 December 31, 2003 Keystone Systems, Inc. Volume 2003 Number 4 140 South Arthur, Suite 515, P.O. Box 206, Spokane, Washington 99210 Sales: (888) 863-9833 Fax: (509) 535-0520 Support: (888) 863-9797 Web Site: www.Trucking-Software.com E-mail: sales@KeystoneTruckSoftware.com |
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ANOTHER YEAR OF GROWTH AT KEYSTONE |
| It has been an exciting year in the trucking software business. After several years of uncertainty, trucking companies are starting to look to the future for growth in business. All our businesses need to continue to look for ways to streamline work flow and to better analyze various aspects of our businesses. |
 As we approach the end of our 26th year, we are closing in on a record year of sales in both dollars and numbers. We are seeing changes in business mix. While we continue to get new small clients, we are also getting more fleets with over 100 trucks. More of our clients are brokering loads, and we now have several clients who are strictly brokerage. Those who do both appreciate a new feature of our software that allows two different formats for load sheet/load confirmation report. One format for brokered loads might have limited customer details and contract wording for the carrier to sign and fax back, while your own driver can be given more details and no contract verbiage. |
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We have also been selling a lot of Log Auditor programs and updates this year. The new rules are scheduled to take effect January 4, 2004. Our clients with logs and who are on Keystone's Management Package have received free updates. We are also running special new and upgrade prices. The discounts have been extended through January 10. Our sources for new clients have changed over the years. In the last four years, web sales have gone from 11 percent of our new business to 68% this year, while our direct mail has gone from 67% to 18%, and customer referrals have steadily held up the balance. (It is gratifying to have customers who like our product enough to tell their competitors about it!) Another article in this newsletter describes some of the new enhancements to our package this year. Two areas in particular have opened up new markets for Keystone's software. We have greatly expanded our offerings for EDI , which has been experiencing a resurgence. If your trading partner tenders new loads though EDI, you can accept them directly into Keystone's Dispatch Central. You can also provide load status and billing information to them, as desired. Keystone has also gained a lot of exposure with our new QUALCOMM satellite interface. We support both their client/server version as well as their web-based interface, for which we were the first software company to complete an interface. QUALCOMM's people were also impressed by the ability for dispatchers to easily view any discrepancies or invalid communications from the driver. Our PC*Miler / QUALCOMM combined interface also offers industry leading features and flexibility. These two major new offerings can easily double productivity of your dispatchers, allowing them to better support your fleet (and your bottom line). As your businesses grow, we are growing with you. We are always looking for ways to help may your business more efficient and profitable. Please let us know how we can better meet your needs. We wish you all a happy and successful new year! Chris & Bruno |
| WE LISTEN TO YOU! |
 This year, Keystone implemented 128 changes suggested by our clients! Be sure to look at the 'LATEST SOFTWARE CHANGES' button on the login screen to get a complete list of changes done this year. Below are some of the major changes made to each package.TR Trucking again got a lot of changes. The EDI section was rewritten with support for electronic billing, better reporting of load status and automatically connecting to the VAN within our software. The QUALCOMM interface was expanded to include driver status messages, (such as loaded and delivered), company directions, and routing information with various levels of detail. Another new feature allows you to use odometer readings to enter truck mileage. |
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You can now set limits to control who is authorized to set up new companies and establish credit. With this feature turned on you can, for example, allow dispatchers to set up a new company, but not allow them to bill loads without first going through a company credit check and approval process. Revenue per mile was added to the dispatch screen for better allocation of loads, as was the capability to enter unlimited driver or truck scheduling entries, like vacations, sick, repairs, etc. We enhanced the pick/drop information, including an additional memo field, company phone numbers, and contact information. We improved the split load procedure, getting the information entered sooner and in order so you can know exactly the equipment doing each pick/drop. New driver log rules for 2004 were placed into our software by June of 2003 to ensure all users got the new rules in plenty of time. Rand McNally was added as another mileage database option. |
 PR A payroll person can be authorized to do only certain departments in payroll, and not be allowed to see others. This way you can 'HIDE' the office or officer payroll, but still allow someone to do driver payroll. You can also automatically calculate retirement match amounts.AR Write-off or adjusting invoices was made easier to use through wizard screens. AP The AP system now supports a 'remit to' name and address for those factoring their receivables. Form 1099 amounts are shown for each invoice on the stub to provide a better audit trail for drivers. |
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GENERAL A special new program was written for transactions between bank accounts, allowing both sides of the transactions to be available on the bank reconciliation. More general ledger account checking was added to help avoid entries to protected general ledger accounts. BATTERY User defined route invoices were added. Credit limit checking is being done, not only for over credit limit, but also for past due situations. Miscellaneous parts were taken out of the margin calculations to get more accurate margins. Support for quantity pricing, like one for $1.00, 12 or more at $0.90 each was added. The suggestions used break down as follows: 43 Trucking 8 Payroll 8 General System 5 Accounts Receivable 6 General Ledger 5 Accounts Payable 1 Setup 3 Maintenance 1 Rebuild 48 Battery |
| REVENUE PER MILE ON DISPATCH |
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You can now see current revenue per mile for each piece of equipment in dispatching! This can greatly help in assigning loads to drivers, and also allow you to see how many miles each truck/driver has. The new feature can also flag in RED if a piece of equipment is below a target level. You can enter a TARGET REVENUE/MILE on each piece of equipment. SETTING DATE RANGE The first step is to tell the computer what date range to use for the two revenue per mile columns in dispatch. If you enter in 30 and 60 the computer will display the truck/trailer/driver revenue/mile figure based on the revenue and miles for the last 30 and 60 days. Go into the SE (Setup) program, Lists, General Information and then the DS tab to set this information. DISPATCH DISPLAY This information is displayed on the dispatch screen in the bottom half of the screen. It gets updated whenever a dispatcher depresses the OTHER menu item and selects the NEW REVENUE/MILE FIGURES. This will re-figure the information. The information can change when new trips are dispatched and more mileage information is entered on a trip. MORE INFORMATION ON A TRUCK/DRIVER You can also get more information on the RESOURCE SCHEDULED RESTRICTIONS screen. Highlight the item you are interested at the bottom section of the dispatch central screen (either a truck, trailer or driver). Then depress the little button by the truck/trailer/driver you are interested at the middle of the screen. This will show you the amount of revenue and number of miles in each period. It will also show the revenue per mile. HOW IT IS FIGURED The computer calculates this figure by looking at the last 30 days (or whatever days you entered) and at all the trips within this time period. The calculation is based on the START DATE OF THE TRIP. So, if the trip started 31 days ago, and the column is set for the last 30 days, the trip is NOT counted. It next looks at the fuel tax miles too. IF THERE ARE NO MILES, the trip is NOT COUNTED. If miles are entered, the trip is used for the number of miles and the revenue tied to that trip is counted. Of course, for this to be useful, your entry work must be current so that your current trips have miles and revenue entered. |
| FIRST QUARTER 2004 HOLIDAYS |
 January 19th Martin Luther King Jr DayFebruary 16th Presidents Day |