Jewelry Designer Manager Premier Plus

Good program while it lasted. Then I missed the deadline and it failed to work anymore. Complete disappointment.

I am writing this review after an experience with customer service that has left me with a sense of, at best, customer non-service. If my issue had not finally, after much effort, been resolved, this would be a 1 star review. Had it been resolved quickly and in good faith, there would be more stars. That said, I will try to be fair about my limited reviewing of the program itself (Note: I have not installed the latest High Sierra version)The program is based on a FileMaker Pro backbone and does the basics (tracking parts, pieces, inventory consignments) adequately, given that there is no real competition. However, the interface is awkward and not Mac-like. Documentation is sketchy. Reports are limited and the report interface obscure. Once you figure out the terminology and settings, basic reports are OK.I use JDMPP for tracking inventory of finished pieces I also use it to track sales and consignments and to store customer info, etc.--not yet for tracking parts inventory and usage. After the basics were mastered, it has been helpful to keep inventory tracked and updated as I perform the usual tasks related to making, marketing and selling jewelry.The challenge is figuring out what various selections in each section actually mean and how to avoid adding or deleting the wrong items. There are few contextual explanations or alerts. Most annoying, there is a conspicuous lack of UNDO commands in important places. Even after fairly extensive testing during a 30-day trial, I found unexpected issues with continued use. Documentation is sparse and not detailed, necessitating email communication with the developer. Some questions are answered quickly and to the point, others elicit a string of form email referring one to the documentation, which does not explain thoroughly.In the consignment memo section in particular, there are actions (invoicing) that cannot be "undone" if a change or error is made, which means extra effort to compensate (change the invoice manually and adjust inventory manually). I also have not found a way to report all items consigned to a particular customer and easily mark them sold or returned directly from that list (one must ID the memo, return to the memo section, find and select the appropriate memo, find and select the piece, record the action and update inventory, then invoice pieces from each memo separately--very awkward when trying to match with the customer's sales records. Once invoiced, one must guess (no warning) that one should not select "update inventory" or inventory will be reduced again.I could go on. I don't know if these issues are due to underlying deficiencies in programming or simply neglect of a user- friendly interface, but they are time consuming and sometimes frustrating. If your needs are simple, then an Excel database might be a better choice.Now to the customer service and policy issues--those that one should consider well before making this type of investment. JDMPP is advertised as a licensed, stand-alone program that includes one year of tech support and updates. After one year, one must pay $60/year for support. This is understood out front. However, my recent experience has demonstrated that Barbara and I define Tech Support very differently. Here, in brief, is the scenario I experienced (feel free to contact me for additional detail):My 2016 MacBook Pro, purchased just prior to JDMPP, was found (after about 15 months of "troubleshooting" and "repairs") to have been defective on arrival. A few days ago, Apple finally replaced it with a new computer, updated to 2017. As is usual in these cases, I restored my data to the new computer from an exact backup of the old computer (same operating system). When I attempted to use JDMPP, it asked for my license key. OK so far--not unusual. I referred to my records and entered the license activation key I was issued. An alert was returned saying that "all the available licenses have been activated." Since I only had one license and one computer at a time, that meant that my Activation Key had been deactivated. I emailed Barbara and asked for help.What I received in return was a series of lectures that my 1 year of tech support had expired and, per her website, I would need to pay for any additional support, including re-activating the original key attached to my $269.95 purchase of the JDMPP software (rendering the entire purchase useless unless I paid the $60 "optional" tech support fee). As I told her, I feel this amounts to unfair business practice and holding my purchase hostage (I was not asking to activate on additional computers or even because I had done something stupid and needed help--just successful use of my original key on a replacement computer with no tech support). Paying for genuine tech support is fair, as agreed. Paying ransom for access to the software one purchases (not explicitly subscription-based) is not. It took all day (from 10:15 EST on 6/4 to 7:45 EST on 6/5) and around 15 emails before I finally received the following response:"I checked your key and reset it. It should work.If you need any further technical support please purchase Maintenance.We do not usually reset keys without Maintenance. I have been going back and forth with you all day trying to explain this. Our business is selling and supporting software. If we do not get paid for our service then we will not be in business. We have to pay yearly Maintenance on our tools and servers also. We don't get a break.Keys will work with software updates within one year of purchase. "I had also downloaded an included update but not yet installed it before my 1 year ran out in mid-April. As I understand Barbara, I will not be able to install that update now, since the key will not be active after 1 year. Nor will I be able to use my current software if my computer should fail again or I choose to replace it -- not without spending an additional $60 for the privilege. No tech service is involved here, other than providing an Activation Key that will remain active for purposes of ownership and use for the life of the product (as is the standard practice for stand alone, non-subscription applications, where only major updates or genuine tech services extensions cost more).Judge for yourselves, dear readers, whether this is something you are willing to put up with. As for me, I have too much invested time, $ and effort to simply walk away (which I did with the previous software purchase I made--Bead Manager Pro). That means I will again insist on having ownership of the software for which I paid should another incident of this sort occur--without paying ransom. Would I choose to purchase JDMPP again after what I have learned? Not on these terms. I am a small shop with fairly uncomplicated needs. I don't need an inconvenient, expensive and ultimately useless "convenience". I would just use paper or Excel.That's all for now. If I find out that I have misunderstood Barbara, I will alter this review. I think her responses speak for themselves. Consider yourself informed.UPDATE: 1/17/19I am avoiding posting another review but felt it important to clarify definitively. I posted a question, above, and received the following responses, not all of which are visible to prospective customers:Q:Does the original activation key really expire after 1 year unless you purchase maintenance?A:The Activation Key does not expire. It will work for all software updates within 1 year of purchase. Please see the Support page on our website for more information.Q: I think I should ask differently. Does the original purchase's activation key still work after 1 year if support is not purchased? (Your support page mentions upgrades but is not clear about re-installing the original.)A: We have sent replies to you over 50 times [Edit: more like 15--as murky as the above] and explained our support policy. The key should work with all software updates within a year of purchase. If you have used up your keys [Insert: I received only 1 activation key at purchase, to my knowledge] and/or need additional keys/resets then you may purchase Maintenance. Our Support Policy clearly states the technical support includes "issuing and resetting keys".A: It might be best if you advertise your software as a subscription, not as a stand-alone product with "optional support" of $60 per year. I asked this question again because "issuing and resetting keys" as a function of maintenance has little meaning to most consumers, including me. I associated that statement with the updates, not re-installation. Most who purchase your software will expect to have untethered access to it for the life of the product (i.e., until a hardware or software upgrade renders it obsolete and unusable on the purchaser's computer). It is not a compliment to you that it has taken so many questions to get a "clear" answer.I will be forced to upgrade my OS, it appears, due to issues on Apple's end with Sierra. Troubleshooting has been long and arduous. I would, of course, expect to pay for "support" in order to obtain the update of JDMPP to match my upgraded OS. However, I and everyone I have spoken to about losing access to JDM software simply because I must clean install my OS to troubleshoot could not believe this is your policy. An Apple Sr Tech insisted on reading your website and came to the same interpretation I did. Therefore, I decided to ask again for clarity prior to updating so that I would not inadvertently lose access to my existing JDM while troubleshooting.After 5 emails, you had not responded. I also kept hoping I could alter my reviews to reflect a misunderstanding on my part. Sadly, I guessed correctly.Bottom line interpretation: After the first year, this software is not re-installable without paying for support. If you need to reinstall it for *any* reason after one year, (including reinstall of current OS or a new computer) you will invest another $60. If you don't pay, you will loose your entire investment of $ and time.After 32 years of computing, including many years when computing was central to my profession, I have never encountered such an arrangement without clearly advertised subscription status. Please consider being flexible enough to allow for a permanent activation key for each purchase or offer reasonable no-cost reactivation in emergencies even if more than a year has passed since purchase.PS. Mine is not the only recent review re: this issue.

JDM is no longer in business and the product cannot be purchased.

Great software. Easy to use and understand. Love it. Will help to keep up with incentory,pricingand much more.

There are many types of jewelry stock and labeling systems on the market. The issue I found was finding one that worked well for the needs I require.Many programs on offer are either an expensive monthly fee based service or have a hefty up front purchase cost. The reason I say expensive is because while these programs do offer a very comprehensive solutions. I'd never use the majority of their features so for me it's money wasted.My needs are for a system are one that's inexpensive, portable, straight forward to use, allows for easy entry of stock and printing of labels and most importantly has good customer service.The JDMPremierPlus software checked all the boxes of my requirements and the times I've had issues then I've received same day answers and help. Some of the issues I faced were due to me not understanding how the program works and Barbara Carleton was extremely helpful and responsive in answering all my questions.In my experience all the jewelry software is complex to use and they all have features that most will never use. JDMPremierPlus also has features I probably won't use and that's OK because for me they offer a price that's sensible with good customer service. I've no issue with paying the annual fee to continue with receiving the customer servicing.