Implementation

Implementation involves deciding what product and level of configuration or customization is needed. This requires someone with knowledge of both the business and of 4th Quarter®, preferably one of our certified developers.

Installation of the basic product involves:

- purchasing and installing ancillary software (4Q, 4D Server, 4D Backup etc)

- setting up the system (users, chart of accounts, importing data)

- training users, administrators, programmers

There are formal terms for custom programming which we'll use. One usually refers to the specification phase, the programming phase, the testing and debugging phase, and the installation and training phase.

The spec phase is where most of the design is done and, again, there are formal terms we use for functional specs, data design, and interface design. These phases need to be completed in detail before any customization should begin. These stages will also be used to determine the approach, either via special configuration, or 4D Open API's, or open source code.

The client needs to have either a knowledgeable IT department, or a trusted 4Q developer at their disposal. Importing old data is almost always a custom job as it is handled differently in every case.

Each client must have a DB administrator on-staff to act as the go-between for end users and the developer (and us). Training this administrator is accomplished by working with us (through our trainings) and working with a 4Q Certified developer.

Please contact us for more information about what you'll need to handle 4th Quarter.