Cohousing-L Mailing List: common meal signup and $ tracking software available

[Ken Lewis (kenlewisjr]

I have developed an online meal signup and financial tracking system for my
community (Nevada City Cohousing - California). It has been in use since
January 2007 and works very well for us. It has greatly simplified the
financial aspect of meals for cooks and diners alike. 

I have received lots of positive feedback and many suggestions that I
advertise it to other cohousing communities. This email contains an overview
of the system I've developed. For those who are interested, I can customize
the system to the needs of the particular community. 

Brief Overview:

It's basically a web-based system that allows cooks and diners to sign up
for meals online. The system tracks the amount cooks spend on meals (treated
as a credit) and the amount diners "spend" by eating (treated as a debit).
Based on these transactions a household's balance fluctuates as its members
cook and eat. Households can track their balance through online reports,
only ever writing or receiving a check if their balance goes too far in
either direction. Most households simply let their balance ride, fluctuating
with their participation in meals.

Some Highlights:

    - Calendar based navigation (so it's very intuitive)
    - Cashless (almost) transaction system
    - Minimal actual check transactions
    - Reports for tracking household balances
    - Online system so it can be accessed from anywhere, anytime
    - Hosted off site so no system maintenance required
    - No need for community techie for installation, maintenance
    - Organized by household to streamline signing up

I can give a lot more details about how this system works but I wanted to
keep this email short. This initial email is mainly to gauge the
interest/need for a meal system like this. I'll be putting together a demo
site soon so people can try it out for themselves.

Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Ken