Cloud-based towing software has exploded in popularity.

Owners and managers are always looking for ways to gain an edge, and towing software you can use from just about anywhere is a great example of a tool that’s making a big difference in towing and recovery.

The tremendous growth of cloud-based towing software is fueled by several advantages and capabilities that are impossible to ignore:

Simplicity. When using cloud-based towing software, you can be up and running in just a few minutes. With no software to install and no hardware compatibility issues, the process is quick and simple. Plus, with software in the cloud, you don’t need a license for every computer, and you can say goodbye to those costly upgrades – you’re always running the latest version.

Accessibility. Towing software in the cloud means you can use the system from anywhere you have Internet service. From a tablet in your truck, on your computer at home, from your smart phone – you always have access to your towing software. When a customer or insurance company asks for information, you can send it to them, quickly and easily. There’s no such thing as having to get back to the office to find the file or leaving something on the wrong computer.

Mobile Apps. Mobile apps are powerful for Towing and recovery. Making the job easier for drivers and giving them the ability to do more on the road means less to do in the office and better customer service. Mobile apps have many great
features, including: Pictures can be automatically added to the call, Drivers can get a customer’s signature on their phone and have it appear on an invoice they email or text to the customer, Plate to VIN features or VIN scanning can pull in the
full VIN plus the make, model and year. You can even have dispatchers or managers dispatch calls from a smart phone or tablet on weekends or overnight.

Safe, Secure, Reliable. Most cloud-based software is very dependable, safe and reliable. Your data is backed-up constantly on modern servers in a highly secure environment. Plus, reliable cloud-based software companies make it so you can export your data as needed.

Price. You should test drive your towing software before you sign up. With cloud-based software, there are little or no upfront costs and you should never have to pay for an upgrade. Much like your mobile phone or Internet service, you have
the system for a monthly fee. Many companies won’t even ask you to sign a contract; you’re free to leave with your data any time you aren’t happy.

There are many things to consider when you add a new software tool for your business. Increasingly, cloud-based software has become the standard because the advantages cannot be ignored.

About Towbook

Towbook Management Software is headquartered in Michigan and has provided cloud-based towing software for over 7 years. With the industry’s most advanced and flexible software, Towbook supports all types of towing and recovery operations. At Towbook, we take great pride in having the industry’s best customer support. Support is free and available 24/7/365 – even on holidays.

www.towbook.com

855-869.2665 (855-TOWBOOK)

No Setup Fees. No Contracts. No Worries.

TomTom Telematics is committed to helping our customers lower their environmental impact. WEBFLEET provides a dashboard report on daily fleet carbon footprint, calculated using the vehicle mileage and fuel consumption (miles per gallon etc.). This can help you implement an internal carbon footprint reduction program or meet external incentives or requirements put in
place by local or national governments.

We are always looking for new features to enhance our fleet management solutions that help our customers manage their resources more efficiently.

TomTom Telematics is a Business Unit of TomTom dedicated to fleet management and vehicle telematics. Our WEBFLEET platform is a Software-as-a-Service solution – used by small to large businesses to improve vehicle performance, save fuel, support drivers and increase overall fleet efficiency.

www.tomtom.com

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 that 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 developed and supported in-house by BudgetGPS!

For more information:

866-800-8677 Opt 2

www.budgetgps.com

Call or visit our website today to sign up for a 30-day free trial!

Customer Testimonials

“BudgetGPS allows our company to monitor our Drivers and Trucks in real-time. We no longer have
drivers passing each other on the road to work jobs across town. The fuel savings alone pays for the
system.” Curt – Grand Rapids Towing

“Your system has really helped in dispatching drivers. The system saves time in determining which load
to assign which driver, and has eliminated hours of calling drivers to determine their exact location.
GeoFence alerts help us determine when drivers are located at key locations and destinations.”
Phillip – Euro Trucking

Beacon Software is driving the towing industry to a new level with Dispatch Anywhere. Customers dispatch over 7 million calls annually using Beacon’s products. They integrate with 11 different motor clubs to electronically receive calls (no typing) and to submit invoices. Beacon now links to 15 major GPS companies – including TomTom, StreetEagle (Garmin), Teletrac, iTrak, VehiclePath, Fleetmatics and others. Their Mobile Apps for Apple and Android greatly simplify the dispatch process. Dispatch Anywhere enables you to dispatch more calls with less stress and greater employee accountability.

Dispatch Anywhere benefits include:

• Tracking driver/truck locations on our Visual Dispatch screen or Mobile Dispatcher App for Apple andAndroid
• Dispatching calls directly to mobile devices: cell phone, TomTom, Teltrac, iTrak or StreetEagle Garmin.
• Allowing drivers to update their dispatched calls by sending data back to dispatch. Data such as time stamps, VINs identification numbers, odometer readings, and more can be input directly from their cellphone, Smartphone App, TomTom or Street Eagle. This automated system eliminates many commonly made dispatcher mistakes.
• Providing turn-by-turn audible driving instructions – no need for drivers to look at their directions and take their eyes off the road.
• Uploading photos of accidents, existing vehicle damage, parking violations, documents, driver’s license, etc. to protect your company against unwarranted accusations.
• Processing credit cards and printing/emailing receipts from DA Smartphone apps for Driver and Dispatcher.
• Automatically validating addresses for all incoming calls.
• Finding motorists using the software’s Locate feature. This features pings signals off of cell towers, pinpointing the cell phone users location – just like on television.

Dispatch Anywhere is an easy-to-use application that provides solutions for the towing industry by
helping companies stay connected, efficient and organized.

Android/Apple apps that will track a driver’s cell phone are also available at no additional cost.

For more information, visit www.dispatchanywhere.com or call 866-437-6653.

Every business wants to increase profits, productivity and communication, but implementing solutions can often be costly and time-consuming. Weighing out the costs and benefits of a new deployment can further discourage managers from exploring options. To best understand how tow companies can increase efficiency, we researched the needs of drivers, dispatchers and managers. We found that to be more efficient in the industry tow companies require real time management, constant connectivity, and software that provides drivers with resources they need in their truck.

Managing in Real Time
To ensure efficient use of fuel, effective use of time, and the safety of drivers, managers and dispatchers need real time technology. The use of a platform that detects Power Take Off (PTO) and provides standard GPS tracking back to the center can show unit location and speed to improve dispatch and tracking. For improved performance, we suggest a platform with a three-axis accelerometer, which supports configuration of acceleration, braking, and cornering at multiple levels. Comprehensive platforms offer mobile management through Android and iOs and can help with fleet organization, job dispatch and evaluation of driver behavior.

Constant Connectivity
No truck driver wants to be in the midst of delivery and enter a dead zone where they lose a signal and end up driving in circles or asking a station host for directions. Nor does the company want to incur costs for changing location mid-travel and later find out the driver never received new instructions. With suppliers now having the ability to change their delivery requests at any time, the importance of secure and reliable connectivity has never been more important. Wyless Telematics offers national connectivity through the largest network of operators, so regardless of location, drivers remain on the most advanced network, ensuring no downtime and no dead zones.

Road Requirements
While drivers will always require GPS to get on location on time, system advances can improve ETA and customer communication. Improved features include advanced mapping and geo-zones. Advanced mapping uses satellites and algorithms to provide up-to-date configurations keeping drivers informed of traffic changes. Simultaneously, geo-cities track progress and alert dispatch and the customer when the truck enters the area so everyone is constantly informed and connected.

So, what solution is right for your company and how will you deploy it? The cost of hardware, training required and human resources needed to implement a solution that meets these needs is less difficult than previously thought. Wyless Telematics provides a holistic solution, including free hardware, the largest wireless network, and real-time software that meet dispatch, driver, and manager needs. The best part is they supply the hardware free of charge, offer software training and provide integration support to ensure a seamless deployment, all for a low monthly fee.

To find about more about increasing efficiency in your business with Wyless
Telematics, contact us on 339-469-0978 or visit www.wylesstelematics.com.

Software is just another business tool, and, like any proficient business owner, you should evaluate this and other parts of business on a regular basis. Investing in the future profitability of your business should be part of your annual review and budgeting process, what works and what does not. VTS Systems offers more than just a towing and VSF software. Our goal is to help our clients manage their businesses more efficiently byproviding management resources and sound advice based on years of experience, which includes, among others, a solid and reliable PC/server based software platform.

All products and services have a life cycle, just like a working tow truck, software should be upgraded or replaced to meet your needs. Unlike a truck, software does not wear out, but it does have a half-life, and you should expect your software company to provide regular updates with added features to help you remain competitive. Assuming that all software will perform as advertised, the availability of daily support to answer questions, fix operator issues, and be there in an emergency, is far more important.

Moreover, allowing your company to become caught up in the technology race is a position you should avoid. Just because it is new, it does not mean that it is better, or that your company needs it. For example, what appears at first to be a wonderful whiz-bang feature offered by cloud-based software is the ability to enter data from a smartphone. Whereas this is a great feature, before you say “WOW I‘ve got to have that,” ask yourself the following questions:

• Are my driver/operators competent typists or texters?
• Do my driver/operators have the capability to quickly navigate the software application, and correctlyenter billing data without having someone else review and check their data input? Mistakes frequently go unnoticed until it is too late to rectify without significant financial cost.
• Do my drivers have the time to enter invoicing data, or would I rather them proceed to the next
  money earning tow or incident?
• Am I trying to push a square peg into a round hole?

How you answer the questions above, maybe depend on gender and age. If you are under 35 years of age, you are frequently more comfortable with technology and ongoing change. If you fall into the age group above 35, then you may want a solution that not only meets your needs, but also allows you to choose the features you need within an application. This solution may be less complex, and easier to use. VTS Systems will help you decide which features and technology best suit your company-specific needs.

In 2001, VTS Systems was the first company to integrate into its software automated online DMV access, and, later, after collaborating with other industry leaders, now offers more than 28 individual state DMVs online. In 2010, VTS Systems was the first towing and VSF Software Company to offer integrated electronic certified mail for lien processing. “NO MORE GOING TO THE POST OFFICE.” To provide these and other advanced features,VTS Systems chose to collaborate with Auto Data Direct and TomTom Telematics, along with other leaders within our industry, who could provide advanced features at a lower cost.

To discuss your needs with no obligation, call Lisa Truitt or Nigel Pestell 281-373-3072.

In the movie “Moneyball,” Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, the manager of the Oakland A’s baseball team. The owner of the team does not want to spend all his money on new players. Billy wants to be the best and so needs to do it with the best players at the best price.

Top 5 lines from Moneyball

1. “He passes the eye candy test. He’s got the looks, he’s great at playing the part.”
Teams have always made their choices by this evaluation process. He improved his team when he started to look at how to run his team differently. When it comes to making business decisions, such as tracking your trucks and communicating with your drivers, many companies look to Tracker for help to better understand the underlying issues and solutions. So, getting a solution to challenges that your company has by doing it differently than you have in the past is almost certain to improve your bottomline percentage. My company, Tracker Management, as an example, has focused on making sure the underlying services provided will serve our customers’ needs by utilizing this approach. Offering tools that focus on delivering the services our customers expect more so than “look good or playing the part” has served both our towing customers as well as our company well over the last 20 plus years.

2. “Your goal shouldn’t be to buy players, your goal should be to buy wins.”
This piece of insight is showing him another way to improve. Not needing to invest money in players, but to invest in being more productive. Focus on tools such as the management software, GPS tracking and Driver communication devices, such as tablets and smart phone solutions, will help you as a business owner get the wins (bottom line more profit) that you want. Your team can improve by having a seamless and effortless flow of your calls through your office from the time the calls come in until the records of that call are archived, all without excessive employee payroll.

3. “These are hard rules to explain to people. Why is that a problem, Pete?”
Pete was having a little bit of an issue with understanding that the changes they were implementing with their team had at times fallen on closed minds with their players and management team. He knew the change would give him the best chance to win and, although it was different and some of his players did not understand, he pressed on. If improving your company and its bottom line is your goal, then changing how you do it now is good for you. Tracker Management can help you get there.

4. “Why do you like him? Because he gets on base.”
This shows the most important reason why a company needs to have the proper tools to win. Towing companies invest in Tracker because we know how to help them “get on base,” and that equates to more wins for their company.

5. “If we try to play like the Yankees in here, we will lose to the Yankees out there.”
Again, this statement in the movie shows that you can win by running your team differently than your competitors. Utilizing tools that they do not have or use poorly will give your company the best chance of improving and winning.

P.S. The Oakland A’s won 103 games that year.