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"CattleMax" of "Ranch Manager"? Please h

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Katerikar

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Please help with good reasons why one of these two software programs is better. It tried several demo models (Vaquitec, CattleWorks, CattlePro, CowSense, Ranch Manager and CattleMax). It came down to the last two (CattleMax & Ranch Manager).

I really like CattleMax, but Ranch Manager has three good things going for it: the handheld/pocket edition; the price; the profit-loss statement feature.

If I go with Ranch Manager, what will i be loosing out from CattleMax, or if i go with CattleMax, what will i miss out on from Ranch Manager?

I would really appreciate the advice.
 
I love my Ranch Manager. It is so much easier to use.
I did try the Cattle Max and could not figure it out.
The price was a big thing for us too. They support service is great too. Nice to talk to someone on the phone that uses simple words and not so much tech stuff.
 
I've never tried CattleMax. I use Ranch Manager. I really, really like it. It does pretty much as much or as little as you could want. Customer Service is awesome as well as the price. Plus, if you want a feature added to it, just contact them and they will do their best to add it in.
 
randiliana said:
I've never tried CattleMax. I use Ranch Manager. I really, really like it. It does pretty much as much or as little as you could want. Customer Service is awesome as well as the price. Plus, if you want a feature added to it, just contact them and they will do their best to add it in.
Click to expand...

Do you have the pocket edition of Ranch Manager? They dont offer a trial verssion of the pocket edition, so Im keen to get feedback from anyone who has it, and has used it. If I buy Ranch Manager, the main reason would be the pocket edition and nothing else. If it wasnt for that, I would definitely buy CattleMax. I trialled both of them for the past month and i was impressed by CattleMax. Only let down is that they dont offer a handheld device software as an option, and it doesnt look like they would offer that option anytime soon.
 
I have both the desktop and pocket edition of Ranch Manager. I love the desktop version, but I am not real crazy about the pocket edition. I run it on windows mobile and my biggest complaint is that it is so slow to load and function that it makes it nearly worthless to me for inputing data. That could be the hardware I am trying to run it on, or it could be the database structure that they are using. Regardless of the cause, I was hopping to use it in the pasture for inputing calving records when I work the calves. It is just too slow to be practical for this. I was running it on a Palm Treo Pro, until the phone gave up the ghost. I am currently waiting for the Droid app to come out. The desktop version is the most intuitive cattle program I have ever used. There is no learning curve and it is very good for a commercial cow herd. It builds pedigrees on its own and the breeding planner portion of it is invaluable for our program because we are raising our own bulls. It would be virtually impossible for me to operate without it because I couldn't trace the relations back more than one generation without the program.
 
rancherfred said:
I have both the desktop and pocket edition of Ranch Manager. I love the desktop version, but I am not real crazy about the pocket edition. I run it on windows mobile and my biggest complaint is that it is so slow to load and function that it makes it nearly worthless to me for inputing data. That could be the hardware I am trying to run it on, or it could be the database structure that they are using. Regardless of the cause, I was hopping to use it in the pasture for inputing calving records when I work the calves. It is just too slow to be practical for this. I was running it on a Palm Treo Pro, until the phone gave up the ghost. I am currently waiting for the Droid app to come out. The desktop version is the most intuitive cattle program I have ever used. There is no learning curve and it is very good for a commercial cow herd. It builds pedigrees on its own and the breeding planner portion of it is invaluable for our program because we are raising our own bulls. It would be virtually impossible for me to operate without it because I couldn't trace the relations back more than one generation without the program.
Click to expand...

Hi, thank you so much for this post. You are the first owner of the pocket edition of this software that I have come across since i joined (perhaps that says something about the usefullness of the pocket edition for those who have bought Ranch Manager??). This is so helpful. I've been talking to these guys and they advised me that it would be best to buy any HP Ipaq handheld device/Smart phone running on a 6.1 or higher versions of the Windows Mobile Operating system. They say that using any versions that are older than that (i.e. lower than 6.1) would be too slow for the pocket edition to operate fast and function optimally. What is the version of the Windows operating system currently installed in your pocked device?
 
I talked about this in another post, but Cattlemax was supposed to come out with a handheld version a few years ago when I purchased it. They had a recent survey asking people what handheld devices they use, if they have internet or Wi-Fi availible etc. I personally think handhelds that you have to sync are old technology. Remote access is the way to go, no syncing needed. This can be accomplished by a computer, a smartphone and software. The future seems to be getting rid of the computer and using devices to access your programs/data that are stored/run on a server.

For my herd, I use a program called Xtralogic installed on my Android phone to access my computer with Cattlemax installed. I got tired of waiting for Cattlemax to come out with a handheld version, I think this is a better way of going about it.

For the other herd I manage, Cattlemax is installed on a server, I use Citrix on my laptop and my android to login and use it.

I'm hoping they will come out with a web version that you can use through a web browser. Kind of like you can do with Quicken and TurboTax.
 
Ben H said:
I talked about this in another post, but Cattlemax was supposed to come out with a handheld version a few years ago when I purchased it. They had a recent survey asking people what handheld devices they use, if they have internet or Wi-Fi availible etc. I personally think handhelds that you have to sync are old technology. Remote access is the way to go, no syncing needed. This can be accomplished by a computer, a smartphone and software. The future seems to be getting rid of the computer and using devices to access your programs/data that are stored/run on a server.

For my herd, I use a program called Xtralogic installed on my Android phone to access my computer with Cattlemax installed. I got tired of waiting for Cattlemax to come out with a handheld version, I think this is a better way of going about it.

For the other herd I manage, Cattlemax is installed on a server, I use Citrix on my laptop and my android to login and use it.

I'm hoping they will come out with a web version that you can use through a web browser. Kind of like you can do with Quicken and TurboTax.
Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for the post - very interesting! do you think CattleMax are also thinking of a syncing set-up (if they do eventually come out with a handheld version)? Also, what's your advice - is it worth purchasing the software and waiting for CattleMax to come out with their handheld? I was just about to go with Ranch Manager (because they already have a handheld, even if a sync setup), though I prefer CattleMax from an overall functionality point of view.
 
I wouldn't wait for them to come out with a handheld version, I waited literally for years because it was "coming out" when I bought it. But there are options to do remote access that you can accomplish without them. I think that now so many people have smart phones, they are going to have a little more pressure to do something. For now, there are third party apps you can use for remote access for both iPhone and Androids.
 
Ben H said:
...But there are options to do remote access that you can accomplish without them... For now, there are third party apps you can use for remote access for both iPhone and Androids.
Click to expand...

Thanks again, this is very helpful for me. perhaps i should have a closer look at third party apps and see what could work on my blackberry storm handset (or i might have to buy an android handset). I probably would go for the Cattlemax software - i did a trial of CattleMax for a month (with some others) and was reasonably impressed.
 
I bought ranch manager to put all records on the computer. I havent done much with it. I started entering all the cows but it was very time consuming. What is the best way to get started with ranch manager?
 
eatbeef said:
I bought ranch manager to put all records on the computer. I havent done much with it. I started entering all the cows but it was very time consuming. What is the best way to get started with ranch manager?
Click to expand...

The best way to get started is to just start entering calf records. Then, if you want to, you can go back and build pedigrees and fill in other blanks if you have the time or desire. After a few years you have all of your info put in and you never had to set down and do the big data entry job. The nice thing about this program is that the data needed to enter a record is minimal so you can get the calves entered as they come, without having to have all of the cows records and offspring entered before you enter a new calf.
 

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