MPA Tracker Apps

Process

How a tracker project works

Five steps, starting from the way you work today and ending with your real data in a tool your staff already know how to use.

1. A look at how you work now

You send the quote form and, if you can, a copy of the spreadsheet or forms you use, with customer details removed. We ask who enters what, when, and on which device, and which questions are hard to answer today. Then you get a written quote listing the screens, the record types, the connections to other software and a target date. Nothing starts until you accept it.

2. The data model

Before any screen gets designed, we write down what the tool stores and how the pieces link. For a job tracker that's usually customers, jobs, crews, line items and stock. It looks dry, and it's the step that saves the most trouble later. Here is a concept model for a small contractor:

Customersone row per customer
  • name
  • phone and email
  • site address
  • notes
Jobsone row per job
  • status
  • start and due dates
  • quoted total
Line itemsparts and labor on a job
  • quantity
  • cost
Crewswho does the work
  • crew name
  • members
  • phone for the lead
Stockwhat is on the shelf
  • item name
  • on hand
  • reorder point
  • supplier

Each box is a table. A teal field links to another table, so a job knows its customer and its crew, and a line item knows which job and which stock item it belongs to. That's what lets the tool show every job for one customer or the stock a job used, which a flat spreadsheet struggles to do.

3. A clickable draft

We build the main screens with sample records shaped like yours: the board, a job or order record, and the phone screen for the field. You and the people who'll use it click through and tell us what's missing or in the wrong place. Changes are quick at this stage.

4. Build and data import

We build the full tool with logins, roles, history and the connections to your other software. We clean your existing data and run a test import so you can check your own records in the new tool before anyone relies on it.

5. Switch-over and training

You pick a quiet day. We import the final copy of your data, lock the old sheet as read-only, and walk each group of users through the screens they'll use. A short written guide stays with the tool. After that, changes and new features are quoted as you need them.

What you own

ItemWho holds it
Your dataYou, with an export available on every list
Hosting and database accountsYou, or us on your behalf with full access on request
The app's codeYou, once the project is paid
Accounts with other softwareYou, in your own name

Your records

Customer and business data you share is used only for your project. We ask for copies with personal details removed wherever we can. See the privacy policy.

Tracking work in a spreadsheet that keeps breaking? Send us a copy with the customer details removed, or just describe it, and say who uses it and what goes wrong.

Request a quote