..bringing the power of
spatial technology to your business!
Please take take a minute or two to familiarise yourself with a few dot points before
dropping us a line or calling for a chat. Our business is making custom maps. During the
fourteen years we have been providing these services, a number of common misconceptions
have arisen, which these quick notes address:
If you are the person who needs the map, please consider
making contact yourself. It is common for initial contact to be delegated.
Unfortunately this often results in the person making first contact being unclear about
exactly what you have in mind. When we ask the inevitable questions about detail,
they often cannot be answered by the delegated person, who then faces a potentially
awkward position regarding completion of the delegated task.
To make a comparison, a custom mapping task is like a suit made for you by a
tailor. It will fit you and your needs exactly. Nobody else will have one like it.
If you can meet your clothing needs off the peg - that is from a store in the high
street, it will be cheaper than hiring a tailor to dress you.
If you have read this far, it is almost certain you have already approached your local
map store, government agency, library, or opened an atlas, and now acknowledge that the
map(s) or map derived data you desire and have in your mind's eye DO NOT ALREADY EXIST
(although if you are looking for Australian Postcode maps,
you're in luck)!
Our services are available to you on a
commercial basis. Please see our standard terms and
conditions where these are specified. In summary though, standard rates are between
A$140 - $160 per hour; a rate similar to a typical suburban plumber. Except for an initial draft map, we have a minimum charge of $140.
Rates exclude GST. We charge pro-rata, so you only pay for the time we spend on your work.
We feel this is a lot fairer than many other professionals, who will charge in increments,
for example in 15 minute increments (even if you only use a minute or two of the
increment). You will need to complete and submit the form
on our terms page before we commence your project.
Adding information to postcode
geography, including Census data or business activity data. Your own data can
be mapped using one of our postcode data products, all that is required is that you supply
us with a database table(s) or spreadsheet(s) containing postcode value in one column, ideally a State / Territory abbreviation
in a second column, and whatever variables you want mapped in third and subsequent
columns. However for many applications, our pre-configured Census
data enhanced postcode range may be all that is required, with almost 300 of the most
commonly deployed demographic statistics from the most recent Census, at only 25% more
than the standard product range is incredibly good value! Other published data can also be
deployed, such as the most recent statistics for business activity and distribution, as
illustrated on the site here.
Many customers wish to
have their own data integrated with our Postcode Data; sales figures and
franchise territories are typical examples, you can see some examples here. If your project requires
use of our Postcode Data to generate tabular output, rather
than actual maps or supply of the digital Data Product, the rate is 40% of the listed GIS
Data Product price. So for example if you have a sales analysis of NSW with output as
spreadsheets in mind, the cost would be; time * rate + ($1190 Small Business user / $2040
Organisational user * 0.4) + GST. Update Service
is not available for data accessed for tabular output. Of course if you'd prefer to do
this yourself, you will need the appropriate GIS Postcode Data Product
and a suitable GIS Software application.
Territory
and Franchise area custom mapping, specifically. Just as there is no such
thing as a "simple, basic map", every map or map
series created for every business using a franchise or sales territory model, is unique. A
common approach is for someone to ask a question along these lines: "We are
interested in a franchise / territory map using postcodes, for State X, or a region from
town A to town B; how much will it cost?" We can usually give a reasonable estimate
how much the postcode data will cost (Organisational License of either
the Standard Data Series, or Census Enhanced Data Series if you need to
consider population demographics in your territories), but cannot possibly estimate how
much time will be required, as such a question does not contain enough information about
the persons specific requirements for us to offer a custom mapping estimate. Please take a
little time to list your "must have" objectives, including: What information you
want to balance territories with (geographic area, number of people regardless of age or
gender, specific age / gender / ethnic group, some employment or income variable, or any
of the many alternatives - default MapMakers Census Enhanced list is here);
how many territories you are aiming for or what the target variable for each is; whether
separate branches of the same postcode or other base spatial unit must be contained in
only one territory or can be allocated to several; whether a postcode or other spatial
unit must remain entire or whether you are prepared to split them to meet a specific
outcome (the notes and illustrations
on the Postcode page may be helpful); whether territories can cross the borders of
more than one State or Territory; what size map(s) you
require; whether you want a single summary map for your entire area of interest or
individual maps for each territory as well / instead of (individual territory maps usually
take between 15-30 minutes, after the main territory definition exercise is completed, so
please budget accordingly); what naming system your territories should have (default is 1
through to "n"); wording for title(s), a digital image of your logo if required,
any specific wording for disclaimers or other corporate requirements. Experience tells us
most territory mapping exercises have a custom mapping time based component in the upper
half of the typical range, so $1500 - $3000, while territory
creation for several of the major States together or all Australia is always going to be
more than this, not including any spatial and other data which may be required (rarely a
client will supply all / some of their own). Similarly, but not necessarily related to
overall area, if there is substantial data editing and analysis required, such as the
splitting of spatial units based on redistribution of variable(s), it can add
significantly to the time required compared to territory creation using entire spatial
units. We perform a lot of territory mapping, so we can almost certainly get you where you
wish to be in this respect, but please be prepared to work with us to ensure we are able
to implement to your requirements - it will be an iterative process and you will most
likely need to be involved at least in a reviewing capacity. A good territory map is often
pivotal to an effective sales prospectus for a franchisor; generating such maps can
sometimes be complex and time consuming and therefore costly. However such costs would
almost always be incorporated in the franchise price and as such would be at least fully
recoverable, so please budget appropriately for your territory mapping project.
Adding
geographic location to existing records using addresses. It is commonly asked
"..can you map our existing list of customers.."? The answer is usually
yes. We have the capacity to process your database table or spreadsheet and add geographic
coordinates to each, which then allows us to render your records in geographic space,
similar to the example on our
Postcode Maps page, or like the "pins" you have probably seen marking
attractions or businesses in Google Earth. If your own data has additional columns, for
example sales figures, or customer service schedules, additional value can be leveraged
from the processed records, such as this example relating to a
manufacturers agent prioritising visits to clients. To perform this task your table must
include a valid street address for each record. While the technology we deploy for this is
highly sophisticated, experience shows that a typical address table will return
coordinates for about 80% of the records on a first pass. Most address data is captured
"free-form", which means it is not validated against a central database of valid
addresses, consequently typos and other data entry errors tend to creep in and accumulate
unnoticed. While we are happy to process your data "as is" (we return to you a
copy of failed records along with successful ones), it is sometimes opportune to spend a
little time standardising and cleaning up your data beforehand. We have created a
"template" which lays out how an "ideal" table appears for this
process. As well as a suggested structure of columns, it has detailed comments on the most
common "errors" found in address lists and suggestions on how to edit such
records to maximise the chance of returning accurate locations. You can purchase a copy of
the Mapmakers Ideal Address Format IAF_001 for $90 + GST from the shopping cart below.
Some customers require a "draft" or
"example" before making a decision to proceed. We are happy to
accommodate such requests, but ask that you proceed to our Terms and Conditions page.
Draft maps are explained fully on our Terms page here. A draft map takes time and competes
with other commercial tasks. If your need is specific (often it is) you must pre-purchase custom mapping (Dft_CM1) in
blocks of 30 minutes ($70 + GST) using PayPal via our web-cart; a MapMakers Tax
Invoice is issued for all PayPal transactions. If you require a draft map based on readily
accessible data, for example using a sample of our postcode data, it
will rarely cost much more than the standard project initiation charge of $140 and you
will get the prompt service you need. However should you wish to visualise a sample of
your own data, it will almost always take longer than an hour to prepare, so please plan
for that possibility. We also have a number of generic sample maps in Adobe Acrobat PDF
format for illustrative purposes, which are available on request, free of charge. Please contact us briefly explaining your subject
matter of interest, and we will endeavour to supply something broadly relevant.
Sometimes a map requires use of commercial
third party data. If this is unavoidable for your particular map, we will
arrange for the data supplier to invoice you separately for such data. That means that you
pay a minimum for your required data - we DO NOT take a cut of third party data costs.
Doing so would be unethical. Indeed it is our company policy to continue to lobby for
cost-free access to and use of spatial data created using your and our taxes. Regrettably
in Australia, most State and several tiers of Commonwealth government still attempt to
supplement their treasuries by charging us to access data for which we have already paid
and continue to fund. So don't get mad with us, lobby your State and Federal Members of
Parliament!
How much will it cost?Each custom job is
different of course. Typically though, 80% of the maps we create result in invoices from
MapMakers Australia of between A$500 and A$3,000 + GST, plus data costs if
applicable. As specified in several locations on our site, third party data costs, if
required, are beyond our control and become the subject of separate arrangements between
you the client and the third party supplier.
Rarely a custom map can be created for less than A$500. Sometimes highly involved map
series, data analysis and extraction, or custom installations with on-site and support
work can run to tens of thousands. These are unusual.
If the prospect of paying several hundred dollars to satisfy your specialised spatial
information requirements is too shocking, please do not proceed any further.
Unfortunately, your expectations are unrealistic.
So it is with every custom map. Every single thing has to be assembled from raw,
unformatted data.
The amount of work involved (and thus the dollars) bears NO relationship to the size of
the map you require. All custom maps are created using digital data. We will use the data
sets optimally suited to your specifications, but these do not have anything to do with
the size of the map you want. See our "quick tour"
for an introduction to digital data, scale and other things which directly influence your
job.
It is often a more difficult task to generate a map suitable for viewing on a small page
than a large one. It is common therefore that a specification requiring A4 or A3 output
will take more work than the same objective destined for a large format A1 or A0 page.
Pages are most often measured in standard sizes, such as A4 and A3 office paper sizes
familiar to most of us. The relationship is a simple one and is explained and illustrated
on this Wikipedia Page. It's sometimes
difficult to work out what would be the best size for the custom map area you have in
mind. A useful check, particularly if you're interested in part of a city or town, is to
refer to a street directory. Have a look at the map index page (often inside the front
cover), locate the approximate positions of your north, south east and western most points
you require, then count the number of map pages required to cover your area. If your
street directory has A4 pages and it requires eight pages for your area, aim for a page
size about eight times the area of one A4 sheet - that would be an A1 size map which would
allow a similar level of detail as present in your street directory (there is often
none-map content on street directory pages, advertising for example, so it may be
reasonable to aim for next smaller page size in such cases). You may also be interested in
how map scale and page
size are related..
Paper maps are cheaper than electronic maps.
Wrong. All modern maps are created initially using sophisticated mapping software in a
computer environment. If an actual paper map is desired, as often it is, it is produced after
the digital version has been created and as such is an additional cost.
Therefore, a paper map is always more expensive than an electronic map!
While you can print an A4 and increasingly an A3 map on your own office inkjet or laser
printer, larger pages require use of large format colour plotters. These are expensive
machines and so are the pages printed from them. We use commercial printing services to
generate large format paper maps. Typically an A1 or A0 paper page will cost between A$100
- 150. Unless you want a large number of copies (over 100 copies typically) there is
little scope for multiple copy discounts.
We can supply your maps in pretty well any standard electronic format including Adobe
.PDF® or Illustrator®, just about any image format and of course most GIS formats.
Please be clear about the formats you wish to receive and ensure your own equipment
(computers, printers) can handle both the format and often very large files involved. We
will happily work with you to address any issues you may have utilising your output, and
can configure your products if you have specific requirements, but cannot be responsible
for any incompatibilities or system weaknesses in a client's system. We have found using
common operating systems and popular tried and tested hardware to be a sound investment.
Please, please, please.. Give thought to exactly what you want in advance. The
clearer and more complete your instructions, the more effectively we can generate exactly
what you need. A single draft should ideally be all that is required for a well thought
out project - it will really save you money! Even small changes require work so please be
as specific as you can.
We can have a good guess at what you mean if you say "..just a basic map.."
but everyone's idea of a "basic" anything is just that - individual! So please
help us and save yourself money - be as specific as you can!
Hopefully you will now be keen to engage our services, confident of our undivided
professional attention! A form is included below for your convenience.
Draft maps are explained fully on our Terms page here. A draft or example map takes time
and competes with other commercial tasks. If your need is specific (often it is) you must
pre-purchase custom mapping (Dft_CM1) in blocks of 30 minutes ($70 + GST) using PayPal via
the web-cart to the right..
A Custom Draft will typically take
an hour (2 * Dft_CM1); please include a summary of your requirements in the
"message" section. Include contact details or send an e-mail to support so we understand clearly what you
require.
Dft_CM1 30 minute Draft Custom Mapping
MapMakers Ideal
Address Format Template IAF_001 (Microsoft .xls format) contains suggested structure
and detailed notes for standardising and correcting common errors in address data in order
to maximise the chance of records returning accurate geographic coordinates. Processing
your records to make them mappable is a custom mapping
task charged at our normal commercial rates.
Please note this
process can only be successful for addresses which have gone through the government
protocols of gazetting and from there incorporating into the address database used –
a process which is variable but usually many months from construction of a green field
building to appearance in an address database.
MapMakers Ideal Address Format
Template IAF_001
IAF_001 MapMakers Ideal Address Format $90.00 + GST available as download
only via this webcart. You will receive a download link upon completion of your
transaction. Please ensure you use a valid e-mail address for receipt of your download
instructions. Single User License.
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