Installation

Installing Bizman is an incredibly easy process!

Let's have a look at the Basic installation steps, as well as the different types of installations such as Networked and RDP Servers. We will also cover some more advanced topics like understanding the Bizman file structure, moving Bizman from one computer to another and managing backups etc.

Basics

Click here to download Bizman. Alternatively go to the Bizmantools Website and download it from there.

How to install

Once you have downloaded the setup zip file onto your computer. Right click the file and 'unzip' it. You could use the Windows 'extract all' feature available when right clicking the zip file.

Simply run the Bizman Setup.exe file by double clicking it, and press 'Accept/Next' on the subsequent installation screens, there are no special options to select here or decisions to make.

The installer will then proceed to install the Bizman local files as well as the Microsoft Access Runtime.

You will then find a Bizman shortcut on your desktop that looks like this:

After double clicking the shortcut you will see the Bizman Login screen: You can enter your

1. Username (The default is 'admin')
2. Password (The default is 'admin')

Then press Login!

When you login you will be prompted to update to the latest version with a message like this: Press Yes.

Bizman will automatically update to the latest version and install "Revisions".

After updating to the latest version and installing revisions, your Bizman app will restart!

Login again, your Bizman may check for additional files as this is your very first update!

When you login you will see a message telling you to load a supplier pack like this:

Press YES

This will take you to the Installed Suppliers screen.

Location: System Admin -> Installed Suppliers

Select your preferred default supplier from the table and press install on the right of the screen.

Bizman will check on the internet for the latest supplier package, this contains their raw materials, pricelists, and kits. This might take some time depending on your internet connection.

Congratulations! Your Bizman app is now fully installed. At this point Bizman will be asking you to go through your Basic Settings to ensure your Bizman is properly setup.

We will cover Settings in the Core Concepts section of this site.

Environment Variables

This topic covers the 'settings' outside Bizman, that belong to the operating system.

These are your computer time and date settings as well as your currency settings.

On your computer, navigate to:

Start -> Control Panel -> Change date, time, or number formats

Under the Formats Tab, Select Additional Settings...

In the Customize Format form that pops up, under the Numbers tab.

The Decimal Symbol should be a full stop ( . ) not a comma or any other symbol.

List Seperator should be a comma ( , ) or a semi-colon ( ; )

Under the Currency Tab, make sure your currency symbol is what you want it to be. For example, R for rands if you're in South Africa.

If your Bizman is showing dollars in your costing screens, it's because your computer has $ set as the default currency.

Types of Installations

There are a few different ways of setting up your Bizman app, namely Standalone, Networked and RDP Servers. Each method has it's own pros and cons.

Standalone

This is the default setup, which you will automatically have upon completing the standard installation steps outlined above. This means your entire Bizman, the frontend (the app) and the backend (the database) is located on your own pc.

Your data is not shared with anyone, but you are free to work from anywhere. The performance of Bizman is dictated entirely by your pc.

Networked

A networked Bizman setup allows you to share 1 database with all your users. Sharing your Raw Materials, Settings, Kits, Quotes, Cutting Lists, Purchase orders etc. Allowing multiple users to work on the same database at the same time. You could even have multiple users working on the same quotation at the same time!

The way to setup a Networked Bizman is to first do full standalone installations on ALL pc's involved. However do not register all of them for licenses, simply pick 1 Bizman/PC to be the server and license that Bizman for a multi-user license. (This is handled when signing up your account with Bizmantools via email correspondance)

Once Bizman is fully installed on every pc, and the main Bizman (server) is licensed for multiple users then follow these 3 simple steps below.

On the Main Bizman Server:

Step 1. Share the Bizman folder

Locate the Folder:

• Open File Explorer.
• Navigate to C:\.
• Find and right-click the Bizman folder.

Share with Everyone:

• Select ‘Properties’.
• Go to the ‘Sharing’ tab.
• Click ‘Advanced Sharing…’.
• Check ‘Share this folder’.
• Click ‘Permissions’.
• Click ‘Add…’
• Type Everyone and click ‘OK’.
• Highlight ‘Everyone’.
• Under ‘Permissions for Everyone’, check ‘Read/Write’.
• Click ‘OK’ to close all dialog boxes.

3. Finished! The folder C:\Bizman is now shared with 'Everyone'.

Remember, giving 'Everyone' full control means any user can read, write, and delete files in the folder. Adjust permissions as needed for your use case.

Step 2. Change the paths in the bizman.ini on each pc.

1. Locate and Open the File:

   • Open File Explorer.
   • Navigate to C:\Bizman.
   • Find and right-click the bizman.ini file.
   • Select 'Open with' and choose 'Notepad' (or your preferred text editor).

2. Locate and Edit the Paths:

   • In Notepad, find the line that starts with BackDBPath=.

     • The line should look like this: BackDBPath=C:\BizMan\Backend\BMBack.accdb
     • Change the C:\BizMan\Backend\ part to your networked path, e.g., \\ServerPC\Bizman\Backend\.

   • Similarly, find the line that starts with ReportDBpath=.

     • The line should look like this: ReportDBpath=C:\BizMan\Backend\BMReports.mdb
     • Change the C:\BizMan\Backend\ part to your networked path, e.g., \\ServerPC\Bizman\Backend\.

3. Save the Changes:

   • Go to File > Save or press Ctrl + S to save the changes.
   • Close Notepad.

4. Finished! The BackDBPath and ReportDBpath in bizman.ini are now updated to point to the networked server PC.

Remember: Ensure you have a backup of the original .ini file before making changes. Also, replace \\ServerPC\Bizman\ with the actual path to your server or shared location.

Step 3. Change the paths inside Bizman.

1. Start Bizman:

   • Ensure you've already completed the prior steps and successfully updated the bizman.ini file.
   • This next step needs to be done from just one PC.

2. Access Advanced Settings in Bizman:

   • Launch the Bizman application.
   • Log in.
   • Navigate to System Admin -> Advanced Settings -> Paths.

3. Update the Required Paths:

   • Find and change the Backup folder path:
     • From: C:\Bizman\Backend\Backups
     • To: \\ServerPC\Bizman\Backend\Backups
   • Find and change the Attachment DB Path:
     • From: C:\BizMan\Backend\Attachments1.accdb
     • To: \\ServerPC\Bizman\Backend\Attachments1.accdb
   • Find and change the Quote Image Folder path:
     • From: C:\BizMan\Backend\QuoteImages
     • To: \\ServerPC\Bizman\Backend\QuoteImages

4. Finished! The paths within Bizman's advanced settings are now updated to point to the networked server PC.

Remember to replace \\ServerPC\Bizman\ with the actual path to your server or shared location if it's different.

RDP Server

To be added...