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FMS is a trademark of MICROMATE F r e i g h t M a n a g e m e n t S y s t e m Version 1.00 MICROMATE 1991 All Rights Reserved Written by G. Roger Clark MICROMATE 6691 Berwick Drive Franklin, Ohio 45005 U.S.A. Telephone: (513) 424-8081 / 424-6483 ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ A Walk Through The Freight Management System Sampler Program (Copyright (c) 1991, G. Roger Clark) ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Requirements ──────────── DOS 3.1 or higher or 100% compatible environment 2 meg or greater of hard disk space 305 Kilobytes of free memory OVERVIEW ──────── FMS is the entry level program of a family of traffic and transportation software. Though not as comprehensive as ShipMate II or ShipMate III, this product will serve the needs of small companies quite well. FMS is available in network and stand-alone versions, but its intended use does not include the larger and more departmentalized companies. In practical terms, three distinct information management systems and several "utility" programs, allow MicroMate customers in the transportation industry to choose, cafeteria style, those products that best suite their present and growing needs. You will probably be using the "Sampler" in a stand-alone situation, but in actual use there may be several users at once. In a local area network (or multi-user) situation, companies recover their investment in our products very quickly with tremendous productivity gains and reduction of errors. Someone could be setting up new accounts at the same time another is dispatching loads, while yet another is sending out freight bills, and concurrently, someone else is doing collections. A serious productivity gain is found in the fact FMS does NOT require constant report printing and review of reports. Much of this type of information is displayed to the user on-screen in tables and forms. This is a BIG time saver. REMEMBER, FMS is designed to help you OPERATE your company, not just account for it. You use FMS as you work, not as an adjunct to the heavy work load you already have. Far more valuable than the "modified accounting programs" being offered to trucking firms, FMS is a way to get on top of things and save money in the process. MENTION is made in this document of ShipMate and other products. Our purpose here is to help "sampler" users distinguish all the products better and make a more appropriate decision for their company's needs. Samplers for ShipMate products are also available for interested parties. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ TO START FMS, log on to the drive and directory where you installed it (example: C:\>FMS) and type, FMS. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── I. MAIN MENU. The F1 key provides general program help at the main menu, but don't forget to use F1 throughout the program for help on almost every screen and field. Most main menu selections are familiar terms and welcome your exploration. It is recommended that you get acquainted with BASE FILES first, even adding some of your own customers, drivers, rates, etc., before you move on to any "transaction" records such as order entry. II. BASE FILES. (Note: Don't forget that the INS key will allow you to add a new record to most (but not all) of the tables throughout the program). Base files provide the expected base records for lookup functions in the transaction modules (such as order entry, dispatch). Since you cannot lookup data that does not exist, base files should be constantly kept up to date with new drivers, customers, rates, etc. In networked FMS (or ShipMate), your dispatchers, sales people, etc. may handle transaction entries as they work. Accordingly, a data entry person is freed up to do nothing but base file updates! This is a recommended approach. Everything in BASE FILES is real straight-forward and doesn't require a lot of study, but do review the following: 1) Labels and Descriptions: These are used by the transaction modules (freight bill and other forms) to reduce keystrokes when doing transaction entries. For example, a record of a special freight description can be entered into LABELS AND DESC once, and then merely "picked" off a table with a couple of keystrokes when doing ALL future records using this same description. Several records come with your program and may meet your needs without any data entry on your part. 2) Customers and Accounts: This is your shippers, consignees, and bill-to accounts file. If you have customers with a bill-to address that is different than the pickup or regular mail address, you merely create a separate record for the bill-to, using the same company name, but the correct bill-to address. Bill-to records can be abbreviated to only provide information needed in your billing and collection procedures. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Agent Code is only required if a sales agent (or terminal) is to get sales credit for orders received from this account. There is a name search, lookup and validation table behind the agent code field. Just type 1 digit in the code field and press ENTER. Now at the table, locate the agent by name (2-3 digits in the locator field). With the bar cursor on the record, press ENTER again and you will return to the ACCOUNTS FORM with the agent code in the code field! Neat and easy, and this doesn't require that everyone have a list of agents, drivers, etc. laying on their desk. The table finds it for you. TRLR REQD is the type of trailer generally required for this account. There is a lookup table behind the field and it works as described above. NOTE: MOST LOOKUP TABLES, IN MOST PROCEDURES, ARE "POPPED UP" BY TYPING 1 OR MORE DIGITS IN THE FORM FIELD AND THEN PRESS ENTER. With practice, you will learn to type in the first 2-3 characters of what you are looking for, allowing the table to already be sorted when it appears. The zipcode fields in all files are in 2 parts. Type in the first 5 and press enter to select the second part of the zipcode field. ShipMate III has a 49,000 record CITY, STATE, ZIP table included so that you do not have to enter city, states, and zips, into your forms. Just "pick" them off of the lookup table!! FMS and ShipMate II may be upgraded with a "shareware" program called ZIPKEY. Zipkey is not quite the equivalent of the Ship III zipcode file, but the author of ZIPKEY only requires a $30.00 registration fee and the program will save you lots of time! 3) Brokerage Carrier File: These are the carriers that your company brokers your excess traffic to. FMS and ShipMate II and III handle brokerage operations just as well as shipments moved by company trucks. The data entry here is very much the same as customers and accounts and other BASE FILES. TRLR SPEC is the type of trailer usually operated by this carrier. There is a lookup table behind this field. Type 1 digit (try V for VAN) and press ENTER. Now use the navigation keys to select the trailer type desired. With the bar cursor on the one you want, press ENTER again. You will return to the BRK form and the field will be corectly filled in with TRLR TYPE. NOTE: REMEMBER TO USE F1 FOR HELP OFTEN AS YOU EXPLORE ALL THE BASE FILE PROCEDURES. 4) Trip Lease Carrier File: These are carriers you trip lease excess traffic to. The fields and data entry are simple to relate to and similar to BROKERAGE CARRIERS. Be sure to use F1 often to aid your review. TRLR SPEC works the same as in BRK CARRIER. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ 5) Trip Lease Driver File: These are DRIVERS that you use in your triplease operations. Data entry is simple, the fields are easy to relate to. Be sure to use F1. IMPORTANT NOTE: Trip Lease Drivers must be associated with a Trip Lease Carrier, even if exempt, for PAY purposes. Here is how its done: In the TLD file, at the TLC field type 1 digit and press ENTER. The trip lease CARRIER table will pop-up for you to select the carrier the driver is leased to. (of course the trip lease carrier should have already been entered in the TLC File). If the TLD is exempt, just create a TLC record (Trip Lease Carrier File) in the name of the truck OWNER instead of a carrier name. From now on whenever you dispatch the driver or the carrier/owner, they are there to be "picked" from the tables without typing in a lot of data! Transaction records related to tripleased freight MUST contain a TLD code and a TLC code, with the payment going to the TLC which is a carrier or owner. That is why we keep this straight in base files to start with, it prevents payment errors! 6) Company Drivers: Drivers who are employed by your company, or owner/operators under a "permanent" lease agreement. Some of the data on page 2 (F10 from page 1) is related to owner operators and can be left blank if the driver is an employee driving company owned trucks. 7) Sales and Agent File: Employees, contractors, commissioned agents, etc. Anyone who will be receiving sales credit for freight shipments. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ III. BOOK ORDERS: This is order entry, book loads, accept pickups, any term you apply to it. If base files and rates are current in your FMS system, anyone in the company could take an order over the phone and put it directly into FMS in about 45 seconds or less with very little training. Again, current BASE FILE records are essential for fast and easy transaction entries like order entry and dispatch. One dependable data entry person working on BASE FILES can keep 5 or 10 other people in the company equipped to achieve maximum productivity as they use FMS for transaction work. LET'S WALK THROUGH AND ORDER ENTRY. ────────────────────────────────── 1) Press ENTER on the menu "Book Orders" item. The ORDERS table will appear. 2) INS key to ADD a new order to the file (just pretend you have the customer on the phone). The pro number, control number, trip number, or whatever you want to call it is auto numbered in sequence by the system and appears on the top of the FORM. 3) PUDATE and TIME is the pickup schedule requested by the shipper. Key in the DATE and press ENTER. At the time field, type 2 digits (example 10) and press ENTER. The TIME table will pop-up and be pre-sorted. Select the time on the table and press ENTER again. You will be returned to the order form with your time field completed. 4) SHIPACCT is the shipper account code. Press ENTER. Select the shipper by name from the accounts table and press ENTER to return to the order form. 5) CONSACCT is the consignee account code. This works just like the shipper account. 6) BILLACCT is the bill-to account code. If you know at this time who to bill to (example: prepaid shipments are billed to the shipper), type 1 digit and press ENTER. The accounts table will appear for you to locate by name and select from. YOU MUST TYPE THE ONE DIGIT, which is different than the previous account code methods because this is NOT a required field at the time of order entry. 7) WEIGHT is the ACTUAL weight of the shipment tendered by the shipper. (Not the minimum billing weight) 8) UNITS is the number of pieces, skids, lifts, coils, bundles, or whatever. This is the PIECE COUNT of the shipment in standard transportation terms. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ 9) TRLR REQD is the type of trailer required for THIS shipment, even if different than the shipper usually requires, so it must be filled in. A lookup table is provided behind the form field. Just follow the usual method of typing one digit (expl: V for VAN) and press ENTER. Up pops the trailer type table, etc. 10) S/O COUNT, STOP OFFS: This is the number of stops in transit on shipments tendered as "truckload with stopoffs". 11) S/O INFO is a stop off description label. Any number of these can be stored in the LABELS AND DESCR FILE and merely picked off the table in the usual manner when doing order entry. NOTE: In transaction records, the label and description table that comes up is NOT just a lookup table, but is also an update table. If you come up with a new description to use while doing order entry, you DO NOT have to close the record and go to BASE FILES. Instead, when the labels and descr table appears, just press the INS key to ADD a new record to the table. 12) DELIVER APPT is the date and time of a delivery appointment required by the shipper or his consignee. Don't forget the time table pop-up feature! 13) SHIP B/L or SHIPPER NUM is the shipping order or bill of lading number. If the shipper gives you this information at this time, put it in now. This will speed up billing and improve cashflow if you do get it now! 14) AGT CODE (agent code) is the agent account code. Only enter if an agent gets sales credit for this shipment. A name search lookup table is available and works like those previously discussed. 15) PUCODE: This is the DISPATCH PICKUP CODE and is very important. You are generally done with the basic order entry at this time (with practice, you can go slow and get here in 45 seconds), so let the shipper off the phone. Now go slow and get the PUCODE right. The first few times you should press F1 and review you HELP screen on this feature. Go ahead, press F1. See how the PUCODE sets up the order for accurate DISPATCH TABLE sorting by date, time, and geography of the pickup? This format also relates to the truck availability tables so that your dispatchers can "match" empty trucks with available shipments by the same factors (date, time, geography). This is a very simple and effective method for FMS to help you save missed pickups or wasted deadhead miles! NOW YOU ARE FINISHED with the basic order entry and the shipper is already off the phone. If your BASE FILES and RATE FILES are being kept current as recommended, you can now do the freight bill entry very rapidly, with very little typing. PRESS F10 TO ADVANCE TO THE FREIGHT BILL. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ IV. FREIGHT BILL FORM: The freight bill "screen" form is not necessarily the same in appearance as your "printed" freight bill. It provides a screen for entering order extension and rating information, most of which is fairly automated since the freight bill form is "hooked" to the RATE FILE and others. 1) B/L SHIPNUM is the bill of lading or shipping order number if you have it at this time. If not it will be updated at a later time before printing and mailing the freight bill. Sometimes dispatchers have drivers call in after loading to give them this information. If so, this field can be edited here, or in the dispatch module, at that time. But, remember . . the sooner the better so that the billing can be mailed to the customer! 2) PAYTO CODE: This is a new feature in FMS. If you are billing for several companies (or possibly divisions) those companies can be entered into the PAYTO FILE in the BASE FILES module and used as follows: The Payto Code is the code of a company (or a separate address for your company) where the customer will send payment for THIS shipment. This may be your company's regular address, or it may be another address for your company, or some other company all-together. In our modern transportation environment, we have service companies doing billing, or monies being paid to freight bill "factoring" companies, one carrier doing administrative services for another carrier, etc. It is therefore expedient for FMS to provide this added feature. There is a table behind the payto code field. Pop it up and select the PAYTO company by name (probably your company). 3) BILL DATE: do NOT enter the bill date now unless you have all the data and are absolutely certain that you are going to PRINT AND MAIL the freight bill today. 4) RCODE is the rate code field that matches a rate file record with this shipment. RCODE identifies the correct rate to apply to this shipment (from this shipper, to this destination, by this freight description, etc). To use the RCODE lookup table, first look at the shipper code field just above the rcode field, now type 1 digit into the rcode field and press ENTER. With the rate file table now on the screen, find the right rate record by searching with the SHIPPER CODE in the table "selector" field. When the rates for the shipper appear, be sure to match all pertinent information about the shipment before making a selection. After selecting with the table bar cursor, press ENTER to return to the freight bill form. 5) FREIGHT DESCRIPTION: Just type 3-4 digits of a description in the labels and descriptions file that matches the freight description for this shipment. Now press ENTER and the labels and descr table will pop-up for your selection. ENTER to return to the freight bill form. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ 6) BILL WGHT: Billing weight, or minimum billing weight according to your tariff or rate schedules. Doesn't apply to mileage rated shipments. Example: 37,000 lb. shipments generally (if rated by weight) are billed as 40,000. ON ORDERS RATED BY WEIGHT, F2 WILL POP UP RATECALC TO CALCULATE THE MINIMUM RATE AND WEIGHT, BUT ONLY DO F2 IF YOU MUST FULLY EXTEND THE FREIGHT BILL AT THIS TIME. THE REST OF THE FREIGHT BILL EXTENSION WORK DEPENDS ON HOW YOUR COMPANY IS STRUCTURED AND MANY OTHER FACTORS. If your company does much brokerage or triplease of your freight, or if you use percentage owner operators and weight rates, press F2 for RATECALC. If mileage rated, or if you do not need to know gross revenue for dispatch purposes, press ENTER a few times instead of F2, you will see rate file lookups take place as you move the cursor down the screen with the ENTER key. Pickup the freight bill instructions at number (6). At the bottom of the screen press F10 to save and return to the menu. Remember if you are doing a mileage rated shipment and the rate per mile does not appear, it means that your RATE FILE (BASE FILES) is not current! 7) IF WEIGHT RATED, you should press F2 for RATECALC to help you with a quick weight break and applicable rate calculation. Rate and billing clerks have had to "work these out" for years with desktop calculators, but we have provided all the formulation in a simple on-screen calculator so anyone can handle it correctly and quickly. RATECALC will display the rates and weight breaks from the rate file at the top of the ratecalc form. Just type in the UNDER ACTUAL WEIGHT BREAK and its rate. Then the OVER ACTUAL WEIGHT BREAK and its rate. ENTER all the way to the bottom and the correct results appear in the bottom, right hand column of the calculator. Neat! and very easy. CTRL-ESC to return to the freight bill. Now enter the RATECALC results in the appropriate bill wght and rate fields. 8) PPD COLL: Use the arrow keys to choose. PPD = prepaid by the shipper or the shipper's bill-to account. COLL = paid by the consignee or the consignee's bill-to account. COD = cash on delivery, driver is to collect a certified check (or some other form of approved payment) at the time of delivery, usually before unloading. 9) ACCESSORIAL CHARGE LABEL: A label describing any accessory services performed on this shipment such as "driver unload" or "tarping charge", etc. Pop up the Labels and Descriptions table and "pick" one from the table as previously described, or press INS at the table to add a new description record to the table. Press ENTER to accept and return to the freight bill form. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ 10) ACCESSORIAL CHARGE AMOUNT $: Type in the accessorial charge amount. THIS IS A PLUS + OR MINUS - FIELD AND CAN BE USED FOR BALANCE ACCOUNTING ON ITEMS SUCH AS "PALLET EXCHANGE" ON A BILL BY BILL BASIS. 11) PERMITS, O.D., ETC.: This is a field for charges applicable to a specialized haul requiring special charges, or permit charges of a kind that the shipper is responsible for, etc. Size and weight carriers handling over dimension machinery and similar shipments will appreciate that FMS allows for the combination, of weight, mileage, and special charges appropriate to their business. 12) When you reach the bottom the pause field appears. Press F10 to save and continue, in this case, F10 will save and return to the menu. IMPORTANT NOTE: You are now finished with order entry and a full freight bill extension. REMEMBER, freight bill extension would probably be handled by a trained billing dept. person. The dispatcher or sales person doing a basic order entry would have been done long ago. Also, you have spent several minutes reading this instruction, but with practice, you could have done it without a guide and finished the order entry and full extension of the freight bill in about less than 90 seconds! Really, just play with it a short while. If you are using existing data for customers, labels, rates, etc., it really flies. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ V. DISPATCH MENU: Selecting dispatch at the main menu takes a few seconds to change program modules and then display the dispatch sub menu. HERE IS ANOTHER REMINDER, DON'T FORGET TO USE THE F1 HELP KEY OFTEN, on tables, forms, and menus. 1) Dispatch Shipments: This item displays the orders table (shipments) that were entered into the system at order entry. This table is sorted by the PUCODE (pickup code) that was also entered when the order was taken. F1 key provides help on this table also. The concept works like this: If your dispatcher has a truck empty on 5/1/91 at (or around) 10:00 am, in the State of Ohio, and near Cincinnati (OH SW) . . . here is how to match with a load. Type 050191 1000AM OHSW in the "locator" field of the table. The table will sort itself to the nearest match of whatever you type. Now review the matched shipment, but also those in the table above, and those below the match (use the navigation keys, main menu help). The dispatcher can now make a logical choice of which shipment to offer or assign to the driver available. To pay quote a shipment to a driver, place the bar cursor on the shipment in the table and press F8 to call up the calculator. REMEMBER, the TRUCK BOARD TABLES, work with the same locator format. Immediately after placing a driver "empty and on board" is the best time to move to this dispatch table (with the "locator" you put on the truck board entry) and find a shipment to dispatch that as closely matches (date, time, geography) as possible. ShipMate III also includes a SalesAsst module for telemarketing by geographic regions so that if no shipment is immediately available, the dispatcher or sales person can go to work with calls to the right shippers in the right area, right now, to fill the empty truck. 2) To dispatch a shipment, assign the driver to the shipment: Select the shipment in the table with the navigation keys (main menu help) and press ENTER to accept that shipment. The first form to appear is a shipment data review form. Some fields can be edited here if the driver calls in AFTER the pickup with new info from the shipping order or bill of lading. Generally, review the data with the driver on the phone who is accepting the shipment. After completion of review press F10. Now you will get, the driver assignment screen and following that, agent assignment (if appropriate), trip lease driver and carrier assignments (if trip leasing out the shipment) and brokerage carrier assignment (if brokering out the shipment). In the ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ appropriate screen, place the cursor in the code field, type 1 digit, press ENTER to pop up the name search table, locate and press ENTER again to return to the assignment screen. Now, if required in your system of things, enter the payment calculation data to set up the settlement. Press F10 when finished. The last screen in dispatch is the extended info screen. Fill this out as complete as possible. If this is done on a call back after pickup, and if you have ALL the pertinent data at this time, mark COMPLETE, READY TO BILL "YES". This will set the order up for printing and mailing the freight bill ASAP. NOTE: PAY CALCULATION AT THIS LEVEL IS OPTIONAL IN SOME COMPANIES WHERE IT IS PERHAPS DONE BY OTHER STAFF MEMBERS AT OTHER TIMES. Press F10 when finished with the extension screen. Returns to the menu. 3) Driver and Truck boards: These also use a date/time/geography locator field to set up accurate dispatch, pickups, schedules, and to reduce deadhead miles. Be sure to use F1 for help. At the table, press the INS key, to put a driver on board who has just called in as "empty and available". This can be a driver who just finished a run and needs to reload, or one who is empty and returning to duty after an off duty period. Remember, in this concept, these drivers are not necessarily sitting in your terminal. In truckload operations they may be spread all over the country, empty in different places at different times, and you need the "locator" to match them with loads all over the country which are available at different times. The board ACCT CODE fields (DRVCODE, BRKCODE, TLC, TLD, etc.) all have the now familiar tables behind the form fields, accessed by name search in the familiar way. Be sure to F10 to save your new board entries. In actual use of FMS, you would possibly delete old board records from time to time, just to keep the tables nice and clean. NOTE: ShipMate III includes procedures in the dispatch module to track spotted and transit trailers for companies who do trailer spotting with their accounts, a common practice in modern transportation. EXIT DISPATCH, RETURN TO MAIN MENU. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ VI. BILLING: Billing and collections in FMS are designed to be simple, fast, and accurate, with less requirement of printed reports than other programs (saves time). The entire collections procedures can be performed entirely on screen, with phone numbers to call, amount due, account balance, and even a contact name, all right in front of you on the screen. Other than printing the freight bills, billing only requires one print procedure. In the report module, run the "billing ready report". This report is automatic and only prints those records (by pro number) which dispatch has declared "complete, ready to bill" which have not yet been billed, or still contain a balance due. With the this report in hand we return to the main menu and select "book orders" to get to the freight bill form. Each order on the "billing ready report" is selected from the order entry table. Press ENTER to call up the first form. Press F10 to advance to the freight bill form. At the freight bill screen, you visually review the shipment data, accounts involved, shipping order number, etc. In short you confirm that you have an order here that is ready to bill today. Now you type today's date in the BILL DATE field. After completing the review and bill date work of all the orders on the report (pressing F10 to save the edits) you return to the main menu. At the main menu select "print freight bills". At the sub menu put in today's date and select "print by bill date". IN THIS SAMPLER REVIEW, BE SURE TO USE F1 FOR HELP FREQUENTLY. Be sure to have paper in your printer and on-line. FMS will batch print all of the freight bills that were ready to be billed today. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ VII. COLLECTIONS (Not Available-FMS): This module presents another very good reason to gather information for your BASE FILES and diligently keep them up to date. The more base file data you have to work with, the easier and less time consuming you will find your transaction management. Remember, base file data only has to be entered once, but if it is there, you can then use it quickly, and perhaps thousands of times without data entry, as you do transaction management. 1) PAYMENTS (not available-FMS): payments received from accounts are entered by pro number into the payments file. Account balance, etc., is automatically maintained by the FMS program. 2) COLLECTION REVIEW AND ACTIVITY (Not available-FMS): Simply select "collections" from the main menu. The table that is presented next contains only those freight bills (by pro number) that have a balance due. There is even a summary "current accounts receivable" field at the bottom of the table (no report is required, though one is available in the reports module). From this table you select records that you want to review or make calls on. Place the bar cursor on the record, press ENTER to accept. The first form is ALL review with the pause field at the bottom already selected. You can visually review this data and then press F10 to advance to the next collections screen. Here is the meat of the system, look it over carefully. Press F1 often to get help on the fields, etc. Nothing has to be entered except any notes you may want record about your collection calls. IF BASE FILE DATA IS THOROUGH AND CURRENT, EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS ON THE SCREEN. You may want to play with this for a while! The table is always automatically current so that anytime you want collection work done, just select from the menu and do it. VIII. PRINT REPORTS: FMS comes with several reports already defined and available with this module. Play with those in your sampler if you like, but keep in mind that most companies desire their reports to be somewhat customized. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ MORE HELP FROM MICROMATE ──────────────────────── By now you have gathered that ShipMate III has several modules and features not included in FMS or ShipMate II. This is not a ploy to get more money from you, but rather a way to save you money, and meet your needs, but ONLY AS NEEDED. FMS is a great order entry, billing, and dispatch system for MOST companies of average or smaller size. However, rather than force growing companies to make a big leap to ShipMate III, as needs arise you can add on modules to your FMS or ShipMate II. In many cases these can be integrated right into your menus at an extra cost. Non integrated versions usually cost less. If there are some features of ShipMate III you want now, review your needs with the MicroMate and we will consider a customization of a system for you which will perhaps be less expensive than ShipMate III. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Here are some items to consider: ──────────────────────────────── (1) Mileage Programs: zipcode (straightline) miles, map miles, and MileMate highway miles, all in one package. Probable the fastest and best looking mileage program you have ever seen for a very modest price. (2) FuelTax Management: Fast, accurate, and again a real pleasure to use. Reports include actual balance accounting on a per unit basis or for the whole fleet. Features that work equally well for an owner operator fleet or company trucks make this the hot new system you should examine. (3) Advances and Settlements: Can be set up to handle this "accounting" job right in FMS. You can then feed the data that was managed by dispatchers etc., right to your accounting department. It is not a "payroll" program, but if you are using contractors, we will even set up the check print from FMS and your 1099 reports could also be done with FMS data. Again, the concept is to reduce your administrative load by having operations level people do over-all information management, as they do their work, not as an adjunct to their regular work. (4) Spotted and Transit trailer tracking: These systems can be set up to just keep track of trailers, which is very important, or to even do time accounting for charging shippers if that is your requirement. Like other MicroMate systems this works well like it is, and it looks great, but we are flexible in trying to meet custom needs when called on to modify our programs. (5) SalesMate Telemarketing: A big help to dispatchers and sales staff as they make the required daily struggle to keep trucks loaded and empty miles to a minimum. SalesMate contains a geographic telemarket procedure (make calls to areas where the freight is most needed), a scheduled call procedure (make pre-scheduled calls to shippers) that works like a phone "tickler" file, and a standard customer call procedure (locate by name and call). (6) Collections and Account Balance Management: Two important procedures are simplified to the point that even a non-accounting person can do it with ease. Yet, these are powerful systems that show you exactly what you need to know right on the screen. Both require very little data entry and reports are not required at all, though they are available. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ (7) Clarion Report Writer: One of the benefits of all the ShipMate family of products is that they are written in the Clarion language. Clarion is a Fourth Generation language with features and power for programmers that are not available otherwise. An important end-user benefit is the availability of the Clarion Report Writer. This product allows end-users to define their own custom reports without programming. The Report Writer can be a valuable help to FMS or ShipMate users in that it is less expensive to create your own reports than to pay a programmer for this simple task. (8) ShipMate III, as a complete, totally integrated system for large departmentalized companies, has one module not available in FMS or ShipMate II. The Manage Asst (manager assistant) Module of Ship III is so comprehensive that it must be "built in" from scratch. What is the problem that required such a comprehensive software solution? Presently, to do business analysis on the highest level that trucking businesses need, managers (without ShipMate III) are spending hours and hours of staff time running reports. These reports are often just the "input" for a spreadsheet program or even just a calculator where the final analysis is performed. WOW, what a waste, but to be honest, until we switched to a new programming language, we weren't any better. Now we have the power to make the program do all the work for you. ShipMate III does complete transportation business analysis ON-SCREEN in seconds instead of hours. The data is always the current data. NO REPORTS ARE REQUIRED TO SEE WHERE YOU ARE AT AND EVEN WHY YOU ARE THERE IN SECONDS!!! Yes, reports are there and available, but not necessary! All the formulae and computations are complete when the screens appear. NO DATA ENTRY IS REQUIRED AT ALL!! No spreadsheets or calculators are used or needed. Just select the needed analysis from a menu, press ENTER, and the rest is performed by ShipMate III. Traffic balance analysis, account analysis, fleet mileage analysis, etc, etc. Accounts receivable, current income, triplease revenue, brokerage revenue, fleet revenue, and MORE !! If you need software on the ShipMate III level, don't be afraid to inquire, we still sell it for less than the competition, even though they have nothing to compare with the MANAGEMENT ASST. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ THANK YOU FOR YOUR VALUABLE TIME ──────────────────────────────── It takes some time to read this material and to explore FMS for the first time. We appreciate your consideration. Now to compliment your company in the most thorough way, set yourself a goal to go through the program a few more times, always using the help key, until you gain some skill and speed through familiarity. Then please let us know your decision, or even just give us your input, while the experience is fresh in your mind. MicroMate is a company of experienced transportation people. Our programmers are NOT just technicians, they KNOW trucking. Our hearts and minds are dedicated to the transportation industry and we feel we are uniquely prepared to serve you well. If we can achieve our goal of selling better products for less, you will be pleased to do business with us for many years to come. We can best achieve our goals if we hear from you, and truly appreciate what you have to say. So, again, thanks for the review and your time. We sincerely hope the time has been invested well and brings you a long and profitable relationship with MicroMate. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ DISTRIBUTION ──────────── You are free to copy and give the unregistered program to anyone, but we ask that you please keep all the files unchanged in the archive or on the diskette. You may use this program for 30 days for evaluation. Your use of FMS constitutes your agreement to register FMS if you continue to use it after this evaluation period. A registration may be purchased by mail. Those who register this program will be given a registration number which will enable registration features. The registration information may be obtained by downloading from the Modem Zone. The latest version on diskette can be purchased. A printed manual is also available for purchase. See ORDER.DOC for details. CHARGE on BBS or FAX using VISA, or MasterCard. Phone numbers are: Voice support (513) 424-8081 / (513) 424-6483 BBS orders and (513) 424-7529 HST Dual Standard support (513) 424-7794 HST 1440 (513) 424-8347 CompuCom FAX orders (513) 424-5820 MAIL orders to: MicroMate 6691 Berwick Drive Franklin, Ohio 45005 ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ DISCLAIMER ────────── We make no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, with respect to the quality, performance, accuracy, or fitness of the software for any particular purpose. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made or actions taken on the part of the user because of the use of the software. In no event shall we, or any of our representatives, be liable for any loss of profit or any other damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential or other damages, arising out of the use or inability to use this software - even if we or authorized agents have been advised of the possibility of such damages - or for any claim by any other party. ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════