The framework for setting rates in DispatchDirect is based on a two dimensional matrix. The first dimension is Vehicle Class - the type of vehicles that your company services, such as motorcycles or medium duty trucks. The second dimension is Service such as towing or fixing flats. These two dimensions should be defined to cover the scope of your business - particularly “Cash” or Call-in“ business. Subsequently, pricing will be defined for the “cells” of the matrix which will become the “Default” pricing for Call-In business, and the starting point to define Account-specific variations

The configuration of Vehicle Classes and Service Offerings is in the menu branch for Pricing Set-Up

Vehicle Class - the type of vehicle being serviced

• Each Vehicle Class must be categorized in a Primary class and a Sub-class
• The Primary class is used to identify trucks that are appropriate to assign to service these vehicles - e.g., Light Duty, Medium Duty, or Heavy Duty
• Each Primary Class must have at least one Sub-class - Standard: which should be used for the most common vehicles serviced in the Primary Class
• A separate Vehicle Class should be configured when the charges are different from other Vehicle Classes
  

Examples of common Vehicle Classes (Primary class - Sub-class) include:

• Light - Standard : most cars and light trucks such as Ford Taurus, Chevy Malibu, VW Jetta, Toyota Camry
• Light - Luxury: premium vehicles such as Cadillac, Lexus, Acura, Mercedes
• Light - Motorcycles
• Light - Specialty: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche
• Medium - Standard: most commercial vans, contractor pick-up trucks, package delivery vehicles
• Medium - Class 4-5: Box trucks, walk-in trucks, beverage delivery trucks
• Heavy - Tractor/trailer: 18 wheelers
• Heavy - Construction: Dump trucks, cement mixers

Service Offering - the different types of services delivered to customers

• Each Service Offering must for be categorized in a Primary Offering and a Sub-offering
• Each Primary Offering must have at least one Sub-offering - Standard: which should be used for the most common scope of service in the Primary offering
• These categories (together with Vehicle Class) are used for organizing standard reporting
• A separate Service Offering should be configured when the charges are different from other Service Offerings

Examples of common Servcie Offerings (Primary Offering - Sub-offering) include:

• On-Scene Service - Standard: Including tire repair, out of gas, jump start
• On-Scene Service - Battery replacement: more expensive than typical service calls - higher labor and the cost of a new battery
• On-Scene Service - Lockout: a simpler, less expensive service offering
• Towing - Standard: Most breakdowns
• Towing - Emergency: Expedited service for accidents, or urgent customer needs
• Towing - Recovery: Overturned vehicles

Pricing Templates define rates and are one of the most powerful features in DispatchDirectTM. They are very easy to create, and even easier to then duplicate/modify to create additional templates. Use care in developing Pricing Templates - you need enough templates to reflect the pricing diversity of your business. But recognize that each template is likely to require some level of future “maintenance” as you change pricing. It would be easy to create more Pricing Templates than you really want/need.

The best place to start is to build the Pricing Templates for your “Cash” business - i.e., Call-In or Over-the-Transom requests - often from first-time and/or one-time customers (vs. repeat customers that would more typically be set up as established accounts with special pricing). It is helpful to think of the Pricing Templates for your Cash/Call-In business as the “List Pricing” for your company - what you typically charge. Building these Cash/Call-In templates as the company's “List Pricing”, makes the templates particularly useful for creating account-specific pricing - providing a starting point for setting more attractive rates for key clients or high-volume customers.

Technically, this concept of “List” pricing is defined by the templates you designate as the “Class/offering default”. There can only be one “default” pricing template for each combination of Vehicle Class and Service Offering. It is recommended that you set the Cash/Call-In template for each relevant combination of Vehicle Class and Service Offering as the “Class/offering default”.

To minimize complexity, it is advantageous to have multiple accounts using the same Pricing Template. You may have many repeat customers for whom you use “List” prices, or that share the same (discounted) Pricing Template.

Any account-specific pricing (pricing that is different than “List” (i.e., the “Class/offering default”) needs to be established in a separate Pricing Template. There are two major advantages of setting up account-specific pricing as a template. First, as noted earlier, it may make sense to apply these same templates to multiple accounts. For example, you may choose to use the same pricing for all auto dealers served. In addition, the template can be used to create other templates with similar characteristics. For example, the template for one motor club may be similar to another. A new account-specific template and be created by changing the description of the template, making whatever changes are needed, and saving it as a new template.

Unless account-specific pricing has been defined and associated with an Account, the appropriate pricing for the Accounts is assumed to be “List” pricing - the designated default template for the combination of a Vehicle class/Service offering. For example, in pricing a new call for Account ABC, DispatchDirectTM will use, if available, an account-specific template for the Vehicle Class/Service Offering that has been associated with Account ABC. If Account ABC does not have a different Pricing Template for the Vehicle Class/Service Offering, it will be priced at “List” (i.e., whatever template has been designated as the “Class/offering default”).

A Pricing Template defines a specific rate structure and rate levels. The rate structure includes the applicable components to be priced (e.g., Tow charge, Mileage, Labor, Extras) and the appropriate formulas (e.g., free miles, fixed or hourly rates). The rate levels specify the specific amounts to be charged within the structure - e.g., $2.50 per mile.

Before setting up Pricing Templates, you must first complete two, pre-requisite configurations:

• Definition of Classes/Offerings - which defines the overall pricing structure or pricing “matrix”. Vehicle Classes and Service Offerings should be thought of as the “rows and columns” of a two-dimensional pricing matrix. Pricing Templates are defined for the relevant “cells” within this matrix. There could be just one (the “List” pricing template) , or many (different templates for a number of different accounts). If you find that a required pricing template does not fit into the two-dimensional matrix - then you will need to add a new Vehicle Class and/or a new Service Offering (see Classes/Offerings). When a Call Taker enters a new call, she/he will be required to enter a Vehicle Class and Service Offering. DispatchDirectTM will automatically choose the appropriate pricing template for the account (from the two-dimensional matrix) using these two inputs. If there is not an account-specific Template associated with the account, DispatchDirectTM will apply the default pricing for this cell (“Class/offering default”).
• Definition of Shifts/Commissions - which defines available options and influences rate decisions within a Pricing Template (see Shifts/Commissions). For example, pricing can be varied for each operational “shift” that has been defined. The choices from Shifts/Commissions are shown for reference on the Pricing template. The appropriate commission for the type of work (e.g., “base” rate for Standard Tow, Luxury Vehicles) as defined in each Pricing Template should be set in consideration of the decisions made for commission increases based on tenure or skills (“incentive rates”). For example, if “incentive” rates for tenure and skills are relatively high, then the “base” rates as defined in the pricing templates would probably be relatively low (see Shifts/Commissions).

The shift that the job is priced against is determined by the shift during which the job is assigned.

Example of shift determination:

If job is assigned at 10:59PM, the 1st shift pricing is used. If job is assigned at 11:01PM, the 2nd shift pricing is used.

Pricing Templates are identified by three variables - the combination of which must be unique

The first two variables relate the Pricing template to the overall two-dimensional pricing matrix as defined by Classes/Offerings. The third variable is the “description”, which makes each Template unique. Most customers find that it is helpful to use the “description” to define the customer segment. A customer segment could be the Cash/Call-in business, or body shops, or auto dealers, or even an individual account like Liberty Ford or Cross Country.

To create a new template “from scratch”

1. Choose the Vehicle Class and Service Offering from the drop-down lists (if the desired choice is not available, define a new Vehicle Class and/or Service Offering in Classes/Offerings)
2. Check the Class/offering default box if this template is intended to be the “List Pricing” for the Vehicle Class/Service Offering (will be used for pricing when account-specific templates are not available)
3. Complete the specification of rates in the Pricing Parameters section (see Pricing templates - Pricing Parameters)
4. Push “Save as new template”
5. DispatchDirectTM will confirm “Save successful” - note: the Template can not be edited in this state; to edit - navigate away and then re-select
   

To create a new template from an existing template

1. Select the template to be used as the starting point from Existing Templates
2. Change the Template Identifiers as appropriate - e.g., change the description from Cash/Call-in to Body Shops or Allstate
3. Check the Class/offering default box only if this template is intended to be the “List Pricing” for the Vehicle Class/Service Offering. DispatchDirectTM will permit only one default (“List” pricing) template for each combination of Vehicle Class and Service Offering
4. Make modifications to the rates in the Pricing Parameters section (see Pricing templates - Pricing Parameters)
5. Push “Save as new template”
6. DispatchDirectTM will confirm “Save successful” - note: the Template can not be edited in this state; to edit further - navigate away and then re-select
   

To modify an Existing template

1. Select the template to be modified from Existing Templates
2. The Template Identifiers can be changed as appropriate - e.g., to correct a typo in the “description”
3. Make modifications to the rates in the Pricing Parameters section (see Pricing templates - Pricing Parameters), as needed
4. Push “Save” - the previously Existing template will be replaced with the new modified template
5. DispatchDirectTM will confirm “Save successful” - note: the Template can not be edited in this state; to edit further - navigate away and then re-select

A Pricing Template defines a specific rate structure and rate levels. The Pricing Parameters section in each Template provides for the input of specific rate decisions. The Pricing Parameters apply only to the chosen Pricing Template - as defined by the Vehicle Class, Service Offering, and Description (usually customer segment or Account).

For some Pricing Parameters there is flexibility within DispatchDirectTM to set different rates based on shift or weekday/weekend (see Shifts/Commissions). The time stamp when a job is assigned to a driver is used for selecting the appropriate time (shift and weekday/weekend).

The input of pricing information is organized in a series of individual sections (tabs).

This parameter captures the basic/standard charge for the service being delivered. For example, some companies would call this the “hook charge” for a tow. Similarly, the basic charge for a Service Call would be entered here. Many companies, choose to charge for most tow or service calls based on a fixed/flat rate. However, DispatchDirectTM also accommodates an alternative pricing approach - setting the basic/standard rate for the On-scene(Service Call)/Tow component charges based on the duration of the call - calculated as: time x hourly rate.

Fixed/flat rate charge: As the title implies, a fixed/flat rate charge is a pre-set dollr amount that gets applied to each and every call that uses the Template. As noted previously, there is flexibility to adjust this flat/fixed fee for shift differentials and/or weekend work. This differentiation is optional, but can be varied in each Pricing Template. For example, the charge for a Service Call could be the same for all shifts. Or, the night shift tow charge for Luxury Vehicles could be higher than the day charge for the same Vehicle Class. A weekend price premium can be charged in all, some, or none of the Pricing Templates.

Hourly: Choosing the alternative Hourly pricing approach, also triggers the specification of parameters needed to calculate the intended charges. Note: there is also an opportunity to incorporate the concept of hourly charges as a Labor charge (discussed below). Hourly charges as defined in this parameter are for the service or tow charge (e.g., cost of deploying the equipment - Labor charges would be in addition). Setting hourly rates requires the definition of four key variables:

• Charges at the start of a job: One common hourly pricing concept is to set a minimum number of hours that will be charged regardless of the actual duration of the call (e.g., sending a truck anywhere will take at least this long, cost this much). These minimum hourly charges set the “floor” for basic charges - i.e., the price charged for the call will never be less than the minimum hours x the hourly rate.

• Hourly Rates: These rates can be set differently to adjust pricing by shift and/or for weekends vs. weekdays - the same concept as in the fixed/flat rate charge alternative.

• Hourly Increment: This variable defines the granularity for rounding up the hours charged. For example, if the Hourly Increment is set at 0.5 (0.5 hours = 30 minutes), the billing calculation will round an actual call duration of 2.2 hours to 2.5 hours. If the Hourly Increment is set at 0.25 (0.25 hours = 15 minutes), the billing calculation will round an actual duration of 2.2 hours to 2.25 hours.
• Beginning/End for Hourly Charges: Status updates from drivers (each of which is recorded with a time stamp) create options for defining call duration: the beginning and end of hourly charges. For example, The start of hourly charges could begin when the call is dispatched, or when the driver arrives on-scene. The end of hourly charges could be when the vehicle is dropped, or when the driver is clear. These choices are specified in “Calculated from” and “to”

The mileage tab is structured to record/store the typical rates associated with calculating charges for both Unloaded and Loaded miles. Blanks, if any, will be interpreted by DispatchDirectTM as “zeroes”.

For pricing purposes, the approach to mileage charges could be 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 this tab. The approach for determining the miles that are to be billed - “rolling” vs. “calculated” - is set in each Account (see Accounts).

For example, the approach to Unloaded miles can be “calculated” from turn-by-turn estimates of the distance from the Home Base to the Incident location on the map. Or in the “rolling miles” alternative, Unloaded miles would be determined based on the difference in truck odometer entries at Arrived vs. Enroute. The implicit default for the company will be the settings in the “Cash/Call-In” account. For a motor club, the appropriate base for calculating Unloaded miles will also be part of that Account configuration/set-up

While for many calls there are no charges for “Labor”, there is flexibility to incorporate this factor in the DispatchDirectTM pricing process. There are two different options that can be used to charge for labor. As with charges for (On-scene) Service Calls and Towing Charges (see above), the pricing approach for Labor is a binary choice - either Fixed/Flat Rate or Hourly. The charge for Labor is in addition to the basic tow charge, regardles of the method chosen.

Fixed/flat rate charge: As the title implies, a fixed/flat rate charge is a pre-set dollar amount for Labor that gets applied to each and every call that uses the Template. As noted previously, there is flexibility to adjust this flat fee for shift differentials and/or weekend work.

Hourly: Setting hourly rates for Labor is similar to the hourly set-up in Service/Tow Charges. However, the flexibility afforded in setting hourly rates for Labor requires the definition of an additional variable (included hours):

• Charges at the start of a job: One common hourly pricing concept is to set a minimum number of Labor hours that will be charged regardless of the actual duration of the call (e.g., a driver will be tied up at least this long). Alternatively, the pricing concept could be setting a (generally higher) tow charge that implicitly has some minimum number of Labor hours that are included in the rate. The first step is defining which of these pricing concept alternatives is applicable for Labor in this Pricing Template.

• Included or Minimum hours: Depending on the pricing concept chosen, the number of minimum hours needs to be specified. These minimum hours set a pricing “floor” - minimum hours x Labor rate. Just like the Service/Tow charges, the minimum hours will be charged regardless of the actual call duration. As noted above, the pricing approach could alternatively assume there is some amount of Labor that is already “baked into” the Service/Tow charge. In this case, the number of hours that are included in the tow charge needs to be specified. These hours will be subtracted from the actual call duration in calculating hourly Labor charges.

• Hourly Rates: These Labor rates can be set differently to adjust pricing by shift and/or for weekends vs. weekdays

• Hourly Increment: This variable defines the granularity for rounding up the hours charged. For example, if the Hourly Increment is set at 0.5 (0.5 hours = 30 minutes), the billing calculation will round an actual duration of 2.2 hours to 2.5 hours. If the Hourly Increment is set at 0.25 (0.5 hours = 15 minutes), the billing calculation will round an actual duration of 2.2 hours to 2.25 hours.
• Beginning/End for Hourly Charges: Status updates from drivers (each of which is recorded with a time stamp) create options for defining call duration: the beginning and end of hourly charges. For example, The start of hourly charges could begin when the call is dispatched, or when the driver arrives on-scene. The end of hourly charges could be when the vehicle is dropped, or when the driver is clear. These choices are specified in “Calculated from” and “to”

Given the volatility and upward trend in gasoline/diesel prices, the most common upcharge is for fuel. DispatchDirectTM provides the flexibility to define the level of increase (%) for a fuel surcharge and the Mileage charges to which this percentage will be applied. For example, if the total mileage charges were $20.00 and the fuel surcharge were 10%, a $2.00 fuel surcharge would be added to the ticket. Though uncommon, other user-defined upcharges can be added - e.g., to accommodate the requirements of particular customer segments such as special vehicle handling, additional administrative processes, extra insurance coverage, and/or verification procedures (e.g., taking pictures).

The use of Discounts is most common when creating an account-specific pricing template for a new customer. If the pricing for the new customer is the same as in an Existing template, except that the new customer has negotiated a discount, then the Discounts feature makes it easy to create the new template for the new customer without recalculating all of the individual pricing parameters. DispatchDirectTM enables the application of one or two discounts, with flexibility to direct each discount to one or more of the “line items” in the pricing structure - reflecting the negotiations with the customer.

“Extras” are generally add-on services that meet at least one of two criteria:

1. The need for the service cannot be ascertained in advance, and is determined by the driver when assessing the on-scene situation - e.g., winching, site clean-up
2. The customer has a choice on whether to take advantage of the service - e.g., replace battery, buy extra fuel, take motorist home

An Extra, if delivered, will add to the charges to the customer. Therefore, the standard elements of the service offering should not be included. For example, if a “jumpstart” is a standard part of On-Scene Service Calls, it should not be an “Extra”. However, if supplying gasoline is not included in the basic On-Scene service charge, it would be a logical “Extra”.

The approved list of “Extras” for a company is configured separately (Device Setup/Extras). However, the selection of appropriate Extras and the definition of the price for each of these Extras is set in each Pricing Template. Extras are added to a Pricing Template by clicking the “Add an extra to template” in the Extras tab in Pricing Parameters. A new row will be created for selection of an additional Extra and the entry of the appropriate price.

GOA charges reflect the reimbursement due for responding to a service request from an Account, but finding that the vehicle to be serviced is no longer at the specified Incident location when the driver arrives. DispatchDirectTM provides flexibility to asses a flat charge for GOA, differentiated for shift differentials and/or weekend work as appropriate. There is added flexibility to charge for Unloaded Mileage - in addition to, or instead of, the fixed/flat charge.

DispatchDirectTM assumes that the primary basis for setting commissions is based on the work that is being accomplished. Therefore, this “base” commission rate is defined in each Pricing Template. The “base rate” could be the same for all services. However, there is flexibility to set the “base rate” differently in each Pricing Template. You could, for example, decide to pay lower commissions for Service Calls, and pay higher commissions for towing luxury vehicles (e.g., that require special care).

While making the work accomplished the foundation for commissions, many companies increase commission rates for drivers based on other considerations - e.g., building experience and skills. These “incentive rates” add to the “base”commission rate as set in each Pricing Template (see Shifts/Commissions).

Commission rates, just like charges to customers, can be differentiated by shift and weekend/weekday, as appropriate. This differentiation is available, but of course optional. In addition, DispatchDirectTM provides flexibility to apply the commission to the total cost of the service delivered, or just portions thereof - for example, just the standard charge for the Service/Tow Charge (e.g., excluding Mileage and Extras).

Getting Started - Suggestions

1. Define vehicle classes and service offerings … keep it simple to start … its generally most helpful to get up and running quickly, recognizing that DispatchDirect has the flexibility for as much complexity as you are prepared to manage and maintain
2. Configure the Cash/Call-In Account in Accounts - this is the “default” for business that comes in over-the-transom
3. Begin defining pricing - in Pricing Templates - for the “cells” in the two dimensional matrix (vehicle classes and service offerings) where you do the most business
4. Start by defining Pricing Templates for the “Call-In”/”Cash Call”/“Over-the-transom Calls” – use these as the “default” pricing approach (“List Pricing”) for the business – in so doing any account that does not have a company-specific template for a cell in the matrix will be priced by the system using this default
5. Where a different pricing structure is appropriate for one or more accounts, start with the closest available Pricing template (e.g., for “Cash” business), adjust as necessary, give the template a new name, and “Save as a new template”. Part of the idea behind this approach is to make it easy to create an Account-Specific pricing template by starting with an available template (note: the list of templates – Rates” – can become quite long …. be prudent in creating just what you really need)
6. For the relevant Accounts, associate the new Pricing Template with that account …. The System will use the Vehicle Class and Service offering for pricing – using the Account-specific template when available, and the company default pricing (Call-in/Cash) when account-specific pricing has not been entered