have a perception problem in the market place - people usually have a bad experience when they inherit a legacy solution built by a non-professional developer and so they often view FileMaker solutions as being old, clunky or missing functionality. The modern platform is exceptionally powerful and full featured - however, to fully take advantage of it of often requires some re-development of a legacy solution. Obviously this is not a problem if you are started a new development from scratch.
At Soliant Consulting, we use the FileMaker platform to solve business problems for our clients. We've built solutions for a wide array of customers. I've worked on projects for departments within a large organization and small businesses. We help reduce manual work and automate repetitious and error prone processes. Internally, we use FileMaker for all important aspects of our business - time tracking, invoicing, reporting, and much more.
- FileMaker Pro excels at searching and sorting data right out of the box. You can easily take a spreadsheet and import it into FileMaker Pro and you'll be able to work through your data much faster than through other software.
- FileMaker benefits from a single product for both backend data storage/data modeling, and the interface. And the interface tools are user-friendly.
- It can grow with your business. The FileMaker Platform allows you to add more customization and features over time. This can be budget friendly and allow for building a solution in phases.
- FileMaker Pro is slowly working on improving their interface to match the fast moving internet capabilities. While it's moving in the right direction, there are some graphical capabilities it lacks.
- FileMaker Pro does not have a built in version control mechanism.
- FileMaker Pro does not have a centralized security module for multiple files.
October 11, 2017
FileMaker Pro Offers Low Code Custom App Development - Cross Platform for macOS, Windows, IOS, HTML5
FileMaker Pro is used as a replacement for Microsoft Access databases for my customers. FileMaker Pro provides multi-user access, better reliability in networked deployments, installation directly on IOS devices. FileMaker Pro data files also offer much greater data capacity of up to 7TB per file compared to the 2GB file size limit of Microsoft Access. Automated conversion from Access to FileMaker Pro is performed with FmPro Migrator Platinum Edition software.
- Greater File Size - 7TB per file, compared to 2GB per file with Access .ACCDB files.
- Reliable multi-user networking thru Peer-to-Peer or server based implementations.
- Improved developer productivity.
- Capability of being run locally on IOS devices with the free FileMaker Go client software.
- It would be nice to have some automation improvements.
FileMaker is our primary data store serving as our homebrewed student information system (SIS). We track demographic data, confident test reports, attendance, and so on. It's our primary source of data, that feeds many other systems.
- FileMaker is particularly easy to set up and configure.
- FileMaker deploys easily to Mac users.
- FileMaker makes rapid prototyping and proof of concept ideas pretty painless.
- FileMaker does not run on Android.
- FileMaker doesn't provide any analytical tools.
- FileMaker web access is limited and resource hungry.
- FileMaker Server cannot be hosted on Linux machines.
FileMaker is used across our entire organization. The original use for FileMaker was as a timecard database. Over the years the use of FileMaker has grown to cover many different parts of our business. We manage all the graphics that are produced in FileMaker. We manage projects in FileMaker. We create packing lists and keep track of shipments in FileMaker. FileMaker touches almost every aspect of our business.
- FileMaker can be easily customized so that it can be expanded to cover additional roles in a company or to just do simple layout changes.
- FileMaker can be easily picked up by new programmers/developers. The software is designed in such a way that a half day's worth of training can get a new person started building their own databases.
- FileMaker has a large community of users that do a fantastic job of supporting folks who are new to FileMaker. There is considerable support, samples, and videos on the web for anyone starting out.
- There are a lot of professional developers located around the country that can help with any FileMaker development needs. They have always been more than friendly and willing to offer help and suggestions. They have the heart of teachers.
- I think the folks developing FileMaker are true Apple enthusiasts at heart, so a lot of little issues that crop up for Windows users are not address very quickly. It also seems like the Windows version gets treated as secondary, which is odd considering that the majority (95+%) of people using FileMaker use it in a Windows environment.
- Considering my point above, I would also point out that a lot of how FileMaker works seems to be driven by a small number of people who feel like the software should behave a certain way. Rather than offering users the ability to customize how they want to use the software, global changes are made that force users to adapt to a new way working that is opposite of how they have worked for many years. Changes like this have driven me nuts in the past and make me wish that they would just allow customization of how users work instead of forcing one particular point of few.
- FileMaker developers are not inexpensive. If you need to bring in help from a third party, expect to pay $100/hr. at a minimum. There are a lot of free resources, local clubs/groups, and places to get free advice, but expect to pay a lot for professional help if you need it. There just aren't enough developers around the world to drive the price down.
July 07, 2017
Your data deserves the best! Use FileMaker
I develop custom solutions for my clients using Filemaker Pro. The platform allows rapid development of solutions which my clients love as they get what they need sooner and at a cheaper cost compared to other development platforms.
- Rapid Development
- Great at getting new businesses up and running quickly
- Do not need a IT department to get you up and running
- Quickly access your data from multiple devices.
- A better pricing structure for small companies below 5 users.
I develop a wide variety of solutions with FileMaker pro (medical, agricultural, transport, trades, questionnaires, web applications including business applications and blogs, etc.). I deploy FileMaker to Mac and Windows desktops, web browsers, and native iOS and Android applications (Android applications are a lot of work, however). FileMaker is very versatile and powerful, yet simple to get started.
- FileMaker deploys to all mainstream internet connected devices very easily with a drag and drop interface builder that requires no coding for simple systems (PC, MAC, Mobile phone).
- FileMaker is great for sharing information in teams.
- FileMaker is simple enough that regular users (e.g. mechanics) can create their own simple databases if you let them!
- FileMaker Server is suitable for hundreds of concurrent users at a time with a *well developed* system but not thousands. In general FileMaker is good for small to medium businesses, teams, or for rapid prototyping large scale complex applications.
- FileMaker has a good suite of basic graphical charts but for more complicated "B.I." style dashboards, it is good to integrate your FileMaker data with another system which is easy to do.
FileMaker Pro Scorecard Summary
About FileMaker Pro
Database software for individuals or teams. Allows users to create forms, reports and labels. Share on a network or over the web.
Categories: Non-Relational Databases
FileMaker Pro Competitors
FileMaker Pro Technical Details
| Operating Systems: | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Mobile Application: | No |