I Need A Software Developer

[Brooke Wilde]

I need to find a software developer who can make a program for me for a full service car wash I am opening.

I won’t need the work to be completed until later this year, however I thought I should post now because I am completely unfamiliar with how this works and how much it will cost me.

I am not looking to barter, I just figured I would ask here first because I would love to give the business to someone within our community.

If this is something you specialize in, please PM me here or if you would rather not contact me through eccie, you may e-mail me at:

CarWashHouston@live.com

Thanks!

[69er]

Actually, I doubt you really need to hire a software developer. I think you just want to buy an "off the shelf" point of sale system. I figured there are POS (industry speak for point of sale system) that address car washes.

So, I googled, "Car Wash POS System" and got lots of hits. I suggest you look there first. If you are looking for someone to help you with some of the business decisions about a venture like this, I would be happy to provide some consulting services. Just PM me.

[Brooke Wilde]

Wow ... that sounds simple. I will check it out tonight. Thanks so much!

[dallasguy972]

A long time ago I programmed for POS units. I have to say they require a team to write one back then nowadays a college kid could probably write it in C#.

It all depends on the support your looking for, be careful you get what you pay for on POS units, the POS literally in this case stands for piece of shit not point of sale lol.

The units tend to break down alot and need service, make sure you get a reliable unit with redundant HDD's raid 0 would be good to mirror those drives and if one goes down all you have to do is replace a HDD and you're still in business. If the motherboard goes down you'll be down and out unless you can get the vendor out there to replace the motherboard which ususally takes 24-48 hours of your call if you're lucky and get a provider with excellent service.

Theres just alot more that goes into POS units than one would expect for something that is computerized. Personally I'd stick with a cash register and reciepts it will cause you alot less headaches unless you need it digital.

If you need more info I've got a few years supporting those units in my past and I'll give you advice where I can just PM me and I'll answer.

Originally Posted by Brooke Wild

Wow ... that sounds simple. I will check it out tonight. Thanks so much!

[jframe2]

Agree with Dallasguy, family owns several large vehicle washes for 18-wheelers and the POS system was as described (Piece of Shit).

Finally, hired 1 employee to work the lot and take care of business. Been a cash machine ever sense.
Good luck.

[MamboKing]

I disagree (at least nowadays). Walmart perfected this technology to the degree that's its all off the shelf, 99.99% uptime.

Go in any 'Bubbles' type car wash in Houston and they're pulling money in hand over fist with this tech...

Brooke, you just need an systems integrator with a VAR that has 24/7 support.. If you're buying into a franchise, they'll have all that for you, otherwise you have to manage those relationships...

[Big Bud]

Brooke, also look at cloud-based SaaS offerings. For these, the worries about and hardware failures is reduced... Just need a reliable internet connection. Here's one offering specific to car washes I found with a Google search, there may be others:

http://www.autopilotcontrols.com/

[bobdole459]

Brooke, you should also look into iPhone based POS systems. They can often be very economical and easier to setup than a standard system. A lot of restaurants are using them now to speed things up. I did a quick google search and this was the first hit, http://www.poslavu.com/

[shlub]

+ 1 On SaaS. It may seem less expensive to get a custom piece built but you have to ask yourself how much headaches and bottlenecks are worth...