“Without doubt, technology is changing our industry; whether you are operating server or cloud-based
management software, or maybe clinging to pen and paper, change is inevitable. This technology freight train is coming through your town. “You have a choice, jump on, or get left behind.” As harsh as this last statement sounds, it is a terse reality, as a business owner or tow company employee, you cannot afford to be left behind. This harsh reality applies to all aspects of our industry, including efficient software, the threat of third party dispatching, non-consent police tows, private property towing, and consent motor club tows. No one, company has the resources to be all things to all people; the answer is to collaborate with others whose added-value features enhance your company’s offering. We encourage you to join, support and collaborate with your state’s towing Association, get involved and become informed. This ultimately benefits your company’s competitive advantage, and its long-term profitability, and or survival.

VTS Systems collaborates with other like-minded companies to bring you a better and more cost effective
product. An example of collaboration, for our larger clients, and those who require more than simple
bookkeeping, VTS Systems offers optional integration with QuickBooks. Here is why it makes good business
sense… Beyond basic accounts receivable and tracking driver commissions, enhanced general accounting and
payroll features are not considered part of towing and storage lot management. From engineering concept to
final product, all things are enhanced with software, and the requests for new software features are neverending. However, money and resources are not bottomless, and it is important that basic towing software be affordable. Offering expansion options and collaborating with other companies to provide integrated value-add services is a cost-effective method of providing more features for companies with the need, and deeper pockets.

To meet the varied needs of large or small towing companies, VTS Systems offers VTS Lite and VTS Classic,
server and PC-based applications. VTS Lite is a comprehensive, yet low cost software application designed to meet the needs of small family towing businesses. VTS Classic caters to larger organizations that may operate under multiple names, and manage one or multiple storage facilities. VTS Classic offers in-house options, including a heavy-duty towing package, and a fully integrated auction package. Our collaborated offerings include, USPS compliant fully automated electronic certified mail, multistate access to more than 28 state DMV’s and nationwide access to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVITS), and enhanced GPS telematics. Collaboration with global Telematics leader, TomTom provides in office WEBFLEET
management and in vehicle turn-by-turn routing instructions and vehicle/driver performance monitoring.

VTS Systems supports towers in all 50 states and Canada, but our specialty is Texas, the most regulated towing state in the nation. In 2015, VTS Systems will step boldly into the future, offering the next generation of cloudbased software, and there are benefits to both server/PC and cloud technologies that need to be explored. VTS Systems is more than just a software company, we provide tier 1 and tier 2 online PC and server support, alongside our renowned, every day Client software support, and tow business consulting. With North Korea’s recent state-sponsored hacking of Sony Pictures and last year hacks of Target, Home Depot, and Chase bank, among others, it is time to review your PC/office network security. Although it is highly unlikely that statesponsored hacking will directly affect your business, alarm bells should be ringing, as your business is considered low hanging fruit, by less skilled hackers. VTS Systems, supports hundreds of towing and VSF companies across the US and Canada, no questions are left unanswered, our management team has years of experience operating in senior technical, marketing and managerial positions with fortune 500 companies. Call today, and experience the difference. VTS Systems 281.373.3072, extension 3 or www.vts-systems.com.

Have you thought about looking into software or mobile solutions for your business?

While an investment in computerization can be extremely beneficial (if you choose good software), you might find it hard to take this leap—it may even feel more difficult than buying a new truck, a decision that requires a substantially larger financial commitment.

There’s good reason for this hesitation: you want to make sure you buy something that will truly help your business, and you may not know exactly what that looks like. If you have found yourself wanting to improve your business by adding customized software but do not want to 1) pay too much or 2) end up with an underpowered solution, then read on!

Tracker Management was founded on the belief that all money is actually made in the office. What you do in the office either makes or breaks what happens on the road and with your customers. The founders of Tracker also recognized that most business owners do not enjoy paperwork, so Tracker created a software package to fill the unique needs of tow operations companies.

After 28 years of development, along with input from several thousand users, we have a software solution that delivers what you need for your tow operation. We know you only want to invest in computerization once, so our system is designed to flex and grow with you over the years.

Here are some great questions to ask when evaluating different software packages for your business:

Does this fit the way we do business?

How are storage rates figured for each account?

What about base, hourly, day, and night pricing?

How much time is required to learn and execute the software?

Once you have answered these questions and thought about your specific business needs, call us—we can help you review your requirements and determine the best solution, whether it is Tracker or something else.

Give Tracker a call today at 800-445-2438.

We will listen without trying to sell. Our number one goal is to help you find what you need.

This is our promise to you.

TowMate®, is a company that was started out of necessity. After spending countless nights on the side of a dangerous road or in inclement weather conditions, Towing/Salvage professional Bryan Anderson, now President/Owner of TowMate®, had an epiphany.

“One night in the cold of winter, I was needing to connect some tow lights, and it didn’t work. I was
thinking, Good grief… We put men on the moon, I suppose there should be some radio controlled tail lights out there somewhere, and if not, I’ll be the one to make them,” said Bryan Anderson on his recent appearance on the television show “World’s Greatest”. Bryan started right away, gathering resources, family and friends, and built what is now the worlds most popular Wireless Tow Lighting Systems Manufacturer, TowMate®.

Starting on his first wireless lighting bar in 1989, Bryan built TowMate® around the idea of creating a
company that provided safety and security for the working professional. Bryan spent the next two decades developing the technology, sourcing higher quality components, and finally developing his own in-house electronics manufacturing. The TowMate® headquarters, now located in beautiful Rogers, AR, is home to the entire TowMate® Family, and now outputs over 1,000+ light bars per week… and thats not even counting TowMate’s® innovative new technology, Power-Link®.

Moving into the industrial, law enforcement and fire/emergency industries, TowMate® has quickly become the professional/municipal industry standard for reliability and ease of use. Power-Link®, TowMate’s® newest technology, has revolutionized vehicle lighting installation. Capable of operating on existing power wires, Power-Link® allows the user to control all the lights on the vehicle. From bright visible strobing, to a powerful work light, the user can be safer, and work more efficiently than ever before. With this simple installation, your fleet is ready faster, installation costs are lower, and your overall reliability and ease of use is increased exponentially.

The future is very BRIGHT with TowMate®, as they continue to develop new and more cost effective technologies. Not surprising, the TowMate® product line covers a very wide spectrum of uses, from TowMate’s® #1 top selling wireless tow light bar, the TM22G, also known as the “LimeLight” developed as our entry level system, all the way up to the 122” inch Power-Link® light bar, the PLC122, specifically designed for the Large Scale Construction/Municipal Industry. The TowMate® RV and Mobile Home Lighting systems, the new Handheld TMPRO-3-1 strobe/flashlight, and the ever popular SAS-RC roadside safety system are a few of the other products TowMate® proudly sells. With the introduction and wide acceptance of the smartphone, TowMate® has developed a full set of Bluetooth controllable options for the TowMate® product line. With the ability to control your lights from your phone, you don’t have to be inside your vehicle to control your lights; extremely helpful for law enforcement and towing professionals.

TowMate® will continue to bring new technologies to the safety lighting industry. Bryan’s steadfast vision
of providing a safe, easy to use product to the public and his strong sense of creating family values
within his company has helped to ensure TowMates’® continued success. Along with word of mouth and a reputation that competitors strive for, TowMate® backs up every product with a Lifetime Warranty. All
electronics and lights are covered, and if there ever is an issue our professional tech staff will happily
assist you in repairs or replacement. Find out why TowMate® has become the world’s most popular wireless lighting system manufacturer. To find a dealer near you and for more information about TowMate® wireless light bar or full featured Power-Link® light system, you can visit us online at, www.towmate.com, or give the friendly and experienced sales staff at TowMate® a call at, 800-680-4455.

By Dan Smith & Matt Gunzenhaeuser

Tow operators need greater levels of visibility and control over their business to increase efficiency and profitability. And they need it to be delivered via a simple and fast solution designed especially for their tow operation. Today, this means realtime visibility into what your drivers are doing – and the ability to access the information whether you’re in the office, or in the field.

Controlling Costs: Fuel, Maintenance, Repair and Insurance
Fuel costs are among your biggest line items. What if you could save up to 15 percent on fuel every month? By integrating your towing management system with an in-vehicle telematics solution, you can greatly increase visibility into what your drivers are doing – and give them the tools to do their job more efficiently.

If you know where your drivers are, and what they are doing, you are better able to guard against unauthorized mileage and excessive idling. And if you’re able to integrate GPS and traffic avoidance solutions, you’ll cut down on these costs even more. Over the course of a year, fuel savings can really add up considering towers are spending on average $2,500 per vehicle each month.

Technology can also help reduce maintenance costs – and liability. The right solution can in effect, put you in the passenger seat of every one of your trucks, allowing you to see if drivers are speeding, driving erratically or engaging in other unsafe habits. With real-time visibility into drivers’ habits, you can train them in better habits, resulting in increased safety and decreased maintenance costs.

Tracking Mileage
From providing an accurate billing record for auto clubs to understanding where your drivers have been, tow operators can also benefit from the accurate mileage counts delivered by an integrated tow management and telematics approach. With the ability to track exact mileage, you have an accurate record for billing and can track whether drivers have put unauthorized miles on a vehicle. You can even define boundaries for a vehicle and get instant alerts if drivers go outside those areas. All of these capabilities result in cost savings and smoother operations.

Smarter Dispatching
The right technology can help you choose the closest truck for a job in terms of time to a job, instead of distance. The ability to dispatch the driver that can reach the customer the quickest depends on a number of factors. The best solutions use the best and freshest maps, historical traffic patterns at any time of day, and real-time data on live events such as accidents, weather delays, lane closures and trafficslowing construction.

Making it All Work
So what does an integrated solution look like? For our joint customers, Towbook uses TomTom WEBFLEET to make dispatching communication easier, safer and more efficient. View all of your jobs and trucks on a map and make the best decisions. Calls can be directly dispatched to the TomTom PRO device in the truck,
which provides turn-by-turn navigation to both the call location and destination. Drivers update job status with TomTom, reducing time communicating with dispatch.

As technology continues to evolve, the cost of ownership versus the return on investment for combined dispatch and in-vehicle navigation and fleet management solutions is impossible to ignore. The ability to see your whole fleet from the dashboard in your office or your mobile device when you’re on-the-go, understand exactly what your drivers are doing and where they are, and assign jobs based on a mix of factors can make a huge difference in your business. We have customers who are realizing 20+ percent savings and similar increases in efficiency today – the possibilities can only grow from here.

Matt Gunzenhaeuser is Sales Director, TomTom Telematics, Dan Smith is Founder and CEO , TowBook.
The companies have integrated their solutions to provide tow owners with a comprehensive technology solution.

TOW123 is an affordable web-based tow management solution from Auto Data Direct that provides efficient, powerful business tools built for the modern tow professional. Utilizing today’s latest technology, TOW123 can equip your company to run a faster operation with features for dispatching, lot management, letter integration, reports, and mobile apps.

Dispatching

TOW123 can help expedite your ticket process for a more efficient operation with its dispatch support. Equipped with built-in features like Google maps, GPS device integration, and mobile app GPS tracking, you can easily monitor the status and location of each truck and driver in real-time. TOW123 also provides auto-dispatch from motor clubs, working to seamlessly connect motor club assignments directly to your
account.

With quick ticket creation presets, dispatchers can work faster. These customizable settings auto-fill account specific ticket information, like incident contact and rates. Tools like auto-calculation enable TOW123 to add up accruing ticket rates like mileage and storage, saving time and ensuring accuracy.

Mobile App for Drivers

This mobile app enables drivers to quickly update ticket information and job status in real-time, directly from their device. The app also allows drivers to upload images or videos directly to tickets while they’re at the scene. Mobile GPS works directly with the app to route drivers to their jobs, and allows the dispatchers to track the location of the each driver from their desktop view.

Lot Management

TOW123 delivers comprehensive lot management support with a real-time ticket and payment manifest that provides at-a-glance inventory management with customizable filters and the universal search bar lets users all tickets using simple terms like vehicle color or incident contact to locate a specific ticket and view the details. From the detail view, users can add additional job information, release the vehicle, make payments, and more.

ADD Integration

TOW123 comes fully integrated with all of Auto Data Direct’s trusted services like realtime vehicle inquiries, certified letters, and NMVTIS salvage reporting. Easily access these services directly from your TOW123 account and import inquiry data directly into tickets.

Reports

The TOW123 administration tools provide real-time report generation, as tickets are updated from dispatch and lot management. These reports can be easily customized by options like date range, customer account, and lot. TOW123 reports provide detailed support for accounts receivable and payable, invoicing, lot inventory, driver commissions, law enforcement, and more.

Customizable Settings

TOW123 allows you to completely customize your account to fit your business. Add detailed profiles for your customer’s, set company’s rates, set profiles for each lot, integrate external GPS devices (currently available: TomTom, Navman, and Street Eagle), and more. You can also add an unlimited number of users to a TOW123 account, and set strict user permissions for account security.

Sign-up Info

With TOW123, there’s no contracts, no setup fees, unlimited users, free access to the mobile app, and free customer service – all for one low monthly price. Call today for a free demo or visit www.tow123.net for more information.

TOPS towing management software is designed to manage all aspects of a tow operation from the initial tow request to the vehicle’s final disposition. The TOPS system provides a unified and sophisticated platform for call-taking, dispatching, inventory management, lien processing, and auction administration. Used by the most successful towing operations nationwide, TOPS supports single and multi-company operations, and provides individual company and roll-up accounting and management reports.

TOPS will enable your staff to work smarter with advanced tools that include powerful mobile applications for drivers and lot managers designed for the iPhone, iPad and Android mobile phones and tablets. With mobile tools, users can update call status times, upload and store call-related photos and email call receipts to customers directly from your mobile device in the field.

Within the TOPS application, enjoy enhanced data accuracy and improved employee productivity through drop-down menus, short code or type ahead field entry, prepopulation of call information and integrated swipe devices (where applicable) for quick data entry. Improve workflow and ensure employee accountability with features such as automated pricing, tow ticket management, driver and release clerk payment management
systems, and sophisticated security.

TOPS protects your interests by offering process, screen and field level security via user access roles. These access roles keep employees focused on their specific tasks, limiting their visibility into systems outside of their area of responsibility.

TOPS allows you to gain a better understanding of the big picture of your business with detailed management, customer activity, and driver and truck productivity reports. TOPS integrates with GPS, motor club, police and municipality systems, and imports directly to QuickBooks. Look for our new digital dispatch motor club tool – TOPS motor club – coming in early 2015.

For more information or to schedule a demonstration please call 866-800-8677 Opt 2 or visit our website – www.towxchange.net.

TOPS driver

BudgetGPS is a vehicle and fleet tracking solution geared for any industry but specifically tuned to
support fleet management within the towing industry. BudgetGPS offers a month-to-month service (No Contracts) with low upfront and monthly cost.

BudgetGPS delivers a full set of features for a single low price. Features include: Live Map with 20-
second vehicle updates to the map with live Google traffic and map or satellite views, Historical breadcrumb view with 6 months of history; Alerts and Monitoring for PTO, GeoFence, Ignition, and Speeding; Reports including, Driver Distance, State Mileage, Stops, Speeding and more. BudgetGPS integrates with TOPS to offer a true visual dispatching tool where users are able to view vehicle locations as well as call location / destination information on the same map. (TOPS not required)

BudgetGPS uses industry leading hardware which is mounted discreetly inside the cab of the vehicle. We offer several models of hardware including OBD pluggable devices (for vehicles equipped with an OBD II port) as well as asset tracking devices.

BudgetGPS is in use in the following industries:

• Concrete
• Heating and Air
• Municipalities
• Produce and Dairy
• Parts Suppliers
• Propane
• Towing
• Trucking / Transport
• US Mail Contractors
• and for tracking new young drivers and college students!

BudgetGPS is developed and supported in-house by BudgetGPS!

For more information:

866-800-8677 Opt 2

www.budgetgps.com

“Beacon software has done three major things for me. I never lose a dollar! I’ve cut down on my
expenses in my dispatch department, and it’s made every truck I own more profitable.”

-Bud Gruber Bald Eagle Towing.

Selecting the right software for your business is as important as the trucks you drive, the personnel you
employ, and the accounts you work for. You have many options for software. Getting the right fit is crucial.

Dispatch Anywhere helps you get to the root of your business needs to optimize workflow. This cloud based solution is made to accommodate any size business. Our user friendly interface allows you to create, manage, track, report, store, and bill your daily activity. Your profitability and efficiency are enhanced by removing repetitive steps in your daily operations. Depending on your needs you can build
upon Dispatch Anywhere by adding TowMagic and Motor club billing. These features allow you to integrate club/insurance calls and push them out to be paid. This creates efficiencies that reduce your need for additional resources and personnel.

Communication is streamlined with Dispatch Anywhere for Drivers. This mobile app puts the power of the call in your driver’s hands. You’ll have accountability for your team in the field with real time damage reports and paperless signatures. Information is entered one time, and everyone is on the same
page. Tracking your vehicles gives you an ideal perspective on activity, so there’s no guesswork. Sending
the right truck to a call creates an organized workflow that frees up wasted time, adding more calls per
day. Empowering your drivers to capture job information and take payments in the field reduces the time spent talking to dispatch. In addition to our mobile solutions you can integrate with multiple GPS partners. Ty Lambert of TomTom commented “Beacon Software has helped define the requirements for tow management software within the towing industry. Beacon’s integration with TomTom WEBFLEET ensures customers see the highest possible ROI on their software and telematics investment. This is achieved by improving decision making abilities, thus providing a more profitable tow with better operational efficiency and a reduction in fuel spend and maintenance costs.” Controlling your expenses increases profitability.

Beacon Software sets itself apart from other solutions by remaining current in the technology available today. We keep you up to date so you have the best tools available. Beacon was born out of a third generation towing company. For 14 years we’ve operated at the benefit of the tower and always will. We are a development company that operates 100% in-house. This allows us to control our destiny and keep a laser focus on what’s important to you. You need software that works as hard as you do, and adapts as your business grows. Make your decision for the future.

Beacon Software

www.dispatchanywhere.com info@beaconsoftco.com
866-437-6653