studio (mis)management software

so here’s the thing. we need studio management software. we should have started using it six months ago. up until now, our kinda’ cobbled together system has involved Numbers, Bento, Things, Gmail, Address Book, and iCal. it’s getting to the point where, because (not to toot our own horn) we’re getting more bookings than ever, and we need a cohesive system to tie everything together into one neat, tidy package.

there are a handful of solutions out there, that deal specifically with photography studios. but none of them… seem to fit quite right. i’ve started to run trials on a couple (ShootQ & Pixifi), but there’s just something missing. so i’ll just lay out exactly what i want in a studio management software suite.

• standalone software- we’ll call it The App. all this browser based nonsense is just tedious and a bit lame, IMHO. this is kind of the cinching point for everything else i’m about to ask for. web-based stuff doesn’t really have a bearing on some of the other things i want (unless they’re synced without my needing to do it manually).
• integration with iCal- i love iCal. it’s wonderful. and everything we need is in iCal. make The App that has hooks into iCal, so that the two can talk back & forth. i don’t need a completely different calendar system to add more stuff to. i want The App that works with iCal, so adding one thing shows up on the other (and vice versa), and can then sync to my iPhone/iPad/other computers without needing to keep a bookmark or another app on my phone around.
• integration with Address Book- regardless of your feelings about the recent Lion UI overhaul, Address Book is great for what it does. same thing with iCal; work to make the two play nicely, talking back & forth. if nothing else, and i have to export/import my contacts manually, make it easy. the one suite i’ve played with the most, Pixifi, allows for uploading of .csv files, but they have to be in a very specific data format (CRM?). um. what? just give me the ability to import a group vCard or a .csv file. don’t make this dumb.
• iPhone/iPad app- duh. and make it work like Things does. i have The App on my desktop running, i open The App on my iPhone or iPad, and the two sync over WiFi. bam. done. even better (and unlike Things), sync to THE CLOUD.
• don’t load it with crap i don’t need- i don’t need galleries or proofing areas for clients (thanks, Zenfolio). i don’t want to post my pricing online so that some wily character can get ahold of them. i don’t need a module for hosting workshops.
• make it work on a Mac- ugh. this is the biggest one. hire a team that can concentrate on both the Mac platform and Windows platform. don’t use Adobe Air or whatever other crap folks are using to make cross-platform “stuff.” it’s all garbage (see: Tweetdeck) and a massive pain in the butt to use. if my software needs updating, i don’t want to also have to update Adobe Air (again, see: Tweetdeck).
• easy product/price imports- one of the first things Pixifi asked me to do was to start manually entering in pricing. easy enough for things like albums and discs, but prints?? are you serious? we have different pricing for different reasons (military, wedding, normal shoots). Zenfolio allows me to export my prices to easily digestible files; why can’t i just import that? i wanted to cancel my trial subscription almost immediately when i made it to that section.

just make something that works. please. i don’t know why this is so difficult to do. and who knows– maybe i’ve missed something somewhere that has exactly what i want. right now, though, it’s just a garbled mess to sort through.