New features included in this release

Ability to specify an email address to receive emailed invoices

Ability to setup users as CC email recipients for invoices

Ability to specify points of origin and add the traveling distance to a pickup location and return distance from a delivery, back to the point of origin (Deadhead mileage)

New Combined Price List; ability to combine a Zone Price List with a Distance Price List

Ability to specify Discount and Surcharge Schedules on invoices. Note this is available when using Accounting Transactions and should not be used with Basic Invoicing

Ability to specify a Salesperson on customer accounts

New Items tab on order details

Split Driver Settlement by Accounting Profile Code

Driver Settlement visibility on Driver App

Sliding extra fee by vehicle

Calculate fuel surcharge by distance

Driver Profile add/edit/delete item option.

User defined fields on Account Profiles

Add Item Workflow

Show Company on the Generate invoice

Definition

The release notes refer to different sections of the application:

Back Office: Where Customer Service Representatives (CSR) create and edit orders, create accounts, review drivers, etc.

Dispatch Board: Where Dispatchers assign orders to drivers, get notifications for invalid orders, etc.

Auto-Dispatch: This section refers to the automated order assignment setup and its process.

Administration: This section is in the Back Office but refers to sections only an administrator will use like Settings and Pricing.

Customer Portal: Where account users log in to create orders, view their order history, enter a credit card, etc.

Tracking site: Where customers enter a tracking number like the order ID or a reference number to view the status of their order.

Account API: API provided to your accounts to create, update and get orders. For documentation, please follow this link:https://api.dispatchscience.com/
Tenant API: API provided to you to create orders for your accounts, retrieve invoices and change invoice status. For documentation, please follow this link: https://api.dispatchscience.com/  

Driver App version

Version 1.17.xxx contains the new features for this release. Please use Driver App version 1.17.xxx.

Back Office

Accounts

Three new features are now available on the Accounts:

1) Setup additional email addresses to receive an invoice when account is setup as Email or Print&Email and email is sent to the customer

2) Discounts and Surcharges setup on the account and applied on the invoice.

3) Setup salesperson commission % on account.

Setup Additional Email Addresses to receive an Invoice

Additional emails can be setup as users and set to receive an invoice when it is sent to the Account contact.

1) Open Accounts then click on the account to add a new user

2) Click on Users

3) Click on New User or open an existing user.

On a new user, fill in the required information: name, email, phone, password and check Send Invoices checkbox.

On an existing user, check Send Invoices and ensure an email is entered for the user.

Click Save

Setup Discounts and Surcharges on an Account Invoice 

Discounts and surcharges can be setup on an account and will automatically be added to the invoice once an invoice is generated.

Note: This feature should only be used when Accounting Transactions are enabled. If you are still using Basic Invoices, this feature will not work. 

If you are using Accounting Transactions and wish to use this feature, please send your request to [email protected] to have your invoice template(s) updated to include the surcharges and discounts. 

Before applying discounts and surcharges on the account, ensure that you have setup the discounts and surcharges in Pricing>Discounts/Surcharges. For more information please see: https://support.dispatchscience.com/support/solutions/articles/36000154400-new-features-for-release-1-10

Review section Administration>Setup Discount/Surcharge.

Surcharges and discounts will be applied according to the invoice date, not the order delivered date. 

1) Open Accounts and in the Accounts list, click on an Account to open it

2) Click Edit in Invoice Discounts/Surcharges

3) In the Available Discounts/Surcharges you will see the surcharges and discounts of type invoice setup in Pricing>Discounts/Surcharges.

4) Check the surcharges and/or discounts to apply to the account invoice. 

The selected surcharges/discounts will be displayed in the Applied Discounts/Surcharges section:

5) If desired, enter a start date and/or an end date. 

Using a start date will ensure the discount/surcharge will only be applied on invoices generated on or after the start date.

Using an end date will ensure the discount/surcharge will only be applied on invoices generated on or before the end date.

When an invoice is created between the dates specified in Start and End (or any time if no dates were specified), the discount and/or surcharge will be added to the invoice. 

Setup Salesperson Commission 

To setup a salesperson commission, you will need to setup salespersons as users in the system. For more information please see Administration section below. You will also need to setup the maximum commission % on the Account Extra Fee Schedule. For more information, please see Administration section below. 

You will be able to setup that salesperson commission on the Account with a From and To date when this commission will be applied on the delivered orders. 

Note: The sales commission will be available on orders that are created after the sales commission% has been setup on the account. Orders created prior to the sales commission will not show up in the report. 

If a sales commission is changed, orders created after the sales commission is modified will have the new commission%. 

Sales commission is calculated as follow: (Delivery price * commission %) + (Extra Fee * Sales commissionable % on extra fee * commission %).

No commission is calculated on fuel surcharge.

1) Open Accounts menu then open an account.

2) In the Sales Commissions section, click Edit.

3) On the left hand side, you will see the list of all salespersons entered. You can search for specific salespeople by typing their name in the search. 

4) Click on the + beside the salesperson to add him/her and enter their commission, start and end date if needed.

To specify multiple date windows, simply add the same salesperson for each date range. In the below example, Henry's commission will be 10% on orders delivered between August 1st and December 31 and 3% commission thereafter, with no end date.

Note: If windows overlap, the commission will be calculated twice for the overlap. 

5) Click on Save when done. 

Account Profiles

Two new features were added to the account profile:

1) Create order user fields and order item user fields. 

2) A add item workflow can be setup and be used by drivers if given access to add items to an order from the driver app. 

Create User Defined Fields 

User defined fields can be added to an order or the order items.

A user defined field of type order will be displayed on the Additional Info tab on the order and pertains to the whole order.

A user defined  field of type order item will be displayed on the new Items tab on the order and pertains to one parcel. 

Form more information on how to create user defined fields, please review Workflow article.  

Add Item Workflow 

A Add item workflow can be added to the account profile. This workflow is a list of tasks that the driver will do to add/edit an item on an order if given allowed on his/her profile. 

For more information on this, please review Workflow article.  

View Company when Generating Invoices 

The company was added in the grid when generating invoices. You will be able to filter by company.

Filter by Company

1) Click on the filter icon  and check the companies to view.

You can clear the filter by clicking on the filter icon and clicking on Clear button,

Reports

The Sales Commissions report is available on the Order List from the Generate Report. 

Run Salesperson Commission Report

1) Open Orders

2) Click on Generate Report and select Sales Commissions. The report will open in a new tab.

3) Using the Filters on the right hand side:

Enter the from and to dates where the report should run

Select the accounting profiles.

Enter the Order Status (open = not yet delivered but not cancelled or delivered)

Click on Preview

4) The report will be created. 

It will have a subtotal by commission % per sales person and a total by sales person.

A page break will separate each sales person. 

Driver Profile

A new option is available on the Driver Profile to allow a driver to add, edit and delete parcels on an order. If option is not checked on the driver profile, driver will not be able to make any changes on the parcels in the order with or without a Add Item workflow associated to the Account Profile.

Setup Add, Edit, Delete Parcel 

1) Open Drivers then click on Profiles then click on a profile to edit it.

2) In Driver profile, check Can Add, Edit and Delete Parcels

3) Click on Save to save the profile.

Driver Settlement by Accounting Profile Code

A driver settlement will be created for each combination of Driver and Accounting Profile Code. The accounting profile is associated to a company and the company is associated to an account. When orders for different companies using a different Accounting Profile Code are delivered by a driver, the driver settlement will automatically be split into two or more settlements when generated.

If all orders for a driver should be on one settlement, the accounting profile code should be the same on all Accounting Profiles. 

Note: If one or more companies are not associated to an accounting profile, the orders will be grouped under one settlement with a - as the accounting profile code.

Visibility of Driver Settlement on Driver App

Driver settlements set with status of Sent and status Paid will be visible on the Driver App Home page. 

Order Details

There are several new features available on the order details:

a) The sliding fee by vehicle will calculate an extra fee according to the vehicle selected. See below on how to setup the sliding fee.

b) A new tab is added on the order details to view and update more information about each item.

c) The user fields added in the account profile will show on the Additional Details tab. Please see in Workflow how to setup a user field.

d) The add item workflow will be displayed and can be edited on the Additional Details tab.

Update an Order using Sliding Fee by Vehicle

When using the sliding fee by vehicle, on update order, the extra fees will not be calculated automatically. To recalculate the extra fee, edit the Pricing section and click on Reset on the sliding fee by vehicle to have the extra fees recalculated. 

Note: In the next version, user will be asked if all extra fees should be updated when distance and/or vehicle are updated and the recalculation will be done automatically on the self-serve site without a question. 

Items Tab

An items tab is now available on the order details and is available during order creation and edit in both Back Office for CSR and on the Self-Serve for account users.

During order creation, the items tab contains the same fields as the Items section and also includes the Item user defined fields. 

During order edit, the items tab contains the same fields as in the order creation as well as the item barcode and item images. 

Update items in Items tab on create order

1) Once summary tab is filled in, click on Items tab to open it.

Any items added to the Items section will be displayed.

2) Click on Edit in the Items tab. This will show a pencil and garbage can beside each item:

3) Click on a pencil to edit an item. A popup window opens and you can make changes to the parcel type, the dimension, the weight, the description and any user fields associated to the item on the Account Profile.

4) Click on Apply to apply the changes you just made or Cancel to discard.

5) Click on Save on the Items tab to save your changes

Edit an Order

On editing an order, you can modify the barcode and images associated to the order items.

1) Open an order and click on the Items tab.

2) Click on the pencil beside the item to edit it. You can see and edit the barcode associated to the item if one exists.

To add an image, click on the camera icon:

Click on Choose File, select the file. 

You can add notes and check the include with invoice.

Click on Apply to save the image on the item, click on Cancel to go back to the item edit.

On the Edit item, click on Apply to save the image then Save on the Items tab.

Add Item Workflow on Create and Edit Order

When an Add Item Workflow is added to the Account Profile, the Add Item Workflow steps will display on the Additional Info tab in the Order Details. 

User will then be able to show or hide workflow steps when driver adds items to an order.

1) When creating or editing an order, click on Additional Info tab.
When editing an order, click Edit to edit the order steps.

2) Check and uncheck the different steps in the Add Order Item Workflow. 

If editing an order, click on Save.

Administration

Master Email Address to Send all Emailed Invoices

An email address can be specified as CC for all emailed invoices sent to all accounts:

- Invoice, by account, emailed to customer

- Invoice, by credit card, emailed to customer with confirmation of credit card payment

- Invoice, by credit card, emailed to customer with payment failed by credit card. 

To specify a Master Email, please contact [email protected] and request to have this option enabled. Do not forget to include the Master Email Address. 

Change how distance is calculated

There are 3 distance calculation methods available in Dispatch Science:

   - Fastest : route favors the least amount of travel time.

   - Shortest : route favors the least amount of travel distance.

   - Balanced : route balances travel time and distance.

By default, the setting is shortest route. 

You can request to have this changed to Fastest or Balanced by sending an email to [email protected] and request an alternate route calculation method. This may take a few days to take effect and you will be notified when it is completed.

Note: A change will affect order pricing when price list is by distance.

Pricing Changes

Features were added to the Pricing to optionally add deadhead traveling mileage to a Price List, create a Combined Price List, enable Sliding Extra Fees by Vehicle and toggle fuel surcharge on a price per mile or percentage of the delivery price and extra fees. You may also request that route distance calculation basis; Shortest, Fastest, or Balanced.

Adding Deadhead Mileage

Deadhead traveling mileage can be added to the calculated distance of an order by adding, on the price, a point of origin. Mileage is then calculated from this point to the pickup address, from the pickup to the delivery address and then from the delivery address back to the point of origin. 

When a price list with deadhead mileage is associated to an account, the mileage for all orders will include this additional mileage regardless if the Cascading Price Lists are set to have it since mileage on an order is calculated from the first price list. 

1) Open Pricing menu and open an existing Price List or create a new Price List.

2) In the Price List, check the INCLUDE WAREHOUSE TRAVELLING DISTANCE. This will open the Latitude and Longitude section.

3) Enter the latitude and longitude of your point of origin. 

4) Click on Save.

Note if this Price List is associated to an account, all Cascading Price Lists will use the deadhead mileage regardless if this is selected on the  Price List. This will not be used if using Combined Pricing. 

Combined Pricing

A new type of pricing can be created which will allow you to combine the results of 2 price lists. 

This type of pricing will be used if you have, for instance, a zone to zone fixed price with a varying distance pricing. 

1) Open Pricing then click on New Price List

2) Select a Company, if you have more than one setup in Dispatch Science otherwise this field will be hidden.

Enter a Price List Name.

Enter a Service Level Schedule filtered by the company.

Check the Include Warehouse Travelling Distance option if you wish to calculate deadhead mileage and specify a point of origin. Note that if either Price List selected as part of a Combined Price List specify the deadhead selection, only the Combined Price List's setting will be used. 

Select Combined in the Type then click on Create Price List

3) Select/unselect vehicles and set a default vehicle.

     Select from the list Price List 1.

     Select from the list Price List 2.

The base price will be calculated by finding the price in Price List 1 and finding the price in Price List 2. 

The total of both Price Lists will be used as the base delivery price.

Both prices need to be valid in order to show on the order.

Note: Cascading pricing will be used to find a price if not a price is not found in one or both of the Price Lists within the Combined Price List.

If one or both of the Price Lists return an invalid price, i.e. no price value for a specific Zone, Distance, Vehicle, and Service Level combination, the price will display as invalid on the order. 

Fuel Surcharge per Distance

The fuel surcharge can be calculated as a percentage and in this case, can be applied to extra fees as well. The fuel surcharge can now be calculated on the distance between the pickup and delivery and if selected, using deadhead. 

If fuel surcharge is calculated using distance, it will disregard fuel surcharge settings on the extra fee schedule.

1) Open Pricing then click on Fuel Surcharge and open a fuel surcharge schedule

2) To change to fuel surcharge per distance, check the Use Surcharge Per Distance checkbox

Enter the surcharge per distance.

The fuel surcharge will then be calculated according to the surcharge entered X distance between pickup and delivery (including deadhead if applied on the price list).

3) Click on Save

Extra Fee by Vehicle

The extra fees can now be created by vehicle type. This is done using the sliding fees. 

1) Open Pricing, click on Extra Fees and open an Extra fee schedule.

2) In Extra Fee Schedule details, set a fee to sliding fee by clicking on  and click on the ... beside the icon

Note: This will disable the rate and set it to 0.

3) Download the Sliding rate template buy clicking on Download Template

4) In the spreadsheet, rename the first tab with the vehicle ID

Add one tab per vehicle (you can copy the first tab to get the correct format).

Fill in the spreadsheet with the correct pricing by qty and distance. Remember that the price will be calculated using the Per unit on the extra fee schedule.
For example, if the Per Unit is 10, the qty on the order will be divided by 10 and multiplied by the price found in the extra fee sliding fee depending on the vehicle.

5) Save the spreadsheet.

6) On the Sliding rate, click on Choose File, navigate to the file location, select and open it. 

7) Check the Separate sheet per vehicle type and click on Save

8) In the Extra schedule details, click on Save

Note: If the vehicle is not added as a tab or vehicle ID is typed incorrectly, the extra fee will show as 0$ when the vehicle is selected in the order.

If the qty on the order is greater than the largest quantity (qty or distance), the largest qty and distance will be used to calculate the extra fee. 

Setup Maximum Sales Commissions on Extra Fees

Upon release, all Extra Fees in all Extra Fee Schedules will be set as 100% commissionable for salespeople. You can change the maximum sales commissions by editing the Extra Fee Schedules.

1) Open Pricing menu then select Extra Fees. From the list, open an Extra Fee Schedule.

2) In the Sales Commissionable (%) column, enter the maximum commission that can be earned by the salespersons for each Extra Fee. Any Extra Fees that should earn 0% commission can be set as 0. 

3) Save when completed. 

4) Repeat for each Extra Fee Schedule.

Create a Salesperson

In order to setup the Salesperson Commissions, you must setup the salesperson as a User of type Salesperson. Note that in this release the salesperson will not be able to log in but as features for the salespersons are introduced, they will get access to Dispatch Science.

1) Open Settings menu and click on Users.

2) Click on New User

3) Enter the first name, last name, email, telephone number, password and select in Role Salesperson.

4) Click Save when done.

5) Repeat steps 2 to 4 for each salesperson.

API

Tenant API

The Fuel Surcharge API has been modified to include the new feature of the fuel surcharge by distance. The field that was previously used to add the % has been renamed.