Upgrading from Modbase to Tattoo Management Studio

Let's set the record straight

First we need to make a critical point, REV23 Development Inc., Painful Pleasures Inc. and the Tattoo Management Studio software are in no way affiliated with the former Modbase software. It is sometimes misunderstood that Modbase became Tattoo Management Studio or that we developed Modbase abandoned it, then created Tattoo Management Studio. This is absolutely not the case. There is no connection at all between us and Modbase, or the developer of Modbase other than the fact that we both created somewhat similar products in the regard that they are both designed for the Tattoo and Body Piercing industry.

What went wrong

Let's start at the beginning. Modbase, just like Tattoo Management Studio, is the only other tattoo & body piercing shop management software designed specifically for the industry. Modbase was fairly well received, mostly by body piercers. The problem today is that Modbase has not been developed in many years (at the time of this writing, it's been 6 years since the last update) and attempts to get ahold of the developer are futile. You cannot currently buy Modbase as a new user, and users who have it are being locked out due to the subscription model that was put in place. Each year you were required to renew your license and get a new product key. So, with a developer that's basically gone missing product keys are expiring and Modbase users are being disabled.

Many users of Tattoo Management Studio are in fact previous users of Modbase and are very happy with the upgrade. There are differences (some major and some minor) between Modbase and Tattoo Management Studio that when understood, make the migration much more simple.

Procedures and Services, Services and Appointments

First of all, Appointments. Modbase's idea of an appointment was also a Procedure, or, in Tattoo Management Studio terms, a Service. You would drag the length of time of the procedure and that was considered the appointment as well. Tattoo Management Studio separates this concept. Appointments in Tattoo Management Studio are both used for Services, as well as reminders, to-do's and just general scheduling, for example "I have a doctor appointment at 3:00 and will be out of the studio." Appointments can become a Services, but are not required. For example, if you're doing a walk-in, you do not need to create the appointment and the service. Just the service.

Release Forms

Release forms. The great news about this is simple. EVERYONE who has experience with both Tattoo Management Studio and Modbase agrees that our release forms are much better. You can pre-fill many more fields and designing the form is not nearly as difficult as it was in Modbase. Users who could not achieve their desired look in Modbase are able to get exactly what they were after in Tattoo Management Studio. And the best news? You do NOT need Microsoft Word to edit the release forms. Tattoo Management Studio has a built-in editor that behaves almost exactly like the lastest versions of Microsoft Word!

Inventory and the "H" word

Next up, Inventory. Modbase had a great inventory system and Tattoo Management Studio, unknowingly, developed a similar system. Ours is much more detailed in its approach which we feel makes it better. Setting up inventory (and everything else) in Tattoo Management Studio is admittedly more complex but for good reason which will be addressed next. But it is not "harder" to use. Just different.

Yes, Tattoo Management Studio takes a longer time to learn and may seem more difficult or "harder" to setup and use than Modbase. While "difficulty" is subjective to the user, the reasons are not. Tattoo Management Studio focuses on studio automation, while Modbase was basically used for data entry. In order to achieve this high level of automation, you must detail how exactly your studio is run. The benefits of this setup far outweigh the cost of time.

The Passion of the Modbase Userbase

There are some great things that Modbase did while it was around. Tattoo Management Studio does all but a few minor ones, but adds a lot more and keeps growing. If Modbase had continued to be developed it probably would have evolved into something very similar to Tattoo Management Studio. Sadly though, for whatever reasons, it was abandoned. Tattoo Management Studio is proud to fill that gap for the very passionate users of Modbase. We're confident that if the developer of Modbase took a look at Tattoo Management Studio he would most certainly give it the thumbs up, and you will too. We hope that your passion for Modbase will make you that much more passionate about Tattoo Management Studio.

Protecting your software investment

I want to talk about what happened to Modbase, and why it won't happen to you again with Tattoo Management Studio. Modbase, as was mentioned earlier, used a subscription licensing model which required you to renew your license each year. The inability to get contact the developer caused many (rightfully) frustrated users when their license expired and their software was rendered useless. While Tattoo Management Studio incorporates a similar licensing scheme, there is one very big difference. Your existing version will NOT shut down. If you decide not to renew your license to get the latest features and support, you will not be shut out of the latest version you have available to you. Additionally, Tattoo Management Studio in its two years of existence has been improved and built upon much further than Modbase (or any other competing software package) ever was during its three years of development. Our feelings are this: We would rather earn your desire to upgrade with great new features and quality support than to force it upon you.

Importing data and The Legend of "That Little Guy"

And finally, the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about upgrading from Modbase.

Can Tattoo Management Studio import my Modbase data? Unfortunately at the moment, no. It has been investigated, and the patterns and conventions in Tattoo Management Studio are so different from Modbase that it doesn't make a lot of sense. Meaning, you would still have to go back through each of your inventory items and add missing information that Modbase did not track, which is required in Tattoo Management Studio.

Does Tattoo Management Studio have the body diagram that I can mark where the procedure was done? That guy (and girl) was cool, wasn't it? Currently no, but we're measuring feedback for it. That feature was uniquely Modbase, and I don't want to step on anyones toes is what it comes down to. While not against adding this feature, the biggest problem is that while the original images from Modbase are easily extractable and could technically be used, their origin is unknown. Did the developer design them and will Tattoo Management Studio infringe on some Copyright by adding them? Did he get them from somewhere else that there would be no legal issues in using them? If someone can answer these questions, or better yet, one of you amazing artists can make similar images for Tattoo Management Studio to use, this feature would get added much faster.