[TriLUG] Project management software using Perl, Python, PHP w/MySQL etc?

[Brian Phelps]

Our office is looking into some type of database framework, that we can keep
track of jobs, generate quotes and equipment list/serial# for each job, keep
track of basic customer info, maybe even inventory.

We need to generate quotes for customers, keep track of job progress and
billable jobs, items to order for those jobs, and maybe even some inventory
management.

Right now my company generates word docs and spreadsheets which are shared
on a network (yes we stopped using a workorder book like 2 years ago), but
not really shared in a useful manner that makes any great sense to anyone
other than to the person who has generated those files.

I am really looking for a framework I can build off of.  There is commercial
software out there but the company is REALLY proud of it.  IOW it is way too
expensive (over $10k) for what it does, its too specific, rigid, and is
built on MS technologies.

I'm pretty sure there is something like this out there,  I was looking into
maybe some modules/plugins for Sugar CRM but I am totally new to this stuff
and still researching whats already exists.

Although I know C really well coming from an embedded system background, I
also have learned Perl/regex, PHP, & MySQL and have written a few small apps
here for the office.  I'm not afraid to modify or write plugins for
something that exists already.