Backend File / CMS for Server 'Organising' - Joomla?

[Happy Jack]

Hi. Hopefully there are a few out there who can help with this.

Our website is still offline as I haven't had time to finish the front end as yet. We have been discussing amongst ourselves at finding a way to declutter our own home computers and store every PO template, client invoice, details, accounts, etc. etc., pool together all our resources and upload it all to a secure part of the server. All this accessible by myself and those I nominate via some kind of easy to navigate and customisable GUI.

Essentially, I would like each section to display the relevant invoice or PO .doc / .pdf, alongside a job or PO reference number, amount of income / expenditure against it, and to be able to implement a 'running total' which calculates the amount of money, in / out. In my head it just looks like a simple excel spreadsheet combined with the Mac OSX Finder windows, that sits back into the website, sharing CSS elements with the front end. Being able to highlight / tag / make notes would be beneficial, as some of this would spill over to the individual 'Client Login' area.

Despite a fairly large, recent investment, we aren't really at the stage of considering a dedicated platform like Easy Job or Rentaldesk, especially if what basic functionality we need can be done for free.

First thoughts were something like basing the main site on the Joomla platform, and installing the eXtplorer extension to manage the backend. Should I be looking at a Wordpress, sharing a similar idea with MySQL databases and PHP components? Is there an open source package out there that I'm unaware of that caters for this sort of file management and editing?

Is this a bit too heavy? Wildly ambitious?

[Vectis]

Funnily enough I have it on my to-do list to find (or build) a fairly similar service for the carnival committee I sit on. Presently we just have a plain old HTML/CSS website but we have an increasing need to access and share documentation amongst the various committee members and other trusted external parties, such as the council licencing dept. etc.

Some data is sensitive and fairly static, such as contact details, donation and charitable records, but much is public domain and really just for archival purposes.

So I'll follow the thread with interest to see if there are any tips. Personally I plan to work on this sometime mid-March based on my current schedule.

[Happy Jack]

I was hoping you would come in Vectis. We thought it may have been a fairly common request, but I've yet to stumble on an AIO package that deals with exactly what I'm after.

I'm more than happy to compile the package myself, if it exists of various components that can be 'bundled' together. I'm sure you, like myself, are beginning to tire with the constant updating of various different pages if the parent / tree structure changes. I just need the 'brain', the main core, which I may be able to edit to suit my ends. I have heard great things about Joomla, though, so it may be the route to take.

I'd appreciate if you could update this page as you go along Vectis, as I too intend to get on this project when I'm back online, able to do more research work from home. A problem shared is a problem halved?

[Happy Jack]

...by the way, that last comment is entirely up to you. I'm well aware the sort of advice I'm after is worth a premium!

Maybe Marc has more info?

[Marc J]

I think you'll struggle to find a free, out the box solution that does everything you're looking for. It sounds like a custom job to me, and would be a lot of work.

One CMS system I do keep hearing good things about (it pops up whenever I have a more complicated potential job, and always seems to promise to be able to do everything I'm looking for) is Expression Engine (http://expressionengine.com/) (as used by Barack Obama's presidential campaign at the time). It's apparently great to work with, too, with an easy templating system. For what you get I'd say it's cheap at $250 USD, although you may need add-ins on top of that depending on your needs.

That said, I don't know EE other than the odd quick look at it (in my experience these "wildly ambitious" website plans seem to lose interest when quoted a realistic figure, and so I've never had the opportunity to get my teeth into it), and I'm not even entirely sure what your requirements are....but if I were you I'd look into it as a possible solution.

[Happy Jack]

Thanks for your input, Marc. It is most appreciated. EE looks very great, but with most contenders I've looked at, seems to be bloated with all sorts of gubbins I have no need for. I'm sure there is a solution out there. I'll come back and update when I've found one!

[Happy Jack]

I've had the opportunity to sit down and have a look at the Expression Engine this morning. It is certainly a contender now, so thanks for the link Marc!

My requirements are fairly modest, and exists really as various bits of information that can be entered to db's, then dynamically linked, shared and ordered as the client / user see's fit. PHP / MySQL it is, then. It actually doesn't really need any more than that as a base...

I suppose the trick really is making the input / editing stages as seamless as possible, as it won't always be me editing the db's. I'll get reading.