Quickbase

I have been using Quickbase since July of 2011 with my consulting firm that specializes in making Operations, Logistics, and Finance-related applications for many clients in the Washington, DC area. Coming from a statistics programming background, I found it very easy to start making simple relational databases and customize the user experience to my liking. Over the years, Quickbase has only gotten better in offering more options and polish, while still remaining stable and very robust for any number of use cases. One downside to being such a broad tool is that our clients sometimes don't even think to ask if something can be done in Quickbase, and instead wasting money on a more targeted application that is more out of the box ready. We commonly find that with new clients, making a simple app starts to open up the "what ifs" in their mind on what can be done in Quickbase. This is made even easier these days with the Quickbase App Exchange, showcasing beginner level applications, and the new Quickbase Sync which allows out of the box (one-way) data transfers from several 3rd party applications.

Overall as a developer, the more time you put into exploring what Quickbase can do, the more possibilities there are in meeting requirements for potential projects.

The software can be made HIPAA compliant and we were able to gather data from it in another form. Those were the top 2 benefits.

Quickbase does not offer a phone number for customer service and sometimes take days to respond to e-mails. I often seem to know more about the program than the service representative I get - my boss says if I stay on the phone long enough with Quickbase I will figure a way around the problem while they tell me all the reasons something can't be done. I have found you can't respond to the surveys they send honestly if you want any help next time. The rep will scold you about how it negatively impacts their career and will likely not pick your email next time which means you wait that much longer before you get help next time. The reps like to call after office hours so they can show they attempted to respond quickly but you get no real help. The table-to-table relationships are so convoluted you will need a half-dozen fields and a weird relationship table to get information from one table to another, and then it won't arrive the way you want: It may be a drop-down that you have to click on four different fields to get the info from the other table. Ever need a simple number generator (x+1) for invoice numbers, job numbers, etc? Go somewhere else or hire someone to build you one (Excel users will cry). You get the response: we are working on that.
Bottom Line: when developing a management program you will have time-sensitive issues that will make you wish for something better.

Quickbase can be as powerful as you make it - it has the ability to build huge, custom, smart databases that are integrated with other platforms to remove data silos and ensure smooth and efficient work flows. However to really get the most out of Quickbase you need to be motivated to learn, explore and build test case apps to really understand what you need and how to get that out of QuickBase. The learning curve isn't too bad, and there is a fantastic community of users providing innovative solutions to problems all the time.

Overall I really like using Quick Base and have found it to be very helpful in my role of assigning tasks and managing the work of my other team members.