Apps for vendors

[alexlg]

Been vending for a few months now and have to admit that my 2nd-hand iPhone 4s has become absolutely indispensable. Worth every penny of the £150 I spent on it a year ago. My £10 sim-only contract has more than enough mins/texts to keep me going.

So I thought I'd share some of the 'apps' I couldn't do without. Its probably obvious but you never know, it might help someone. A few web-based (i.e. not on iPhone) apps at the end.

1. Contacts (Apple, integrated). I love the fact that I can 'group' all my vendors together in a list which has a neat total at the bottom. Any 'site agreements' I have to get signed by the site, get photographed and attached to the relevant 'contact'. Then the physical version gets binned! Every address gets its full postcode, contact name and any other essential notes. Meshes perfectly with ….

2. Maps (Apple, integrated). I just tap on the address within Contacts (above) and up pops a map which neatly SatNavs me to my vendor. Occasionally I have to adjust the postcode to get me closer in real terms but obviously after the first couple of trips I can remember the way. The Sat Nav aspect is infinitely better that it was on my old iPhone 3GS.

3. Google Maps (Google, free). Apple Maps still isn't as good as Google Maps used to be in the earlier iOS but they've improved it a lot. But I still have Google Maps as backup for Street View and it seems to have a Thomson Directory loaded in the background, or at least a more useful/accurate search facility than the integrated Maps app.
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/google-maps/id585027354

4. AB Contact Map (mecking.net, free but with £3.99 extension pack if you like it). I don't necessarily use this every day but its useful because I can point it to my customised 'Vendors' folder in the Contacts app: it drops multiple pins onto a map wherever I have a vendor. So if I'm having problems remembering where the next nearest one is, I can refer to ContactMap to help me plan the next steps. Useful in other ways. You can change the colour of the pins from red to green or only show a few pins (e.g. new sites which need visiting). Not perfect or without its bugs (on my 4s at least) but I'm used to working round them/reloading. I should probably give more detailed feedback to the developer.
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ab-cont ... d388624444

5. Car Logbook (Riccardo Sabattoli, free but with £1.49 upgrade if you like it). Speaks for itself. Helps me keep track of mileage and fuel costs etc. Of course there are other apps; this is just the one I settled for. Relatively simple. As with ABContactMap: Car Logbook isn't completely bug-free but I haven't even tried giving feedback so I can't complain if I've done nothing to help fix it!
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/car-logbook/id471401142

6. Calculator (Apple, integrated). I enjoy practising my mental arithmetic but sometimes a simple calculator is just the trick.

7. Account Tracker (Graham Haley, £1.99 with 99p iCloud syncing upgrade). This app should be number 1 on my list! I'd be more lost without this, than without a map! I've been using it for 4 years to keep track of various bank balances and help me budget. Now I've created several 'virtual' accounts to help me keep track of vendors and cash. Not one account per vendor (that would be too much) but this is what I carry to the site and record takings/top-ups required etc. Indispensable record, literally at my fingertips, for historical data per site. I don't know anything about accountancy so some of my made-up techniques using this app may be overly cumbersome, but last year's tax return was a doodle. I record literally everything I spend and earn on here, almost as it happens. May not be so useful if you ARE a trained accountant, or if you're so not obsessive about keeping financial records as I am. A great improvement on the pen/paper method of recording stock requirements when its after dusk and I'm having to top-up from the boot of my car in the near dark - due to the backlighting on the screen! (obviously I should get a better light in the car or upgrade to a van).
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/account ... d325834957

The list is probably endless.
8. The integrated Weather App deserves a mention of course. I also look at the Met office version and I'm the bbc one is very good. There are loads of weather apps out there.
9. UK Tides (Wingism, 69p) useful when you live near the coast and don't want to get stranded by the weather or the causeway:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/uk-tide ... d436742205
10. BBC News app - for reading whilst I'm eating my sandwich.
11. iPlayer Radio - i like the fact that I can see the name/artist/composer of the music I'm listening to.
12. Stocard - for when I forget my wallet of Clubcard/Nectarcard/Shellcards etc
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/stocard ... d444578884

Web-based apps:

Batchgeo.com (no need to go 'pro' - the free version is more than adequate for my needs). Create/update an online map of all your vendors to share for free! Tbh I'm not actually sure of the benefits of doing this and I don't necessarily keep it up-to-date but I just like it. Check mine out!-
http://batchgeo.com/map/vendingfromalex#
(click the in-map refresh tool if its not centred on Portsmouth when it opens).
There is an expensive (£6.99!!) iPhone app version of this but I've got AB Contact Map and don't see the advantages of a BatchGeo app for myself.

Speedyroute.com - another one I like but I'm not actually sure how useful it is. I might use it when the iPhone app comes out.
I think its still 'work in progress' for the developer. An attempt at 'the Travelling Salesman Problem solved by Route planning software, in which given a list of places to visit, and after having calculated the time to travel between each place, the optimal route is that which visits every location exactly once before returning to the start location by the fastest route.'

Last but not least - a good handsfree/bluetooth kit and in-car charger. My iPhone is permanently charging via the cigarette lighter and mounted to the windscreen via a £10 kit I bought in Tescos a couple of years ago. Re bluetooth/handsfree, I've been using a £25 Jabra kit which connects to the phone via Bluetooth and my radio via fm. But in my new(er) car there seems to be more fm interference and I think its time to upgrade to a more integrated 'Parrot' handsfree now. Will make the integrated iPod more useful too.

So there you are. One personal point of view/way of working with the iPhone. For someone who hates bits of paper and filing.

Comments/other suggestions welcomed!

[Coin Operated Group]

Speedy route sounds interesting , are there any other pc based route planning software available?

[dorsetvending]

Speedy route sounds very good

[part-time-operator]

need some route software that takes into account site opening hours. that would be worth paying for! anyone know of any?