OnTime System Features

How to Check for Pending Changes

Jeremy Tilley — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:33:06 GMT

OnTime improves its performance on your computer by synchronizing information in batches, instead of instantly one record at a time. This allows you to keep working quickly when your internet connection becomes slow or even when your connection drops out altogether.

When you make changes and they have yet to fully synchronize with the OnTime server, they appear as Pending Changes. Here’s how you can check if you have pending changes:

If you are running OnTime Management Suite:

From the File menu, choose Data File Management.
Select the Statistics tab.

If you are running OnTime Dispatch:

From the Application button, choose Resources and then Manage Data File as illustrated here:
Select the Statistics tab.

From either program, you should see a window like this with the pending items list:

If the number of pending items appears as zero, then you have nothing waiting to be synchronized to the OnTime server.

Rebuilding Your OnTime Data File on Windows Mobile

Jeremy Tilley — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 04:55:24 GMT

From time to time it may become necessary to rebuild the data file used in the OnTime Mobile for Windows Mobile application. Doing so can allow your mobile device to take advantage of new features that OnTime will implement from time to time and sometimes help resolve synchronization issues.

Note: You will need a good internet connection to perform this operation. Its not suggested that you perform the steps when there is a chance you will be losing internet connectivity.

How to rebuild your data file in OnTime Mobile for Windows Mobile:

Start OnTime Mobile and sign in.
Once signed in and at the home screen, wait for the initial synchronization to complete. You will see a message like this appear:
Once completed, click on the Tools menu and choose Options.
Select the Database tab and then click the Repair Database button.
If successful, a message will appear stating that the recreation was succeeded and the application is synchronizing with the server. Dismiss the message and then tap Cancel to exit the options screen.
Notice the synchronization process as shown here. Wait for the process to complete before using the application.
Once synchronization is completed, you may resume using the program.

If the steps outlined above don’t completely work, try performing a soft reset on your device and repeating the process. This help help ensure that no other programs are keeping a lock on your data file.

Installing OnTime Mobile on Windows Mobile 6.5

Jeremy Tilley — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:19:44 GMT

While it’s possible, and in some cases preferable, to install OnTime Mobile to your Windows Mobile 6.5 device by using a connection to your desktop computer, in this post we’ll talk about the alternate method which is to install directly on the device. This works well if you are in the field and don’t have access to a desktop computer to install the software from. Here’s how it’s done:

From your Windows Mobile 6.5 device, start Internet Explorer and navigate to this web site: ppc.ontimesystem.com.
Once there, tap the Download Now link.
You’ll next be asked what you want to do with this file. Choose Menu and then Open as illustrated here:
The program will download to the devices, usually using the “My Documents” folder as the download location.
Once downloaded the installation will start and should look like this for a minute or two:
Once completed, you will see an “All Done” message at the bottom and then the installer will automatically close.
You should then find a shortcut to OnTime Mobile by going to the Start menu and scrolling toward the bottom as shown here:
Finally, tap the shortcut to launch OnTime Mobile.

Send Messages to Drivers via SMS Gateways

Jeremy Tilley — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:48:53 GMT

OnTime courier software makes it possible to send text messages to your driver’s phone or pager using “email to SMS gateway”. This saves you money by not having to pay big SMS sending fees. The question often comes up of what email address to use. Usually the address is the ten digit phone number followed by the domain of the mobile service provider. For instance, an address for an AT&T device might look something like this:

5417721234@txt.att.net

You can find a comprehensive list of carriers and their email to SMS gateway addresses here:

http://www.mutube.com/projects/open-email-to-sms/gateway-list/

If you still have trouble locating the correct email address, just contact your mobile service provider and they should be able to assist you with that.

Finally, don’t forget to test the address before you go into production with that phone. Try it in OnTime and also try simply sending an email to that address, ensuring that it goes through without a problem.

Customize the Information on Your QuickBooks Invoices

Jeremy Tilley — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:11:37 GMT

OnTime already makes it extremely easy to automatically generate and send invoices to QuickBooks, but what if you want to customize the information that is put into those invoices? Now you can easily do so with the new options available as shown here:

After clicking the Options button, you’ll be presented with a list of fields that you can have included in your invoice as it’s sent to QuickBooks. These fields will appear in each line item under the description. Simply check the items in the list that you would like included.

If you would like to rearrange the order that these fields appear, select the field you would like to move and then drag it above or below the other checked items to ensure you have the placement desired.

Once you are done, click OK to save the changes and continue with your export to QuickBooks.

How to Grant OnTime Permission to Communicate with QuickBooks

Jeremy Tilley — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:11:27 GMT

If you would like to take advantage of the ability to export transactions from OnTime to QuickBooks, you’ll need to tell QuickBooks that it’s ok for OnTime to send data over. Usually QuickBooks will automatically prompt you with a window letting you know that OnTime is trying to communicate data. Sometimes however, you might need to manually configure QuickBooks to allow OnTime. If you get a message indicating that “QuickBooks could not be started”, that “QuickBooks is not installed”, or that “OnTime could not find QuickBooks”, try these steps:

Note: You will need to have administrative access to QuickBooks to adjust some of the settings below. If you do not have that access, you may need to contact your QuickBooks administrator to change these settings.

If not already open, start QuickBooks and ensure that the desired company file is loaded.
From OnTime Management Suite, attempt to post an invoice or payment to QuickBooks.
If you are prompted with a window as shown here, then select the option Yes, whenever this QuickBooks company file is open and then click Continue.
If you still have trouble posting to QuickBooks or the window shown above does not appear, then continue with the next step.
close all programs and restart your computer. Sometimes this will help clear out cached settings in QuickBooks that prevent third party programs from connecting properly. It may not be enough to restart just QuickBooks as it may continue to run in the background.
Once you computer is restarted, open QuickBooks and the desired company file.
In QuickBooks, from the Edit menu choose Preferences.
Select the Integrated Applications section.
From the Company Preferences tab, ensure that the check box labeled Don’t allow any applications to access this company file is unchecked.
Ensure that there is a check mark next to the OnTime entry in the list box as illustrated here:
With the OnTime entry selected in the list box, click the Properties button.
Ensure that access rights are selected as illustrated here:
Click OK to save the changes in QuickBooks and close out of all the windows. Now attempt to post an invoice or payment from OnTime.

Connecting OnTime with QuickBooks

Jeremy Tilley — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:10:07 GMT

OnTime makes it easy to transfer invoices and payments into QuickBooks 2002 Pro and better.

Minimum requirements

OnTime requires QuickBooks 2002 Pro or better. OnTime does not support QuickBooks Basic versions.

How to export an invoice to QuickBooks

Launch QuickBooks and ensure your company file is opened. The company file that is open in QuickBooks is the one that OnTime will connect with.
From the Billing area in OnTime Management Suite, choose the Invoices list.
Select one or more invoices from the list, right click with the mouse, and choose Post to QuickBooks.
A window will appear with a list of the invoices you selected to transfer. Review the list and then click the button labeled Send to QuickBooks.
If you are prompted for permission to allow OnTime to communicate with QuickBooks, ensure that OnTime is granted those rights.
Answer any onscreen prompts to ensure all information is successfully copied to QuickBooks.

OnTime keeps track of the invoices that are transferred to QuickBooks and will alert you if you try to send the same invoice more than once. However you always have full control over this process in case you want to delete the invoice in QuickBooks and import again from OnTime.

The invoice number in OnTime will be used as the invoice number in QuickBooks. You can choose to override this and change the invoice number once it is in QuickBooks.

OnTime requires that the company name of a customer exactly match the customer name in QuickBooks. If a match is not found, OnTime can create a new customer record for you. It is important to keep the names of your customers consistent between OnTime and QuickBooks in order to minimize duplicate customers.

Line items in the invoices must be assigned to an Item in QuickBooks. OnTime creates new services items in QuickBooks that correspond to the name of your price sets in OnTime. If the service item does not exist in QuickBooks and OnTime creates it for you, it will automatically be assigned to the "Other Income" account in QuickBooks. If you need to change that to point to a different account, you can do so in QuickBooks anytime. QuickBooks should give you the option to retroactively assign those transactions to the new account.

How to export a payment to QuickBooks

Launch QuickBooks and ensure your company file is opened. The company file that is open in QuickBooks is the one that OnTime will connect with.
From the Billing area in OnTime Management Suite, choose the Payments list.
Select one or more payments from the list, right click with the mouse, and choose Post to QuickBooks.
A window will appear with a list of the payments you selected to transfer. Review the list and then click the button labeled Send to QuickBooks.
If you are prompted for permission to allow OnTime to communicate with QuickBooks, ensure that OnTime is granted those rights.
Answer any onscreen prompts to ensure all information is successfully copied to QuickBooks.

OnTime keeps track of the payments that are transferred to QuickBooks and will alert you if you try to send the same payment more than once. However you always have full control over this process in case you want to delete the payment in QuickBooks and import again from OnTime.

The reference number in OnTime will be used as the payment number in QuickBooks. You can choose to override this and change the payment number once it is in QuickBooks.

OnTime will automatically attempt to apply payments to invoices as you've specified in OnTime. However this is subject to those invoices existing in QuickBooks so that the payment in QuickBooks can be applied correctly.

Fast Zone-to-Zone Pricing

Jeremy Tilley — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:37:58 GMT

A question often asked about OnTime is whether it can do zone-to-zone pricing. In other words, “can we just type in two zip codes and get a quote?” While there are pros and cons to this method, the short answer is: absolutely yes!

Why not the most accurate method?

Most agree that simply using zip codes is not the most accurate method, especially for couriers servicing a limited area. One reason is because zip codes can be large, irregular areas and most of the time distance is measured from the center of the zip code. In rural areas this is especially a problem because the center of those zip codes will generally be some distance from the city central. Also, since zip codes can be large areas, the actual address you are shipping to could be several miles off. When multiplying this by two zip codes, the discrepancy can double.

Another big problem with this type of measurement is that it is generally measured in a straight line, not along the roads and streets your drivers will use. As a result, the distance will almost always be shorter than in reality. These issues generally cause zip code to zip code measurements to be 5% to 30% off from actual distance.

Due to this, OnTime includes a much more sophisticated mapping and routing web service that will actually find the distance by road between two locations down to the 10th of a mile.

Why we still use it

So why do we still need zip code to zip code pricing? Two reasons:

Speed
Simplicity

Speed is an important factor when you need to offer a customer a quick quote. If you don’t have time to type in the full addresses, then just getting the zip codes involved will be the next best thing. This is also important to couriers just starting out who have yet to invest a lot of time and effort in developing a more comprehensive pricing structure. Using tools in OnTime to automatically download hundreds of zones in just seconds, a new courier can quickly assign some pricing to those zones and then use this feature in OnTime to do quick zip-to-zip pricing:

Quick Zip Code Lookup

From within OnTime Dispatch, start a new order and you will see a ribbon across the top that looks like this:

Notice the Postal Code Lookup button. Clicking on that will cause a window appear like this:

In the example above, we entered a couple of zip codes from the Texas area. Notice that we might also want to specify the locations by name and state instead of by zip code. Once we entered in the zip codes, we can click OK to have OnTime calculate the distance between the two. This distance will be copied into the order as well as any appropriate zone information as shown below:

Notice that we have the zone names (based on each zip code), the calculated distance (30.88 miles), and because we set up some zone based and mileage based pricing we have prices for both methods of charging a customer. Once set up, this whole process of getting a price for the customer takes the dispatcher less than 15 seconds.

This feature is available in OnTime software versions 2.3.1002 or higher. While you may have paid for a feature like this in other software, OnTime includes it for free with any Standard or higher subscription plan.

Download Hundreds of Zones and Postal Codes in Seconds

Jeremy Tilley — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:52:09 GMT

We’re always on the lookout for ways to make OnTime save its users time and money. One area in which we thought we could do better was in giving you immediate access to postal codes and zip codes quickly and easily. If you have used PC*Miler, or similar product, in the past you are probably familiar with the quick and easy method of offering quotes to customers by just using two zip codes. The question is, how do you get all those zip codes organized into zones in the first place? OnTime has always allowed you to enter these zones in by hand or import them in bulk from an Excel spreadsheet file, but this didn’t always prove helpful to couriers just starting out as they wouldn’t have such spreadsheets to import from.

In view of that dilemma, we are happy to announce that starting with version 2.3.1002 of OnTime, you can quickly download zones from our web service that is provided free of charge to our customers subscribed to the Standard or higher subscription plans. How does this work?

In OnTime Management Suite, go to the Locations area, and then click on the link labeled Download Zip Codes as shown here:

In the window that appears, you can choose to search for your zip codes by State, City, or Area Code. Then type in the search term and click the Search button. (Note that for state searches, you need to use the two letter state abbreviation.) Once the search is completed, you will see the results in list area.

Here is an example of a search for all zip codes in New York state:

Notice that you can click on the column headers in the list to re-sort the columns. This can allow you to group things in a way easier to understand.

At this point, if you click the OK button all items selected in the list will be imported as zones with the city name being the name of the zone. But what if you only want a few items from the list, not all? Just be sure to select only the ones that you want to bring in. While the example above shows all records selected, the example below shows only a few:

In this case, only the items highlighted in blue will be imported as zones. Remember the shortcut in to select individual items from a list like this is to hold down the control key (CTRL) on the keyboard while you click the items with your mouse.

After you make your selections, click OK and you will see the new zones imported along with a message like this:

Merging Zones

If you import a lot of zip codes in this way, it may be helpful to merge them together into more manageable zones. We’ve made this easier by adding a function for merging zones together. To learn how to use this feature, click here.

Regain Some Sanity by Merging Zones

Jeremy Tilley — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:50:23 GMT

If you generate your pricing primarily from zip code or by comparing zones, you know how quickly those zones can multiply. In some cases it makes a lot of sense to reign those zones back in by consolidating them. Starting in OnTime version 2.3.1002 you can merge zones very easily and OnTime will take care of the grunt work.

One of the problems with rearranging zones is that you may already have thousands of addresses and locations that have been tied to a zone. The last thing you want to have to do is go through and manually change those locations to another zone. With this new feature, OnTime can take care of that for you. How do you use it?

In OnTime Management Suite, click on the Locations area, and ensure that the Zones list is displayed as shown here:

In my example, I have just imported several zip codes that represent the Portland, Oregon area and now I want to merge them into zones that would encompass more than one zip code instead of a separate zone for each zip code.To do this, I select the zones from the list that I want to merge, then right click them and choose Merge as shown here:

At this point we will get a window as shown below asking us for a name for the new zone that will be created after this merge is completed:

If we had previously associated any of the zones to be merged with locations or addresses, we can have OnTime automatically update those for us by ensuring that the Automatically update locations to use the new merged zone box is checked.

Clicking OK will then merge the selected zones into a new one and then remove the old ones. Our example would result in this:

How to Configure a Bluetooth GPS Receivers with Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices?

Jeremy Tilley — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:03:07 GMT

If you are using OnTime in connection with Bluetooth GPS receiver, it can be a little tricky to get setup. To help, you might find these step by step directions helpful:

For regular Windows Mobile 5 or 6 touch screen devices:

Turn on your Bluetooth GPS receiver and open the Bluetooth Manager of your Pocket PC in order to create a Bluetooth bond with your GPS receiver.

Tap on Start, Settings, Connections tab, tap on Bluetooth Icon.
Make sure the Turn on Bluetooth check box is checked.
Tap on Devices tab, select New Partnership... After a few seconds, you will see the BT GPS Device ID show on the Select a Bluetooth Device page. Tap once on the BT GPS Device ID and select Next
Enter the Bluetooth device’s passkey (it might be 0000 or 12345678; consult your user manual) and select Next
Check the Serial Port checkbox and select Finish
Next, tap on COM Ports tab and select New Outgoing Port
Tap once on the BT GPS Device ID/Name and select Next
Select a COM Port for this outgoing connection and make sure you *** UNCHECK *** Secure Connection checkbox and select Finish.
Important notes: Depends on your PDA model, some models may not have COM 6 listed. We recommend you select the highest COM Port number to start with. If the higher number is not working, please delete the outgoing COM Port and use the second highest available COM Port from the list and re-test.
Launch OnTime Mobile for Windows Mobile and start the GPS service.

New Version with Helpful Features Available

Jeremy Tilley — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:06:53 GMT

Version 2.3.903 of OnTime has been released today and introduces several new features and enhancements that OnTime users are certain to enjoy. What’s new and how can you access these new features? First, head over to the OnTime download page and get the new versions here:

http://www.ontimesystem.com/download.aspx

Here’s what you can expect to see:

Initial log in for both Management Suite and Dispatch is much faster, sometimes 3 times faster than before.
Enhancements have been made to the underlying database to make your data much faster to access. Many users will see a 4 to 5 times speed increase. In order to take advantage of this feature, you’ll need to rebuild your data file. This only takes a couple of minutes and should be done on each computer that has OnTime software running on it. Follow this link for more information on rebuilding your data file: http://vesigo.com/Support/Community/blogs/ontimefeatures/archive/2009/09/03/how-to-rebuild-your-data-file.aspx
Synchronization speed with the server is significantly increased. Most users will see a 60 to 90% decrease in sync time for large amounts of data and a 20X decrease in the time it takes to perform smaller, incremental synchronizations.
Synchronization with the OnTime service is now automated so you don’t need worry about clicking a button to sync all the time. Of course if you prefer to manually control how your computer synchronizes with OnTime, you have that choice. To configure this, go to the program options and choose the Synchronization tab as shown here:

In addition to automatic synchronization, OnTime now allows you to optimize communication for slow or fast internet connections. If you have a slow connection, such as dial-up or service via your cell provider, choose the slow option to increase the reliability of your connection. All other users can make use of the fast option.
Audio queues are now available to help you know when different activities happen in OnTime. For instance, OnTime will play a musical note when new data comes in from the server. This is handy for those that run OnTime constantly, but are not always watching the screen. If you don’t want the sounds to play, you can turn them off via the program options.
OnTime Dispatch is now available directly from OnTime Management Suite. This also means that if you are a manager that also dispatches, you no longer need to install both programs. In such a case just install Management Suite and then access Dispatch through the tool bar as shown here:
You may also quickly access your OnTime Mobile WAP Edition site by clicking the mobile phone button on the tool bar. This will launch a web browser so you can access the same site your WAP enabled drivers do.
If you are using the Enterprise subscription plan and make use of the Customer Web Portal, there are some enhancements you’ll be interested in. Now you Customer Web Portal information is tied to your OnTime account, meaning you no longer need to configure it within Management Suite. Additionally, you can now right click on anyone in your customer list and choose Send a Link to the Customer Web Portal. This will automatically create an email in your email program that has everything filled out and ready to be sent. If you want to do this for more than one customer at a time, just select as many as you want in the list and have OnTime quickly create individual emails for every selected customer. This is a fast and easy way to tell your customers about how to make use of your portal.
Would you like to know details about shipments from a particular customer during a certain time period? Not to be confused with a billing report or invoice, OnTime Management Suite now allows you to right click on a customer, choose Reports, and then All Shipments by Date Range. This will generate a report showing all shipments during that time, regardless of billing status. What’s great about this feature is that it’s available to every OnTime account, no matter your subscription level.
If you have issues with your internet connection or want help with diagnosing such networking issues, you can now make use of the built in tool. From Management Suite, you can find it on the Help menu under Troubleshoot Network Problems. You will also find it in Dispatch under the Application Button and the Resources menu. For more information on how to use this feature, click here: http://vesigo.com/Support/Community/blogs/ontimefeatures/archive/2009/09/03/help-with-troubleshooting-networking-and-internet-issues.aspx
A significant new feature in this version of OnTime Management Suite is the ability to see your account’s balance and payment information. You will be able to view usage on your account, invoices, and payments listed in real-time. This is available from the Help menu by choosing Account Center.
Make a payment using a credit or debit card and have that instantly applied to your account. Even sign up for auto-pay.
Make changes to your subscription plan or payment method without contacting Vesigo Studios. This is a great way to adapt the payment structure of OnTime to fit your changing company needs. You can make such changes to your account once a month.

As always, if you have any questions about features and how to use them, feel free to contact us.

How to Rebuild Your Data File

Jeremy Tilley — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:07:21 GMT

From time to time it may become necessary to rebuild your data file. Doing so can allow your computer to take advantage of new features that OnTime will implement from time to time and sometimes help resolve synchronization issues.

Before getting started, here are a few things to keep in mind:

NOTE: If you have added, modified, or removed any information from OnTime since the last time OnTime was synchronized with the OnTime service, be sure to perform a synchronization. If a synchronization is not preformed, those changes may be lost since a rebuild of your data file discards the existing OnTime data on your computer and downloads a fresh copy from the server. You can always check for pending changes by following these steps:

http://vesigo.com/Support/Community/blogs/ontimefeatures/archive/2010/03/01/how-to-check-for-pending-changes.aspx

If the computer shows zero as the number of pending items, then you are ready to rebuild you data file.
NOTE: If you have both OnTime Management Suite AND OnTime Dispatch installed on the same computer, you do not need to rebuild the data file in both programs. Since both programs share the same data file, you only need to rebuild from one of the programs. It doesn’t matter which one.
NOTE: Before performing the steps below, please close ALL OnTime applications running on the computer and then reopen only one OnTime program to perform the rebuild. Open OnTime programs can cause the data file to be locked and prevent the rebuild from succeeding.

How to rebuild your data file in OnTime Management Suite:

From the File menu, choose Data File Management.
Click the link labeled Rebuild Data File…
Once started, the process can take several minutes to complete. During that time, you should avoid using OnTime. You will know when the rebuild is complete by watching the progress displayed in the lower right corner of the OnTime application window.

How to rebuild your data file in OnTime Dispatch:

Ensure that you have no open order entry forms in the shipments view.
Click the Application Button, choose Resources, and then click Manage Data File as shown here:
Click the link labeled Rebuild Data File…
Once started, the process can take several minutes to complete. During that time, you should avoid using OnTime. You will know when the rebuild is complete by watching the progress displayed in the lower right corner of the OnTime application window.

Help with Troubleshooting Networking and Internet Issues

Jeremy Tilley — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:55:22 GMT

Starting with version 2.3.903 of OnTime desktop applications, you can get assistance troubleshooting networking problems with the build in network diagnostic tools. If you care concerned about the performance of OnTime across your network and internet connection, running the test in the utility will help you diagnose where the problem lies. This information is also in helping Vesigo technical support personnel in resolving your connectivity issues.

If you suspect problems with your connection to the OnTime service, run this utility and then contact Vesigo technical support with the details. Here is how to access this new feature:

From OnTime Management Suite:

Start OnTime Management Suite
From the Help menu, choose Troubleshoot Network Problems
On the resulting window, click the Start Test button. It may take a few minutes to complete.

From OnTime Dispatch:

Start OnTime Dispatch
From the Application Button, choose Resources and then Troubleshoot Network Problems as shown here:
On the resulting window, click the Start Test button. It may take a few minutes to complete.

How much can OnTime save you?

Jeremy Tilley — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:36:16 GMT

There’s no doubt that the current economy has been a challenge for most businesses. The overhead involved to manage the data flowing through your business is one of the largest investments you have to maintain. What can OnTime do to help you in this area?

You’ve probably heard the terms “running in the cloud” and “software-as-a-service” floating around the technology world. Both of those terms can refer to making heavy use of the Internet and newer technology to streamline your business operations. The result for you? Usually better software at a cheaper price point!

As this economy slowly recovers, there is every reason to believe that businesses coming out the other side will have started operating in a much leaner way by using such cloud based software services. This trend is causing many businesses to analyze their spending on things like I.T. staff to maintain computer systems, keeping up on networking and servers, paying for traditional software licensing, and the non-stop charges for technical support when using that software. These sorts of liabilities are expensive and tend to disappear with cloud based services.

Since its release in 2006, OnTime has been ahead of the curve. It’s been running in the cloud since the beginning and continues to improve on that. Given that OnTime can save you so many resources in so many ways, it’s dramatic to see how much OnTime can save your business starting today. To help put this in perspective, we’ve launched the OnTime Savings Calculator here:

http://www.ontimesystem.com/SavingsCalculator.aspx

By answering a few basic questions, you’ll be able to see just how much OnTime can save your courier business.