zenbase, Author at ZenBase

Create a new application in ZenBase

Log into the application using your username and password
Open the Application drop down from the top menu and choose “Create Application“
Start by selecting an existing template or enter a name for the new application

Enable/Disable an existing application

An application can be enabled or disabled at any given moment, all the metadata (revisions, notes, schema, reports etc) will remain in ZenBase and will be applied again once the application is enabled again.

Make sure you have Administration rights
Log into your account using your username and password
Open the Applications drop-down from the top menu and choose “Manage applications“
Locate the application you wish to enable
Check the checkbox labeled “Enable application in Zenbase“

Work on an existing application

Log into the application using your username and password
Select an application from “Applications” drop down from the top menu

Add a table to an application

Log into the application using your username and password
Open the Application drop down from the top menu and choose the application you want to work on
Look towards the bottom left corner and look for a blue button with a white + sign in it. Click this button
Enter a name for the new table and create the desired columns
When ready, click the button labeled “Add table” to create the new table

Setup a foreign key on a column

Log into the application using your username and password
Open the Application drop down from the top menu and choose the application you want to work on
Navigate to the table you want to work on using the tabs at the bottom of the page
Click on the second tab (labeled “Table columns“)
Find the column you want to create the foreign key for and click the “edit” button for this column
In the popup, find the section labeled “Connect to” and choose the “table > column” you want this column to link to
Click the button labeled “Update column“

Hide/display columns

Log into the application using your username and password
Open the Application drop down from the top menu and choose the application you want to work on
Navigate to the table you want to work on using the tabs at the bottom of the page
Click on the second tab (labeled “Columns“)
Use the checkboxes on the left of each column to control which columns appear in the data view and which don’t
When you’re ready, click the grey button labeled “Reload data view“

The Publications Template

The Publications Template enables you to effectively manage various tasks associated with your publication. With the Publications template, you can maintain a bank of interesting articles that can be easily delivered to your subscribers based on their personal preferences.

Who uses the Publications Template?

Editors who need to:

Maintain a database of articles for use in future publications.
Give proper attribution to the authors of the articles.
Ensure that articles and/or publications are being sent to subscribers.

Key Features

Stores information about Publications, their status, and optional images.
Each Publication can have multiple, user-defined Tags.
Each Publication can have a user-defined Publication Type.
Each Publication has multiple Subscribers and can feature multiple Articles.
Stores information about Subscribers, their addresses, contact information and status.
Subscribers may request different delivery options.
Stores information about Articles, their Authors, their status and any Notes associated with them.
Each Article may or may or may not have Authors or Notes.
Articles can be printed without a Publication and can have an optional image.
Stores information about Authors, their addresses, contact information and status.

The Clubs/Memberships Template

The Clubs/Memberships Template enables you to effectively schedule group activities for club members. With the Clubs template, you can make the most efficient use of club resources and ensure that members have an enjoyable experience.

Who uses the Clubs/Memberships Template?

Club Managers who need to:

Manage membership at their club.
Organize member classes for members at different skill levels.
Take bookings for member use of limited resources such as tennis or squash courts.

Key Features

Clubs will have more than one Group. Each Group can be active or inactive.
Each Group can have a user-defined Group Type and a user-defined Level (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced).
Group meetings/classes run between a start and end date and each session are scheduled between a start and end time.
Each Group has multiple Members and may have a Group leader.
Stores information about Members, their addresses, contact information, and status.
Members may or may not belong to one or more Groups.
Members may play one or more Roles within the Groups in which they participate.

The Tasks Template

The Tasks Template enables you to effectively manage various tasks associated with a bigger project. With the Tasks template, you can easily track whether the details are being dealt with so you can focus on the big picture – getting the project done on schedule!

Who uses the Tasks Template?

Managers who need to:

Break a project down into smaller chunks which can then be assigned to various members of the team.
Analyze whether projects are being completed on time and within budget.
Determine the status of any or all tasks at any given time.

Key Features

Stores information about Projects, their status and estimated timetable.
Stores information about Clients, their addresses, contact information and status.
Store information about Associates, their addresses, contact information and status.
Tasks can be tagged with a user-defined Task Code as well as a user-defined Priority Level.
Each Task may be associated with a Client.
Each Task may be associated with a Project.
Each Task is assigned to an Associate (or employee).
Each Task has a user-defined Status.

The Purchase Orders with Inventory Template

Purchase Orders with Inventory enables you to effectively manage purchase orders at your store or warehouse. With the Purchase Orders with Inventory template, you’ll always know what has been ordered, when it’s supposed to arrive and where to put it once it does – so you and your staff can focus on keeping your inventory organized.

Who uses the Purchase Orders with Inventory Template?

Stock managers who need to:

Store information about their inventory and where everything is being kept
Track purchase orders, cost of goods sold and delivery dates

Key Features

Stores information about Inventory, its Category and Sub-category and where it is physically located (Shelf, Bin, Cabinet, Bay)
Stores information about Vendors, their addresses, contact information and status as well as multiple, user-defined Vendor Types.
Store information about Associates (your employees), their addresses, contact information and status.
Purchase Orders can be tagged with a user-defined Activity Code as well as a user-defined Expenditure Code.
Each Purchase Order can have Notes and a Priority Code associated with it.
Multiple Associates can place Purchase Orders. Each PO is identified with the code of the Associate who placed it.
Keeps track of Purchase Orders to various Vendors, details about which Products were ordered, expected delivery dates and payment information.
Some purchases may require an Expenditure Code.
Enables you to sort your Inventory by Category.

The Products (Shoes) Template

Products (Shoes) enables you to effectively manage shoe inventory at one or multiple shoe outlet locations. With the Shoes template, you’ll always know what’s in stock, what’s coming and where everything is, so you and your staff can focus on making sure your customers walk away with shoes that are a perfect fit!

Who uses the Product (Shoes) Template?

Shoe sellers who need to:

Store information about their shoe inventory and the locations in which they are being kept
Track purchase orders and delivery dates

Although the template was designed with shoes in mind, it can easily be adapted to manage information about other types of clothing.

Key Features

Stores information about Store locations, their addresses and contact information.
Stores information about Vendors, their addresses, contact information and status.
Store information about the Products (Shoes) which can be purchased from multiple vendors.
Shoes come in a variety of Styles, multiple Colors and different Sizes.
Shoes can be stored at different Store or Inventory locations.
Keeps track of inventory: Styles, Colors, and Sizes on hand as well as Locations in the store and other outlets where they can be found.
User-defined reorder levels for each product/color/style/size make it easy to maintain optimum inventory levels.
Keeps track of Purchase Orders to various Vendors, details about which Products were ordered, expected delivery dates and payment information.

The Training with Attendance Template

Training with Attendance enables you to effectively monitor student attendance, determine whether students have completed course activities and assign grades for these activities.

The Training with Attendance template is an excellent tool to keep course attendance and grading information organized so you can focus on teaching the class!

Who uses the Training with Attendance Template?

Course Instructors who need to:

Track Student Attendance for the Courses they teach
Assign Grades based on completion of Course Activities
Monitor their Course Schedule for a given Semester

Department Staff who need to:

Assign Courses to Students
Determine Student Course Schedules for a given Semester
Determine whether Students have passed the Course
Contact Students or Instructors

Key Features

Stores contact information for Students and Instructors.
Students take more than one Course and must pass more than one exam.
Instructors teach more than on Course and must grade multiple exams.
Allows you to define different Types of Courses and the Departments they are attached to.
Stores Course information and the Semesters when they are Scheduled.
Courses have a limited number of seats which can vary based on Semester.
Tracks user-defined Course Activities needed for the Student to obtain a passing Grade.
Keeps track of the Courses the Student is taking, their Attendance and Grades obtained for each Activity required to complete the Course.

The Complaints Template

Complaints enables you to effectively manage complaints from your members or clients quickly and efficiently. It allows you to assign an associate to handle a complaint, assign jobs to associates and track fees and levies associated with the complaint.

The Complaints template helps you keep your member clients happy by making sure their complaints are handled as quickly as possible with the least amount of fuss!

Who uses the Complaints Template?

Service Companies such as Property Managers, Building Superintendents and Homeowners’ Associations who need to:

Handle Complaints from their Members
Assign Associates to perform the Activities needed to resolve the Complaints
Collect any Fees or Levies related to the Complaints
Track and schedule any follow-up Activities needed to permanently resolve the Complaint.

Key Features

Stores contact information about Members – your clients.
Member Types are user defined and can be Companies, Individuals, or Individuals working for a Member Company.
Members can have more than one Complaint.
Members pay Fees to resolve their Complaints.
In some cases, Members pay Levies based on a user-defined Complaint Type or a user-defined Complaint Category
Keeps track of Complaints, the Member who made the complaint, any Activities performed by Associates to resolve the issue and Levies to be collected due to the Complaint.
Complaints can have multiple, user-defined Activities associated with them and each Activity can have a different, user-defined Levy associated with it.
Keeps a record of Activities, Associates assigned to perform the Activities and any follow-up actions that need to be taken to resolve the Complaint.
Stores information about Associates and their Activities.

The Hotel Booking Template

Hotel Bookings enables you to effectively manage hotel reservations without the need for an expensive online booking system. It is perfectly adapted to smaller hotels, BnBs and guest houses.

The Hotel Reservation template is a great tool to keep your bookings in order – so you and your staff can focus on welcoming your guests and making their stay the best it can be!

Who uses the Hotel Booking Template?

Hotel employees at the reservation desk who need to:

Store contact information about multiple Reservation Agents
Store contact information about multiple Guests
Store configuration information about multiple Hotel Rooms
Manage bookings for multiple Guests
Process payments from Guests at check-in/check-out

Housekeeping managers who need to:

Store contact information about housekeeping Staff members
Assign housekeeping Staff to rooms

Key Features

Keeps track of Hotels, their addresses and contact information
Keeps track of Guests, their addresses and contact information
Keeps track of Staff, their addresses, position and contact information
Hotels have multiple Rooms. Each Room can be assigned a user-defined Room Type (bed size, suite, penthouse, etc.)
Room Rates may vary for different Bookings based on user-defined Rate Types
Bookings can be made by Reservation Agents or by the prospective Guests themselves
Multiple Rooms can be booked in one session
Keeps track of Bookings and the status of a given Room
Allows you to assign Rooms based on selection criteria such as Room Type and Floor
Allows you to assign housekeeping Staff to Rooms

The Restaurant Reservation Template

Restaurant Reservations enables you to effectively manage restaurant reservations without the need for an expensive online booking system. It is perfectly adapted to smaller eating establishments or hotels and concierge services that work with multiple restaurants on behalf of their clients.

The Restaurant Reservation template is the perfect reservation management tool which will free up valuable time – so you and your staff can focus on keeping your clients happy!

Who uses the Restaurant Reservation Template?

Concierge Services who need to:

Store information about multiple restaurants
Store information about multiple hotels
Manage reservations for multiple clients

Restaurant employees who need to:

Manage reservations for their own establishment
Store information about multiple hotels to facilitate contacts for reservation confirmations and take-out deliveries to those hotels

Hotel employees who need to:

Store information about multiple restaurants in the area to recommend to their guests.
Book reservations for their guests

Key Features

Keeps track of Restaurants, their addresses, contact information, expense rating and dress code
Keeps track of Hotels, their addresses and phone number
Allows you to identify different types of Dress Codes
Allows you to identify different elements on an Expense Scale ($-$$$$)
Restaurants can serve more than one Type of Cuisine
Restaurants can serve more than one Course (open for Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/etc.)
A Restaurant will have an overall Rating, but each Course it serves can have its own Rating
Restaurants can be filtered by various criteria: Type of Cuisine; Courses; where it ranks in the expense scale; Rating
Keeps track of Reservations: Contact Date/Time; Contact Name and Phone Number; Reservation Date/Time; Confirmation Date/Time; Cancellations

The Property Management Template

Property Management is a sophisticated database application that lets you manage multiple properties, buildings, and units. It allows you to track bookings and utility costs, manage parking spots and ensure that property inspections are carried out after guests check out.

The Property Management template is suitable for property management services who are looking for a simple, in-house solution to manage their bookings and expenses at a fraction of the cost of most online property management systems.

Who uses the Property Management Template?

Property Managers who need to:

Store information about multiple Properties, Buildings and Units
Track Utility costs for each Building
Track which Units are rented
Schedule Inspections after Guest check-out
Maintain contact information about Guests staying in the Units
Assign Parking spots according to need

Key Features

Keeps track of Properties, their addresses and contact information
There can be multiple Properties and each Property can include multiple Buildings
Each property can have multiple user-defined Features (on the golf course, 24-hr security, beach access, etc.)
Allows for various Building Types (Commercial, Residential, Industrial, etc.) and Unit Types (Condo, Villa, Penthouse, etc.) which can be adapted to your business
Each Building can have multiple user-defined Utility Types so you can easily track expenses
Each Building can have multiple rental Units including commercial space, a Manager, various Utilities and user-defined Building Features (common pool, gym, etc.)
Each Unit can have multiple Unit Features (A/C, Cable TV, Wi-Fi, BBQ, etc.)
Each Unit can have multiple Guests
Keeps track of Unit Inspections after Guest check-out: Inspection Date/Time; Inspector; Items that were inspected; Issues to be addressed
Parking spots can have various user-defined Features (Residential/Visitor/Handicapped, etc.)
Keeps track of Parking spots: Units to which they are assigned; Price; Color/Make/License plate number of Guests’ cars
Each Unit can be assigned multiple Parking spots – one for each Guest
Units can be filtered by various criteria: Unit Features; Property Features; Price; Number of bedrooms/bathrooms; Unit Type

The Real Estate Template

This Real Estate template enables you to handle Agents and their Listings, the Sellers attached to those listings, as well as Leads and Buyers interested in the listings.

There’s no need for s costly CRM package to effectively manage your office listings. The Real Estate template allows you to keep track of your listings as well as interactions with Buyers and Sellers so you can focus on making the sale!

Who uses the Real Estate Template?

Individual agents who need to:
Store information about their Listings and the Buyers and Sellers they work with
Keep track of showings to prospective Buyers
Establish a comprehensive contact strategy and nurture leads effectively.
Brokers who need to effectively manage Listings and workflows for multiple Agents.

Key Features

Keeps track of contacts and activities related to a specific Buyer
Keeps track of contacts and activities related to a specific Seller
Keeps track of showings and other activities related to a Listing
Listings can have multiple interested Buyers
Buyers may be interested in multiple Listings
Listings can be searched by various criteria: Property Size; Location; Number of Rooms; Property Type
Listings and buyers can be assigned to specific Agents
Sellers can have more than one Listing

Rename or delete a table

Log into the application using your username and password
Open the Application drop down from the top menu and choose the application you want to work on
Navigate to the table you want to work on using the tabs at the bottom of the page
Click on the tab labeled “More“
Type the new name into the name field
To update a table, click the button labeled “Update table“
To delete, click “Permanently delete table” (this cannot be undone!)

Introduction

ZenBase is a light-weight online data management and application builder for non-coders such as sales staff, customer service reps, accountants etc, and technical people alike. It provides the tools for users to create powerful online applications quickly through its simple user interface.

Change a user’s details

Log into the application using your username and password
Click on “Users” in the top menu
Select the user from the left menu
Make the desired changes
Click the update button

Your first login

Navigate your web browser to ZenBase login and use the login credentials created during signing up:

username: yourusername@domain.com
password: password

The username is the email you used during sign up. You should have received the temp password in the email. You can change your password once logged in.

Create Application

ZenBase can be used to either manage existing applications or to create and manage new applications. If you logged in for the first time, you will be able to create your first ZenBase database application in the dashboard.

To create a new application, navigate to the application section (click “Applications” from the top menu and then click “Create Application“). You will now see all applications in your account (or none if there aren’t any applications created yet).

Alternatively, click “Create Application” on the dashboard to start.

You can select from one of the many existing templates to jump-start creating your new application:

or create one from scratch.

Note that application name should not allow space or any special characters such as @,# \ etc.

Add Table

To create a new table, click “Add Table” button, or the button with the white “+” in front of your table tabs at the bottom of the window (in the bottom left corner). If you’re not seeing this button, this means you don’t have permission to create new tables and you should contact the application’s administrator.

Create table by importing

Data are the backbone of your application. They hold all of your data and are the starting point of your application. The first step in creating a database-driven web application is to hook data. Data are represented in the table in rows and columns. Each row is called a ‘record’. Data can be submitted to them through web forms or imported from external files. Data can also be exported.

At the moment of this writing, ZenBase supports importing of comma-separated values (CSV) files only. If you have Excel sheets you’d like to import into ZenBase, you should export these as CSV files from Excel first after which you can import the data into ZenBase.

Note that table name should not contain space or any special characters.

After clicking the button, you should start off by entering a name for your new table. Note that the name should only contain only alphanumeric characters: a-z, 1-9, underscored and dashes, NO SPACES.

Next, you should choose the file you’d like to import. When importing a CSV file, it’s possible that your file contains the column names on the first line of the file, if this is the case, make sure you tick the checkbox labeled “First row contains column names“, this way ZenBase will use those column names to create your new table.

Primary key

ZenBase requires all tables to have a primary key set, it will add a primary key column to your imported data as well. It will first detect whether the first column contains unique values, if it does, ZenBase will set this column as the primary key.

If the first column does not contain unique values, ZenBase will add an additional column to your table which will function as the primary key (which will be set to auto increment).

Adding records into an existing table

The second way to use the data import function is by adding records into an existing table. The process of adding new records into an existing database table sometimes is called “append query”. To do this, bring up the table into which you’d like to import data. Next, click the grey button labeled “Import data” which will bring up a popup.

In the Import Data popup, you can choose your CSV file and upload it that would merge with the existing table.

Things to watch out when adding into an existing table – AKA Appending query:

It’s critical to make sure the structure of your CSV files matches with the structure of your table! If the structures don’t match, the import will probably fail and ZenBase will show you an error message.
The number of fields per row in your CSV files matches with the number of columns in the ZenBase table. If you have 10 columns in your table, you’ll need to have 10 values per row in your CSV file.
The values in the primary key fields in your CSV file are unique. If ZenBase detects primary key values which already exist in your table, the import will fail.

Columns

A column is similar to a database table column in which a set of data values of a particular type, one for each row of the table. Users can add a new column or edit existing ones.

In the modal window, users can set column properties including column name, column type, default value, index, and position.

At the time of this writing, ZenBase supports the following column types:

Numbers (up to 11 digits)
Decimals
Small text (up to 255 characters)
Large text
Date
Selection
Binary (file or image)

Roles, Users and Permissions

ZenBase is built with user roles in mind. This means that you define a certain role (for example Sales Rep, Customer Service or Accounting) and setup permissions for this Role. Next, you assign a Role to a user account which will determine what the user can or cannot do.

For each Role, permissions are set on an application level AND on a table level; meaning different applications and different tables can have different permissions.

When a new user account is created, ZenBase will automatically send a notification email to the user’s email address with the login details.

Users and Roles can be managed by users belonging to the Administration group or users who have been assigned the permission to manage Users and Roles by an Administrator.

Administrator (AKA Super User)

The user who signed up for the ZenBase account automatically has the “Account Administrator” role. This role cannot be modified or deleted to make sure admins can always access the application. The Admin User can create new role and users for the same account. One account is limited only to one administrator.

Revisions

ZenBase automatically stores old values of records and individual cells which can be restored at any given moment. When a cell or record is updated, the previous values are stored and can be accessed through the “Revisions” tab.

Both the Cell and Record popups have the Revisions tab, allowing to restore single cells or entire records.

Video demo (click to view in full screen):

There is no expiration date set for Revisions, meaning all revisions are stored indefinitely. You can, however, remove Revisions manually for any Cell or Record.

Relational Data

ZenBase allows for a column in a certain table to be connected to a second table, which means that the first column will hold the value from the second table.

Foreign keys will have to be declared within the application before ZenBase will be able to use them.

To set up a foreign key on a column, you will need to have permissions to modify tables in the database based on Role. An administrator can manage the user roles in the Roles page.

Once declared properly, ZenBase will automatically present a drop-down box displaying the allowed options when editing a single Cell or Record.

Notes

ZenBase allows users to attach notes to Columns, Tables, and Applications. These notes can serve to describe what certain items are for and how certain items should be used.

When looking at a table screen, you’ll find a tab named “Notes“. In here, notes for the current table can be created, edited or deleted.

When editing a column or Cell, notes can be attached to the Column through the “Notes” tab in the popup.

When editing a Record, notes can be created, edited and deleted through the “Notes” tab.

PLEASE NOTE:
ANY user can create notes, no matter what permission this user has. Administrators can edit and delete other users notes as well as their own.

Table List

The available Tables are displayed through tabs at the bottom of the screen when working on an application. Click on the plus (+) icon to create a new table.

Application Database Schema

ZenBase has an easy-to-use and navigates application database schema viewer. Click on any of the schema navigation icons to navigate. You can also navigate using the keyboard.

Click a table in the schema diagram to go to its content.

How to export data

Log into the application using your username and password
Open the Application drop down from the top menu and choose the application you want to export data from
Navigate to the table you want to export data from using the tabs at the bottom of the page
Click on one of the export buttons

The Project Management Template

The Project Management Template is a generic system that enables you to create project management templates. The template can also be modified for use in any application where various components of a whole need to be managed.

Who uses the Project Management Template?

Applications programmers who need to:

Create customized project management applications.
Any application where you need to job cost the various parts of a whole.

Key Features

Each Project uses the same basic tables.
Each Template (element of a project) will have different, user-defined Objects.
Each Object (task or component) takes a certain amount of time to create. The time is stored in the Object record, though the time should also be modifiable at the template level.
Templates can have specific, user-defined Features.
Templates have a price based on the sum of the time it takes to create all the Objects it encompasses. The price can be modified by the user where needed.
Objects can be transferred to Templates from which they can be split into multiple Objects

The Appointments Template

Appointments enables you to effectively manage your appointment calendar. It is perfectly adapted to service businesses such as hair salons and automobile repair services.

The Appointments template is a great tool to keep your appointments organized so you and your staff can focus on keeping your customers satisfied!

Who uses the Property Management Template?

Small Service businesses that need to:

Store information about multiple clients
Store information about multiple services
Store information about multiple associates or service providers
Keep track of multiple appointments for multiple service providers

Key Features

Keeps track of Clients, their addresses, contact information and payment terms
Keeps track of Associates, their addresses, contact information, employment info and work schedule
Allows you to identify different type of Services, each having a specific, user-defined cost and duration
Allows you to identify different types of Payment Terms for Clients
Clients can schedule appointments based on time or the availability of their preferred service provider
Clients can schedule multiple, consecutive appointments with more than one service provider
Keeps track of Appointments: Appointment Date/Time; Client Name and Phone Number; Associate Name and Phone Number; Confirmation Date/Time; Cancellations

The Contact Management Template

Contact Management enables you to effectively manage contact information. It can be used to keep track of contact details so you can easily get in touch with them at a later date.

Who uses the Property Management Template?

Individuals or businesses that need to:

Store contact information about multiple Contacts
Store information about current and past meetings
Store information about company detail of point of contact
Analyze contact communication based on regions
Generate reports from contacts

Key Features

Keeps track of Contact names, their addresses and contact information
Generate contacts reports
Keep leads information pertains to contact activities

The Employee Timesheet Template

The Employee Timesheet enables you to create and manage your employee timesheet. The primary component is obviously the Timesheet, but the system requires other entities to work together with it for companies, firms and agencies to effectively collect, manage, track and share records about Projects, Employees, Timesheets, Activities and Cost Centers.

Timesheet
Employees
Projects
Activities
Cost Center

Who uses the Employee Timesheet Template?

Small businesses that need to:

Store information about multiple employees
Store information about employee activities
Produce timesheet reports

Key Features

Keeps track of Employees, their addresses, job title, and basic timesheet information
Keeps an archive of project activities, cost center, regular and overtime hours worked in a given month, any salary advances or loans and traveling allowances
Tracks Employee absences and vacations
Managers and employees have different access rights

Forgot password?

ZenBase comes with built-in password recovery as well. If you or another user forgot his or her password, simply click the “Forgot your password?” link on the login page. This will send out an email with a link to the password reset page on which a new password can be created.