Upgrading Off-The-Shelf
Extending the function of off-the-self software to automate functions from dispatch to the back office.
Not all small fleets can justify the cost of enterprise software, a product that automates functions from dispatch to the back office. But a money-saving option can extend the functionality of off-the-shelf accounting software they may already own.
The software most often found on trucking company computers has to be the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office. But the first computer program many trucking companies buy is QuickBooks, the popular off-the-shelf accounting software for small business. Accountants frequently recommend QuickBooks, which is marketed by Intuit Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., and available at outlets like Staples and Office Depot.
Intuit all but dominates the small-business accounting software market. With 2.5 million customers, QuickBooks accounts for 87.5% of accounting software sales at retail. According to figures supplied by Intuit, the company has an enormous 39% share of the trucking market. QuickBooks accounts for 27% of that; another 12% belongs to Quicken, Intuit's personal finance software.
As popular as QuickBooks is, however, it remains an off-the-shelf general business product that does not recognize the unique bookkeeping needs of specific industries. Two years ago, Intuit decided to do something about that. The company launched the Intuit Developers Network, an initiative to enable integration of Intuit products such as QuickBooks with software specific to certain small businesses — including trucking.
The result has been what software vendors like to call an "upgrade path" for growing trucking companies that need software to help control their daily operations but want to keep the QuickBooks they're familiar with. In the past, fleets had three options: (1) leave QuickBooks behind and move to integrated dispatch and accounting software, (2) reformat data and perform manual import and export functions or (3) enter information twice, first into their new dispatch software, then again into QuickBooks. Of course, every piece of data entered manually offers another chance for human error.
The Intuit Developer Network produced another, more practical option.
Mark Bercow, VP of Intuit Developer Network, said his company created a SDK, or software developer kit, that enables programmers to write information directly to and from QuickBooks, without having to perform extra functions.
"An end user would have to physically go into the product and perform this import/export operation. By delivering a tool kit to our developers, they can essentially automate that function. So all the customer has to do is simply tell the program, it's now time to send the information over. All the formatting, all the collecting of information is automatically done by the application," he explained.
Thus, information entered into, say, a dispatch program and sent through a rating process can show up seamlessly in QuickBooks where the company's accounting is done.
"It's that simple," Bercow said.
Linking Dispatch And Accounting
No, QuickBooks hasn't changed. It's still the same off-the-shelf accounting program as ever. But Intuit's SDK has enabled certain trucking dispatch programs to change, to write their data to QuickBooks files.
Take Dispatch With QuickBooks Pro 2003 from Prophesy Transportation Solutions Inc., Bloomfield, Conn. Prophesy offers a range of software, mostly but not exclusively, for truckload fleets. One of those products is called Dispatch & Accounting, which provides trucking-specific financial record keeping.
But Prophesy recognized the preference of many fleets to retain their established QuickBooks accounting while automating other company functions, said Prophesy VP Bill Ashburn. So Prophesy opted for Intuit's software developers kit.
Ashburn explained that Dispatch With QuickBooks actually works with two popular QuickBooks versions, which must be purchase separately. QuickBooks Pro 2003 goes for $299.95 for a single user on the Intuit web site (www.quickbooks.com). QuickBooks Premiere 2003 costs $499.95 and includes sophisticated business analysis functions. Current QuickBooks customers can upgrade for $179.95 and $379.95, respectively.
Both products are available through discount vendors for less. For example, www.buy.com offers QuickBooks Pro 2003 for $242.99. An Intuit rebate makes the program available to current QuickBooks owners for only $122.99. Similarly, QuickBooks Premier 2003 costs $390.99, or $270.99 with the Intuit customer rebate.
However, Dispatch With QuickBooks does not integrate with QuickBooks Basic, Intuit's low-end small business accounting program.
According to Ashburn, Prophesy's own pricing depends on a number of factors — including the number of users — but begins at just under $3,000 for Dispatch With QuickBooks.
QuickBooks isn't the only off-the-shelf accounting program that Prophesy products work with. Prophesy provides a similar interface with off-the-shelf accounting products from Peachree Software, Norcross, Ga.
Similarly, Prophesy isn't the only trucking software company to integrate with QuickBooks. According to Intuit, QuickBooks also integrates with trucking software from Profit Tools Inc., Lee, N.H.
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