Farm management software built around how your operation works.
South African agricultural operations — from pack houses to commodity traders — generate complex operational data that off-the-shelf software rarely handles well. Export compliance, block management, logistics, and trading require systems built for the specific realities of your operation.
BasicData builds custom FileMaker systems for agricultural businesses across South Africa. We understand pack house operations, export compliance requirements, and the data complexity that comes with managing product from block to market.
What an agricultural management system needs to handle.
Agricultural operations span multiple disciplines: farm management, pack house production, export compliance, logistics, and trading. Most businesses manage these in a combination of spreadsheets, disconnected systems, and paper records. A FileMaker system connects the whole operation.
Farm block and orchard management
Pack house operations and production tracking
Commodity trading and contract management
Export compliance and phytosanitary documentation
Labour and contractor management
Logistics, transport, and cold chain tracking
Yield tracking, forecasting, and variance analysis
Customer, market, and export channel management
Compliance reporting and traceability
Agricultural data is complex, time-sensitive, and compliance-critical.
The data challenges in agriculture are specific: high transaction volumes during harvest, strict compliance and traceability requirements for export markets, product that needs to be tracked from a specific block to a specific export pallet, and logistics that involve cold chain, transport, and customs. Generic software does not handle this well. Spreadsheets handle it worse.
BasicData has been building operational systems for agricultural businesses since 2018. We have worked with exporters, pack houses, and commodity traders on systems that handle the full complexity of their operation. Our clients stay with us for an average of eight years. The systems we build grow as the operation grows.
We are a registered member of the Claris FileMaker Business Alliance, the formal partner programme for professional FileMaker development companies.
Agricultural operations that need their data to work as hard as they do.
Our agricultural clients range from export pack houses needing real-time production visibility, to commodity traders managing contracts and logistics across multiple origins, to farms building operational discipline into their growing and harvesting processes. If your operation is managing critical data in spreadsheets, or running multiple disconnected systems that nobody trusts, we can consolidate that into something that works.
Questions about FileMaker for agricultural operations.
Pack house operations, export compliance, offline field use, and what a build involves.
What agricultural operations do you have experience with?
We have built systems for agricultural exporters including Frontier Grapes, a Namibian vineyard operation managing farm logistics, export compliance, and customer relationships. We work with operations across the fruit, viticulture, and commodity trading sectors.
How does FileMaker handle pack house operations?
Pack house operations generate high-volume, time-sensitive data: intake from blocks, grading, packing, palletisation, cold store, and loading. We build FileMaker systems that track product from block to export pallet, with real-time visibility across the pack house floor via FileMaker Go on tablets or WebDirect on any browser.
Can FileMaker handle export compliance and phytosanitary documentation?
Yes. Export compliance documentation, including phytosanitary certificates, inspection records, PPECB compliance, and GlobalGAP traceability, can be generated and managed within FileMaker. We build the compliance documentation workflow around your specific export markets and regulatory requirements.
How does the system work for field operations without reliable internet?
FileMaker Go on iPhone and iPad supports offline operation. Field workers can capture data on blocks, orchards, or in the pack house without a live connection, and sync when connectivity is restored. We design the offline workflow to match how your field teams actually work.
Can the system integrate with farm management or ERP software we already use?
In many cases yes. If your existing software has an API or can export in a standard format, we can integrate it with your FileMaker system. We assess the integration possibilities during scoping and give you an honest view of what is feasible before committing to a build.
What does an agricultural management system cost to build?
Project cost depends on scope. A focused first module, covering pack house operations or farm block management, typically starts from R150,000 to R250,000. More complex systems covering compliance, logistics, trading, and reporting run higher. We scope and price each project after understanding your operation.
Tell us about your agricultural operation.
Describe how you currently manage farm data, pack house operations, compliance, or trading, and where the gaps are. We will tell you honestly what a custom system would involve.