hey hey bike bike people people:

A couple weeks back, people were asking about PoS (point of sale/service) systems for tracking parts, members, visits, all sorts of things. Here's what I got from Mario at the SF Bike Kitchen about Freehub, an online system they use for tracking members and visits. They plan to make it available soon after some other shops test it out. Email Mario at mario.bruzzone@gmail.com if you want to be part of the test. They want to have a big presentation of the results at the next Bike!Bike! which is September 25-28.

andrew recycle-a-bike, providence ri http://www.recycleabike.org

Hello from San Francisco!

As I mentioned once or twice on the Think Tank list, the Bike Kitchen in San Francisco has been working on an open-source database program named Freehub to track our members and their visits to the shop. We've been using Freehub for about a year now, and are ready to have other shops start testing it to figure out how well it meets their needs (as opposed to just our own). We expect to have a beta version ready for widespread use in 4 to 6 weeks.

We're looking for 3-4 shops to commit to using Freehub for 3 months. You're receiving this email because you've either expressed interest in Freehub directly at some point or because you recently sent an email saying that you were looking for such a program, or something similar.

Here's the abstract:

Freehub is a web-based system used by the San Francisco Bike Kitchen to track membership and visits to our community bike shop. We are working on a new version that will be available for free to other community bike shops through simple online registration.

Freehub is:

• A database of your members and the services they have access to
• A patron sign in system for use at the front desk of the shop
• A reporting tool for looking at shop use, membership status,

earn-a-bike...

Freehub is not:

• A broadcast emailer - Freehub will not send emails to your

members or patrons

• An accounting tool - we do not track money in Freehub
• An inventory tool - we do not track tools or parts in Freehub
• An point of sale system - we do not track shop sales in Freehub

In Freehub, your data belongs to you. Other shops can not see it, we will not use it for any purposes and you can export it in entirety at any time.

To use Freehub, you will need a computer and web access in your shop. We will provide hosting, donated to us by a fairly high-end provider called EngineYard, which specializes in Ruby on Rails (what Freehub is built upon). We'll create a url for you at the freehub.bikekitchen.org, probably something like freehub.bikekitchen.org/sfbk (to use our shop as an example).

If you have questions or would like to be part of our testing, let me know. Our goal is to have a significant presentation at Bike!Bike! this year, which is a scant 6 months away! (Sept. 25-28th!)

Cheers, Mario Bruzzone Bike Kitchen San Francisco