Phil Hearn: Blogger, Writer & Founder of MRDC Software Ltd.

QPSMR – Market Research Software that users find easy to use


I am often asked what is the best software for cross tabulations, tables, crosstabs or whatever you call them. There is a huge choice of products ranging from high end products like MRDCL, Merlin, Quantum down to some free basic tools – and not forgetting Excel. But, QPSMR Companion is a serious contender, but is it the best fit for you?

What does ‘best‘ mean for a user?

The answer to the question about what is the best software for cross tabulations, in fact, will depend on the type of users, the type of work, the size of the projects you want to run and, perhaps, your budget.

It’s easy to use

So, the best product will vary from company to company, but the feedback we constantly get from QPSMR users is that they love QPSMR because it is easy to use. This means that once they have had basic training, users can become productive quickly.

Is it just easy?

Ease of use is not the only benefit of QPSMR. The other major benefit is that it can handle the biggest of projects. Its speed of processing large surveys or large numbers of tables is unmatched. The other benefit of QPSMR is that it is ideal for handling data entry of any volume of paper questionnaires or for CATI surveys. The free use of the data entry module means that you can have literally thousands of data entry staff at no extra cost.

Where is QPSMR a good fit?

QPSMR Companion is consequently a good fit for various types of users. Some good examples would be:

  • Large data entry teams or telephone centres
  • Companies that only process a small number of surveys and need something that’s easy to use
  • Companies that need to analyse large volumes of data
  • Companies that want to get started quickly and easily


When is QPSMR not a good fit?

QPSMR Companion has its core market where it is an ideal product. Of course, there are situations where QPSMR is not a good fit. Here’s some examples:

  • Companies focusing on online surveys – we would recommend Snap for online surveys.
  • Companies that want higher level scripting software (although QPSMR Companion is compatible with MRDCL, the number one scripting language, and offers an easy upgrade path)
  • Companies that need a full data processing and reporting software system that allows data collection on different platforms, allows users to produce charts, dashboards or other online reports. QPSMR Companion focuses on data collection and tables.

​So, why QPSMR Companion?

Well, QPSMR Companion is reliable, established, but, above all, easy to use even for quite complex projects. And, anecdotally, users report that with QPSMR, you rarely need support as it’s obvious how to use it. That’s echoed by our support team who report that QPSMR support requests are very low.


QPSMR Companion has everything you need to prepare surveys, collect data and analyse your data. This includes:

  • Handling questions of all types
  • Data checks
  • Weighting
  • Cross-tabulations and summary tables
  • Exports to most formats
  • Data management and data correction tools

Do you get any extras?

A QPSMR Companion licence entitles you to an unlimited number of free data entry licences. If you buy, a single QPSMR Companion  licence, you can have as many free data entry licences as you wish. QPSMR Companion also allows you to output projects to Resolve. Resolve is a free tool that you can distribute to colleagues or clients so that they carry out secondary analysis from your projects.

Would you like a trial?

If you want a trial or to find out if you are a good fit for QPSMR Companion, just contact us now. You will be surprised – and, importantly, as it hasn’t been mentioned. Contact nikki.sunga@mrdcsoftware.com for a free trial.