start at the beginning - which is where?

Think about it. Where would you start? Its so easy to just dive in to your favourite IDE and develop code, or pull up MySql Query and create tables. Thats what I did when I first got the idea. 9 years later I still don't have an application. Why? Because I developed in a very narrow-minded way and by the time I realized how far up a dead-end I had gone, I lost the will to retrace my steps, so I shelved it all.

I am not going to make that mistake again. i know I can't account for everything that might change (especially government legislation) but you need to take plenty of steps back on this one. In fact, put away you IDE's and get out a piece of paper and a pencil. You probably won't need your IDE for some time. Believe me, its the best way to start something like this.

So, you have your pencil and paper? Good. Start by writing the word "Factors" at the top - underline it or embolden it in some way because this piece of paper will be your most important during the development process. It will form the blueprint of what will become, essentially, the business plan of your code. Look out for the FACTOR label in the blog