“AXON IS GREAT . . . OUR COMPTROLLER WAS WORKING 5 DAYS A WEEK. THE LADY WHO REPLACED HER WORKS 3 DAYS A WEEK. ”
ME3 Corporation is a hauler from Pennsylvania. After 20 years on the job, their comptroller announced her retirement. They realized that it would be a huge challenge to train somebody else on the many different spreadsheets, programs, and relationships between them. So, instead, they decided to shop around for all-in-one software that could handle everything – simple, quick, and easy. We sat down for an interview with Rob Eldredge to hear about their experience with Axon Software.
I’m Rob Eldredge, a Manager at ME3 Corporation, from Kirkwood, PA.
I’m Rob Eldredge, president of ME3 Corporation. We are in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania. We’re a trucking company that hauls off-spec baked goods that get turned into animal feed.
Trucking overall was a family business and I worked there for over 20 years. I left there and worked for a couple of other companies and eventually got to the point where it was time for me to do my own thing. My business partner and I were looking around at several other businesses and we came back to transportation and just settled in.
Can you talk about your decision to start using Axon Software?
It’s been about 6 months since we started using Axon. It has been wonderful. I looked at it 10 years ago when I worked for our family business and I thought it was a great program. Everybody in operations, sales, and compliance loved it.
Our comptroller who was with us here for 20 years decided to announce to us in May that she was retiring in September.
At the time, we were using about 5 different Excel spreadsheets, Word, and everything was stored in Dropbox. Financials were done on QuickBooks. We used an outside web-based program for our compliance stuff, and spreadsheets for that.
To replace her, it was going to be too much for somebody to have to learn all those things in such a short period of time. We made the decision to look at Axon again, and decided that was the way to go because it’s all in one.
It has saved us a lot of time. Our comptroller was working 5 days a week, and the lady who replaced her works 3 days a week.
Do the drivers like their statements?
They’ve all liked it. They’re very clean and they like the way it’s laid out. It shows them exactly what they’re getting without having to make a bunch of photocopies of tickets.
How is the training and support?
Training was great. The transition staff was very helpful. It was long, a couple of weeks, but it was good because it made everything easier.
When we went live and went on our own, there weren’t many questions. It was very thorough, very methodical, and we caught things that we wouldn’t have caught otherwise. We were able to integrate with what Axon does.
Support is wonderful. Axon has a great staff. If we need help, even if they’re not available at that moment, they will call us back quickly and walk us through the information that we’re looking for.
Does everyone find the software easy to use?
It’s very easy. We have a gentleman that’s not computer-savvy at all. He has picked it up and does a great job with it. A few questions at the beginning, but now he’s got it. He picked it up quickly and does extremely well with it.
Has Axon changed anything else about how you do business?
We are in a unique situation where we work for one customer. They have 32 customers that we service for them. Everything that comes in across the scale gets put in a report for them, and we get paid off that report. We just make sure that everything matches up.
If it doesn’t, then we do a miscellaneous invoice to them, so with Axon it has been very easy. It makes it easier than putting everything in a spreadsheet and working through things that way. It makes it much quicker.
That’s the thing with Axon. Everything is all in one. That’s what we like. Rather than having to pull all the information from different places, pulling the miles off of this sheet, fuel off of that sheet, maintenance out of here, everything is in one program, and it breaks down for us instead of having to make a sheet for each thing.
I’d say it probably saves us 20 to 30 hours a week of manpower. Easily. Axon is great. I have recommended it to two other companies already.
A FULL RANGE OF INVOICING OPTIONS
“Axon creates the invoice itself and the rate confirmation has already been attached. When I input the orders, all I have to do is select the right bill of lading, proof of delivery, scan it, attach it, and email it straight from Axon.” (Paul Singh, Quality Freight Line)
Axon provides you with a full range of options to make invoicing your customers as efficient and effective as possible.
System-wide Integration
Templates for invoices that occur on a regular basis will save you time as you won’t have to enter all the information every time you create an invoice.
Invoices can be generated directly from the orders or work orders screens.
If you sell parts using the Work Orders application, the system will automatically update your inventory.
You can import invoices from another Axon company – if, for example, you run both a brokerage company and a trucking company.
You can settle your invoices through a factor company or EDI.
Flexibility
Customizing the content and appearance of your invoices is easy with Axon software. You choose what to include in the header (e.g. phone or email address), select the information to be included (e.g. payment history, work orders labour charges, or inventory parts), group together similar information (e.g. by job description for tickets), and provide a one-line summary or more detailed information for the charges.
“A lot of our customers want their invoices a certain way. Every customer is a little different. Now we can customize it and give them what they want,” says Bob German, Oculus Transport. “They want to track volumes and what’s going where and all kinds of stuff. We can do that in a heartbeat now, once we set up the reports. You want it monthly? Here it is. It’s literally at the push of a button.”
Customer Satisfaction
Customers who receive the information they’re looking for in a format that is easy for them to understand will pay their bills faster and continue giving you their business. As Bob German, Oculus Transport, explains, “If there are no questions or anything, and if it’s all done up front, then it smooths the payment process.”
Invoices are quick to prepare as all the information is already in the system. And they’re quick to send out as well. Invoices can be emailed to your customers either individually or as a batch. Attachments can be appended automatically to the email invoices.
DOING BUSINESS IN MORE THAN ONE CURRENCY
Doing business in more than one currency doesn’t need to be difficult.
With Axon software, you can set up bank accounts in different currencies and choose a default currency for your company as well as your customers and suppliers. You also have the option of overriding the currency for individual transactions.
If you enter a transaction in a foreign currency, the amount will normally be displayed in the foreign currency (e.g. on invoices, receivable report, bank reconciliation). The Account Activity Report includes a breakdown, by currency, for your opening and ending balances.
If you enter a payment or credit in a different currency from the invoice, the system will display the amount due in the invoice currency as well as a converted amount in the payment currency.
Exchange Rates
The system uses the exchange rates you have set up to automatically convert amounts to your company’s home currency. Transactions entered in a foreign currency will automatically use the exchange rate that is in effect on the transaction date.
If the exchange rate changes between the time you prepare the invoice and when you receive the payment, the system will automatically create journal entries recording the gain or loss.
If the exchange rate changes between the time the money was deposited in your foreign bank account and the time when you prepare your financial statements, you will notice a discrepancy between the two amounts. The difference can be recorded on the Recognize Bank Gain Loss screen.
