I've posted in several discussion threads. The app I am building is close to being finished (well, for version 1) and brave shelters can try it. The only prerequisites are a Windows 10 or 11 PC with the Microsoft Access database program. This is part of Office in Microsoft 365 subscriptions so many of you already have it. If not, Microsoft has a free "runtime only" version you can install. If you want to have multiple people using it at the same time you'd also need a network with a share drive. It can also be configured to use a database in the cloud; Microsoft provides a $2000 annual credit for their service to qualified nonprofits, so that'd be basically free.
Briefly:
- Maintains a list of people who use the program. You can upload data from a spreadsheet if you already have a list. Going forward new people are added using a form.
- Maintains an inventory of animals owned by each person (dogs, cats, cat colonies). During or after each visit you can remove animals they no longer have and add any new ones. A report shows how many animals each person had over time (by month) so you can monitor for possible abusers or puppy mills.
- Maintains a list of food distributed to each person by species and type. You define the types you want to track e.g. "Dry dog food", "Dog food gallon bag", "Cat food large can", etc. You also define the equivalent number of pounds for each type (e.g., 0.25 lb for large can, 10 lb for gallon bag). A report shows the types of food distributed over time (by month) with equivalent total pounds. During or after each visit you can record what quantities of each type were provided on the specified date.
- "Raw" data (e.g., list of people, list of all food distributions, list of pets owned with date entered and date removed if applicable), etc. can be exported to Excel spreadsheets if you want to do your own analysis or tracking.
- You can define a list of sites if you are a multi-site organization, in which case clients are assigned to a site. This allows reporting by site.
It's kind of a hobby of mine, so any shelter can use it for free. The whole thing runs on your computers so there are no costs for anything like support or infrastructure (unless you want to use Microsoft Azure databases).
I'll try to post a more comprehensive description. In the meantime if interested comment or PM.
Thanks!
#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms
#DataandTechnology
#PetSupportServices*
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Peter Isakson
Volunteer
Brandywine Valley SPCA
PA
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