ShopCreel

Without a proper shopping list to refer to, I am lost; my memory isn’t what it used to be. It’s a well known fact that, no matter what I claim, I will forget at least one thing on the list. It’s either that, or I will pick up something that I was told not to get. Hey, at least I remembered something about that item, right? It’s a good thing I have my BlackBerry with me to back me up. Many BlackBerry users tend to make use of their native Memo Pad or voice notes recorder to remind themselves of what they need to pick up. It’s great for basic information, but when you try to add more detail, it becomes less easy on the eyes. It’s one thing to have a list; it’s another to have a detailed, organized list.

ShopCreel offers just that. It takes the ability to create lists and adds on options such as tax calculation, location of availability, promotions and more. With a certain season coming up fast, it’s best to be as prepared as possible. Not limiting its usefulness, ShopCreel can also help you manage your inventory lists. Let’s see if this app can be listed with Santa as a good app or not.

About ShopCreel

ShopCreel was developed by MobiCreel Software. The developer is also responsible for the rotation ruler ScreenRotate (stops screen rotation) and the time sharing FastClock (shows a clock in the menu, regardless of which app you are currently in). The ShopCreel application requires users to be running OS 4.6 or higher. Its current version is 1.2.0 and has a file size of 274.9 KB.

Cost: $4.99

CrackBerry App Store Rating: 5/5

ShopCreel handles both shopping lists, as well as inventory lists; essentially keeping track of what you are taking in, what you currently have and what you may need to pick up more of. From the main menu, you can access Shopping Lists, Inventory Lists and the option to create new list items. Note that new list items will be applied to shopping lists only, not inventory lists. Let’s look at Items first.

ShopCreel Main Menu
main menu

List items are made up of products – which could be anything like socks, anti-perspirant or eggs. You can set the quantity of each product, the location of each item (we will look at that later) and pricing. ShopCreel offers to handle a multitude of information for each item, on many levels. When managing the products, you can go even further, by the units of measurement, brand names and tax rates. When I say units of measurements - this covers measuring the products in Gallons, Stones, and Kilograms. It’s not completely necessary to record the life history of each product, but it is good to know that those options are available; especially when it comes to tracking. One of the most amazing features is price tracking. Not only does it cover the base cost of products, but also any kind of discounts (dollar amount or percentage) or BOGO promotions. So when your list is created, you have an incredibly accurate running total that is updated as you shop and check items off of the list. While it does take some time to set up your list, the results are more than worth the effort. Besides, marking items as purchased, or “acquired”, is so much easier.

ShopCreel new shopping list
Creating a new shopping list

Creating a list item

An opened list will display the items you want to pick up. At the top, you can see the number of items, and the total price of the list. Below, the items on the list are displayed, each showing (in this view) their cost, location and any important notes. To the left of each item is a large white square. When you buy an item, simply click on the item entry, the screen is marked with a green box; this is then reflected in the list details at the top.


the Shopping List

The Inventory List

Once you have acquired the items on your list, and you have chosen the checkout option, the items are then transferred to an Inventory list of your choosing. This is where the rest of the item tracking happens. When viewing the inventory lists, each item entry will detail the same information you found in the shopping list (cost, location, product), as well as the quantity remaining and the date acquired. What I liked about ShopCreel was that the application prompts you to add an item to a shopping list of its quantity reaches zero. Save me from looking in the fridge! An item with zero quantity will be pointed out by a red background. Sorting options help you customize your list viewing, allowing you to view items by location, quantity, price and so on.

Conclusion

If you live and die by lists, then ShopCreel is definitely worth a look. I did find it tedious when trying to enter in as much detail as possible. Luckily, it’s not mandatory to do so; those who love to be specific will appreciate the available options. After it is set up, it’s quite easy to manage both types of lists; easily check out items and see what you are running low on. If you want to checkout (pardon the pun) ShopCreel, it’s available for $4.99 from the CrackBerry App Store. Sorry, no free trial available.

Pros

  • Manage multiple shopping and inventory lists
  • Ability to capture very detailed information
  • Users prompted when items reach a quantity of zero

Cons

  • Does take some time to set up

More Info

  • More information and download ShopCreel for BlackBerry >>

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