QuickBase for the novice user
March 31, 2017
QuickBase for the novice user
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with QuickBase
Our organization is using QuickBase for federal grant management and data tracking. These grants require a large amount of data tracking that was not collected prior to the grant. QuickBase allows us to track the required data sets, see real time information, and allows various users to see the information that is important to their jobs. QuickBase is replacing several Excel spreadsheets that were owned by specific individuals, which was problematic for many reasons. Having one location for the data has been extremely helpful.
Currently QuickBase is being used by only one department specifically for the grants, but it is such a powerful tool and easily adaptable, I foresee other departments using it as well.
Currently QuickBase is being used by only one department specifically for the grants, but it is such a powerful tool and easily adaptable, I foresee other departments using it as well.
- Individualized dashboards for different user-types is a huge help. Each user sees the reports and data relevant to their needs.
- The reports are easy to create and provide a great visual reference.
- On-boarding was a challenging process due to schedule conflicts with the QuickBase rep and key internal staff members. (There is a time limit for on-boarding assistance.)
- The hand-off from the sales department to the on-boarding rep was not done well. We had to re-explain everything, which lost valuable time.
- Lack of in-depth training for new users.
We have built several basic apps to meet our immediate needs, however, we have not been able to fully develop the apps for optimum performance. Although even though the apps we are using are very basic they are still a tremendous upgrade and help our organization.
Apps are easy to develop by non-technical personnel, however, understanding required the structure of the app can be tricky unless you are fairly technologically savvy. Once you get app in place minor modifications and new reports can be done by non-technical personnel.
- Solving a specific business challenge
- Building and deploying an application (or multiple applications) that meets our exact needs
We purchased QuickBase to help us solve a specific business challenge with automated data gathering and reporting several disparate data sets. The apps we built helped us but it did not solve all of the issues we were hoping it could address. The automatic linking functionality was a huge draw but due to internal issues, and challenges with our app design, we were not able to automate the data collection.
We have been able to make minor modifications to the apps with moderate success. Our main challenge is that we do not consistently develop or modify apps in QuickBase so it takes time to remember the right process to make the changes you want. It is a lot of trial and error. The wonderful aspect of QuickBase is that errors are not usually a huge issue. The built-in safeguards make it easier to try things without fear of breaking the app or losing all your data.