Technology

Free Cloud Purchase Order Software Circles the Globe

The free Cloud Version of SpendMap has expanded to over 50 countries in the 6 months since we launched.

If you work in any of the following countries, sign-up here and you’ll be creating and managing Purchase Orders for your business in minutes, for free.

Or, if you still prefer to install software on your own PC or server, our free Desktop Version is still available in all countries.

Either way, Cloud or Desktop, this Purchase Order Software is totally free. We hope it helps to improve your workday, with faster and easier Purchase Order management for your business.

Free Cloud Purchase Order Software now available in…

AG – Antigua and Barbuda
AI – Anguilla
AT – Austria
AU – Australia
BB – Barbados
BE – Belgium
BM – Bermuda
BS – Bahamas
BZ – Belize
CA – Canada
CK – Cook Islands
CR – Costa Rica
DK – Denmark
DM – Dominica
DO – Dominican Republic
FK – Falkland Islands
GB – England
GD – Grenada
GI – Gibraltar
GT – Guatemala
GY – Guyana
HN – Honduras
HU – Hungary
IE – Ireland
IL – Israel
IS – Iceland
IM – Isle of Man
JE – Jersey
JM – Jamaica
KY – Cayman Islands
LC – Saint Lucia
MS – Montserrat
MT – Malta
MX – Mexico
NG – Nigeria
NI – Nicaragua
NL – Netherlands
NO – Norway
NZ – New Zealand
PA – Panama
PL – Poland
PR – Puerto Rico
SE – Sweden
SH – Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
SL – Sierra Leone
SR – Suriname
TC – Turks and Caicos Islands
TT – Trinidad and Tobago
UG – Uganda
UK – United Kingdom
US – United States of America
VG – British Virgin Islands
ZA – South Africa
ZM – Zambia
ZW – Zimbabwe

Free Purchase Order Software – Cloud or Desktop

We’re now offering the Free Version of SpendMap in the Cloud (no software to install, backup or maintain), in most English-speaking countries. Get your free Cloud Purchase Order Software here.

Our free Windows/desktop version is still available in all countries, if you prefer to install software on your own PC or server.  Download your free Desktop Version here.

You’re welcome 🙂

Avoid File Hosting Services for your Free Purchase Order Software

Please do not try to use Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive or other cloud-based file hosting services for your free Windows/desktop version of SpendMap.  It just doesn’t work.

You can certainly back up your system/database to those services; you just can’t install your active/live database there. 

That’s because, as with other database applications, the files/tables in SpendMap’s database are constantly being opened and updated as you process Purchase Orders and other transactions in SpendMap.  And when files are being copied/uploaded to those cloud-based file hosting services, they are locked and not accessible to SpendMap and so you will get a runtime error if SpendMap tries to access the files as they are being moved up to the cloud (which happens each time a file is modified).

That said, you can certainly 1) exit/close SpendMap and then, 2) copy your database folder to Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive as a backup, while SpendMap is not running.  Again, you just can’t keep the live/active database files there.  For more details, please see the section “Backup and Restore Procedures”, in the Getting Started Documentation that comes with the software.

And just as a reminder, if you want your SpendMap data to be stored in the Cloud, we offer a SaaS version as well. You can try a free demo of our Cloud-based Purchase Order Software here.

Move your Free Purchase Order Software to another PC

We’ve has a few chats with people wanting to move their free version of SpendMap from one computer to another.  Here’s everything you need to know…

REMINDER: In addition to moving SpendMap form computer to computer as described below, another option is to install the system on a network server so that you can access it from any computer on your Local Area Network. For details, please see “Network Installation Instructions”, in the Getting Started Documentation that comes with the software.

Also, please keep in mind that you can upgrade to our web-based version and then you can access the system from any computer with an Internet connection. More importantly, you’ll never have to worry about software installation, maintenance, backups or applying updates, as we take care of everything for you. You can try our Cloud version here if you like.

OK, to move the free Windows/desktop version of SpendMap to a different computer, you do NOT need to download and reinstall a new copy of the system. You just need to move the database/application folder and the shortcuts/icons that you use to run the system.

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Working from home and your Free Purchase Order Software

Many of us are still working from home and may be for some time yet.  If you need to access your SpendMap system while out of the office, you can join the growing number of people who have upgraded to our SaaS/Cloud version so that you can use SpendMap from any computer with an Internet connection.

Here are some common questions from folks like you who have already made the switch…

Will I lose any of my work in SpendMap?

No, you won’t lose anything.  All your work in the free Windows/desktop version will be brought forward including all your Master File data (suppliers, items, account codes, etc.), all your transactions (Purchase Orders, receipts, etc.), all your configuration/settings and so on.  You’ll pick right up in the Cloud version where you left off in the Free Version.

What are the requirements?

All you need is a standard web browser and an Internet connection.  We support all major browsers including Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox and Safari.

How much does it cost?

Your monthly subscription is just $20/user and $20/module.  So, if you’re the only user and you’re just using the Purchasing Module, it’ll be $40/month.  If you’re also using the Receiving Module, that’s another $20/month, as are additional user licenses.

Your monthly subscription includes hosting in Microsoft’s Azure Cloud, daily backups, new releases and tech support.

Will I need any training?

Nope.  The SaaS/Cloud version works just like the Free Version that you’re used to, so you’ll feel right at home while working at home 🙂

Are there any other benefits?

Well, aside from being able to access SpendMap from anywhere and not having to worry about backups or applying updates, once you’re on our our paid version you could add additional modules that aren’t available in our Free Version.

Sounds great, how do I order?

Just send us an email at info@spendmap.com or fill in the form at the top of this page and a friendly Spend-Mapper will get in touch with you quickly and make arrangements to upgrade your system.

COVID-19 Update and your Free Purchase Order Software

We are fully up-and-running from our home offices and there is no disruption to any of our products and services.  As always, The Free Version of SpendMap is ready when you are, as is our free tech support.

If you are already using the free Windows/desktop version of SpendMap and would like to upgrade to our web-based version so that you can access the system while out of the office, pricing now starts at just $40/month.

Upgrading is easy and we’ll preserve all the data in your free system, so you won’t lose a thing…you’ll just pick right up where you left off.

To place an order or if you have any questions or need a quote, please email free-procurement@spendmap.com.

Stay safe everyone!

mask-work-home

“Waiting to Start Report” message in your Free Purchase Order Software

We’ve had some support tickets from folks who are seeing a message like “Waiting to start report” when printing Purchase Orders or other reports to a PDF file in the free version of SpendMap, or when emailing Purchase Orders in PDF format.

We think the problem may be a result of an update to Windows 10 that Microsoft pushed out recently.

If you ever have trouble creating PDF files in your free SpendMap system, please try removing and then reinstalling SpendMap’s PDF printer driver. You will need Administrator access/rights on PC to do this…

  1. Exit SpendMap.
  2. In Windows Settings, navigate to “Devices”, then “Printers and Scanners”, and then remove the “Palmas PDF printer”.
  3. To reinstall the PDF printer driver, just RIGHT-mouse-click on the shortcut/icon that you use to run SpendMap and select “Run As Administrator”.  As you log in to SpendMap, you will see additional prompts to install the printer driver.

If you are still not able to view or email POs or other reports in PDF format, please let us know on our Support Ticket System.

Thanks and sorry for any inconvenience.

Adding Fields to Excel Reports in your Free Purchase Order Software

Colton works in the agriculture industry and called to ask if he could add additional fields/columns to the PO Listing Report spreadsheet.

By default, that particular report/spreadsheet includes only the supplier code/ID for each Purchase Order but not the supplier name or other contact information.

So, we showed him how he can add any field from the Supplier Master File and within seconds, he had modified his spreadsheet to show the missing information.

Want to see how he did it?  Check out this video tutorial for all the details…

False-Positive Virus Warnings and your Free Purchase Order Software

Viruses_greenDan was installing the Free Version of SpendMap last week when his Panda Antivirus Software displayed a warning about one of our files.

With so many false-positives these days, we immediately uploaded the file to VirusTotal.com and, as we suspected, the other 59 out of 60 virus scanners reported that the file was clean.

False-positive virus warnings are becoming more and more common these days, as the security suites try to stay ahead of the bad guys by trying to “predict” the presence of malicious code.  That is, many antivirus systems will report the presence of a virus (or rather, the POTENTIAL presence of a virus) because there is something in the file that resembles a virus, even though they didn’t actually find a known virus in the file.

It’s a great idea in concept but unfortunately the price you pay for this proactive protection is that they sometimes get things wrong.

That’s where VirusTotal.com comes in.

Owned by Google, VirusTotal lets you upload questionable files to their website and scans them with over 60 security suites in one shot and then shares the results so that everyone can improve their systems.

The idea here being that if only one or two out of the 60 scanners report a problem with a file, then it’s most likely a false-positive.

Of course, only you can decide if you want to proceed when your virus scanner puts up a red flag but with this sort of thing happening more and more often, we thought you’d like to know about this great tool.

One thing you may hear is “You should only proceed if the file came from a trusted source“.  At least there we can give you a hard-and-fast answer; with over 50,000 downloads so far and a spotless 25-year track record of providing clean and reliable Purchase Order Software, it doesn’t get any more trustworthy than SpendMap.

Personal Information in your Free Purchase Order Software

Information privacy is the talk of the town these days and we’ve been getting some questions about how we store, access and process your personal information in the Free Version of SpendMap.

Unlike our SaaS Version that runs on our servers in the Cloud, when you download and install your Free Purchase Order Software, the database that contains all your personal information is on your own PC or server, so you’re the only one who has access to it.

Rest easy and have a great day!