Updated Soap Calculator

[earlene]

Yes, browser based is a drawback when there is no internet, which unfortunately does happen at times.

I am a 'legacy member' also & have only just returned from time away (traveled to Italy & Prague). While abroad, I did not make soap, although I did visit a soap museum and looked at soap in shops.

As far as having to pay to continue, I saw that when I first logged in upon my return. What a surprise that was. I found that if I do not log in, I can still create a recipe, which of course I cannot save. I am undecided at this time if I like the idea of $25 (US) per year, but I am not young anymore, so it may not be for many years to come that I would be paying this.

I am wondering where the developers are going with this. Will it be sold as a stand-alone ever in the future, like SoapMaker3? Or will it only ever be internet based? Will the price go up? (Prices do tend to go up eventually, but some go up a lot and frequently.) Will there be a tiered pricing option? Will there be a 'Lifetime' pricing option? I personally prefer one-time pricing, I'd more likely lean toward a 'lifetime' pricing option if it made financial sense to me at my advanced age, and of course it would be a better deal for younger soapers as well.

In any case, I am still just catching up to all I missed during the months I was too busy wandering around Italy & Prague, to log onto sites I'm not so sure are in compliance with EU standards (many US based sites are not), so not sure were I am going with this Soap Builder. I do like it very much and it has great features, but for me it's the calculator itself that I find the most use for, since I do not sell. But even so, I do have many many many saved recipes in Soap Builder.

I'm also curious if my private recipes (all but one, I set to private) are still private or not. At some point, I will head over the SoapBuilder support forum and read there. I have in the past, not often, but sometimes.

Incidentally that response about 'we don't have a time we will remove them from the cloud' gives rise to the possibility that non-subscribing 'legacy members' may have recipes dropped eventually. Just want to make sure you all notice that. I read that as 'buy it (soon?) or take your chances'. After all, a legacy member might fade away and stop making soap and we all should know that the owners of soapmakingfriend can, if they so choose, track when & if users log in or not, which means meaningful purges could happen based on that, but that also purges can happen anytime they choose based on non-subscription. They own it, we do not. And they have already raised the price by 20% in a month's time.

 

[Admin]

1. Private recipes will always be private, you can bank that.
2. Prices could go up over time but it's priced right for awhile so I would not expect prices to increase for many years.
3. There won't be a Lifetime option. It has cost tens of thousands of dollars to develop Soapamaking Friend. It might not seem like it but it's very complex software. It has taken a lot of designers, developers and support staff to get us to where we are.
4. Recipes won't be dropped. I run a very similar company in the beer brewing space that has been around for over a decade. Though I would advise you print out everything incase the Ancient Aliens come back but it's safe.
5. I have been told Prague is the best; will you host me?

 

[earlene]

Thank you for that, Admin. Tens of thousands! Oh my. But I know it is a lot of work. I once participated in the development of a database for a non-profit where I volunteered for a number of years. It was only a small group of us, all volunteers, some were software professionals and others, like me were the ones who knew what the software needed to do because it was our specific jobs, and so were 'testers' throughout the development process. I loved participating on that project and found it a very valuable experience. It was so rewarding to see that software roll out and serve it's function throughout our organization.

Yes, we really enjoyed Prague! But I want to move to Italy. There is so much to recommend both. We met a lovely lady, 82-years-young, who chooses to live there after falling in love with it as a visiting university professor and now it is her home. She absolutely loves the city. I feel that we only scratched the surface and absolutely want to spend more time in Prague.

But if we do move to Italy, even for only 6 months, Kitty Baby is coming with me. In fact I believe she would also love it there as much as I did.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

But I want to move to Italy.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

It has cost tens of thousands of dollars to develop Soapamaking Friend.

ACK! Which begs the question I asked when it was first proposed:
Why bother when there are so many other soap calcs that are perfectly adequate and readily available?

I suggested doing a much-needed lotion calc back then. I only wish you had spent the money on that! It would have been money well-spent and a huge boost overall to the B & B DIY Product Making Community.

Granted, with help from SMF members, it is an excellent tool to respond to specific "wants" (vs. "needs"). You are to be congratulated for developing a calc that fulfills those desires but it is exclusive to SMF and not universally available, i.e., you must be a member to access it or even just know about it.

Not meaning to be negataive or critical, just sharing my thoughts, such as they are.

 

[earlene]

Actually, it is becoming known outside of SMF. I have seen links to it in other places. As a result, it is possible that from that link, more folks learned about SMF and joined our forum too.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I have seen links to it in other places.

As elsewhere, I think you get around a lot more than I do! Thanks for the head's up!

 

[AliOop]

Actually, it is becoming known outside of SMF. I have seen links to it in other places. As a result, it is possible that from that link, more folks learned about SMF and joined our forum too.

Agreed, and one does not have to be a member of Soapmaking Forum to use the Soapmaking Friend calculator. You register separately for each one, and they are not dependent on one another.

After using SoapCalc for years, and trying a few others, I am deeply grateful for the development of the SMFriend calculator. Even with the occasional bugs, it provides so many more options and benefits, that I'm willing to pay $25/year for it.

 

[mx6inpenn]

ACK! Which begs the question I asked when it was first proposed:
Why bother when there are so many other soap calcs that are perfectly adequate and readily available?

I suggested doing a much-needed lotion calc back then. I only wish you had spent the money on that! It would have been money well-spent and a huge boost overall to the B & B DIY Product Making Community.

Granted, with help from SMF members, it is an excellent tool to respond to specific "wants" (vs. "needs"). You are to be congratulated for developing a calc that fulfills those desires but it is exclusive to SMF and not universally available, i.e., you must be a member to access it or even just know about it.

Not meaning to be negataive or critical, just sharing my thoughts, such as they are.

There is no comparison IMO between this and other calcs. I am happy to pay $25 per year for all the features I don't have elsewhere.

 

[earlene]

$25

$25

$25/year for it.

There is no comparison IMO between this and other calcs. I am happy to pay $25 per year for all the features I don't have elsewhere.

I apparently did get in on the ground floor of $25. It's now $30. Well, to be exact $29.99 annually.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

@earlene et al: I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who pay to support SMF and Soap Makers Friend on behalf of myself and others like me.

As Mother said, “When it comes to donations, let those who are gainfully employed or otherwise financially able, to do so. There is no shame in not being able to afford to.”

SHORT STORY
In response to the question of “If your face appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, what would the caption say?” Without hesitation, I replied, “Well Known Philanthropist”. Then I thought, that’s not likely to happen. So I switched it around. As I have more time than money at this stage in my life, I can donate my time to helping others who have more money than time to achieve their dreams.

For example, remarkably, my ZNSC recipe that I shared in 2018, has proven to be a winner and a moneymaker with a nice profit margin. It gives me joy to know that people are able to reap the financial benefits, even though it’s too late for me to do that.

It is my fondest hope that every soapmaker that comes down the pike reaps the benefits and shares the recipe through to the coming generations. It’s my legacy to the Soap Making Community and I have SMF to thank most sincerely for affording me the opportunity to achieve my dream.

 

[Admin]

ACK! Which begs the question I asked when it was first proposed:
Why bother when there are so many other soap calcs that are perfectly adequate and readily available?

I suggested doing a much-needed lotion calc back then. I only wish you had spent the money on that! It would have been money well-spent and a huge boost overall to the B & B DIY Product Making Community.

Granted, with help from SMF members, it is an excellent tool to respond to specific "wants" (vs. "needs"). You are to be congratulated for developing a calc that fulfills those desires but it is exclusive to SMF and not universally available, i.e., you must be a member to access it or even just know about it.

Not meaning to be negataive or critical, just sharing my thoughts, such as they are.

Great question; Soapmaking Friend isn't just a soap calculator, it's more of a soapmaking software suite. It includes recipe databases, batch creation, cost analysis, advanced calculation, inventory tracking, supplier tracking, purchase history.