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Blog, Freight Brokerage

Insuring against accounting errors: How TMS integrations prevent major mistakes

February 3, 2017

Roadrunner Transportation has been in the news lately due to their need to restate their financial statements for their quarterly earnings as far back as 2014. They’re investigating errors in unreconciled balance sheets, as well as issues with their internal controls.

These errors are adding up to huge adjustments – somewhere between $20 and $25 million.

Your company may not be as large as Roadrunner Transportation, but you may be at risk of similar errors.  Small mistakes in cash, receivables, and driver payables can add up to major financial discrepancies by the end of the year.

So how can you safeguard your company against the same pitfalls the giants have run into?

Stop entering your data manually from one tool to another.

It’s a small thing, but you remove a massive amount of risk by having the various tools you use for your business integrate with each other.

By syncing QuickBooks with your transportation management system, you’ll be able to see invoices, who has a positive balance with your company, and who still owes you money.

You’re also removing the chance for human error from the equation: no more double entering the information into QuickBooks, and then again into your TMS, or again into your document management system or warehouse management system.

It’s all seamlessly managed in a single portal from your TMS.

Your TMS does offer QuickBooks integration, right?

All the data you need in a single place:

Handle your dispatch and operations completely within your TMS, and ensure that your customer data is synced up properly with your QuickBooks integration.

This means you create your quotes, book shipments, and handle all aspects of the shipment from the portal – and all of the necessary information about financials sync up with QuickBooks.  You don’t have to keep post it notes all over your computer monitor to remind you of who’s requested a quote, who to follow up with, or who you need more information from.

With a properly structured system, one that allows for simple document and data management of your clients, you run a much lower risk of missing the little expenses that have caused so many problems for Roadrunner Transportation.  Instead, you can review each customer’s status, and set efficient workflows for your team to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

It all starts with data management, and your TMS should be a major asset in how you manage that data.

Allow customers to check their own data to minimize errors.

One of the best ways to prevent errors in data entry is to allow the people who know what the correct information is to review it themselves.

BrokerWare™ enables your business to set up Customer Portals, which not only allow for a more efficient way for them to track shipments, but enables your customers to check their data for errors.  No one is going to spot an error as quickly as the person who will have to deal with the repercussions later.

Additionally, this level of insight into shipment status and checking rates gives your customers a feeling of greater control over their shipments.  Happier customers are profitable customers – they’ll be more willing to ship with your company again and again, as they know exactly what’s happening with their shipments as data is made available.

Above all – you need to routinely check your financial data.

Without inside knowledge of exactly what happened at Roadrunner Transportation, it’s hard to say exactly what went wrong in how they managed their financials.

You can avoid the same pitfalls by reviewing your own financial information on a regular basis.  Reports offered within your TMS can help you get a bird’s eye view of your status, and that essential integration with QuickBooks means your data is always up to date.

Review the same issues that were a problem for Roadrunner – will they impact your business the same way?  Make sure drivers are paid out, that your accounts receivables are organized, and check that all COD or similar transactions are also noted correctly in the system.

It may take you a few hours each month, but that’s far better than an audit that requires weeks or months to complete.

See it for yourself – Request a demo today!

Tag: accounting, book shipments, brokerware, data management, freight quote, freight rate
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