INVOICING TOOK 4 DAYS A WEEK, NOW DONE IN 1.5 DAYS
“I used to spend 4 days a week invoicing and now I can do it all in a day and half with Axon…We haven’t had to increase our office staff. It is just really efficient.”
FREE BOOK – “HOW WE TRIPLED OUR FLEET SIZE WITHOUT ADDING ANY OFFICE STAFF”
Glen McLeod & Son Ltd. has been an Axon Software client for about a decade at the time of this interview. They’ve used the software to make their lives easier with increased efficiency in a number of different areas. We sat down with Linda Ashe to hear some details about their Axon Software experience.
Hi, my name is Linda Ashe. I work for Glen McLeod & Son Ltd. We’re a transportation company located in Winnipeg.
Tell us about the company.
We haul primary products – food products usually. Our company has been in service for 40 years now; I’ve been here for 15 years. We’ve had Axon for 10 years and I’m really happy with it.
Tell us about your experience with Axon Software.
When we first started with Axon, my employer at that time wanted to go back six months. We had to learn the program, put in old data, plus keep up with the new work. That didn’t take us too long once we were done playing catch up, and I really like the program.
I’ve done it the old way – IFTA mileages, and payroll, and all sorts of things that were very time consuming. I like that we’re handling each order one time. We do the payroll at the same time that we’re invoicing; the mileage goes to the routing in order to update the fuel tax; so, there’s no repetition. It’s very, very efficient.
Tell us about the customer support.
As far as customer support goes, you rock! The support is phenomenal. If they can’t help you, they figure out why. They get back to you if they can’t help you instantly, so I’m very pleased with the support.
I had a problem with our mileage program, which will remain nameless, but Wes from your office went above and beyond the call of duty in trying to get it up and running for me. He was just so good that I wrote the owner a letter of recommendation and I never do that. I thought, ‘Well, if I don’t hesitate to complain, I should pat him on the back too,’ so I did that for Wes. The rest of the staff – they’re always bang on, but he went above and beyond the call of duty. He did.
Does anything stand out that Axon Software helped you solve immediately?
I used to track my mileages with an Excel spreadsheet. Once I had finished invoicing and finished payroll, I would create a new spreadsheet, put each trip information in, split the provinces, and then I’d have to add that up. That would be my weekly mileage. Then every quarter, I would put them all in another spreadsheet and submit the totals of that to IFTA.
Now, I just copy my mileages from the routing, run the report, and I’m done. It’s maybe a 15-minute job as opposed to probably 15 hours over three months.
Are you doing fuel downloads?
I do use fuel downloads. We used to download them from Petro Pass or Husky into a comma-delimited file and then we would have to sort them physically into a program to apply the expense to a truck. Now, all I have to do is correct driver or equipment ID errors and it’s where you want it to be for IFTA and expenses. It maybe takes 10 minutes.
How do you find the drivers’ statements?
I think the drivers like them. I like them because you can see exactly what they were paid for, if there are any errors. It’s a good way for them or myself to check for any errors. And it’s really efficient, too.
Has Axon Software streamlined the way you do invoicing?
We have batch invoicing that has to be adjusted according to the week’s work, where we will deliver to 20 stores and we just have to take out the one store that isn’t delivered. It’s pretty quick. I used to spend four days a week doing invoicing in QuickBooks and now I can do it all in probably a day and a half with Axon.
What information are you getting out of Axon Software for your equipment revenue reports?
We have a lot of categories that go on our equipment revenue reports. My employer likes it really broken down. He wants to know how much the trucks are costing per mile or kilometer and for each unit. He even wants to know how much we spend per piece of equipment and on the total fleet for tires and windshields, so we have it all broken down. I do all that for him, and it doesn’t take too long – it’s just a matter of getting used to it.
When I run the equipment revenue report, it shows me my driver payroll per unit, my insurance costs per unit, the total lease costs, repairs and maintenance (which tires, and windshields come out of). We can see how much we spend in a year for any particular unit. It’s a really handy tool. He likes to look at that report.
Has Axon Software helped your productivity in the office?
We haven’t had to increase our office staff. It is just really efficient. I could do it all myself if I had to. I’d rather not, but I could.
Has Axon Software helped you with customer relations?
We attach the proof of delivery to our order [in the system], so if there is ever any question, we can just pull it up by double clicking on that order. We can provide a POD instantly – we can email it from the program to our customer.
We don’t have to go digging in the archives or anything else, so that’s good. We can see what time somebody has arrived at a certain location. It’s right there at our fingertips.
If someone in the industry would ask about your experience with Axon Software, what would you say?
I praise it. I recommend it.
