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Checklist: A Guide Before Deciding On Freight Forwarding Software

Transforming your business into a more robust one requires careful planning. You may want to improve a particular area of the operation or introduce a new dimension to the whole business. Either way, choosing what areas or functions you wish to transform will set your foundation for your next steps.

The choice for the suitable freight forwarding software for your business should not be solely dependent on the budget only. Consider the pain areas, growth opportunities as well as short, medium, and long term goals of your company before implementing software.

Typically, you will go through three phases before deciding on the freight software that is right for you. Let’s walk through.

Prepping for the New Way
Early on, you would want to know the background of the software vendor, if they have catered to the logistics and freight industry before. You can explore how your business problems can be resolved. Following are the points you can use to get more clarity from the vendor.

How long before I can book my first shipment using the new system?

You want to have minimum disruption to your customers during the transition. Discuss the time required for your staff to make the transaction using the new system. Ideally, it shouldn’t take you more than a week to get started. Logi-Sys from Softlink, allows you to make your first shipment booking within 3-4 days.

How the training is planned for my system users?

Your system users will be the ones that will be working on the system for the majority of the time. Thus, the training and implementation plan must be thorough and systematic. Freight software should provide reference video tutorials and user documentation within the application for quick reference in case needed.

What are my options for hosting?

Cloud solutions have been the choice for businesses that are lean on budget and plan to expand in phases. For more control of their infrastructure, freight applications should also come with licenses to host on-premise.

Executing Operations and Getting Insights
You would like to understand more about the benefits you can get in actual operations. Check for built-in reports that consolidate data from various branches. If you are using individual software for accounting, billings, and the like, consider opting for all functions to be available on a single integrated system in your new software for freight.

What are some of the reports generated by the system?

Data can be a powerful tool to provide all the necessary insights to make better decisions. Your solution must be able to bring to focus business aspects that are doing well and that require attention too. Reports that give you a good idea of the business include:

Freight mode wise performance
Profitability of Jobs
Estimated vs Actual Revenue
Branch wise performance
Can I access the freight software from mobile devices?

Field staff and management are the ones that may be on the move the most. Your solution and its services must be accessible via a Smartphone or an Internet-enabled browser. Logi-Sys ships iOS and Android applications as part of its enterprise offering.

Enhancing the Output
Coming to this phase, you are likely to ask for result-based features of the solution. These could also be growth opportunities you are targeting in your near-future goals.

Will there be a reduction of jobs’ turnaround time?

An increase in efficiency and productivity could be the foremost of your expectations. Freight management software helps convert repetitive and manual tasks into automated processes. Solutions like Logi-Sys can reduce job turnaround time by up to 40% by automating the operational process.

Will the application be compatible with my current applications like accounting?

ERP Solutions for freight management are developed to integrate several functions like booking, billing and invoicing, inventory, CRM, etc. The idea is to have everything related to your business in one system. On the same note, EDI allows seamless data exchange between standard systems and freight software. Creating workflows in freight applications streamlines and automates the flowing of information from one function to another.

What would be the process to keep the software up-to-date with the latest compliance regulations?

Getting your customers’ custom clearances wrong can lead to fines, penalties, and consequently loss of revenue and customer dissatisfaction. Web-based software’s advantage is that it does not require separately installing updates and patches. A value-for-money freight application must be compatible with the latest customs rates, regulations, and compliance.

Summary

First, keep the organization’s goals in mind when upgrading or choosing software for your freight forwarding business. Second, to get maximum return on investment, consider the benefits of the freight software. This checklist comes in handy to prepare the questions and queries for a software vendor.

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Judgment Recovery Texas – Collecting Your Judgment!

Congratulation! You have won a court judgment that the debtor owes you money. But, how do you collect? It may be easier than you realize.

The National Judgment Recovery Center’s practice divides the collection process into the following steps:

· Abstract the judgment

· Research contact data for each of the debtors in the judgment

· Research assets owned by each of the debtors

· Research debts and liens against each of the assets or debtors

· Conclude upon a best option for collection

· Engage counsel to file the necessary documents with the court

Abstracting the judgment is just a fancy way of publicly posting the judgment in the county records to notify the world that the debtor owes you money. Be careful regarding how the abstract of judgment is prepared. There are specific rules regarding who to name, what information much be included, and who can prepare the abstract. In most cases, it is simplest to ask the court to prepare an abstract of judgment, and then have your counsel review it to confirm it has been prepared correctly. An abstract of judgment is invalid if not prepared correctly, even if the court prepared it! (However, you can file another abstract of judgment if the first was prepared incorrectly.)

Research each of the debtors, if there is more than one. If one of the debtors is a person, research their marital status if a spouse is not named. Sneaky debtors sometimes put property in their spouse’s name! However, in many cases, you can still collect on this property, depending on state laws. (For example, Texas is a community property state, so unless strict laws are followed, all property is jointly owned by the husband and wife, regardless of how it is titled.) Use court resources such as marriage records, divorce records (always a wealth of information!; sometimes more than you want to know), on-line phone books, paid phone book services such as Net Detective and Intelligator, Accurint, assumed name aka doing business as records, appraisal district records, etc.

Then research each of the assets owned by each of the debtors. If they own a “company”, is it in business in reality, or just on paper. Check appraisal district records for both real property and business personal property searching by both name and address. Check the secretary of state records for companies owned by the debtor. Also research real property records using a site such as courthousedirect.com to locate property owned by the debtors.

You can also do post-judgment discovery to discovery assets owned by the debtor. This topic will be covered in a separate article.

After locating the property owned by the debtors, research both voluntary and involuntary liens. A voluntary lien is given voluntarily such as a real estate mortgage or a business loan. Typical involuntarily liens include judgments, IRS liens, state tax liens, mechanic and material liens (aka M&M liens), property tax liens, city mowing liens, liens for cost of demolition by the city, etc.

Evaluate the market value of property versus the mortgages and other liens. Do you want to own a house worth $100,000, if there is a mortgage against it for $105,000, and a federal tax lien of $30,000? Especially when foreclosure of the house under you lien will more than likely create an event of default under the mortgage documents? (This will allow the current lender the ability to foreclose your lien off.

After evaluating the debtor’s property, decide whether to proceed further. If the debtor has property with equity, file a writ of execution to get the constable (the man with the badge and the gun) to sell the property. This ends the excuses! The debtor either has to pay you, and pay the cost for the writ of execution, or the property will be sold!

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Warning: Ignore This Information on Salt Lake City Auto Insurance at Your Own Risk!

In Salt Lake City, auto insurance can be both affordable and give you the coverage you need, provided you know some essential information. For instance, did you know that in Utah it is the law to list all drivers who use your car on the policy covering it? Additionally, insurance companies in Utah are required by law to consider they type, size and age of your vehicle, the list price, how many miles you drive per year, and where the car is kept, when calculating a quote for your policy and premium. When calculating premiums, even more factors such as age, sex, driving record, home ownership, and even credit scores, must be taken into consideration. Having such information is vital to you finding the best possible car insurance policy in Salt Lake City.

Other factors considered by UT car insurance companies when calculating premiums are marital status, how long you have driven without having to file a claim, and even marital status. Additionally, the amount of traffic in your area and the average number of automobile accidents in it per year are considered. It can be an arduous task finding the best and most affordable auto insurance in Salt Lake City, but the following information is provided to make your job much easier.

Essential Facts about UT Auto Insurance

It is the law in Utah that you have liability insurance for all of the registered vehicles in your household. This ensures that in the event of an accident you will be able to pay for any resulting damages and/or injuries. resulting. This is not only considered to be socially responsible behavior, but lawmakers consider it as “financial responsibility.” Some states allow drivers to be self-insured, but this is not the case in Salt Lake City, UT. Drivers in Utah must have private insurance issued by an authorized auto insurance company. There are two specific types of insurance required by Utah law – liability insurance, and personal injury protection.

Liability provides coverage for persons injured (other than you) and property damaged in the event of an accident. Every driver in Utah must also have personal injury protection of at least $3,000 to cover injuries to themselves. This demonstrates “financial responsibility” to lawmakers, and is an essential element of UT car insurance policies. In fact, your insurer will issue you a “proof of insurance” certificate along with your policy, and it is in violation of law in Utah not to have one. There are severe penalties for those who fail to demonstrate financial responsibility by having auto insurance in Salt Lake City, UT, so keep your “proof of insurance” card in your car at all times.

Elizabeth Eisenhower recommends ASA Insurance in Salt Lake City Utah. ASA Insurance is the largest dealer of Progressive Insurance policies in the state of Utah and they are a leading provider of aseguranza de autos en salt lake city. ASA Insurance can be contacted directly at 801-486-7463.

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