Trucking Accounting System for Trucking Companies that Really Works!
Lipsett
Cartage Limited is a 50-unit, flat-deck hauler based out of Regina,
Saskatchewan. They haul steel throughout North America as well as
machinery, building products, lumber, and shingles -- "pretty much
anything that will go on a flat deck." Glenn Lipsett talks about
his 'Axon Experience.'
Tell us about your experience in dealing
with Axon Trucking Accounting Software.
"My experience with Axon has been very positive. We were using a
system before where we had to double all our entries and nothing
flowed through smoothly. And, you know, in dealing with the
people at Axon - our support has been great."
What type of problems have you solved
using the Axon system?
"Well, I guess, double entries was the biggest thing. We were doing
things two or three times - it was going around the office from
dispatch to invoicing to accounting, and it was all being done not
only in the computer but also on paper. Axon has eliminated two
steps. It gets put in right from the dispatch and pretty much flows
through the rest of the system. It has saved a huge amount of
time. Not only that, it all flows right into the accounting side of
it so the entries don't have to be done again."
Has Axon changed the way you do your fuel
taxes?
"That was one of the biggest pluses.
Fuel tax used to take
approximately a week of one person's time just entering all the
numbers and trips and everything for the quarter, and now it's down
to a matter of hours."
Has Axon improved the speed and accuracy
of driver settlements?
"Very much so. And not just in terms of the
driver settlements.
Everything flows through - all the deductions. When we
integrated our fuel downloads, they went automatically to the driver
statements, and it eliminated somebody, once or twice a week, going
through fuel bills and dedicating the right amount to each truck.
With Axons accounting, it's all done automatically."
Has your tracking of revenue and expenses
for your trucks changed?
"Well, everything was done manually before. I never really had any
system in place. With the Axon
Work Orders and Inventory
program, I have an actual tally on my inventory in my shop and it’s
billed out on a day-to-day basis to either trailer or truck or
whatever the case may be. And, from a management side, I can
go in on any day of the week and see what a particular trailer or
truck is costing me."
Has Axon improved your productivity?
"I've increased my fleet. When I bought the Axon software
system, I think I was running
about 20, and, as of now, I'm up to 40 and I could easily go to 50
or 55 trucks and not increase staff in here at all. Without
Axon, we would have needed at least two more staff."
Has staff morale changed since you got
the Axon system?
"Oh, yeah, like just huge. Everybody used to have a lot of not-nice
things to say about the system that I had. And, you know, it's just
simplified things and made it easy to find things. I was concerned,
when I got Axon, about how big a learning curve it was going to be,
and it really hasn't been. It's very user friendly."
Has your profitability improved overall
with the Axon system?
"Well, I know it's improved because of the fact that I've increased
numbers and haven't had to increase any staff. So, right there in
itself, it's improved my bottom line."
Has Axon helped you improve your customer
service?
"I think it has because, on a day-to-day basis, I know exactly how
many loads I've got booked and that I'm not overbooking or that kind
of stuff. When we were doing it on paper the old way, we'd take
loads as they came, and before you know it, you've overbooked
yourself for the availability of the equipment you had that day and
you phone them back and try to put the load off a day. Whereas, this
way, it's all in front of the guy on a minute-to-minute basis. In
addition, I can go back and see what we've done for a customer
previously."
Compare the support you receive from Axon
to your old system.
"Oh, I don't even know how to compare it. All the training has just
been fantastic, and whenever we phone, if our support person doesn't
take the call right away, I know she'll call me back within an hour
and fix whatever the problem is. I mean, that way it's been
just fantastic."
Does Axon's Total Integration, in Real
Time (the ability to enter something once and have it instantly
update all of your programs), benefit you?
"Oh, yeah, because everything's there. My bookkeeper knows, on a
day-to-day basis, how many loads have been booked or that the
money's all flowing through. And, as far as the invoicing side,
she's not double-entering things like we used to have to do -- taking
it out of the dispatch side and putting it into the accounting side,
or re-entering whatever the billing was for that day, or that kind
of stuff. That's the nice part about it. They put it in
once, and it just keeps flowing through from there."
Describe the ease of use of the software.
"Well, for me, that was probably my biggest concern because I'm not
a computer person and don't pretend to be one. But even myself, on
a day-to-day basis, I can go in here anywhere, whether it's
dispatching or the business side of it - executive briefings or
income statements or balance sheets - I can find my way around this
thing pretty easy. It's very user friendly."
How would you describe your experience
with Axon to your industry peers?
"Well, actually, I've done that with a couple of people already. I
just can't say enough about it. You know, right from the
dispatching to the accounting to the fuel downloads to the work
order program - it's a very affordable trucking accounting system
that is going to meet the needs of either me, with a 40-truck
company, or somebody with a larger company. The system is
still going to do the job for either one of us."
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