FileMaker, Inc. (http://www.filemaker.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, has announced the latest FileMaker Business Productivity Kit, which is designed to allow businesses selling both goods and services to become more productive and tackle everyday business tasks.

Optimized for FileMaker Pro 11, the new Business Productivity Kit offers ready-to-use templates for businesses that streamline a variety of operations, from managing contacts and suppliers to tracking projects to processing sales and service orders. Two versions are available: a Standard Edition for companies that sell physical goods and a Services Edition for companies that provide services to clients.
 
Small businesses can use the Business Productivity Kit immediately for tracking customer and vendor contacts, sales, product information, invoicing, shipping and other key business data -- all in one database solution, says Ryan Rosenberg, vice president of marketing and services with FileMaker, Inc.. The kit is an integrated set of business tools and each module ties to the other, eliminating any need for duplicate fields, tables and data re-entry, he adds.
 
The Service Edition (for companies providing services) is designed to allow users to: track clients and vendor contacts; process service orders; organize information about service offerings; manage invoices and other key business data; and send targeted e-mail campaigns.
 
The free kit includes a 30-day free trial of FileMaker Pro 11, ready-to-use business templates, as well as guides on database basics and working with Microsoft Office. It also comes with a bonus e-mail marketing guide with tips and tricks on creating customized email campaigns to market goods and services.