Free, Web Based Project Management with CreativePro Office

First, Some Introductions

By Jeff Aug 2, 2006

Since 2001, I've run UpStart Productions as a one-person web consulting company. CreativePro Office was born in 2003 in a response to boredom and frustration. Boredom because I was trapped indoors for 3 days during a freezing rain/snowstorm here in Portland, OR. Frustration because, back then, the state of web-based project management tools for small shops or freelance professionals was less than stellar. Oh sure, there were emerging tools like Online Timesheets, Function Fox and a few others than I am probably not aware of. However, at the time these were all single purpose tools ill equipped to handle the complete project management lifecycle. Online Timesheets tracked hours spent on a project, Function Fox provided the invoicing capability. So, for $12 per month one could enter their billable hours into one app and then transfer those hours to a $35 per month app that would then invoice the client. So I get to pay 2 bills just to track and invoice hours? Nuts!

In my perfect world, one app would handle client contacts, project tasks, billable hours, invoicing, expenses, and provide a space for collaboration among the developer, subcontractors and clients. Initial client contact to final project invoice would be handled by one, integrated environment. Oh, and it would be FREE! Not free like “you can send one invoice to one client per month” free, but completely free for all features.

Well, that initial push of creativity saw a very small version of my dream realized. I released an alpha version, received some feedback, tweaked the app to a point where it was usable (to me anyway) and then promptly went on to other projects. July of 2006 saw a major rewrite of the app and January March 1st, 2007 should see a new alpha release. Which features get thrown into the initial release has yet to be determined but a short list will probably include:

January March 2007 Release Features

  1. Client manager and interface
  2. Invoicing
  3. Expense tracker (Removed until polished - or until someone screams for it)
  4. Quotes and estimates (Coming summer '07)
  5. Project and task manager
  6. Comprehesive, 'at-a-glance' executive dashboard
  7. User manager for employees, sub-contractors or other administrators

We'll see how things progress. Thanks for reading!

Jeff
4

Marci Callen Mar 20, 2007

Hi, I am a marketing consultant, and very interested in learning about and using CreativePro. However, I have tried twice to sign up for a free account... using a different email address, and both times, when I go to sign in, it says invalid password. Does it perhaps take a day to set up an account? Thanks very much for providing what appears to be a fully functional, product! Marci Callen
Jeff Mar 21, 2007

Hi Marci, Thanks for giving CreativePro Office a try and I'm sorry you experienced some trouble with the signup process. After reviewing the signup process, I discovered a bug that was preventing your selected password from being properly submitted to the system. That bug has since been corrected and the signup process works nicely again. I hope your work with CPO is relatively trouble-free from here on out.
Jim Apr 17, 2007

Hi - This is very interesting to me - howeve there are a couple of issues on your site, one of which stopped me from signing up for the beta. The first thing I noticed was that there is no field for Country in the sign-up screen and no option to select timezones other than US ones. I am based in Australia - but as with every one else in this flat world, I work with people from corners of the globe. Is your application, or just the beta restricted to US residents only? I then went to check your terms and conditions but found that the links to these pages from the sign up page linked back to the main page (the main page links do work). My next thought was to check the FAQ which (unsderstandibly) were not functioning. I then tought I would email you - however the contact page is blank) So this blog reply seemed to be the only way to reach you. I understand the difficulties and time required to run a small buisiness - however this combination of issues does give me a feeling of unease when thinking about commiting my business critical information and processes to CreativePro Office. Sould you let me know whether CPO (or the Beta) is restrictricted to US residents and if NOT what is a workaround for the timezone issue?
Jeff Apr 18, 2007

Hello Jim - Thanks for sharing your thoughts on CreativePro Office. Yours is exactly the kind of feedback I'm seeking at this stage. I understand your reservations with CPO as there are many items that need to be polished up.

Your concern about localization of the app is well taken. To this point it has always been something "I'll get around to" when the other features are complete. Well, it looks like I need to give this more thought ASAP.

Look for localization features by the end of April. Once complete, I'll post a note in the CPO bogs. In other news, the contact form works again - a misplaced HTML comment tag in an external JavaScript file caused the page to not render in IE - worked well in Firefox though. Very odd.

Thanks again, Jim.

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