Monday, February 28, 2011

Searching & Exporting Your Order History

Once an order has been delivered or otherwise completed, clicking the 'Complete Order' button will send it over to the 'Completed Orders' tab for the day. Completing an order will allow you to invoice it, but you'll still be able to manually change any of the fields or pricing. Your completed orders has another important function, though: it stores your entire order history in a searchable database. You can view weekly orders by the day by selecting from the dropdown menu. Or, if you need more powerful search tools, you can select 'Search' instead of 'Week View'. You'll then be able to search by a wide variety of parameters including customer, driver, and order number, throughout any date range that you specify.

One great use for these order history searches is order exporting. It's simple to create sales reports from the 'Invoices' window, but often we have clients who want their order history, or a subset of their order history, exported into a spreadsheet. If you right-click in the completed orders window, you can export all the orders listed in that pane into a spreadsheet that includes all the information fields for each order. This also works for the 'New Orders' and 'Active Orders' panes. For example, if you wanted a list of all orders made by a certain customer from 1/1/2011 to 1/15/2011, you would search for that customer number within that date range. Once the list is pulled up in the program, right-click and export the orders. This would create a spreadsheet of all that customer's orders in that time frame. This can be useful if you want to do order analysis or create a more customized sales report for a certain subset of your orders. (To get a full order history exported into the spreadsheet, just select 'Order Date' as the parameter and specify your range.)

Friday, February 25, 2011

New 2-Way and Surcharge Options

You may have noticed a few new options that were pushed out in updates recently. If you haven't received them yet, simply close and restart the Order Panel. We'll break down a few of them here today.

If you go to 'Settings' > 'Software Settings', you'll notice a couple new check boxes under the 'Dispatch' heading. The 'Automatically Complete 2Way Delivered Orders' will send orders over to the 'Completed Orders' tab as soon as the driver marks the order Delivered. This is helpful if you have a lot of orders in one day, and don't want to manually complete each one from the dispatch side. The 'Display Company Name on 2Way Menu' will display the pickup company's name, as opposed to their address, when the order is sent to a driver's 2-Way app.

Surcharges have also been modified with a couple new features. When you add a weight or piece surcharge, you'll notice a box that says 'Apply Charge For Entire Order'. This essentially creates an override so that the current range's rules will override any previous ones. Those of you familiar with our distance and surcharge pricing system probably know that it's usually cumulative; e.g., if you have a range of 0-100 lbs. at 10¢ per lb., and 100-200 lbs. at 20¢ per lb., an order that was 150 lbs. would calculate 100 lbs. at 10¢ and add on 50 lbs. at 20¢, giving you a total surcharge of $20. With the 'Apply Charge For Entire Order' checked, the current range (100-200) will override any other rules, and the entire order will be charged at 20¢ per lb., give you a total weight surcharge of $30 in our example. This feature can be used for both weight and piece surcharges.

Finally, a 'Driver Commission Override' has been added to fuel surcharges. This allows you to set a specific percentage for driver commissions to be taken from the fuel surcharge, or you can exclude fuel surcharges from commission altogether (by selecting 0%).

Double-Click Options in the Dispatch Panel

Customer feedback led us to make a couple recent changes in the user interface. You'll now be able to customize the action that double-clicking an order takes within the dispatch window.


The first two options determine which fields appear as columns in the order panes, and the 'Double-Click Action' allows you to select a few different functions (status, edit order, edit price, optimize, etc.) when you double click an order.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Updating Courier Information

Changing your courier company information can be done in a couple easy steps.

Go to 'Settings' > 'Courier Information' (should be selected by default):


From this screen you can update your company name, address and contact information, ordering site address and company web site address. You'll also be able to post a website announcement that's viewable by all your customers. You can change most fields directly, but for the ordering site address and your own website address you'll need to verify the changes by clicking the 'Change' button. (This lets us check if another courier company has already claimed them.)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Advanced Driver Pay

Driver commission reports are handled strictly within the software. You may have noticed the 'Driver Reports' tab when you click on the 'Invoices' button; this works just like sales reports and regular invoices. All you have to do is specify a date range, pick a driver, and generate their commission report. The basic pay system uses percentage commissions from every order the driver handled, minus deductions for the specified period. If you need a more complicated system, however, you can implement Advanced Driver Pay.

Instead of percentage commissions, Advanced Driver Pay allows you to implement the pay system of your choosing. For example, you could pay your drivers a flat rate per order, plus 50 cents per mile. Normally, driver commissions are calculated by taking the customer's price list for that order, and multiplying it by the commission percentage. Advanced Driver Pay works by creating a separate price list and applying it to that driver instead. For example, if the customer was being charged by mileage, but you wanted to pay the driver a flat rat per order, you would follow these steps:

1. Go the 'Pricing' tab under 'Settings'. Click on 'Price Lists'.

2. Create a new price list, and instead of putting in the cost of the order, enter the driver pay parameters. For instance, to charge your drivers a flat rate, create a new 'Flat Rate' price list (called 'Driver Pay Flat', for example) and enter in the amount you want to pay your drivers per order. To pay them by the mile, create a new distance price list (e.g. 'Driver Pay Distance') that has their pay rate per mile.

3. Highlight any customer price list, and click 'Advanced Driver Pay' in the bottom right of the window. Here you'll see the default pay system: it takes the price list from the customer, and applies the percentage from the driver to determine their pay. This is what we want to change. Under price list, select the driver pay price list that you've just created, and apply it at 100%. We're applying it at 100% because the list was created specifically for drivers. Of course, nothing is stopping you from applying other customer price lists at different percentages.

From now on, any order that uses this customer price lists will pay the driver for that order according to the 'Advanced Driver Pay' rules. This may sound a little confusing, but really all it's doing is calculating pay by applying a different price list and different percentage instead of the default.

All these same rules apply for surcharges, as well.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Inviting Customers to Order Online

Digital Waybill allows customers to place order in two ways: through the web interface at 'http://dwaybill.com/(yourbusinessname)' and through our Quick Entry software. The Quick Entry is installed onto your customer's computer and will create an icon on the desktop named after your business.


Customers can log in to your ordering page by entering the customer number and password assigned to them. You can edit these at any time from the Customer Management window. Once logged in, they'll be able to place new orders (using their own address book for quick entry if necessary) and review their order history and details.

It's even easier to deploy the Quick Entry client: just go to the Customers window in the order panel, highlight the customer and press the 'Get Customer Online' button. This brings up a simple e-mail generator that will send out a brief invitation message and a download link for the client. The customer's ID and password are already stored in the download link, so they won't have to log in after installation, and can start placing orders immediately. Customers can also download the Quick Entry client from the online ordering form.

Just a note: the Quick Entry client has a couple features that aren't in web-based ordering. These include: routed orders, order history calendar, and GPS tracking (which is off by default, but can be enabled from the 'Service Type Details' window within the main order panel). We use TCP Port 8818 for all communications between the client and the order panel, so you may need to have your customers open their firewall.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Customizing Messages for E-Dispatch, 2-Way, & POD

Digital Waybill communicates in a couple different ways with both drivers and customers. Drivers receive their dispatched orders through either E-Dispatch (text/email) or the 2-Way mobile application. Customers, on the other hand, can be sent a POD, or confirmation e-mail, detailing the current status and timestamp. You can customize the default fields that go into these messages as follows:

1. Go to 'Settings' > 'Software Settings' and click the 'Edit Messages' button.

E-Dispatch: Check the appropriate boxes to include that information in the text message. Remember, you can always edit the message contents on a per-order basis by clicking on the text box before you dispatch the order.

2-Way Dispatch- You can also choose to include fields that the driver can update from their mobile phone. To add or remove an editable field, check the appropriate box under 'Driver Editable' (signature is not optional and will always be gathered). 

E-mail POD: Once again, pick the appropriate options.


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Recurring Orders

If you handle repeat or scheduled orders that you'd like to memorize, you can set up recurring orders from any existing order by following a few simple steps.

The order in question needs to be created at least once. If you follow this process while the order is in the New Orders pane, the order will be memorized without an assigned driver. If you've already dispatched the order when you memorize it, Digital Waybill will remember your driver preference and automatically assign that driver whenever the recurring order is placed.

Select an order in the main dispatch window and click on the price in the bottom right corner. In the pop up window, under the area with the price breakdown, click the 'Memorize' button. From here you'll be able to set up a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. If you'd like to memorize the order for future use, but not place it on a schedule, you can select 'Weekly' and leave all the boxes blank. Finally, create a name for your order.

When an order is set to recur on a schedule, it will appear at midnight when the date changes (beware, if you're changing the date in Windows for any other reason, any scheduled orders for the new date will be placed every time the calendar changes to that date). The order will appear with the same ready time and all the same order details as when you memorized it.

You can see all of your memorized orders at once by slicking on the 'Settings' button on the main dispatch screen, and then clicking the 'Recurring Orders' tab. From here you can remove an order or edit its schedule, and you can place it at any time by double-clicking or selecting 'Place Now'.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Status Time Updates

It's very common to want to change the delivery time for an order after it's been completed (for example, if the order was delivered but you weren't able to change the status until later). To do this, simply highlight the order and click the status button on the right side of the dispatch screen. The 'Edit Tracking Info' window will allow you to update your 'Ready' and 'Deliver By' times as well as the current status time. And if your driver captured a signature, you'll be able to see that as well.

You can also access this window at any time for any new or active orders to see the status and timestamps.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Service Type Options

Your service types within Digital Waybill do more than determine pricing. You can customize service types by availability time, delivery time and customer (among other options) to fit the needs of your courier business.

To customize your service types, open the 'Settings' window and click on 'Delivery Services'. From here, you can double click on a service type, or highlight a service type and click 'Edit'. In the window that pops up, you'll be able to rename your service type and change the details.



If you select 'Specified' under the Service Details, you'll see all of the options for customizing your services. The 'Within' and 'By' options allow to set delivery guidelines. For applicable orders, the appropriate 'Deliver By' time will be calculated and shown in the main dispatching screen. You can also allow customers to see this estimated latest delivery time by checking the box below.

If you'd like your customers to be able to track your drivers by GPS, select the next option. This means that for relevant orders, your customer will be able to pull up a driver map and see the approximate location of their order. This only applies during the time in between pickup and delivery for that particular order.

The cutoff time and weekend options both function the same way. If a customer tries to place an order past the cutoff time, or on a weekend when the option is set at 'No', an notification will pop up alerting the customer. If the customer chooses to continue anyway, the order will be placed for the next available date (e.g. next weekday/Monday). Please note, enforcing the cutoff time doesn't stop customers from placing the order. It will just roll over to the next day instead.

The two fields to the right give you the option to change service color, and make the service type available only to certain customers. If you change service availability, only customers with the box checked will be able to select that service type from the drop-down menu. This applies to the ordering client, online, and in the dispatch panel. Service color, on the other hand, is useful to see at a glance how many orders of one type you have active at any given time. It works by changing the color of the order number in the dispatch window. So, for example, if you made Regular orders black and Rush orders red, you'd be quickly be able to tell how many of each order were active on your screen.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Adding Customers to Digital Waybill

Whether you're importing customers from Quickbooks or manually entering customers within the program, there are a few things to keep in mind. Besides entering their basic information (company name, address, contact information), you'll also need to create a customer number and password for each customer. Your customers can use these to log in to the online ordering site and Quick Entry client. Even though it's called  a 'customer number', you can actually use any combination of letters and numbers, and the same goes for the password.

Make sure that your customer is assigned a price list. Our pricing system works by associating a default price list and surcharge set to each customer. You can create as many of these lists as you want, but in the customer details window you'll need to select one from the dropdown menu in order to calculate a price for that customer. If you don't have surcharges, you can leave that at <None>. The 'Allow Price Check' option will determine whether the customer can get a price quote before placing an order. If you select 'No', the 'Check Price' button won't be available to them. You can also apply a blanket discount to a specific customer from the '% Discount' field.

By clicking the 'Show Cost Centers' box, you'll be able to subdivide your customer into cost centers (or billing departments). Each cost center can have a unique address and contact. When placing an order, you or your customer will be able to assign the order to a certain cost center, and during invoicing separate invoices will be created for each cost center (though if you have Quickbooks, there will be an option to combine a cost centers into a single customer invoice).

Finally, if you have an e-mail address for your customer, you can check the 'E-mail POD' box to send out confimation e-mails automatically. When an order is completed from the main dispatch screen, Digital Waybill will send out an e-mail to that address informing them that their order was delivered. The status and timestamp are included by default, but to customize these messages, go to 'Settings', 'Software Settings', 'Edit Messages', and click the 'E-mail POD' tab at the top. From here you can select which information is included in the proof of delivery e-mails.

Remote Panel Installation & Setup

Remote panels are additional dispatch panels that allow for simultaneous dispatching with your Main Order Panel. They function almost exactly the same as the main panel, minus the ability to adjust settings and create invoices. They're also completely portable and can be installed on as many machines as you want, although a single username can only be active on one machine at a time. If you're interested in licensing a Remote Panel, give us a call!

Once you've added a remote license, you can create an additional user by navigating to 'Settings' > 'Additional Users'.


Use the 'Add' button to create a username and password for your Remote Panel. From here you can also set user permissions (for example, allowing the Remote Panel user to edit driver and customer information). Once this is done, you'll be able to run the Remote Panel from any other computer with internet access. To do this, open that computer's browser and input the web address shown in the 'Additional Users' window. The address looks like this:

http://www.dwaybill.com/<yourbusinessname>/getremote.htm

Click the download link, install the program, and enter your newly created ID and password. The installation will also create a Remote Panel shortcut on your desktop. From here, you're all set to start dispatching.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Installing the 2-Way Mobile Application

The Digital Waybill 2-Way application provides 2-way dispatching, GPS tracking, barcode scanning and signature capture. To run the app, you'll need a Java-enabled phone or an Android based phone. You'll also need GPS for driver tracking, a touchscreen for true signature capture, and a camera to scan barcodes (these aren't necessary for the 2-way to work, though).

The easiest way to get the 2-Way application installed on your drivers' phones is to use the 'Get Online' feature within the main Order Panel. If you're using an Android phone, download and run the app directly from the Android Marketplace, and skip to the last step. Otherwise, follow these steps:

-You'll need a data plan for this to work. Also, make sure GPS is enabled on the phone to allow for driver tracking.
-Go to your Drivers window and double-click on a driver to edit.
-In the window with the driver's details, you'll see a 'Get Online' button to the right; click it. As long as the driver's phone number and provider are correct, the program will send a download link to the phone.
-Click on the download link to open the phone's mobile browser.
-Select the most appropriate option. If none seems relevant, select 'Phone'.
-Open/run the file after download. Depending on the phone, you may have to search a little. Usually the file is saved in a 'Downloads' folder or something similar.
-The app will prompt you to enter a CID and Driver ID. These can be found in the same driver details window, right above the 'Get Online' button. Note, the Driver ID is their 10 digit phone number, not the Driver Number used for dispatching.

Here's a breakdown of the correct options by provider and phone, along with any additional instructions:

AT&T
-Android – Download 'Digital Waybill' from the Android Market.
-Most Other Phones – Use the AT&T link.
-Blackberry – Use the Blackberry link.
-Windows Mobile  – Call us to set up Phonelink and the Java environment.
-iPhone – Not compatible at this time.


Boost Mobile
-Android – Download 'Digital Waybill' from the Android Market.
-Motorola i-series phones (i335, i465 etc.) – Call us to deploy through the Iden Uploader.
*You also may have to add the mobile number to the first line of 'My Info' in the phone settings to download the app.

Fido
-Android – Download 'Digital Waybill' from the Android Market.
-Most Other Phones – Use the Phone link.
-Blackberry – Use the Blackberry link.
*For a Blackberry on Fido, you will have to change the APN Settings.
Go to 'Settings > Advanced Settings > TCP/IP and entering the following:
APN: internet.fido.ca
Username: fido
Password: fido
Authentication: disabled.

MetroPCS
-Android – Download 'Digital Waybill' from the Android Market.
-Most other phones not compatible at this time.

Rogers (Canada) 
-Android – Download 'Digital Waybill' from the Android Market.
-Blackberry – Use the Blackberry link.
*For a Blackberry on Rogers, you will have to change the APN Settings. 
Go to 'Settings > Advanced Settings > TCP/IP and entering the following:
APN: internet.com
Username:(blank)
Password:(blank)
Authentication: disabled.

Sprint (& Nextel)
-Android – Download 'Digital Waybill' from the Android Market.
-Motorola i-series phones (i335, i465 etc.) excluding the i1 Call us to deploy through the Iden Uploader.
*You also may have to add the mobile number to the first line of 'My Info' in the phone settings to download the app.

T-Mobile
-Android – Download 'Digital Waybill' from the Android Market. 
-Blackberry – Use the Blackberry link.
*For e-dispatch (text messaging) to work properly with T-Mobile, make sure that the 10 digit number is preceded by a '1'.

Telus (Canada)
Android – Download 'Digital Waybill' from the Android Market.
Blackberry- Use the Blackberry link.

Verizon
Android – Download 'Digital Waybill' from the Android Market. 
Blackberry – Use the Verizon Blackberry link.
Windows Mobile  – Use the Phone link.

Wind Mobile
Blackberry- Use Blackberry link
You will have to change the APN Settings.
Go to 'Settings > Advanced Settings > TCP/IP and entering the following:
APN: internet.windmobile.ca
Authentication: disabled
Username:(blank)
Password:(blank)


*To install on Windows Phone 7, give us a call and we'll help you set up the Java environment required to run the app.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Supported Mobile Devices for 2-Way Dispatching

AT&T 
Any Android phone (ensure it has GPS if you want to track your drivers)
Motorola Backflip
HTC Aria
Samsung Captivate
Nexus One
LG CF360
LG Shine
Motorola V365
HTC Pure
Tilt/ HTC Kaiser or Tytn II
Tilt II
Samsung Eternity (SGH-A867)
Samsung Mythic
Samsung A657

Boost Mobile 
Any Android phone (ensure it has GPS if you want to track your drivers)
i290
i335
i355 r4a.01.04
i365
i425
i465 Clutch - Full keyboard
i760
i560
i565
i570
i576
i580
i605
i670
i680
i776
i856
i870
i920
     
FIDO
Any Android phone (ensure it has GPS if you want to track your drivers)
Blackberry (Call for details)

MetroPCS
Any Android phone (ensure it has GPS if you want to track your drivers)

Rogers (Canada)
Any Android phone (ensure it has GPS if you want to track your drivers)
Blackberry (Call for details)

Nextel
Any Android phone (ensure it has GPS if you want to track your drivers)
Blackberry Curve 8350i
i9
i1
i290
i335
i355 r4a.01.04
i365
i425
i465 Clutch - Full keyboard
i760
i560
i565
i570
i576
i580
i605
i670
i680
i776
i856
i870
i920
m710

T-Mobile
 Any Android phone (ensure it has GPS if you want to track your drivers)
Blackberry Pearl 9300
Samsung T659
T-mobile myTouch
Samsung Behold II
Garminfone
Motorola Cliq XT
Motorola Cliq Titanium
T-mobile G-1
T-mobile myTouch

Telus (Canada)
Any Android phone (ensure it has GPS if you want to track your drivers) 
Blackberry (Call for details)
*Bold and Torch don't display GPS location

Tigo (Honduras)
Any Android phone (ensure it has GPS if you want to track your drivers) 

Verizon
Any Android phone (ensure it has GPS if you want to track your drivers)