Accounting and Off-the-Shelf software package limitations

Over the years we have heard many tales of woe about generic "off-the-shelf" packages that could do just "half the job".

Its not enough just to have accounting figures. For instance, can your accounting or other software package produce reports that answer these questions - at the push of a button, at any time of the month and for whatever period?

• What percentage of the time are your trucks standing in the yard because of no loads, or unresolved maintenance problems, etc.?
• Which truck (and driver) is running up abnormal maintenance costs?
• Which loads have the operations department forgotten to invoice when swamped with other work?
• What sub-contractor handled which loads and which loads don’t have Proof of Delivery (POD)?
• Can you produce a full history of all invoices, credit notes and payments per load?
• Can you produce a detailed history of all the loads handled?
• Can you instantly produce reports on Sales by Customer, Truck or Sub-Contractors?
• How do you quickly calculate or produce cost breakdowns, sales splits, gross profits, etc.?

Accounting software is almost useless for running a transport company efficiently!

A Balance Sheet does not zero in on specific problem-areas and costly, bad decision-making!

It has been proven that no single Accounting packing (even the expensive ones) - can meet your specialized transport-related requirements (if any!). There will always be important functions that are missing or management reports that cannot be produced by the off-the-shelf packages.

Even the data that can be extracted from the package usually ends up in copious spreadsheets. Massaging data into whatever report is required is a time-consuming process ... Time that is better spent dealing with clients and getting business. Are you one of the many transport companies that are forced to "Fit your business to your software package"?

Inadequate Management Reporting leads to wasting money and costly mistakes

Do you make incorrect assumptions about areas of your operation with regard to profitability / non-profitability - because you lack the ability to quickly produce up-to-the minute reports at any time of the month?

The need for up-to-date management, statistical and operational information is a vital aspect of any transport business. For example, constantly rising fuel and maintenance costs are a huge area of concern and need to be monitored closely on a per truck basis, sometimes even on a weekly basis.

The biggest problem with off-the-shelf software is usually the lack of management and operational reports. Are you constantly having to re-capture data into spreadsheets to get meaningful operational and management reports?

Information is power
Allowing management to be proactive, rather than reactive.

Integration and sharing of data between departments

We have found that many companies are forced to use a separate packages for transport-related operations and accounting. Its not unusual that a spreadsheet package has to be used to produce data for management reporting, or even a word processing package to generate day-to-day operational paperwork. The sharing of data between all these packages (and departments) becomes a real nightmare.

Hundreds of frustrating man-hours are lost by all levels of staff who must re-capture data, massage it into appropriate formats or layouts, and the chances of human error due to this duplication of effort is exponentially multiplied.

The seamless integration and sharing of common information and data between different divisions such as Operations, Warehousing and Accounting can ...

Save hundreds of man-hours,
Eliminate duplication of effort, and
Minimize human error.

Our AbaTrans Applications can also produce data in the correct formats for incorporation into industry-standard accounting packages such as Quickbooks, AccPac and Pastel, if required. It can also output data in the correct format for further ad hoc analysis in a spreadsheet (if you really have to!).

Future Growth and expansion

Should your business focus change or when you grow beyond the capabilities of your current OTS packaged software, it becomes an expensive "re-purchase or upgrade exercise" to accommodate these changes. The ability to constantly customize our AbaTrans solutions to suite your needs means that "the software grows with your business needs -so it never becomes obsolete."

Please refer to our "Customization" section for further information.

No transport company can exist successfully over the long term without specialized transport software and
specific transport-related management reporting.