When Keypoint customers consider adding the Document Management module to their logistics software, they often think they’ll achieve the most benefit by being able to easily store, index, and retrieve electronic documents—and by getting rid of tons of paper files.
Although that is a real plus, the real advantage is how rendition billing automates the invoicing process.
Greg Roush, president of SmartLines in Oklahoma City, OK, says, “We have 28 employees, but only one person doing Accounts Receivable, Billing, Carrier Settlements, and Collections. We are able to achieve this thanks to Keypoint’s Imaging and Rendition Billing integration.”
If you compare the processes, it’s easy to see how Rendition Billing saves a brokerage time and effort over handling invoices manually:
Comparison of Rendition vs Manual Billing
With Rendition Billing, you simply scan all the relevant documents, such as Proof of Delivery, Bill of Lading, and confirmation receipts. The imaging module can handle any file type, from documents, photos, and emails to spreadsheets and audio files.
The system allows you to scan and index documents with just one click, which increases efficiency and decreases errors compared to traditional methods. All files are attached to the load electronically and available on-screen whenever a team member wants to access them.
At the click of a mouse, Rendition Billing creates PDFs of all invoices—whether you need to send two, 200, or 2000. The invoices are then pushed to the Imaging system. After checking customer preferences to see whether to print or email invoices—and with which supporting documents—the invoices are output.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
The streamlined process saves hours of staff time and makes the job far less tedious for the billing department.
“Prior to rendition billing we had to sort through our invoices each day and pick out the ones to email,” says Tanya Oldham, accounting manager for RLD Transportation in New Bedford, MA. “We then had to manually email them to our customers. The time required for us to complete the billing process has been cut in half with the use of Rendition Billing.”
By eliminating the many man-hours for billing, a brokerage can pay for a $12,000 entry-level imaging system with Rendition Billing in a single year. That’s assuming you pay your accounting staff $15 an hour and they spend three hours a day on billing. After the first year, the savings go straight to the bottom line.
Rendition billing not only saves money for ARPCO Transport Services, but it also supports faster turnaround for Accounts Receivable.
“Given the cost of paper and envelopes, postage, manual labor time, and today’s mail time concerns, the process has provided ARPCO with both time and cost savings, along with peace of mind, and quicker turnaround time on our accounts receivable,“ says Martha Puig, executive assistant.
And there’s one other advantage that’s critical to ARPCO, according to Puig: “As an EPA Smartway partner, we consider the Rendition Billing feature offered through Keypoint Logistics to be a simple and easy way to ‘go green,’ while streamlining our billing process.”
Advanced Benefits
The Document Management module can also whittle away customer expenses in other ways. One option is to put a barcode in the margin of the rate confirmation. The broker emails the rate confirmation to the carrier, who receives it almost immediately and paperlessly. The carrier then signs it and faxes it back to the number indicated.
But brokerages can now use a server to receive the fax electronically instead of processing it with a fax machine. By reading the barcode, the server knows automatically which load to attach the rate confirmation to in the imaging system.
One customer shipping 500 loads a day was able to eliminate 26 fax machines by receiving all carrier documents automatically and electronically—saving them a whopping $45,000 a year in manpower and materials.
For more information, call Keypoint at 800-728-7305.
