Knack

Avantages

-Data Privacy Framework Implementation
-Nice Database, especially if you come from a relational database background
-responsiveness by design - you don't have to worry about that
-agency program
-knack flows for automation

Inconvénients

-graphical modifications are limited
-the primary key in the database is hard to gain - I did that with knacks flows
-no adequate cookie documentation -problematic for gpdr statements
-no SQL access

Avantages

No. 1 feature I love is that they don't charge per user. They have Starter, Pro and Corporate plans and prices are reasonable. I also like the ease with which a relational database can be configured and the built in functionality to format and print a report is ideal for what I need.

Inconvénients

I am a paid user on the Starter Plan and I do not have any dislikes about Knack at this stage, except perhaps the "powered by Knack" branding which requires upgrading to the Pro Plan to be able to remove it. Having said that, the branding text appears at the bottom of the pdf reports and can be removed by editing the pdf later.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi choisir Knack 

Logiciel antérieur 

Pourquoi passer à Knack

Avantages

Sounds like it might be easy to use, could obscure a lot of development detail.

Inconvénients

Didn't really get a chance to use it, and forgot to cancel within the 30 day window. OK, I'm out $25, my fault and I don't have a problem with that.

So I reply to one of their inquiry, follow up sales emails, say I need to cancel, I can't use it, WELL within the second ( the first PAID ) month that I am subscribed.

So I assume they might refund the first month out of goodwill, but of course they are not obligated so I don't mind if they don't.

But -- fun news-- despite TWO emails in that 2nd month requesting cancellation, ( I am not using it and not loading their servers or using their tech support in any way whatsoever, it cost them zero to have me subscribed and not even logging on)

They Bill me for a SECOND subscription month , because i didn't go through some "cancellation process".

If they are too dumb to prefer the extra $25 they scrounged off me to maintaining good will public image, I can't imagine they have personalities I want to deal with long term.

Avantages

I like that in Knack I can access all-inclusive data, and see it reported in a variety of ways. I can opt for simple summary reports, more complex detailed reports, or even colorful and pretty graphs. I can use a wide variety of parameters to create the report, and I can sort the included data in a variety of ways. I can also export data in different formats. Knack is extremely flexible for me. Full disclosure - I am a frequent Knack user, but I do not record data into Knack, nor do I set up the databases at all. That magic is all done by someone else, so I cannot comment on the administrator aspects of Knack.

Inconvénients

Sometimes Knack will log me out while I am in the process of using it. I try to accept the blame when this happens because I always have too many tabs open in my browser, and I often work in 2 different sections of Knack simultaneously. However, it is definitely frustrating.

Also, I have a pet peeve about the number of items I can view in one page of a report. For a report with lots of items, I have to navigate forward or back between many pages. I would much prefer to scroll further down the same page to see data in a long report. I don't know of any way to alter the number of items per page.

Avantages

The fact that the software acts like a native app but is in reality a micro website. Edit and upgrades are pushed out with a refresh with having to go through the process of submitting to an App Store. Also dont need to develop for different platforms/screen sizes. One size fits all

Inconvénients

There are several features that have been requested over the years from many users that seem to be left behind. The biggest one in 2020 is that the mobile side needs a big upgrade in order to compete with native apps. A big one for us is uploading of photos on the mobile side. Its very cumbersome and slow. We have lost a few jobs because of this. Need some sort of mobile app that connects to these databases.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi choisir Knack 

Logiciel antérieur 

Pourquoi passer à Knack

Avantages

Very simple to solve for Secure, HIPPA, PCI compliant user logins. Ability to pivot large data-set with simplified permission based views - no incremental expense for additional users / views / roles.

Inconvénients

Support. Our reliance on knack is significant in pre-sale functions and as a result, when it breaks we have always defined the solution (or created the work-around) several days before a knack tech gets around to responding to our requests.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi choisir Knack 

Logiciel antérieur 

Pourquoi passer à Knack

Avantages

The pricing model makes it an easy sell to get started. You don't have to pay per user, so if you aren't sure whether you'll be able to achieve your goals, it provides a low cost opportunity to make an attempt.

Inconvénients

My biggest concern is that our app has become complex enough that it will be difficult for it to be handed off to a new user in the future. Once the software is launched for the team, any changes you make are in effect instantly - there's no opportunity to preview them and roll them out later. Additionally there are a couple of glitches in the builder interface which are frustrating at times. Knack is in Beta with a new interface and I anticipate that these will be resolved.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi passer à Knack

Avantages

-Easy to learn and build numerous apps
-Lots of functional field types
-Easy to customize CSS and Javascript for each app if desired
-Excellent price point

Inconvénients

-Very buggy
-Customer service was initially very responsive, but eventually stopped responding to my requests for simple bugs in my app to be fixed, even after numerous attempts to resolve.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi passer à Knack

Avantages

We had a lot of processes we could not manage anymore by just sharing Google Sheets. Within weeks we were able to create custom database driven applications that completely replaced dozens of spreadsheets, macros, and more. We have dozens of managers and corporate employees on it everyday. We love it.

Inconvénients

My biggest qualm with Knack is the customer support -- but that's not a very big qualm at all. For what we pay we get enormous value, and it makes sense that support is limited for our plan to just chat and email, with longer response times. When we are finally attended to, the customer service is very helpful. Because of the low price point, I initially had concerns that it would be reliable for a company our size, where little mistakes can cause interdepartmental issues. However, Knack has always been online, and the issues we have had were mostly attributable to user errors.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi passer à Knack

Avantages

Honestly, Knack has been an amazing application for us. It helps us design applications that replace many applications or help enhance applications that have blind spots. If you are process-oriented, like critical reports, looking to grab data at critical touchpoints that are not being measured then Knack will change your game. I am an entrepreneur with two multi-million dollar companies and we have found Knack to be as indispensable as our big ERP systems.

Inconvénients

More videos in the Library. I am a super visual person and like others with me. While the videos in the library have gone up exponentially, I think the Knack team should lead with videos in explanation and text.

Avantages

It holds data lists that I've acquired and allows me to show it, via html code, on my website for comparative reasons.

Inconvénients

It took a little time to learn. Data takes some time to upload and doesn't always show how long it might take, so have to drink more tea!

Avantages

Knack is a great tool, especially for internal projects or B2B customer projects -- once built an entire group texting platform using Knack, Zapier, & low-code Twilio!

Inconvénients

wish there were more options for the front end so could use in more consumer-facing applications
record-based pricing is hurting overall industry -- right company will find way to price differently

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi passer à Knack

Avantages

Knack is highly flexible and easy to use once you know the platform. Powerful platform that's hard to match.

Inconvénients

The dashboard can be a bit buggy, I regularly find and report bugs to the company...but they are quick to fix them in most cases. Even with the occasional bug, there's still nothing that rivals this platform.

Avantages

My company used Knack as a recruiting tool - we had applicants create a profile and apply through the site for various job postings - and it was fairly easy to set up. The system itself was easy to navigate, and it kept the records organized nicely.

Inconvénients

It's possible that using Knack as a full database provides better results than using it as a recruiting solution, but it did seem limited in features for our purposes. We've used other database products that have a lot more features and functions in addition to being much more customizable.

Avantages

Made my first powerful internal business tool in a few hours. Have since used this tool to look like a genius when I am, in fact, not a genius.

Inconvénients

There are a few features that have been requested with the devs that don't exist yet. The big one for me is aligning fields! Please make this a thing, Knack!

Avantages

EU hosting

Pricing not set on a per client level.

Easy to build with and deploy.

Inconvénients

Some of their competitors have a wider feature set.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi passer à Knack

Avantages

Incredible product for building databases/order systems for small organizations. Functionality is substantial.

Inconvénients

The lack of support and the turn around time for support is difficult. For companies that use as an integral part of their business it is risky for an ordering system, etc... Also, having problems with the rules and parameters disappearing randomly on forms has been a problem for my organization.

Inconvénients

Absolutely terrible customer service. I signed up, spent 2 days making an app, then the builder completely froze. I tried 5 computers, all different browsers, as soon as you log in it give a spinning gear and freezes. Knack support said it's because I'm using Chrome and that Chrome is bad at handling memory (even though I told them I tried IE, Edge, Safari, on 5 machines). Then today, I spent 3 hours making an app and doing email templates. I go get a drink, come back, it's COMPLETELY GONE. I contact their support, they said their backups failed and they don't have one, and that they confirmed I DID have an app, but that it's no longer there. They said even though I just signed up 2 days ago, they don't do refunds, but that I'm welcome to cancel my service in their portal. I canceled it and filed a chargeback with Visa. Avoid this company, extremely shady.

Avantages

Database management very simple for dependencies

Inconvénients

Stuck with implementing some javascript functions not enough info on that

Avantages

We've launched a side company, Cableshepherd.com built complete on Knack. From Customer Account creation, management, portals, quoting, etc - Knack has solved a problem other CRMS and business platforms have not been able to. It is a true business application.

Inconvénients

If not a developer, I could see how it could be difficult to learn, but overall, we're relatively pleased with performance.

Avantages

The app builder is a great feature of this software. There are a lot of useful options such as searching, various forms and tables. I find it easy to customize although having little background in programming helps but not required. Easy interface after a little bit of use.

Inconvénients

Knack servers can use some updating. Can be slow at times with complex queries which can be frustrating. Knack support tries to address all our concerns, but some issues will take some time to fix. The front end could use some updates also and to have access to change the visuals would be nice

Avantages

Its easy of use (the team that build our databases are no experts at all!), and the fact we can embed the databases in our website.

Inconvénients

To create a multi-level navigation menu with the current feature set, we need to apply some work arounds to make it do what we want.

Avantages

Easy to setup and use, highly customizable

Inconvénients

Pricing structure and cost is too high for the amount of storage you get

Avantages

Knack has a good user interface and is a lower price point for databases of this type. They have very good service and the online chat help is excellent.

Inconvénients

I have found that we need developers to do work that I would not call high level but this assistance does ramp up the relatively low cost of the product. This happens with almost every database, but I was hoping Knack would be different.

Avantages

Once you've got everything figured out (specifically linking different objects) it's very easy to use. There are quite a few useful features.

Inconvénients

Sometimes the software is glitchy when it comes to importing .csv documents. Things won't load and then you'll have to restart the whole process.