ONIX Central

It's the little things

Because we come from a publishing rather than a software background, we understand that, day-to-day, it is the little things that make your life easier.

That is why wherever possible the Onix Central Publishing Manager is full of simple touches that save you a little stress and a little time, every day.

We realise that a lot of literary awards have the author's age as a criterion. So we automatically calculate your authors' ages for you:

We realise that you want to be able to be no more than one click away from related information, so we have handy little portals to enable you to quickly jump around the system. It saves you time and stops you losing the will to live:

We understand that you don't want to call a software developer every time you need to update some fields. That is why we have a whole area devoted to storing all the variables in the system so you can change them yourself. So, a small update in the Onix standard doesn't mean an unwanted bill:

We know that you need to be able to find information quickly, wherever you are. So we have handy, dynamic search functions where it matters:

Only people who've had to count words for descriptive text before it gets sent on to Amazon or a distributor - to ensure that the word count is within limits - would appreciate that we take the time so you don't have to:

And the OCPM flags up clearly when the word count is exceeded by turning the text red:

And only people who've had to fill in numerous retailer spreadsheets will appreciate this simple yet brilliant innovation: an Excel export of the right data, in the right format for each retailer:

We set default values for you, so you don't have to set the publisher, or imprint, or city of publication, or information about your supplier every single time you create a new title. Life really is too short for that. So, we have a comprehensive system preferences area where any default values may be set. It includes common fields and such things as your own categorization scheme, if you don't use BIC or BISAC internally. Amazon Advantage, for instance, have their own classification scheme:

And wherever it makes sense to do so, we have handy little wizards that run so you can search the correct BIC or BISAC code for your title without pulling your hair out.

You can view contact details, where they're stored, on Google Maps.

There is help everywhere, with handy searchable dialogue boxes. Every field is defined and every function is explained.

Most supply chain partners like to receive their cover images in [isbn].jpg format. This can be a pain if your covers are saved in [name].jpg format. With OCPM you can upload, say, the cover design file boxingfitness.jpg. When you export it, OCPM automatically exports it as 9780954575989.jpg. Job done!

And watch how simple it is to manage your retailer customers, as well as any other organisations. Note in particular the comprehensive Branch information, and the ease with which you can switch between a People record and the Organisation they belong to.

In short, we try to just make life a little easier all round.