QuickBase is an Awesome empowering tool for rapid app development by non technical users
Updated January 05, 2021
QuickBase is an Awesome empowering tool for rapid app development by non technical users
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Quickbase
My clients use QuickBase to automate functions that their main computer system does not handle and where Excel just won't cut it. My client base spans massive companies and very small companies.
- manages workflow
- very granular control over security access as to what each user can see and edit at the record or even field level.
- very agile to make changes quickly.
- Mobile is weak (but there at least is a mobile interface) , but they are working on a proper mobile app that non technical users will be able to deploy to the Apple App Store and presumably Google Play.
The main "competition" to Quick Base really is Excel. Companies get caught in Excel hell to fill in their tracking and work flow needs.
Fast deployment of highly customized solutions. To some extent is can be Ready Fire Aim. You don't exactly need to know where you are going to get there. So, you start with a basic foundation and build and extend from there. Of course some panning is necessary, but you don't need to plan out the whole journey.
My clients use Quick Base and it changes the "culture" of the company. Employees come to expect that everything they need which is not on their main computer system (if they have one) or not on say QuickBooks, will be in QuickBase for ease of access.
You need to have an employee who has the right aptitude. I tell my clients that if they have an employee who knows how to do a VOOKUP in excel then they have the mindset to be able to master Quick Base. There is lots of resources available to help learn the product - video courses, certification, online help text, and a strong user to user community for online peer to peer self-help.
I update old apps all the time, some I wrote and some I did not. If you stick to native QuickBase and avoid javascript then it pretty easy to figure out an app, even one that you have not seen before. If you venture outside of native Quick Base, then be aware that future support just got 10x more difficult and risky. My recommendation is that the IT manager should enforce a native Policy unless the company has very strong internal support for javascript and not just one employee who wants to change the native behavior of Quick Base and leave you will a mess to support.
Security is at the core of Quick Base. Role Permissions are very granular, so for example if it easy to limit say a sales rep to see only their own customers and their orders, or to allow employees to only access data for their own division.
I have not yet actually used Pipelines to connect with other non QuickBase Apps but I have a couple of clients who want to be able to create Quick Books invoices based on data in Quick Base. i know that I will use Pipelines do do this integration and based on postings in the QuickBase Community Forum, i know that it is doable and also i will be able to get assistance from Quick Base support if I get stuck.
Quickbase Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | Difficult to get immediate help |
No
Regular support is good enough. Premium support is really focussed in clients who need 7/24 responses.
Yes - Bugs are not resolved quickly, but you can often find a work around.
Emergency Restore requests to restore lost data have been fast tracked when necessary.
Integrating Quickbase
- QuickBooks On Line
- CSV files in cloud Storage like Dropbox
- Other Quick Base Apps
Sync Tables or as they are also called Connected Tables are extremely easy to setup, a few clicks really and they are done. They update as often as hourly. There are a limited number of Native Connected Tables sources so if what you want is on that list its very easy.
They have just introduced Pipelines, which will have a much broader list of other apps it will connect with. Pipelines are very new and the HELP information is limited, although QuickBase is known to be hard it at to develop the training materials.
Many users have concerns in that the included usage is per "Step Run" - you get some many Step Runs a month and if you run out you need to buy more. So you do need to look at the design to estimate the number of Step Runs to be sure that you don't design a Pipeline which will not be economic. Quick Base is somewhat betting the farm on Pipelines so they will work out the issues. But they hold very exciting promise to be able to connect many complex system even like SAP or ODBS data based in a no code method.
They have just introduced Pipelines, which will have a much broader list of other apps it will connect with. Pipelines are very new and the HELP information is limited, although QuickBase is known to be hard it at to develop the training materials.
Many users have concerns in that the included usage is per "Step Run" - you get some many Step Runs a month and if you run out you need to buy more. So you do need to look at the design to estimate the number of Step Runs to be sure that you don't design a Pipeline which will not be economic. Quick Base is somewhat betting the farm on Pipelines so they will work out the issues. But they hold very exciting promise to be able to connect many complex system even like SAP or ODBS data based in a no code method.