e2cargo blog

  We have been busy and implement our new “Statistic” function into e2cargo.      

In the past few months we have seen many of our e2cargo users, creating more and more invoices with e2cargo. This is very exciting for us and we are very happy to see that you logistic and transport guys are finding our tool helpful – yeah !     

But of course with a certain amount of invoices in the system you need some statistics to keep an overview. So, we thought you’ll be needing to monitor this with lists of invoices for a specific invoicing party showing what isn’t paid? Or maybe you need to create a list of all invoices you have sent out within a specific date range to hand over to your accounting team? And, and, and, and many more ….. For this we have created the excellent new feature – “Invoice Statement“     

This lets you see your Profit or Loss Revenue Report with listing of all freight cost , net costs and profit/loss in the “Revenue Statement“. To filter your Revenue Statement we provide the same search criteria as we have for the Invoice Statement – consistency helps with the user familiarity. A P&L Revenue Statement about all your customers, or for a specific one or a date range is now a quick & easy task, helping you to keep an eye on the figures quickly and efficiently!     

All statements can be mailed out, and for audit purposes will automatically be sent to your own mail address as Cc (in copy).     

Simple – efficient – easy!     

Any questions or do you need something else specific? Please mail us  support@e2cargo.com

As many of you know I have studied the Logistics Industry in Germany and worked for various domestic and international freight companies. But once I turned my focus to the software solutions that serve such companies I found that not only were many system over-complicated they were also old-fashioned. So using simple and efficient techniques and modern deployment mechanisms over the internet e2cargo was born allowing me to help people to run their businesses.

But sometimes I find that people can be confused and concerned over buzzwords that are being used, so here is my high level explanation of some common phrases .

The first thing is “The Cloud “. Well in simple terms you can imagine it as the internet — which is the basis for the Cloud and often used as a graphical representation. In simple terms the internet is a pool of computers and a network of networks — containing millions of private, public, academic, business and government networks which are linked with different techniques.

So the cloud is a huge and powerful technical supply on a 24/7 basis — around the world which you can access with your PC at any time from everywhere.

Traditionally a “Client-Server” software licence model would have been used. The IT-infrastructure and the development of software forms a complex, risky and expensive investment. The customer buys the software and thus receives the licence and the right to use the software. The software provider provides the customer with an installation package, and a complete IT infrastructure (hardware, operating system, database, etc.) is required. After successful installation, the software has to be configured according to the business needs, and the user takes over the entire operation of IT infrastructure and related IT tasks. The licence purchase is usually associated with a maintenance contract, which in turn contains incalculable costs. These include the installation of new releases and the elimination of software errors.

But with the Cloud, a new model is available — Software as a Service — known as SaaS. This is what we will focus on from e2cargo.

SaaS is a complete software application, running in the Cloud, maintained and hosted by the supplier — this makes it quick and easy to start using and extremely cost effective as usually a monthly “Pay as you Go” model is in place.

SaaS also benefit from rapid progression, being adapted to the market need very quickly and easily — no need for you to install any upgrades, fixes, etc. e2cargo is developed in the latest programming languages keeping it fresh and forward thinking – speed of implementation saves time, which in turn saves money!

As business grow (or sometimes shrink) SaaS solutions like e2cargo will scale up & down to meet your ever changing needs.

As more and more applications move up into the Cloud it becomes ever easier for suppliers of such IT solutions to offer integration with each other.

Other elements of the Cloud are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) — but lets keep it simple for now!

So as you can see a solution like e2cargo can be a great tool to give you a fast implementation of a very cost effective solution ….and all you need to be able to do is connect to the internet to use it! Anytime, Any Place!

If you´d like to see how this all comes together to give you a simple yet highly efficient cost effective IT backbone just visit www.e2cargo.com and take a free trial of the system today!

Look around on your desk. Are there a lot of notes with prices and freight costs for different jobs you´re working on?
I´d be surprised if this wasn´t the case — but do you still have an overview of whats happening with the job costing? I am sure you have, otherwise you´d really be in trouble! Can you also see if you have made a profit or a loss with a shipment, when receiving offers in different currencies?

Have you thought about what could happen if you have to leave suddenly for an important meeting, business travel, or illness and a colleague has to take over? Are they familiar with your notes and bits of paper?

It is quite a risk isn´t it — especially as we are all working harder and harder these days for slimmer margins.

We can offer you a perfect feature in e2cargo where you can quickly and easily maintain costs and prices for a transport service! Keeping everything in one place, in one style, with no risk of it being overlooked.

We have developed the possibility to maintain estimated or confirmed net costs, after we have received a mail from one of our customers – part of our philosophy is to listen to our clients to ensure that we meet their needs.

Our client asked us to enhance e2cargo to have functionality to enter costs from different carriers. But he also needed the possibility to enter costs in different currencies and he wanted to be able to different between estimated and confirmed cost. He told us: “We are used to keep control on our expenses and our estimated figures for every single shipment. And if expenses are not entered into a program — it takes us back to spreadsheets, where we do not want to be.”

And here is what we have built for our e2cargo users:

No confusing notes and pieces of paper any longer, just straight forward processes — put it into e2cargo and immediately see if the transport is a profit or a loss shipment.

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Thursday 12th May 2011

Howard Tenens, Radway Road, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN3 4ND

This is an opportunity to familiarise yourself with all the IT buzzwords in Logistics e.g. Cloud Computing, SaaS, RFID and many more. There is also a chance for you to request IT terminology you would like explained on the day. Visit this survey Survey – Logistics IT WiL UK

At lunchtime software and hardware providers will be showcasing their product, so you can see the latest IT tools up close. The event also includes tips on successful IT implementations and lots of opportunity to network with your fellow WIL members.

Don’t worry, it won’t be heavy-going – we’ve chosen a variety of speakers and topics to make this an informative, interactive and fun day.

Coffee from 9am for a 9:30am start, 4pm finish.

Please have a look on our Vendor and Speakers overview and see the agenda we have prepared for you!

Maximum capacity is 50, so book soon to reserve your place; the event is free to attend and is open to any members of WIL UK.

To book, please send the WiL UK Logistics IT booking form to Socky.Angel@corporatesolutions.uk.net

… : using Twitter and LinkedIn to get ahead

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Wednesday 23rd March 2011

Screwfix, Stanley Matthews Way, Trentham Lakes, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 8GR

Coffee from 09h30 for a 10h start, formal day concludes at 16h, followed by an optional site tour of hosts Screwfix

Come along for a great one day event focused on social media and using Twitter and LinkedIn to get ahead. We will discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by the rise of social media, what further trends we can expect for 2011, and give you the tools and techniques to make Twitter and LinkedIn work for you and your business.

Our event will offer a practical approach to getting the best out of social networks, as well as hands-on tips to allow you to use them effectively. There will also be plenty of networking opportunities throughout the day.

Book asap to avoid disappointment, capacity is 50, the event is free to attend and is open to any members of WIL UK.

For more information on the workshops, click here WiL UK Logistics IT event

We would like to invite you to have a look on our new functionality to maintain net rates (estimated and confirmed cost). Also we have included a Profit/Loss tab to sum up the revenue/cost balance.

In the Freight Calculation area of the Quote and Shipment view are now 3 tabs:
Freight Rate Details | Cost | Profit or Loss

** Freight Rate Details:
Enter your freight rate lines for your freight prices which you have agreed with your customer in every currency you like. An automatic conversion to your base currency is done by e2cargo. If you have agreed to a different conversion rate, please feel free to overwrite the exchange rate with any conversion rate you want. All rates will be summed up as Revenue for the Profit/Loss balance.

** Cost
Enter all estimated or confirmed cost lines which you have agreed with your carriers and agents for the shipment. You can specify the cost type as “Estimated” or “Confirmed” and set the amount of the cost in every currency you like. An automatic conversion to your base currency is done by e2cargo. If you have agreed to a different conversion rate, please feel free to overwrite the exchange rate with any conversion rate you want. All rates will be summed up as Cost for the Profit/Loss balance.

** Profit or Loss
The Profit or Loss tab sums up all Freight Rates as Revenue minus all cost and calculates a profit or a loss for the shipment.

Hopefully never a loss

If you have entered your freight rates and costs already in the Quote view, we take over the freight calculation when you release your Quote to a Shipment. You can change freight rates and cost at any time in the Shipment view later on.

Next step… displaying revenue, cost and P/L in our dashboard  …. in the meanwhile let us know how you like the new net cost maintenance – THANKS!

Do you ever get a rate from a carrier in a different currency to your base currency?

You know what I’m referring to – right?

With fluctuating currency rates its becoming more and more common for carrier to deal in stable currencies other than USD. But it can be a headache to look out for, control, and visualize impact. Not all systems (paper or computerized) can help you with managing this.

Well – its fine for us! We have a lovely solution for our clients! Just throw your rates into e2cargo, regardless which currency your freight price comes in like Rimimbi, Swiss Francs or British Guineas (Gottcha! No British Guineas anymore!!!!). We look for the exchange rate up to the date of the shipment and additionally convert your foreign amount into your base currency.

Too make a long and confusing story shorter….the end! No – only joking! In simple terms, if your customer asks you to create his invoice in Euro, GBP or USD, then smile and say you can do it – as with e2cargo you can.

We give you the chance to store the rules for currencies on the address details of the customer file, or switch the currency in the invoice view. It’s up to you – we provide the flexibility so you can be automatic or semi-automatic. Furthermore, in the event that you need to do any “manual rate overrides” for whatever reason you can do.

So, give it a try – visit www.e2cargo.com and take a free trial of the system today!

Cashflow will always be King in the freight forwarding industry – without good cashflow control life is very difficult. 

So, whats the main reason why cashflow suffers? Getting paid late! Look further – whats the reason most clients pay late? Receiving invoices late or with errors on them!   And whilst all this is happening are the carriers being kind to you?  No – they send you their invoices straight away! 

What happens when time rolls by and youre in this situation?  You may have to resign yourself to the fact that sometimes you have to wait a little bit longer for your money coming in and you take the hit and stress – unfortunately.

Now, is any of this news to you?  I think not!  Being involved in daily operations, having to have your eyes on all projects all of the time, leaves you with limited time for the business administration and often the invoicing is rushed.  If only you could snap your fingers and your admin was done!  Well, to be honest, we cant snap our fingers either to miraculously get your invoicing is done, but we can provide a technology solution that lets you create your invoices with a click of a finger.  It’s like magic!

Well, what do you have to do to get this?

Using our web-based application you go through an easy process of entering your shipment details during the week. So before frantically writing the details down on loose scraps of paper and then writing up a job file, just pop them into e2cargo. Its especially fast when you have repeat business as you then just hit the magic “duplicate” button.  At this point you already get the payback for entering the shipment – as you can rapidly create the transport documents with one click and e-mail them out.   Stop! I’m not wanting to speak about documents, i’m supposed to be talking about getting money in quickly…..well I am as its all a means to an end.

So, after your negotiation with your customer about the price for the transport you then quickly enter the agreed price in the freight calculation area of the shipment view.  Then click on “Create Invoice” and that’s it – Job done!

For control (lets face it – we all like to be sure things that computers do for us look right!) just view your invoice and mail it out.

Does it sound complicated or easy?  Well the average time our customers need to process all of the above (excluding the phone call with the customer!) is around 3 minutes! Not bad eh? Invoices that are accurate, with a full audit in an electronic job file, in just a few minutes! End result – invoices go out on time and the cash comes in quicker.  Just think, even if you could improve invoice accuracy by just a small percentage and get the invoices out just a few days earlier – what would that do to your cashflow?

This really is a fast way to speed up your cash flow and it’s not a huge effort, right?  Plus all the benefits of having electronic job files rather than paper everywhere! 

Sound too good to be true?  – well lets prove it to you. Come to www.e2cargo.com and take a free trial – prove it to yourself!

If you invoice shipments from the last year in 2011, then e2cargo calculates them with 17.5%. The invoice date is not the trigger for define the VAT percentage, it is the date of supply.

Read more here (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/rate-increase.htm#2)

Sales that span the change in rate

There are special rules for sales which span the change of rate. If you provided goods or services before 4 January 2011 and raised a VAT invoice on or after that date you can choose to account for VAT at 17.5 per cent. You don’t need to tell HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) if you do this.

Services you started before 4 January 2011 but finished afterwards

If you started work on a job before 4 January 2011 but finish afterwards you may account for the work done up to 3 January 2011 at 17.5 per cent and the remainder at 20 per cent. If you choose to do this you will have to be able to demonstrate that the apportionment is fair.

*************** And here we go in German ************

Warum benötigt das Finanzamt das genaue Leistungsdatum?

Fälschlicherweise wird von Rechnungslegenden häufig angenommen, dass das Rechnungsdatum allein ausreicht, um den Mehrwertsteuersatz zu bestimmen. Die Umsatzsteuer wird im Leistungsmonat berücksichtigt. Wenn man die Rechnung rückwirkend nach Abschluss des Monats stellt, muss die Umsatzsteuer des Vormonats berücksichtigt werden. Liegt kein Leistungsdatum vor, kann das Finanzamt nicht nachvollziehen, wann genau die Umsatzsteuer entstanden ist.