Comparison
Email and a spreadsheet, or Flow?
Most roasteries start with email and Excel, and that works until orders come in every week. Flow keeps the same information in one place, works out roast needs by itself and shows the whole team the same situation. Below are the differences, one question at a time.
| Question at the roastery | Email and a spreadsheet | Haimoo Flow |
|---|---|---|
| How many kilos will we roast tomorrow? | Worked out from messages in the evening. | Ready on the Dashboard and in Roast needs, with finished coffee deducted. |
| Has this order been confirmed? | Search the Sent folder. | The stage shows on the list, and the history shows every confirmation sent. |
| What stage is the order at? | Ask the team. | The same list for everyone: new, confirmed, to roast, to pack, to deliver. |
| What gets packed, and for whom? | A printout or a note on the table. | Packing queue on the phone, one order at a time, counting bags. |
| Who has not ordered for a while? | You notice when you notice. | Reports list the customers whose ordering rhythm has stretched. |
| Is there enough green coffee? | Look at the sacks. | Cover in weeks from the use of the last 8 weeks. |
| How much did we sell last month? | Add it up from the invoices. | Sales excluding VAT and kilos by month, forecast included. |
| What does it cost? | Nothing as software, more as work. | €155 per month, incl. 25.5% VAT. |
Flow and the roastery's other software
Flow does not try to replace everything. This is how it sits alongside the rest.
Roasting software
Artisan, the Aillio app and Cropster handle roast profiles and curves. Flow tells you what to roast, how much, and who it goes to.
Accounting and invoicing
Invoices are made in invoicing software. Flow gives you sales as a CSV file for your accounting.
Online shop
You sell to consumers in an online shop. Flow is for business customers' orders, and each does its own job.
Questions about the comparison
All questionsWhen are email and a spreadsheet still enough?
When you get a few orders a month and have time to go through them by hand. Flow is worthwhile when orders come in weekly and the kilos for roast day are worked out from several messages.
Does Flow replace Cropster or Artisan?
No. They handle roast profiles, and Flow handles the order's journey. Flow neither reads nor requires roaster data, so they work side by side.
Do old orders need to be moved?
No. New orders are created in Flow, and old ones can stay where they are. Reports and the next order estimate start to tell you something as orders build up.