Like Pricing Templates, the Accounts section is one of the main repositories (“homes”) for critical information upon which the rest of DispatchDirectTM depends. The decisions made in setting up an Account will set the initial course for how new calls for the account are processed. Accounts is the “authoritative source” for the information it contains. Unless there is a manual over-ride, the entries in Accounts will be the basis and starting point for other processes in DispatchDirectTM.

Said another way, the information In Accounts is the assumed “default” that will be used in other parts of the system. For example, when a new service request is received from an Account:

• The call entry screens will automatically populate with contact and Destination address information from the entries in Accounts
• To further expedite call taking, Job Entry will automatically populate dispatch parameters based on the “defaults” set for the Account
• The charges for the call will be based on the rates in the Pricing Templates that are “associated” with the Account
• Invoicing will use the Billing Address as entered in Accounts

Information drawn from entries in Accounts can be changed in other process steps as necessary. For example, the default information in an Account may indicate that mileage pricing should be based on “rolling miles” - using odometer inputs coming from the truck over the course of the call. The dispatcher has the flexibility to modify this “default” approach, and instead choose to make pricing charges for the call based on “calculated miles” - i.e., the turn-by-turn estimates from Google Maps. The “default” information for an Account serves to streamline needed inputs for a new call; changes require manually over-riding these initial inputs - generally by the call taker or dispatcher.

The three major categories of information for an Account relate to contacts/addresses, pricing (formulas, rates), and the dispatching process. The listing of all Accounts is in a window that slides out from the right side. Associated Pricing Templates are in a window that slides up from the bottom. Each of the major categories of information are described in turn after first highlighting the role of the Cash/Call-In Account in DispatchDirectTM.

DispatchDirectTM requires and establishes a Cash/Call-In Account. In the absence of Account information for an incoming call, the Cash/Call-In Account will be used as the “default” for initial information and settings. This design approach has a number of benefits, including:

• Helps a company get up and running quickly, while the full scope of Account information is being developed and entered
• Provides ready-to-use parameters/inputs for handling calls from first-time customers
• Expedites call taking - even if a new customer has the potential to become a key account, the call taker need not be diverted to set up Account information when the more immediate priority is handling the service request

Configuring the Cash/Call-In Account should be the first step in setting up Accounts, and precede the set-up of any other Accounts. As noted earlier, the Cash/Call-In Account, in effect, serves as the Company “default” - i.e., it provides the starting point (information and settings) delineating how the Company will typically respond to any new business that comes in over-the-transom. It becomes the point-of-departure for modifications necessary based on the requirements for a particular Account.

The information entered in the Cash/Call-in account will be used to automatically populate fields in all other accounts that are created. The purpose is to again streamline the set-up process. Any information that is automatically populated can and should be changed to get the right information entered for the particular account.

Most of the information that can be recorded in “Account detail” is fairly intuitive. However, there are a few fields where comments on the intended purpose of the field and how it is used within DispatchDirectTM might be helpful.

Code - is intended as a “short-code for an Account. For example a short-code for Bedford Collision Center could be “BCC”. The code id is user-defined and is intended to help expedite call taking. DispatchDirectTM provides a drop-down menu of customer Accounts for the call taker. As call takers gain experience and familiarity with Accounts, it will often be faster for them to simply type in the Account short-code, rather than using the drop-down menu. Another important consideration, is the short code is used for linking to quickbooks, so once these codes are established, they should not be changed.

Category - segments all Accounts into three “buckets”: Customers, Suppliers, and Networking. DispatchDirectTM is not a sophisticated CRM system, but does allow you to maintain records on other business relationships and organizations (i.e., also “Accounts”) that are not, strictly speaking, “customers”. In Job Entry, the drop-down box for selecting an Account only shows Accounts that have been categorized as “Customers”.

Type - provides an option to sub-divide “Category” into meaningful groups. The use of this field is optional, and its primary value is as a variable/filter in running reports - e.g., how much business am I doing with auto dealers? Useful sub-groups could be, for example:

• Customers: Auto dealers, body shops, mechanical repair, auction yards, police, motor clubs, insurance cos., individual clients
• Suppliers: truck maintenance, tire repair, auto parts suppliers, insurance cos., advertising agencies
• Networking: Chamber of Commerce, BBB, Rotary Club, referral sources, local newspaper, city council, TRAA

These sub-groups are defined in Company Setup.

Status - allows you to retain information on “Inactive” Accounts. DispatchDirectTM will only show “Active” (customer) Accounts in the Job Entry Account drop-down menu.

As mentioned previously, Accounts is the “authoritative source” for information - including the appropriate pricing for an Account. There are four important ideas to remember when configuring the pricing for an Account:

• The rates for pricing for all Accounts is defined in Pricing Templates (see Pricing Templates - Overview)
• Unless otherwise configured, the rates for an Account will use the “List” pricing for the company (“Class/offering default”) - typically specified in Cash/Call-In Pricing Templates (see Pricing Templates - Overview)
• Account-specific pricing (different than the company “List” or Cash/Call-In templates) must be specified as a separate Pricing Template (see Set-Up: Creating New Pricing Templates). A Pricing Template for a specific Account, would ideally be applicable to other Accounts as well - e.g., other auto dealers.
• The pricing approach - particularly as it relates to Mileage - is defined by Account

Once appropriate Pricing Templates have been created, they need to be linked with the Account. Note: if the Account will use the company “List” pricing (“Class/offering default”) there is no need to create a linkage in the Account - DispatchDirectTM will automatically use the “List” Pricing Templates if a more appropriate alternative has not been “associated with” the Account .

If a different Pricing Template is appropriate for one or more Vehicle Class/Service Offering combinations, they should be linked - or “associated” - with the Account as follows:

1. Select the Account from the list in the window that slides out from the right
2. Extend the window at the bottom of the screen - “Pricing templates associated with account”
3. Click on “Associate another template” - a new row will be created under “Template”
4. Click on the drop-down menu in the new row and select the appropriate Pricing Template for use with the Account - the choice will be automatically saved
5. To remove, if necessary, click on the “Remove?” box at the end of the row, and confirm this choice in the dialogue box

Dispatch defaults are provided as another tool to expedite the call taking and dispatching processes. Some fields will be automatically populated (from the Cash/Call-In Account) to streamline the entry of Account information. As noted previously, any information that is automatically populated can and should be changed to get the right information entered for the particular Account.

Dispatch default destination address - provides an opportunity to enter the most common Destination/Drop location for a repeat customer. For example, police calls might typically be towed to the city impound lot, or an auto dealer may have a service facility where they want incoming vehicles to be dropped. These fields are optional entries. In cases where there is a “usual” drop location, it can be entered in these fields. When a new call is received from this Account, DispatchDirectTM will automatically populate the Destination address in Job Entry with this information.

Dispatch defaults - are intended to streamline call taking by pre-defining common characteristics of new calls that are received from the Account. For example, the City and State fields will fill in the corresponding fields in the Incident address. If incorrect, the call taker can easily over-ride these fields and enter the correct information. Many of these fields are populated from the entries in the Cash/Call-In Account (in effect the Company defaults). These entries can/should be modified as appropriate. If there is no common pattern for an Account, the fields can be made “blank”, and the call taker can start “from scratch” for every new call.

The “Priority” field has a special role within DispatchDirectTM (see Company Setup - Priority). The “priority” assigned to an Account will be used to populate the corresponding field in Job Entry. More importantly, this field is available on the Dispatch screen. The “Priority” on the Dispatch screen can be used as input for the dispatcher in sequencing calls. The dispatch screen can also be sorted by “Priority” so that the most urgent jobs are at the top of the dispatch list.

Mileage defaults - specify the appropriate approach for determining mileage charges for the Account (see Pricing Templates - Pricing Parameters - Mileage). For pricing purposes, mileage can be determined based on odometer readings from the truck (“rolling miles”), or based on turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps (“calculated miles” - automatically calculated in DispatchDirectTM for geocoded locations). The rates for the mileage charges are set in Pricing Templates. The approach for determining the miles that are to be billed - “rolling” vs. “calculated” - is set for each Account . Setting the appropriate pricing approach for an Account requires:

• Specifying whether pricing will be based on “truck odometer” inputs (“rolling miles”) or the “Geocode calculation” - for both Unloaded and Loaded miles
• For companies with more than one base, choosing the appropriate starting point for the “Geocode calculation” of Unloaded miles. For example, many motor clubs expect that Unloaded mileage charges will be based on the “calculated” distance from a particular base - often the main location (home base) of the company. In other cases, an Account will expect that mileage charges are based on the “closest base” to their business location. These expactations are set in selecting the “Starting base”.