In the transportation industry, time is money. Streamlining operational efficiencies to improve productivity very often translates into dollars saved, and nowhere is that more true than in your billing and settlement departments. Automation can be the key to improving your billing process, but are you ready for it? Below are 5 questions to ask yourself before you take that next step toward billing automation.

1. How long is your typical billing cycle?

Are you waiting weeks, sometimes up to a month, before you have all the paperwork necessary to bill your customers? If you’d like to cut that down to a few days, you need an automated billing process. Such systems store delivery documents electronically and automatically send them to your office staff for processing, greatly speeding up the billing and invoicing cycle with very little manual intervention.

2. Does your staff manually review each transaction?

When it comes to billing, having all of the necessary paperwork is crucial. If your billing process involves personnel checking each transaction to ensure completeness, there is a better way. Automated billing ensures that your staff only reviews those transactions that are the exceptions; any transaction that has all the paperwork needed for billing is automatically processed – without any manual intervention – so you get paid more quickly.

3. How many mistakes are made due to manual data entry?

We all know that billing accuracy is important. Even one mistake can have a ripple effect that ultimately leads to delays in payment. With an automated billing solution and integration to your dispatch system, manual data entry is virtually eliminated. All of the data in dispatch is automatically populated within the POD documents, so you have full confidence that each transaction is accurate the first time.

4. How many billers do you need?

Depending on the size of your operation, you might need several billers – especially without an automated billing solution. But wouldn’t it be great if you could process the same amount of transactions with fewer people – or, process MORE transactions without the additional overhead costs of more staff? It’s possible with automated billing.

5. Is your staff constantly calling your drivers to chase down required paperwork?

Let’s face it: driving a truck is a tough job. Imagine, you’re on the road for hours, days or weeks at a time, sometimes delivering multiple loads that each involve a massive amount of paperwork, and then you get a phone call from the home office asking for a missing BOL from a load you delivered 2 days ago. Now, imagine if you have all of the necessary documents stored electronically on your mobile device, send them to the office through that device, and get an immediate alert about that missing BOL. Thanks to the automated billing solution, this is now a reality. Your staff doesn’t need to spend time bothering your drivers for missing paperwork, and your drivers gain the satisfaction of knowing that all documents for that load are taken care of already – which means no surprises at settlement time. Automated billing solutions allow you to streamline operational efficiencies, thereby improving cash flow AND driver satisfaction. If you’re ready for automated billing, learn more about EBE’s Automated Decision Support solutions by visiting ebeships.com or calling 800.447.0612.