Software Products for Small- Scale Farms Chris Bodnar
Types of Software CSA Management Farm Planning / Record Keeping Farmigo Small Farm Central CSAware Seed to Harvest AgSquared COG-Pro
Considerations Cost Support Mobility Bandwidth Intuitiveness of software
CSA Management Software Overwhelmed with CSA management? Looking for ways to increase CSA sales? Would you like to offer more customized options (payment plans, box contents)?
CSA Software Basics Manage subscriber sign-ups online; Online payments; Print harvest lists, packing lists, delivery lists and labels; Manage member communication; Cloud-based (I.e. software is webbased, not on your computer)
Why CSA Software? Easier sign-up and account management for members (and you); Easier payment collection; Plan to scale up in the future; Increase sales: offer extra farm store items, case lots and share options; Overall better member experience
Three Packages Explored Farmigo Small Farm Central CSAware
Automated Emails
Automated Emails Result
Member Management
Online Payments and Payment Management
Web Store
User Interface Member Accounts
Mobile Platform
Cost: 2% of sales, $150 minimum $200 deposit required (applied against future charges) Only pay for months you do deliveries Best value if your CSA box values gross at least $7,500/month
Allows for PayPal and/or authorize.net integration; Excellent support, ongoing communication, tips; Ongoing development means new features and improvements based on user feedback; New mobile app makes system portable
Requires payment gateway account ($40/month plus % of sales fees); Costs 2% of sales, $100 monthly minimum; Only pay for the months you do deliveries.
Offers web design service in addition to CSA managements software (additional cost); Packages for smaller CSAs (e.g. $30/month for 50 members of less); No charge for extra items purchased through online store; Monthly payment whether you do deliveries or not
How to choose? PayPal vs. Payment Gateway PayPal: No monthly fee; 2.9% of each transaction plus $0.30 Authorize.net: $40-50/month plus 2.2 to 3% per transaction Rule of thumb: PayPal is best option unless you process at least $4,000 to $5,000/month Consider when you require payments and volume: Jan. through March or all season?
How to Choose? Small Farm Central You need web design; You are a small CSA; Cost is determining factor.
How to Choose? Farmigo Mobile app; Intuitive software; Advanced share options and account management for customers; Excellent coaching and support; Company focused on the success of its customers.
Record-keeping Software Two ways to approach: Record keeping; or Planning and Record keeping Integrate planning and record-keeping into one program; Produce clean and clear records for Verification Officers and future planning.
Seed to Harvest Free iphone and ipod Touch app; $10 version to produce pdf reports; Developed by a 17-year-old raised on an organic farm; Records always available - stored on your phone, back-up by e-mail
Seed to Harvest Are you the only record-keeper? Do you want a mobile, low-cost recordkeeping option? Are you prudent about backing up your records?
AgSquared $60 annual fee, free trial available; Ongoing webinars and training; Cloud-based; Mobile app still in development; Integrates planning and record keeping; Question: do you have Internet connectivity to use cloud-based software?
COG Pro $79/year subscription, $150 for two years; Livestock and GAP modules available for additional $50-80; Cloud-based, but not Flash (works on mobile devices without an additional app); Comprehensive and intuitive, faster to use (I.e. less bandwidth).
Other products to explore Options for accepting credit cards via smart phone apps (farmers markets, farmgate); Google Apps for integrated business e- mail, web site hosting, calendars, documents, etc. Cloud-based book-keeping, allowing mobile invoice creation.
Questions? Contact me: chris@closetohomeorganics.com Twitter: @closetohomeorg