Praise and bug report / Feature request
p3stibaer
via web
First let me tell you how much I love On The Job! Although I'm still deciding on which solution to use for my time tracking and invoicing, there's simply no other app that is so thoughtfully made and neatly laid out. You're highly above your competition when it comes to usability! I love the Timing Sessions window especially.
There are a couple of things that make it impossible for me to switch to On The Job right now. As I've seen here and on Twitter, Stunt Software is putting a lot of effort into the feedback process, so here's my list:
Client View - Address field should be labled, I've seen a video on YouTube about On The Job where the guy adds a client description there, not the adress. - Phone number? (Not sure about that, I think leaving it out would avoid clutter and you can still use AddressBook for that).
Job view - I have read this one before: Description should be moved up and renamed to "Title" or "Task", this is too important.
Tax rates - Tax rates should be globally set in the preferences - Dissenting tax rates per client should be an option - IMPORTANT: I have to be able to choose the tax rate per-item, almost always! For example, in Germany the normal tax-rate is 19%, but for some tasks (like design or conception) I only have to add 7%. I really have to be able to distinguish between these rates.
Template Editor - Ability to add my Hourly rate to the item table - Seconding that: "Last Page" view, for example to add conditions. - Adding basic geometry (rectangles and circles would be sufficient for almost all) – or simply ability to add background-color to elements to highlight stuff. - Input fields for width/height and x/y-position. - Zooming in/out. - The item table is one object, so I'm unable to really style it. Column width should be editable, as should be the table header and table summary. The competition has a head start here, even if it's clumsy. - Add ability to enter invoice text and ability to display it on the invoice. Nice to be able to add remarks or additional information for the client on the invoice (e.G. upcoming jobs, or referring to earlier jobs).
Outstanding Invoices View - Show amount outstanding, not total amount. This doesn't help me in any way, I want to know how much my client is still owing me, not how much the invoice total was. - Sort list by client, amount, date, you name it.
Estimates - Ability to produce estimates in addition to invoices without the work-around of adding a fake invoice. For my client-communication, sending such a fake estimate is good enough, but for my internal account, I have to distinguish between the two (especially when you have added the report function you're currently working on – having all things doubled in my reports because the application doesn't distinguish between estimates and invoices would render the reports obsolete).
General - Why the "Play" symbol when you're actually recording your time? - The black lines on that button make it look kinda cheap, I'd opt for removing them (nit-picking, but still…). - When timing, show recorded time and billable amount of your current timing session in the top display, instead of generic job information. Push the motivation button! ;)
A long list, but that's because I instantly fell in love with the app and it's clean layout and options. You find stuff very intuitively, the dark UI-elements on the bottom of the window make it easy to find what you need, the whole app is very Apple-ish (=good). I just can't use it before some of what's on the list is implemented correctly – the inadequate tax rate options would get me into jail for tax fraud for example :D
Support Staff 2 Posted by Dan Messing on 11 Aug, 2010 06:17 PM
Hello,
Let me respond to your individual points:
Client View - I think you make a good point about this, the address field can be a little ambiguous. Added to our feature tracker.
Tax rates - I have heard about this problem from some other Europeans using On The Job, and it is something we plan to address in a future update. One question though - do you always have to choose between one tax rate or the other, or is there ever a situation where both taxes would be applied (as is common in North America)?
Template Editor - Lots of good suggestions, thanks! There is a bunch of work we're planning to do on the invoice editor. One thing I did want to mention is that you can actually already add simple geometry like circles and rectangles - just drag a "Shape" element onto your template. You can then change the color and shape type at the bottom of the window.
Outstanding Invoices View - excellent point that the amounts shown should be amount owing, taking past payments into account.
Estimates - also on our to-do list. We want to do it in a way that makes sense and we're working on some workflow ideas to make that happen.
General - "Play" because you're making the timer run. It might not be the perfect symbol, but I think a record symbol might be even more confusing since it often denotes something (a movie, audio) is actually being recorded from your system. In this case we're just starting and stopping a timer, not actually recording anything.
Thanks very much for all of your well-thought out feedback, it's really appreciated!
Dan
3 Posted by p3stibaer on 11 Aug, 2010 06:38 PM
Thanks for your response! I missed the Shape option in the template editor.
About tax rates: In Germany, you normally add 19% regular tax rate, but for certain goods and services (books and food, creative work or writing) you add 7% reduces tax rate. Adding both is not an option.