Would my app be too complex?

[Gary_Fox]

Hey there people, I have only found this site today and I am impressed… I design websites and am familiar with basic HTML

I have the notion to start up a betting web site… I need an app that will record and upload the bets…

I can see how it works, each race is a separate excel doc, with Client ID, Selection, Race, Time, Stake, SP and then back office stuff like winnings, account balance etc…

Can AppSheet handle that kind of data, is it secure for that purpose and is it possible to keep on top of information?

If I’m not in the right place for this question then please let me know and I will repost it where needed.

Thanks for your time people.

Gary Fox

[Bahbus]

AppSheet can definitely handle the data. It make take some heavier advanced features for security purposes, PPI, and what have you to make it feature complete. And as long as you take care to not bog down your app with complex formulas that take a long time to calculate, it should be fast enough to do everything you need. And you’ll probably need a more expensive plan depending on your long term goals.

[Alex_Jones]

I have also visited this forum for the very same reason

My initial concern was when I connected to my excel sheet appsheet really didn’t like even the most basic of formulas (unless I did something wrong)

I take it also the app and excel link could be dynamic and ‘live’ so any bets by users could auto update the excel tables for changing odds etc.

I would be happy to invest time into this if I knew it could ultimately deliver

Anyone got any good examples of similar apps built by appsheet?

[Gary_Fox]

hey people…

I have been playing around with this application for a week now, it is undoubtedly great, but indubitably too complex (to us the uninitiated!)

I am used to using templates, [D’oh! I admitted it!] for web based projects and of course that helps in that you can see what the different elements are and you can change them accordingly (adding knowledge as you go of course).

For this app [and for me] it doesn’t help that I am not familiar with the phraseology of the technology… as in I want it to achieve an outcome but I am not aware that the button I need to press says “quickStart=False#Info”.

So, here is my addendum question… Do users openly share their code for apps they have created so that new users can latch on their own elements etc. [I shouldn’t think so…]

I know there are 463 YouTube videos of what you can achieve, but is there a video that says “this is a workbook… this is a blank canvas… this is a button… this is a graphic” - onwards?

And/or is there a market where users can sell their creations and their skills to other users (like me) who want to learn and adapt.

And/or is there a 3rd party market place anyone can recommend that I can go to to have my app custom built?

I have a basic idea of what I need, I would like to be informed how to go about initialising the data in the first place… as in worksheets, row and column order but I am happy to do the ‘leg work’.

Hmmm questions questions…

Anyone chip in with answers? All help and knowledge appreciated.

Thanks

Gary

[LeventK]

@Gary_Fox
I second @Bahbus here. Provided this app will be public, there won’t be any ‘private’ user area at all. For example I’m a user, I opened your app, bet for a race but suddenly I have realized that I have done something wrong. At this point there won’t be any option for me to go back and edit my record at all. Secondly; as this app will potentially be an insecure app, your back-end data will always be at large. Someone who has even an intuitive knowledge about an appsheet app, can access your data.

To overcome this; the only way out is to enroll to AppSheet Business Plan, incorporate AWS Cognito authentication gateway, configure Cognito in a way that users can create their own accounts with username and passwords (which will also have the options of password reminder, reset password as well as you will have a complete user management where you can ban users) and run the app in full mode under a sub-domain of your own domain i.e. https://myBetApp.somedomain.com. This option will have a cost of $15K + Cognito Add-on. Please contact sales@appsheet.com on this part.

Another option could be building a website structured on some Ajax or any other suitable coding language incorporated with HTML to handle the operation with some additions of user management like Moodle etc. May be remind you that you will always need a back-end developer to keep the web-site up and running at all times. Depending on your data amount, you may even need a database admin as well. This might cost a bit around $50-70K of one time fee + your monthly maintenance costs

Gary_Fox:

And/or is there a 3rd party market place anyone can recommend that I can go to to have my app custom built?

For this part, I may recommend Outsystems which is a low-code platform rather than a no-code, but if I remember correctly their enterprice licence was $25K annually except any development costs.

[Gary_Fox]

`Levent K you have been excellent… I thank you for sharing your knowledge… it is exactly what I need at this moment in time.

I now understand that what I want to achieve is more complex than I first thought, will be more expensive than I first thought and could be more risky than I first thought (regarding data/data protection etc.).

I am undeterred and will continue, I start from the unique position of having ‘no users’ so no-one can sue me right now… I am aiming for organic growth so only one person per week will sign up and I can cross bridges as I am faced by them…

I would have expected to sign up for the AppSheet Business Plan, but the cost is an initial bar… but not insurmountable.

Because I know all these systems/apps/programmes work for other companies I know I can utilise people skills to stitch them together to build my platform (which as mentioned is a bookmaking site)… My needs initially are basic as I will only have a license to accept bets via the telephone and maybe (but not certain) via Email. From this I can work out how much I would expect to earn per week/month/year and plan accordingly…

Of course my intention was to have a fully fledged App to cut out the telephone, but the cost may be inhibitive to start, until I see what the numbers add up to.

I am undeterred, and I now know thanks to LeventK how more complicated and costly the exercise will be… but doesn’t everybody love a challenge?

Any and all input welcome… thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Gary Fox

[LeventK]

It was my pleasure to help @Gary_Fox. Also may be remind you that, in terms of data you are planning to gather, I would recommend using Cloud SQL as a database where you will be having a back-up and replicate servers as well if you choose to run your SQL instance on VMs. Of course this will be a +cost too for your structuring. At this point the database admin should enter the scene because provided you are not familiar with Cloud DB resources, your cost might incurr unforeseeably high if the Cloud instance is set/managed in an incorrect way Just a side-note for your info.

[Gary_Fox]

Noted and appreciated.

Thanks

Gary

[LeventK]

You’re very welcome