Tell Us What You Want in a Blinkbid iPad App

Posted February 1st, 2011 by

If you’re a fan of ours on Twitter or Facebook, you may have noticed that we’ve started to talk about what features Blinkbid might have as a mobile application. It’s clear that more and more of us are eager to leave the laptop behind and use an iPad instead.

As we begin working on a mobile bidding and invoicing iPad app, we want to make sure we have as many suggestions from you as possible. After all, what’s the point if we’re not giving you what you need?

Thus far, here’s a summary of what folks have said they’d like to see on Blinkbid for the iPad.

  • Be able to create new estimates
  • Be able to edit existing estimates
  • Synch between iPad and Blinkbid “classic” (or whatever we may call it)

Please add the features you couldn’t live without in the comments below.

Just as important as what we should include, is the question: Are there any functions you can live without for the mobile app?

In addition to the iPad, do you see yourself using an iPhone or other smart phone to do these same tasks? Or would a sub-set of functions be better on the small screen of a phone?

53 Comments on “Tell Us What You Want in a Blinkbid iPad App”

  1. 1 Dom Romney said at 10:42 am on February 1st, 2011:

    Big one for me is that it must work Off line.

    Must be able to
    Make new clients
    Create and Edit Estimates and invoices
    Be able to email estimates and invoices (when internet is available) [any chance of being able to email documents from right inside the program with out having to save as pdf and then compose a email and adding the attachment manually in both the new and "classic" versions]

  2. 2 Tom Beck said at 10:53 am on February 1st, 2011:

    Be able to email invoices from the mobile app.

  3. 3 Mike Tittel said at 11:30 am on February 1st, 2011:

    I’d love to be able to create a “change order” in the field and have the client sign in app. All of the other features would be critical as well.

  4. 4 Luke Copping said at 12:01 pm on February 1st, 2011:

    Agreed. A change order form and other ancillary forms like a delivery confirmation form would be great.

    Maybe integration of PLUS Licensing options?

  5. 5 Tony Roslund said at 4:28 pm on February 1st, 2011:

    Don’t really need to edit preferences on the iPad app. Once they’re set using the desktop app, as long as they’ll sync with the iPad, then all is good!

    Would like to make a ‘change order’ in the field, as this is usually when most changes occur. Perhaps an area where client can ‘sign’ off on the change as well.

  6. 6 Peter A. Calvin said at 7:25 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    I agrree with the earlier comments, but I would also need to to sync with the data on my computer. That is, have one shared database, iPad/Mac

  7. 7 Julian Calverley said at 7:26 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    Security is important.. password protection, and ideally the ability to email estimates as pdf’s

  8. 8 Ed Taylor said at 7:29 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    Would love it to work in iPhone!
    Add client
    New estimate
    Email estimate
    Sync with Desktop Blinkbid.
    What Mike said about a change order.
    Thanks for working on this folks!

  9. 9 Alex Stafford said at 7:30 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    It would be great if the mobile and laptop apps could stay in sync via mobile me. Not having to export and import change orders, etc. would reduce the chance of mistakes.
    And I want to second the in app signatures.

  10. 10 Greg said at 7:36 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    I’d like to add my wants…

    ability to email PDF to clients

    digital client signature

    integration with mobile me

    integration with ical

    integration with address book for adding/editing clients

    wireless printing facility

  11. 11 Jan said at 7:36 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    Ability to create & e-mail estimate from mobile app and have it sync with main DB.

    For examples – I really like the EasyRelease app for iPad model releases which has good template, allows customization, and then creates PDFs for e-mail right from within the app. Also good online signature feature.

    I also really like the Salesforce app in terms of mobile/synchronization.

    And yes, a reduced functionality set should be available for iPhone. While I have the iPad in many case, I will always have the iPhone with me.

    No need to edit lists and templates in mobile situation, except maybe specific terms of a bid.

  12. 12 Chris said at 7:41 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    The new iPad looks like it will have a camera built in. So having the ability to take photos from the app and adding them the in the quote would be helpful. When scouting locations for shoots this would be perfect.

  13. 13 Chris said at 7:48 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    In our company we have two people who works on quotes. It would be great if the blinkbid apps within our group could be synched so quotes could be reviewed from the field and be approved for sending out.

  14. 14 Anthony Melendez said at 7:51 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    Create and edit invoices.
    Drop Box sync. Please! 1Password does it and I love it.
    iBlinkBid will be awesome!!!

  15. 15 Anon said at 7:55 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    For those of us who bill hourly at differing rates for post-production work (ie. retouching), a feature that allows us to assign an hourly rate to a particular client and then click a timer on and off when working for different clients so that BlinkBid is logging the amount of time we spend on each and then populating the appropriate invoice with the appropriate amount.

  16. 16 Anon said at 7:56 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    Integration with ID Release for handling of invoices and releases in one easy process.

  17. 17 Steven Aquilino said at 7:58 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    It would be great to have templates for packages, create an estimate while sitting with a client, import their contact info, and email them the finished estimate. I can’t wait to see the Ipad version of this. I have been waiting patiently. Thanks guys!

  18. 18 Sean Gallagher said at 8:03 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    It’d be great if it live-synced with the cloud (or was just cloud-based with offline sync), so you could be working on your desktop, but still access the quote from your laptop/iPad/iPhone while traveling or just generally away from your desk. Also, I second the request for a streamlined way to email invoices!

  19. 19 Jason Van Fleet said at 8:04 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    I agree with all the other comments. But the most important one for me is it must work off line. It would be nice if it was a stand alone App that could send emails and sync with Blinkbid classic.

  20. 20 Steve Scudder said at 8:11 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    A good feature would be the ability to print from devises to printers.

  21. 21 John said at 8:35 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    I’d like to be able to copy or duplicate a job with everything in it (license, terms, line items etc.), then just make a few minor changes for a new client.

  22. 22 hans said at 8:38 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    I’m now using the Billings app (I also liked PUG, but Billings let me send invoices) for my iPhone. I see these as your competitors/models for a useable mobile Blinkbid

    PLEASE: I’d really like to see an iPhone app and would switch back from Billings if it could do this:
    1. track hours, assign them to projects/tasks, as PUG and Billings do
    2. enable me to email invoices from my iPhone, as Billings does
    3. allow me to sync w/ Blinkbid desktop, including my custom categories/catalogue items

    Looking forward to seeing this! Would love to beta test for you.

  23. 23 burd said at 10:07 am on February 2nd, 2011:

    How about a cloud based program?

  24. 24 Aaron said at 1:36 pm on February 2nd, 2011:

    I’d like to see both versions allow me to change the project scope/description in the overview section when creating a revision to the estimate – archiving the old one. That way I can see the previous description if I switch back to verify what changed. This has been a hurdle for me for the four or five years I’ve been using the product. Otherwise, a mobile version would be awesome. But it needs to be full-featured and sync with my desktop – over wifi if possible. Not just when connected. In-app PDF output is a must, as is airprint capability.

  25. 25 Nick Burchell said at 2:00 pm on February 2nd, 2011:

    A change order while in the field, plus a way for the client to electronically sign it.
    It must sync seamlessly and accurately with my home computer with no errors, a mistake there could cost tens of thousands.

  26. 26 Joel Zwink said at 9:30 pm on February 2nd, 2011:

    Definitely need to sync between, Ipad, Iphone and desktop. Several of the preferences can be set before going on location such as custom settings, personalities, document appearance and bank wire info.
    Need easy email and print options.

  27. 27 Robert McGuire said at 1:16 pm on February 3rd, 2011:

    It would be great if the data file was savable in a “cloud” or mobile me idisk. I would like the functionality of editing an estimate on the ipad while traveling and having the latest version of the estimate viewable in our office.

  28. 28 Keith Taylor said at 1:59 pm on February 3rd, 2011:

    I would like to see it developed for the iPhone as well. I don;t know that I would want to actually create estimates on it, but being able to access and edit them would be great — and make it where it would all sync to your computer when you plugged it in.

    I would also like there to be a electronci signature option for both estimates on the iPhone / iPad, but also on the the PDF’s sent to client from my Mac at home — this would eliminate the need to have them print it, sign it, and then send it back etc.

  29. 29 Lan Bui said at 9:12 pm on February 3rd, 2011:

    Just want to see a heart or love button… just for fun.

  30. 30 Lou Lesko said at 11:10 am on February 4th, 2011:

    This will definitely be a part of it.

  31. 31 Lou Lesko said at 11:12 am on February 4th, 2011:

    I like this one a lot. We’ll be including forms for signing on location. By the way have you seen the change order feature we have in the curent software? It’s under the Job menu in the Overview window of the job.

  32. 32 Lou Lesko said at 11:13 am on February 4th, 2011:

    Yes this will fully sync.

  33. 33 Lou Lesko said at 11:14 am on February 4th, 2011:

    Very high security. We already use encryption for the current job sharing function. Thanks for taking the time to chime in.

  34. 34 Lou Lesko said at 11:18 am on February 4th, 2011:

    Neat idea, my only concern is bogging the database down with images. But we probably put a scaling feature in or something. Thanks for the input.

  35. 35 Lou Lesko said at 11:19 am on February 4th, 2011:

    Definitely do and iPhone app.

  36. 36 Lou Lesko said at 1:27 pm on February 4th, 2011:

    Superb idea.

    Thanks
    Lou

  37. 37 Lou Lesko said at 1:31 pm on February 4th, 2011:

    That was where this whole project started – with the love button.

  38. 38 Christian Mushenko said at 11:34 pm on February 5th, 2011:

    I use Daylite from Market Circle. It would be fantastic if it could sync with this in addition to Address book!
    I heard there was discussion about this a year or two ago?
    Many thanks
    Christian

  39. 39 Carl Bower said at 6:42 pm on February 16th, 2011:

    If there is a shared database, I’m assuming it can be shared between computers as well. I use a desktop in the office but a laptop while traveling and in the field. This integration has been something I’ve wanted for a LONG time and would be appreciated regardless of whether someone is on an iPad.

  40. 40 Carl Bower said at 6:58 pm on February 16th, 2011:

    • integration with Address Book, for one consolidated and always updated contact list.

    • synching between computers and devices, as well as the ability to work offline

    • use of PLUS licensing options and terminology

    • I realize synching, shared databases, etc., require servers, but since most of us on Macs are already using MobileMe for this, it would be great if you could integrate with an existing, functional (and paid for) infrastructure.

    • option for electronic signatures, ala EasyRelease

  41. 41 Brian Muntz said at 7:58 am on March 8th, 2011:

    I completely agree, Billings (a 39.99 dollar program, mind you) is basically destroying the value of BlinkBid. Which is unfortunate, I love BlinkBid.

    However, BlinkBid is still very useful (compared to Billings), BlinkBid allows you to have many identities, even allowing you to work as an agent (very cool). Another extremely valuable feature is the Bid consultant. I would suggest adding a few more options within the Bid Consultant, for instance, I would add a little guide explaining what would be consider, lets say, Corporate Collateral. To the emerging professional, they might have a hard time figuring out which boxes to check.

    Billings is limited in that, you can only have one identity. If you then look at how much Billings Pro is, you’re basically at the same price point as BlinkBid. That being said, I still think the BlinkBid crew needs to take a serious look at the offerings of Billings and use that a point of reference.

  42. 42 Brian Muntz said at 8:02 am on March 8th, 2011:

    above post was a reply to “hans” post…

  43. 43 Brian Muntz said at 8:14 am on March 8th, 2011:

    I think BlinkBid needs to consider team networking/tracking/syncing integration within an iPad/iPhone app.

    Here me out…

    1) Allowing users of BlinkBid to communicate and share ideas about how much to charge, that would be a great thing for the emerging professionals.

    You could also add a feature to sync iPad/iPhone date with teams! That would be hugely successful. It would great to have all team members with an iPad, tracking hours spent along with details of work accomplished, so that when you pull all this info together for the final invoice, it’s basically automatic. BlinkBid app would gather all the current info from all team members and build the final invoice. The principal would then review it and sent it off to client…

    Team tracking, Team Syncing…

  44. 44 Brian Muntz said at 8:15 am on March 8th, 2011:

    second paragraph was suppose to have a 2) by it hahaha

    BlinkBid should add grammatical help and sentence structure support to the app

  45. 45 Brian Muntz said at 8:24 am on March 8th, 2011:

    I think BlinkBid should have a section that manages and tracks model and property releases.

    There are many apps out there for the iPhone/iPad that allows for digital release creation, it would be AWESOME if BlinkBid integrated a similar feature into the app.

    So that when you send the final invoice to the client, it contains all the proper model/property releases. Some clients need those releases, especially for stock..

  46. 46 Brian Muntz said at 9:27 am on March 8th, 2011:

    YES! Please integrate with Address Book!!! And if you do add integration, please make BlinkBid create a specific BlinkBid address group. Without a specific group, Address Book just throughs the contacts into one large pile

  47. 47 Shooters Images said at 6:21 am on April 16th, 2011:

    Another vote for syncing the ipad/iphone version with the main computer.

  48. 48 Tom Harding said at 9:43 am on April 19th, 2011:

    Second for the model and property releases.

  49. 49 chris Ayers said at 12:24 pm on April 29th, 2011:

    Ipad app … any… soon, like yesterday.
    :-)

  50. 50 Jason Tracy said at 7:50 am on May 26th, 2011:

    I’m thrilled to hear that this is progressing! Tech Support hinted to me awhile ago that this might be coming and I’m ecstatic. I’d love to have this as an iPad app but obviously wouldn’t object to it on the iPhone either.

    I’ll chime in with all the other here that synching between an app and the base installation is a must. I like the idea of change orders, photos, and release all being incorporated, but synching between installs (including workstation, laptop, and iOS app) would be crucial for me.

    Thanks so much for moving forward with this!

  51. 51 Christopher said at 12:33 pm on June 22nd, 2011:

    Dropbox sync instructions (Mac):

    1. Close blinkbid if open.

    2. Move blinkbid database file to your dropbox (you may place it in a folder).

    3. Right-click on database file and create an alias. Move the new alias file back to the original location from whence you moved the database file (the blinkbid folder in Applications).

    4. Re-name he alias file (just remove ‘alias’ from the file name).

    5. Repeat on all of the computers you access this from. Done.

    To test that it is working, open blinkbid and then look at the dropbox icon – it should show an update in progress for as long as blinkbid is open.

  52. 52 Bj said at 5:29 pm on February 2nd, 2012:

    Any updates on the ipad/iphone app?

  53. 53 Paul Foley said at 3:33 pm on February 13th, 2012:

    Synch with iCal
    Scheduler synched to jobs and iCal
    Synch with address book or better still to groups in address book.

    Thanks
    Paul

    PS really enjoy using the desktop version!

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