by Steve Rasmussen 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked a new prospect to estimate their annual or daily material ticket volume and they can’t readily provide this information. These questions should be easy for companies to answer, whether you're at the office, at home, or even traveling with a mobile device.

The producer and heavy civil markets have often lagged behind when it comes to investing in modern software that enables them to make simple management decisions. A 2015 analysis conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute demonstrates how poorly the construction and bulk material industries stack up in information digitization investment (click chart below to enlarge).

Fortunately, with modern software technologies, companies don’t have to make large up-front investments to make a change. Cloud and SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions are offering producers, contractors, and haulers the ability to track material sales and job tracking without large capital outlays. These platforms eliminate much of the cost and challenges faced by companies that operate plants or manage fleets of trucks. Outsourcing information technology can save you time, money, and resources spent managing those systems yourself.

Yes, there is generally an annual or monthly cost associated with these cloud-based software solutions, but when you add up the cost of purchasing on-premise servers, database software, on-site consulting, individual PC software licenses, and backup and recovery plans, you will find that cloud-based platforms typically provide a better solution at lower cost. Companies not taking advantage of cloud solutions are often blind to the total costs incurred from their business software. SaaS vendors, on the other hand, tend to provide upfront, transparent pricing without any hidden costs.

Migrating to the cloud means information can be readily available from any device or location from a simple web browser or mobile device. This provides you immediate access to all information and prevents data from being isolated in the scale house or with your IT department.

Most material ticketing and tracking softwares were developed using technologies that precede the evolution of cloud-based development. These Microsoft Windows programs are not well-suited for the always-connected world of Internet computing and have very limited cloud capabilities due to the underlying design of their system architecture.

The good news is, our industry is hopefully changing! A younger, more Internet-savvy group of leaders is moving up the ranks and demanding better information to make decisions. Software companies are being forced to stay current or be left behind. The Fast-Weigh 10 bulk material management platform is a leader in this new world of web-based technology, with a team of developers that are ready to help companies of all sizes leverage the benefits of cloud computing.

On February 12, the National Stone, Sand, & Gravel Association is having its 2019 AGG1 Academy & Expo. 27% of all attendees are aggregate producers. 42% are contractors and hauling companies. And for most of those attendees, load ticketing, job tracking, and truck dispatching are at the center of their business operations. This is why AGG1 2019 is the perfect opportunity for you to come by booth #26139 and get a live demo of Fast-Weigh 10, the industry's leading cloud-based material management system. Our platform supports all aspects of sales and bulk material transportation — dispatch, load-out, ticketing, billing, & delivery.

We'll be on the exhibition floor February 12-14, glad to answer any questions you may have about our product. So if you're tired of your current business software and are comparing better solutions, come on out and let us walk you through all aspects of our innovative ticketing, job tracking, and dispatching systems.

See you in Indianapolis!

Related Article: Expanding Your Material Sales Intelligence with the Cloud

Get Fast-Weigh 10
For more information on our cloud-based scale ticketing and material management platform, visit www.tacinsight.com/fast-weigh, give us a call at 865-219-2980, or email us at support@tacinsight.com.

Over the weekend, we rolled out a new software update for the Fast-Weigh 10 web portal. This includes new features for the Reporting module that allows for emailing and searching of reports.

***This update may require clearing your browser cache and cookies for Reporting parameters to display properly. If using Google Chrome, follow these instructions. For other browsers, please follow individual browser instructions for clearing cache and cookies.

Later this week, we’ll be releasing an app performance update for our desktop ticketing application. See below for details.

Web Portal Updates

New Mapping Support for Upcoming Dispatching Module

• Added new mapping capability for delivery locations established at the Order Setup screen. This feature will be available for customers who subscribe to our upcoming Dispatching module.

• Reports

  • Added the ability to email reports directly from the Reporting module

  • Added the ability to search for text within reports

• Billing

  • New filter for Order Status (Active, Inactive, Closed, etc.) added to the New Billing screen

  • For Viewpoint Vista and Spectrum users, we have updated the Material Management export file to include Order UDFs and Hauler Type

• Other Updates

  • Completed export file for Hauler Pay module

  • On the Ticket Query, the Material Price column now shows the billed unit price (if tickets have already been billed)

  • Added a Truck Type column to the Trucks page

  • Order Description added to line items in the New Billing table

Desktop Scale Application Updates

• Performance Update

  • Redesigned grids and lists to improve response times

  • Overall application performance improvements in memory usage
    

• Other Updates

  • On the Ticketing Screen, clicking the gray plus symbols to search for Trucks, Customers, etc. now places your cursor in the Search box automatically

  • While in the Truck, Customer, Order, or Product fields, you can now use the F3 key to access your list without having to leave the keyboard.

  • Fixed an issue with bad truck records appearing in the local database and disabling the app from syncing

How to update your desktop ticketing app:

Next week, your Fast-Weigh 10 scale house application should prompt you to update when you open the app. If it doesn't prompt, go to Settings >> About and click "Check for updates."

You may also update directly from the Microsoft Store. Search the Microsoft Store for "Fast-Weigh Ticketing," or find our app at the direct link:  https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9pgbwrvnqgsv

You can also verify that your app is up to date by going to Downloads and Updates in the Microsoft Store as shown below:
 

Enjoy! 

Need support? We're happy to help.

Contact Our Support Team

TAC Insight is pleased to announce our new Hauler Pay module for Fast-Weigh 10. The Hauler Pay feature is designed to streamline your payments to material haulers and trucking companies.

Tracking and reconciling payment to hauling companies can be a challenge for material suppliers and contractors. By incorporating hauler payables directly into our Fast-Weigh 10 Material Management platform, we’ve simplified the process of generating trucker statements based on Fast-Weigh material tickets. Hauler Pay works directly with your existing Fast-Weigh 10 scale tickets, mobile tickets, and Proof-of-Delivery records to automatically generate accounts payable statements to independent haulers and trucking companies.

How Does it Work?
Similar in function to our Fast-Weigh Invoicing module, Hauler Pay allows users to generate payable statements from a simple web interface. Batches can be created based on a number of fine-tuned parameters including Region, Date Range, Hauler, Location and Order. For each statement generated, Fast-Weigh automatically assigns statement numbers to all vendor payable records. Statements can be printed or emailed directly to Haulers at an email address specified under their Hauler profile. Your Hauler Pay records can also be uploaded to your accounting system to reduce data entry and prevent accounting errors. 

Sample Hauler Pay Statement

The Fast-Weigh Hauler Pay is available immediately and can be added on to any existing or new customer subscription. 

Get Fast-Weigh 10
For more information on our cloud-based scale ticketing and material management platform, visit www.tacinsight.com/fast-weigh, give us a call at 865-219-2980, or email us at support@tacinsight.com.

Need Support? Let Us Know.
Contact our Customer Care team. We're here to help you solve any issue.

Our November 2018 software update will be rolled out this week! Enjoy an extensive list of new features and enhancements, including a number of changes to the Web Portal, new hopper scale support, improved app functionality, and more.

Also, be on the lookout for two brand new add-ons coming soon after this update — Dispatching and Hauler Pay.

Coming Soon:

FastWeigh Dispatching
Make your dispatching and product delivery system more efficient. Assign trucks, schedule and track deliveries, and communicate with individual drivers in real-time with our SMS text message alert system. Also in the works is our powerful Dispatching app for mobile.

FastWeigh Dispatching

Hauler Pay Module
Similar to our Billing module, the Hauler Pay module allows you to generate hauler payable statements based on your FastWeigh ticketing data. Make adjustments, email statements directly to trucking companies, and streamline the hauler payment process.

If you’d like to be notified when these add-ons are available for purchase, click here to sign up for our email list. In the meantime, keep scrolling to get the full feature list for our November Update!

Web Portal Updates

• Updates to Orders

  • Added new latitude & longitude fields to Order setup screen for enhanced delivery location tracking when using our upcoming Dispatching module

• Updates to Customer profiles

  • Added the ability to set the number of ticket copies to print for a specific Customer IN ADDITION to your standard number of copies set on the desktop ticketing application.
    NOTE: In order to use this feature, Advanced Printing must be turned on under Settings >> Advanced on the desktop ticketing application.

• Updates to Billing

  • Added support for Viewpoint Spectrum multi-line Accounts Receivable invoices

  • Added Order UDF fields to billing export files for your accounting system

• Updates to Reports

  • Added new Dispatch reporting category to accommodate our upcoming Dispatching module!

• Updates to Resources >> Locations

  • Added new columns so users can set up Accounting Warehouse codes

  • Added new columns to the Yard table to support Accounting Cost Centers at the yard level

• Other Updates:

  • Fixed issue with Truck Capacity field
     

Desktop Scale Application Updates

• Updates to Load-Out

  • Added an option in Settings to hide the Load-Out “is this truck in yard?” prompt when using our Load-Out module

• Updates to Settings & Maintenance

  • Advanced Printing: Added functionality to automatically restart the advanced printing utility if it is accidentally closed (Advanced Printing must be turned on)

  • Added a setting to disable the printing of physical ticket copies, but still generating the digital PDF and sending the ticket to the Web Portal

  • Added a “Sync on Startup” setting which allows you to disable automatic syncing upon startup

  • Added a new database utility in Settings >> About while running in Debug Mode

• Other Updates:

  • Added support for latest Windows 10 version 1809 update

  • Added hopper scale support

  • Fixed issue with overloaded trucks when running in Kiosk Mode

  • Fixed issue with use of manual weights while in Kiosk Mode

  • Optimized use of RFID and OPC integration

  • Fixed issue with marking trucks as “in-yard” while using the Load-Out module

  • Multi-product tickets now support PDF archiving

  • Additional fixes to multi-product tickets

  • Fixed issue with Units Today counter

  • Fixed issue with Operator Name length

How to update your scale app:

Your Fast-Weight 10 scale house application should prompt you to update when you open the app. If it doesn't prompt, go to Settings >> About and click "Check for updates."

You may also update directly from the Microsoft Store. Search the Microsoft Store for "Fast-Weigh Ticketing," or find our app at the direct link:  https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9pgbwrvnqgsv

You can also verify that your app is up to date by going to Downloads and Updates in the Microsoft Store as shown below:
 

Enjoy!

Need support? We're happy to help.

Contact Our Support Team

TAC Insight is pleased to announce our latest update to our Fast-Weigh 10 ticketing software, including new Settings controls, a brand new interface for the Trucks screen, the ability to hide all pricing from operators, and more! See below for a full list of new features and other changes.

To Update Your Scale App:

For customers using our Fast-Weigh 10 scale house application, we recommend you run the update at the end of your workday, after 4pm EST. Your application should prompt you to update when you open it. If it doesn't prompt, go to Settings >> About and click "Check for updates."

You may also update directly from the Microsoft Store. Search the Microsoft Store for "Fast-Weigh Ticketing," or find our app at the direct link:  https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9pgbwrvnqgsv

You can also verify that your app is up to date by going to Downloads and Updates in the Microsoft Store as shown below:

Feature Breakdown

Desktop Scale Application

TRUCKS

• We have redesigned the Trucks screen to improve layout and user experience with tabbed navigation, better organization, and more.
  >> Click here for a detailed walk-through on how to use the new Trucks screen!
   

Click to enlarge

 
SETTINGS >> GENERAL

• We now allow you to hide all product pricing from the scale operator, but still allow order creation/management
   

 
SETTINGS >> ADVANCED

• We have provided the ability to control which items are visible in the scale app menu
• We have also moved the font size control for the app and advanced printing settings to the Advanced Settings menu.

Click to enlarge

ORDERS

• You can now select Haul Zones during order setup on the scale app.

Click to enlarge

 
TICKETING

• Ticket Notes can now be set to default by Order Product as well as by Order or by Truck. 
   

OTHER UPDATES

• Fixed an issue with the serial scale interface when using slow-output weight indicators.

Get Fast-Weigh 10

For more information on our cloud-based scale ticketing and material management platform, visit www.tacinsight.com/fast-weigh, give us a call at 865-219-2980, or email us at support@tacinsight.com.

Need support? Let us know.

Contact our Customer Care team. We're here to help you solve any issue.

Our August 2018 Web Portal update is here! This month, we've revamped our User Administration area on the Web Portal with a new Sales role, additional restriction options, and more.

Check out a full list of changes, fixes, and new features:
 

Feature Breakdown

Fast-Weigh 10 Web Portal

Administration >> User Administration

• Redesigned user roles with enhanced restrictions and security features
  • New Sales role
  • Multiple permissions changes for existing roles (see table below)
  • Users with a Customer role can now view and print their invoices
  • New optional restrictions can now be added to specific users:
    • Hide Pricing - Turn off a role's ability to view pricing on tickets, orders, reports, or analytics. This restriction also limits the ability to print any reports that display pricing information.
      **Look for our Hide Pricing feature coming to the Fast-Weigh Windows 10 ticketing application later this month!
    • Tickets Read Only - Turn off a role's ability to edit tickets.
    • Quotes Ready Only - Turn off a role's ability to add or edit quotes.
    • Orders Read Only - Turn off a role's ability to add or edit orders.
    • Trucks Ready Only - Turn off a role's ability to add or edit trucks.
    • Resources Read Only - Turn a role's ability to add or edit customers, products, locations, tax codes, and terms.

Click to enlarge

 
Tickets >> Ticket Entry

• User-Defined Fields are now available on the Ticket Entry screen. These can be configured by going to Administration >> Portal Settings >> User-Defined Fields.

Billing

• New export interface added for ComputerEase accounting software
• Various enhancements to Viewpoint accounting integration
• We have fixed freight pricing issue if using Haul Zones with some accounting systems.
   

REPORTS

• New Production report category added, containing reports with no pricing details. Reports under this category are designed to accommodate our redesigned user roles with new restriction features such as the Hide Pricing option. If you have Hide Pricing turned on for a particular user, this is the only reporting category they will have access to.

   
     

OTHER UPDATES

• Web Portal interface is now optimized for tablets including iPad and Microsoft Surface
• Provided additional database and performance optimizations for the Web Portal

Get Fast-Weigh 10

For more information on our cloud-based scale ticketing and material management platform, visit www.tacinsight.com/fast-weigh, give us a call at 865-219-2980, or email us at support@tacinsight.com.

Need support? Let us know.

Contact our Customer Care team. We're here to help you solve any issue.

At TAC Insight, we know that ongoing innovation is key to remaining at the forefront of the truck scale software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry. In our August update, we are excited to bring you several enhancements to our next-generation Fast-Weigh 10 platform. A few of those changes are available now!
 
 

Feature Breakdown

Fast-Weigh 10 Web Portal

• NEW - Support for bulk ticket downloads of archived PDF scale tickets
  We now allow you and your customers to download archived load tickets into a single compressed zip file format from the ticket query screen. Currently, the download query limit is set to 2,000 tickets per download.
   
• Enhanced integration with Viewpoint Vista & Spectrum ERP platforms
  We have included several enhancements to streamline the conversion from Vista ScaleSmarts to Fast-Weigh, offering direct integration with Vista-to-ScaleSmarts file uploads. In addition, we are offering updated integration for Spectrum Inventory control and direct A/R Invoicing.
   
• Updates to the Ticket Edit screen
  Now, changing the ticket date it also changes the date of the ticket time to reflect the new date.
   
• Updates to the Analytics module
  We have updated the Analytics screens to reflect the proper offset to GMT time. Some date/time fields were not applying the proper offset to the local time zone.

Later this month, TAC Insight will unveil several more updates to our Web Portal and desktop scale software including new Truck Setup screens and other features and enhancements requested by our customers. Stay tuned! 

Today, we'll be rolling out a significant Fast-Weigh 10 software update with a broad list of new features, including Topaz signature pad support, new custom fields for your trucks, a ton of new settings for the desktop ticketing app, and more! 

For customers using our desktop app, we recommend you run the update at the end of your workday, after 4pm EST. Our Web Portal update will be published overnight. See below for the full list of new features and other changes.

Feature Breakdown

Desktop Scale Application

TO Update your scale app:

Your Fast-Weight 10 scale house application should prompt you to update when you open the app. If it doesn't prompt, go to Settings >> About and click "Check for updates."

You may also update directly from the Microsoft Store. Search the Microsoft Store for "Fast-Weigh Ticketing," or find our app at the direct link:  https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9pgbwrvnqgsv

You can also verify that your app is up to date by going to Downloads and Updates in the Microsoft Store as shown below:

 
 
 
UPDATES & NEW FEATURES:
 

SETTINGS >> GENERAL

• We have obscured both the Customer and Device PINs so your credentials are no longer visible.
• You can now set font size for the app. This allows support for lower resolution displays.
• Get Lists from Portal
  • Setting to Always forces the app to only pull Trucks, Customers, and Order data directly from the web portal, skipping the local database.
    NOTE: Only set this option to Always if you have a fast, stable internet connection at all times.
  • Setting to Never retains data locally, the same as before. Data will be pulled from the local database, and will be updated from the cloud upon sync.
  • Setting to Optional adds a checkbox to the Ticketing screen so you can easily choose whether you want to pull local or cloud-based data. This checkbox becomes visible when choosing a truck, customer, order, and product.

SETTINGS >> TICKET

• Track Order Quantity
  • We now have the ability to warn or prevent ticketing once an order has reached either a load or unit quantity threshold. The number entered indicated how many units away from the limit you should be when it warns you. For example, if the number “10” is entered, the system will warn when you are ten loads or units away from your Order Quantity limit.

    Setting Order Quanity:
    The Order Quantity threshold can be set when adding products to an order. NOTE: This field is only available on the Web Portal order setup screen.

• Allow Phase/Cost Type Updates

  • We now allow you to choose from preset list of default phase codes while ticketing.
    NOTE: This list must be defined on the Web Portal order setup screen.

SETTINGS >> DEVICES

• We've expanded our scale settings to include TCP output support, allowing our app to read output from your weight indicator over a local network using IP.
• We now have Topaz signature pad support.
• RFID support has been expanded to include support for Transcore readers and tags.
• Magstripe support has been expanded.

TRUCKS

• We have added a drop-down menu which allows you to view Active, Inactive, or All trucks in your global truck list.
• We have added the Get List from Portal checkbox to your truck list.
• When editing a truck, you can now modify its active/inactive status.
• We have added User-Defined Fields (UDFs) to truck profiles. 
  NOTE: Truck UDFs must be defined from the Web Portal, under Administration >> Portal Settings.

REPORTS

• We have implemented multiple aesthetic enhancements to improve usability.

OTHER UPDATES & FIXES

• The upper-right menu has been modified to include a direct link to the Team Viewer remote support tool and our new Knowledge Base for a better customer support experience.
• We can now send your custom ticket formats to your scale app via the cloud! You can get your custom tickets by simply navigating to Settings >> Reports and clicking the Update from Portal button and then setting your format under Settings >> Ticket.

Web Portal

This month's Web Portal update will be published overnight.
 

New Add-On Feature!

• NEW - Optional module: Third-Party Scale & Batch Plant Ticket Import add-on. We can now seamlessly import tickets from certain third-party softwares. 
  Contact us for more information on this add-on: support@tacinsight.com

Orders

• We have added a new Edit All Products button to the order setup screen, allowing you to edit parameters for all products on an order at once.

Ticket Query

• You can now edit User-Defined Fields (UDFs) on tickets from the Ticket Query.
• If a ticket was entered on the scale app or via Web Portal Ticket Entry, you can now view or edit ticket notes from the new Note column.

Reports

• Performance updates

Other

• The Help link at the top right of the Web Portal has been updated to go to our new Knowledge Base.

Mobile Ticketing

• Fast-Weigh 10 Mobile Ticketing app now supports driver signatures!

On Thursday, May 31, we are implementing a big update to the Fast-Weigh 10 Web Portal. The Portal will update automatically, with no user action needed. Stand by for an update to the desktop ticketing application, coming in mid-June!
 

Updates & New Features:

Updates to Regions
Resources >> Locations >> Edit Region

• NEW - Remit Note can now be added to your regions. Remit notes will appear as custom messages on invoices run for customers ticketed in those regions.
  Note: Our Billing & Invoicing module is required to run invoices. Contact us to add this feature to your Fast-Weigh 10 subscription: support@tacinsight.com.

Updates to the Ticket Query Screen
Tickets >> Ticket Query

• NEW - We have redesigned the Ticket Query table with a few improvements:
  • When scrolling to the right, the Ticket Date, Time, Ticket Number, Order Number, Truck ID, and Edit columns are now locked in place while you scroll so they are always visible to the user.
  • We moved the Edit buttons to the left side of the table, making them more accessible.
  • We have added the Order Description and PO Number columns to the table

 
Updates to the Ticket Entry Screen
Tickets >> Ticket Entry

• NEW - Ticket Notes can now be added from the Ticket Entry screen.

 
Updates to the Quotes Module
Quotes >> Quotes >> Add/Edit Quote

• NEW - A Quote Note can now be added to your quotes. Our printable quote forms have also been updated to reflect this change.
  Note: Our Quotes module is required to use this feature. Contact us to add this feature to your Fast-Weigh 10 subscription: support@tacinsight.com.

 
Updates to the Order Setup Screen
Orders >> Orders >> Add/Edit Order

• NEW - For our customers using Viewpoint integration, the order setup screen now includes new Phase Code logic which allows users to define a custom list of phase codes to be used when ticketing on that order.
  • Steps:  Add or Edit an order, and be sure the Job Requisition box is checked. Choose a Default Job from the list. Then click the [...] button next to Phase and select the appropriate phases. Save the order. Now, the operator at the scale house can choose from those phases while ticketing.
  • NOTE: This feature requires our upcoming June update for the desktop ticketing application in order to function. See below for a preview of that update!

• NEW - We have now added User-Defined Fields (UDFs) for Orders. Go to Administration >> Portal Settings and click the "User-Defined Fields" button to create up to three UDFs to be used on Orders.

 
Updates to the Billing History Tab
Billing >> Billing History

• NEW - We have added Batch Number and Invoice Number search parameters to the Billing History tab, making it much easier to locate invoices.
  • Note: The Billing & Invoicing module is required to use this feature. Contact us to add this feature to your Fast-Weigh 10 subscription: support@tacinsight.com.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue on the Ticket Query screen where, if there is only one region and location, the "choose" button next to "Order" was grayed out and not clickable.
• The Web Portal now sends all trucks down to the desktop scale application regardless of "Active" or "Inactive" status to prevent duplicate truck creation. However, only Active trucks can be ticketed.
• The Web Portal now sends all trucks down to the desktop scale application regardless of license and insurance expiration. However, trucks with expired credentials cannot be ticketed for.
• Fixed the Current Inventory column on the Inventory Dashboard to calculate amounts correctly. Contact us to get the Inventory Module add-on: support@tacinsight.com
• Under Reports, the Ticket Reprint report now calculates freight amounts correctly.
• Fixed an issue on the Web Portal Dashboard where Units By Time did not display in the proper order.

Upcoming Updates to the Desktop Ticketing Application

Stay tuned for our June scale app update! Here are a few of the upcoming changes:

• Set up insurance and license expiration dates when adding a new truck from the scale app
• Change the status of a truck (Active or Inactive)
• Viewpoint Integration customers will be able to change phase codes on individual tickets while ticketing
• Topaz signature pad support
• And more!

NEED SUPPORT? WE'RE HAPPY TO HELP.

Contact Our Support Team