DEAR Systems

Commentaires: DEAR does exactly what it says it does, its a no frills solution for a company with basic inventory needs. We moved to DEAR from MS Dynamics NAV due to the fact that Dynamics options were limitless and for a still small but growing business it was too feature heavy and navigating around to get to the parts we needed was tiresome. What I'd really like to see is a stronger roadmap now from Dear to ramp up their features, particularly reporting isn't great, its quite static and you can't build your own, so a report builder would be ideal or an integration with a BI service so that you can build reports elsewhere. Our particular bugbear is trying to track down stock by batch and location, the information is there but its not in the best format. However for the price you can't complain, dear is an easy to use product that serves a wide variety of needs.

Avantages: Easy to use, value for money, cloud based, integrates with finance package, support is great.

Inconvénients: Reporting functionality needs work, no ios app, light on more advanced features

Commentaires: DEAR is phenomenal for a user that is willing to put in the time to discover it. If PMs had more of a security / controls / data audit background , and implemented processes to address those weaknesses , it could potentially become a solution for businesses of all sizes, not just SMBs.

Avantages: 1- Customer support is on point, probably the best i've ever interacted with. They clearly understand that this is not a word processor, and have built a world-class support service around the software.
2- SaaS is not buggy at all
3- Their devs are constantly rolling out updates
4- DEAR has good, nonbuggy integrations with almost every major app in its market niche.
5- DEAR has succeeded in making a product that is relatively easy to use in what is an otherwise complex piece of software, and has deep complexity

Inconvénients: 1-Documentation is weak in several non-core modules and functionality. For example, security features don't really have an instruction manual, or if it exists, it is not immediately obvious where that lives, thus leave people having to contact CS. 2- Some features are not really implemented thoughtfully and are more of an horizontal revenue expansion than actually thinking of customer pain points. Example - the notification module could be SO MUCH more, but it has weaknesses like it won't report on stock transfers completed, etc. 3- The overall platform is not hardened against stupid errors. There is no "audit your customer's data" logic in DEAR. Platform assumes user inputs are always right and there are no early warning(s) across the board when users are making obvious mistakes, such as when POs receive impossible / wrong amounts, SKUs, etc. The feedback for "error" popups, is only is given when it is too late.

Avantages: The software can be used "out-of-the-box" after a minimal amount of setup, and can also be used in more complex installations where bespoke software development might be needed. The simplicity of the initial setup, the simplicity of the menu navigation, and the speed with which new users are able to grasp what they need to do to accomplish their tasks caused me to take a closer look at this software and I'm glad I took the time to do so. The multiple warehouse locations field, along with the multiple bin locations field, both available in DEAR but not available in some other offerings, is a basic requirement of a stock management system as far as I am concerned. Whilst the software might appear complex for first-time users, those with experience of stock systems and business processes should find it a breeze to set up and use for the purpose intended, especially if they are familiar with setting up other software. It's an advantage, but not a requirement, if the person(s) setting it up also have an understanding of business accounts and are able to find their way around creating/editing MS Word mail-merge templates. I am impressed that I have been able to use the software to accomplish pretty much every task that my clients' have asked of it so far. The ease of integration with other cloud-based applications puts another tick in the box for me.

Inconvénients: This is a comment and not a complaint; although the reporting functionality in the 'out-of-the-box' version is adequate there is room for improvement. The limitations can be overcome by exporting the files and adapting them as needed. Those with a more specific software development skill- set (or more time to learn) would be able to achieve a great deal more from the software than is possible using the 'out-of-the-box' version.

Avantages: "Moved over from sage around 12 months ago to Xero and added Dear which answered the major issues I was having with Sage in that the inventory element (sure, that's not what is was designed for) was woefully inadequate for our business. I have to report that 12 months in that Dear has met and exceeded expectations and added real value to my inventory management and customer order processing. With the recent addition of the B2B portal, and what my customers will be able to do once is it fully operational will really revolutionalise some of the challenges we faced in, for example, letting customers know what is available from stock etc. Overall, we made the right move and I haven't seen a better combination of integrated applications than Dear and Xero!
Well done and thanks to both!"

Inconvénients: Dear is a brilliant and responsive company, although my only gripe, is that there are few updates or communique's relating to bug fixes or developments of the application. Example is the B2B portal, there are many comments about what features are needed and bug fixes, but as yet no commentary from Dear as to which will or won't be incorporated. Like me, many will become less likely to comment f it is not apparent that they are being acknowledged. Come on Dear, at least add a comment!!

Commentaires: As a consultant implementing DEAR Inventory for a wide range of SMEs, we have solved an innumerable amount of problems along the way. From Batch tracking, to serial number tracking, integrations with online stores, accounting, shipping, reporting and forecasting, etc, it is all there. The team at DEAR are generally very quick to respond and offer assistance, and the users are given the power to request and vote on new features to be implemented. The subscription pricing is also at a point where it represents huge value for money.

Avantages: As a cloud integration consultant working with SMEs in Adelaide and interstate to solve inventory management issues by implementing the right software, DEAR has proven again and again to be the leading choice for these businesses and is now our recommended choice as an implementation specialist. DEAR has the functionality to provide a central solution to any SME looking to sell online or instore across a number of channels, and manage all the inventory in one place.The integration with Xero is top notch and the most robust I've seen of almost any app that connects to Xero. The integrations to eCommerce channels are consistent in their setup and options and allow a great deal of flexibility. Complementing these integrations are shipping service integrations that allow for a full suite of inter-connected apps with DEAR as the hub.

Inconvénients: If I had a gripe, it would be around some minor inconsistencies within the UI across various parts of the software, as well as some minor inconsistencies with various reports that are available.