app for clients and calaendar

[bobsmith9]

Hello, my daughter is just starting as a hairdresser and wants to use a samsung tablet for keeping a list of customer details and also appointments.
Does anyone know an app that would have a Contacts and Calendar that would suit a small business just starting out.
There are no employees, no wages, basically just need a calendar and a contacts database, and in a perfect world they would be linked.
I have looked a lot but not being a tech mided person i have failed to find anything.
Thanks for any help.

 

[AZgl1500]

OfficeSuite is extremely popular and has a lot of power available. I looked at it again just now, and I thought it had a Calendar option, but don't see it right now.

I would really consider that she use Google Calendar which is a great tool, will sync across nearly all platforms, and for me has been the most stable and reliable calendar of them all. I have purged about 10 previous calendars because they all broke at one time or another.

Evernote is a terrific Database that is extreme flexible. You can import any kind of file you want into it. Literally anything can be imported into it. For contacts, save a picture of the Contact: extremely valuable.. ie, the latest hairdo she just gave that person.

I have used it for 10+ years just for the purposes you mention. but here again, I don't see a Calendar option in it.


Evernote will hold URLs, so in that manner, you could link direct to the calendar for the next appointment.
You just made me find something that I have never used with Evernote: It does have a Calendar, it is called "Reminder"


A simple Spreadsheet has a lot of power in it, and can be used as a contact database... but you need to have some familiarity with spreadsheets to use it.... this option probably not for your daughter.

The old Palm Pilot database was terrific, and still runs on a PC, but it don't sync anymore with the 'real world'.

so sticking with an Android Tablet; IMO, right now, get her started with Google Calendar and Evernote.
All of the ones I linked to are free... some have upgrade options, but doubt she will ever need them.

OfficeSuite: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobisystems.office

Evernote: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.evernote.wear

Google Calendar: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.calendar

.
Evernote Reminder:

 

[AZgl1500]

I did a search for business related calendars and came up with this one.
at first blush, it will do everything that your daughter wants.... but, I am only basing this on what the developer claims it can do.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mikado.bizcalpro


Features in this Pro Version $4.99
+ Manage Contacts: Link your events and appointments with your contacts
I have not loaded this yet, but I am going to "Assume" this means that it will directly link with your phone's contacts.... so, if that Tablet has a phone in it, she can kill two birds with one stone.



+ Customizable Templates: Create your own templates for new events
+ Multi-Select: For deleting, moving, or copying multiple events
+ Import & Export: Quickly import all your calendars, export them in .ics format
+ Drag’n’drop: Move and copy events easily in the multi-day view
+ Tasks Add-On: Use the integrated task-management tool for syncing with Google Tasks & Toodledo
+ App Theming: Light and dark theme for the app
+ Advanced Widgets: Set colors, font sizes and calendars


a free version to piddle around with:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=netgenius.bizcal

 

[RazzMaTazz]

Why not just use the (free) built-in Gmail Calendar and Gmail Contacts apps? I'd try that but I'd probably set up the shop with its own Gmail address. That way she could keep her business calendar separate from her personal calendar-- though both accounts could reside on the same tablet and be viewed separately (or merged) as she wishes. (The view settings are inside the calendar app, letting you choose which calendar or calendars to display.)

Your daughter could add appointments to the calendar, and if her clients agreed to provide email addresses, she could add them to the appointment such that they'd get an email calendar invitation (that they could click-on to add to their own PC/phone calendars). Such invitations could even include a reminder to sound X minutes prior to the appointment. I wish my doctors' & dentist's offices would employ such an appointment method, instead of handing me a paper appointment card. My kids' orthodontist sent email calendar appointments and I freaking loved it. One-click of "Accept" and it was on my calendar.

As AZgl1500 mentioned, Gmail Calendar and Gmail Contacts (and Gmail Tasks, and Gmail) work across platforms (Android phone, tablet, Windows PC, Macs, etc.) so she could check her calendar from a PC at home or from her phone, etc. (and keep it all separate from her personal contacts, calendar, etc.)

Google Calendar also has Google Tasks associated with it, so your daughter could also add "Tasks" (essentially "To Do" lists for the business, like "Order more perm by Monday".

 

[bobsmith9]

Thanks AZGL and Razz for your replies, i am going to go over them with my daughter tomorrow.
My fault that i neglected to say that i was hoping to find offline contacts and calenar, but i will have a chat with her about that.
Your info has been great, thank you

 

[AZgl1500]

Evernote will run independent of the internet, but it is slow to come up at first, it wants to "find momma" each time so it can sync up all platforms that it lives on. Just like Google Contacts and Calendar do. However, if you are wanting to store a lot of pictures, it is not the app for that, it is more designed to store "information" and a picture here and there "is information".

However, Google Calendar does not seem to care if it cannot find the internet, I use it all the time on my cellphone w/o the internet being enabled and it works fine. I can make new entries into it on the phone and it never complains.

Later, when I turn on WiFi or Data, it will then sync up with the Cloud side of the calendar and all is well.

If the daughter's tablet is going to be independent of the internet at her work place, then I'm thinking that @RazzMaTazz's suggestion for staying with Google products will be the best. Connect the tablet to the internet, install Google Contacts and Google Calendar on it. Get everything associated together so it is all working correctly.

Then your daughter can use it at work freely w/o either of those apps complaining that the internet is not available.
At closing time, she can take it home and let it hook up to the internet to sync everything into the Cloud with Google.
The reason that this is "Mission Critical" is because she really, really needs to have all of her "Business Data" backed up to the Cloud.

Imagine her distress if something happened to that tablet and she looses everything?

No calendar
No contacts list anymore​

That is totally unacceptable for a business.

.

 

[RazzMaTazz]

Yep. Google Calendar and Google Contacts apps (which are probably already built-into the tablet) will work with or without an Internet connection. But of course, they'll only sync to the cloud with an Internet connection.