UNITED Engineering & Software has released the latest version of its weighbridge software. Though mostly an enhancement of the previous version, the U-Weigh weighbridge management system contains a number of significant software additions.
The most significant of these is the inclusion of the invoicing module. Customer invoices can now seamlessly be prepared and printed from within the weighbridge package.
The easy-to-use interface allows invoices to be produced individually on demand or in bulk at the end of a financial period. The on-screen filters allow the weighbridge transactions for a selected date range (and/or customer) to appear on the invoicing worksheet for selection and tagging.
At the press of a button, the tagged data is electronically sorted and an invoice (the format of the printed invoice can be customised to suit requirements) generated on screen for viewing and/or printing.
A report outlining generated invoices and their totals is available for printing at the end of a session.
Additional features allow for the reprinting and deletion of invoices and clients who make use of a third-party accounting package such as MYOB or Quickbooks can even have the invoices exported directly into their accounting package (thus ensuring financial integrity).
A number of enhancements have been made to the existing reporting module of the Backoffice software. They include:
* Updating of the report engine to the latest version with superior functionality (eg. search facility, thumbnail view, progress bar during report preparation and improved interface).
* Addition of a number of new reports including a royalties report.
* Updating of reports to include additional data fields and the printing of a report header (with company details and a logo).
* Additional filtering to improve the sorting of weighbridge data.
* A PDF file format to allow the trouble free electronic posting of invoices and reports.
* Deleted dockets are now held in a recycle bin and remain viewable (though excluded from reports) until they are purged by an authorised user.
* The production of recipient-created tax invoices (RCTI), the format of the invoice (generated by the recipient and issued to contractors for the supply of services such as vehicle hauling and cartage costs) being customised to itemise and display appropriate weighbridge transactional data.
The software now comes standard with both a dot-matrix and laser-printed version of the printable weighbridge docket. Clients who utilise pre-printed stationary (for use with a dot matrix printer) can have a laser-printed version of the docket available for use as well - a handy feature for when the pre-printed stationary unexpectedly runs out or for Backoffice users wishing to simply reprint a docket to their printer.
The manned and unmanned versions of the weighbridge software have both been updated to incorporate gross vehicle mass limits. With State Government changes to the chain of responsibility laws, prudence demanded the inclusion of database capabilities enabling the setting of vehicular weight limits.
The software can now store weight limits against individual trucks and trailers and flag (or even prevent the completion of) transactions that involve vehicles exceeding their set limits. Limits can be set on the overall truck and trailer combination or on the individual components. Front-end improvements in the manned version allow the user to select the appropriate combination.
Another key focus of this updates development was the inclusion of time-saving features to aid in the speedy production of weighbridge dockets.
A number of improvements have been made to the front-end interface to facilitate this. They include:
* Improved screen layout with enhanced screen and keyboard navigation.
* Ability to link both a customer and/or contractor to a vehicle (resulting in less data selection).
* Ability to save and recall frequently repeated weighbridge transactions.
* Multiple weighing screens allowing up to five transactions to be in progress at any one time.
* Improved presentation of numerical data with displays for job data (ordered, progressive and remaining), weight data (tare, gross, net and legal weights), cost data (product, cartage and GST rates and costs and totals).
* Visible and audible (if required) warnings for credit limit and legal weight limit overruns.
* Rounding of pricing and costing to nearest five cents.
A hybrid version combining features from the manned and unmanned versions is also now available. Recurring customers issued with an electronic tag containing their relevant customer information can expedite their time on the bridge by simply swiping a card, leaving the weighbridge office staff more time to attend to other tasks.