Arsenault’s updated Dossier designed to save time, increase accuracy

Sep 14, 2006

Arsenault Associates has announced the release of Dossier Maintenance Software, Version 4.3. Intuitive and comprehensive, Dossier is the industry benchmark for fleet and equipment maintenance management, Arsenault says, and Version 4.3 incorporates significant new customer-driven features and options.

According to the company, the new features include:

Minimum data entry: Dossier Version 4.3 takes major steps to automate the management of fleet maintenance that minimize time-consuming, mistake-prone manual data entry. First, the new Repair Order and Invoice Data Import feature eliminates manual entry of vendor invoices and repair orders by importing invoice data directly into Dossier’s database from a vendor’s electronic file. This new feature updates repair order histories, equipment odometer readings, parts and labor costs and cost per mile or hour. The RO and Invoice Data Import feature also updates vendor transaction files and individual equipment preventive maintenance service schedules – all automatically.

Dossier 4.3 further limits manual data entry with customer-designed Repair Order Templates that can save up to 65 percent of the typical data entry time. Repair Order Templates can be predefined or created on-the-fly by simply saving any repair order as a template for future use. Repair Order Templates increase accuracy and can reduce reliance on a dedicated data entry person.

“The need for fleet operational data is critical to a company’s bottom line, but the effort to collect it is nonproductive yet necessary work,” says Charles Arsenault, chief executive officer of Burlington, N.J.-based Arsenault Associates. “We have met the challenge of eliminating manual data entry whenever and wherever possible.”

Customer management: The Customer Management module helps run shops that serve outside customers, as well as their own fleets. Outside customers can be any fleet or equipment that requires records kept separate from a shop’s primary fleet – for example, fleets maintained for profit or fleets and equipment operated by separate units of the same company. The Customer Management option includes customer contact and billing information with individual labor rates and parts markups. Managers can generate quotes on request, automatically convert them to repair orders and then track them as customer invoices. Customer Management is available as an option in Dossier’s 4.3 Platinum edition.

“More and more fleets are performing work on vehicles other then their own, and they need to track and manage this outside work,” Arsenault says. “Dossier’s quote-to-repair, order-to-invoice feature automates the work flow and helps manage a shop in for-profit or multidepartmental mode.”

Forecasting: Dossier 4.3 has the ability to forecast and project the need for preventive maintenance and inspection services by future date range based on each vehicle’s past operational performance of those services.

Broadcasting: The new broadcasting of work pending feature, manufacturer’s recalls, service bulletins, maintenance campaigns and other fleet issues can be transmitted to many units with just one entry, which eliminates repetitive data entry and eliminates equipment being missed or overlooked.

Automated budget vs. actual expense reporting: Dossier’s new, automatic expense tracking feature reports a fleet’s maintenance, fuel and administrative expenses and compares it to projected fleet operating budgets to help fleet managers better control and report on their budgets.

Equipment downtime tracking: This feature collects and compares a unit’s out-of-service time compared to the company’s operating business hours to quickly identify and document problem units along with averages. Equipment can be shown in order from most to the least downtime.

Total document recall: Dossier 4.3 provides the ability to attach and recall almost any kind of documents, digital photos, diagrams and schematics, scanned files, websites and e-mail addresses to a company’s vehicles, components, parts and personnel files.

Dossier 4.3 also includes the Daily Reminder feature, a virtual fleet assistant responsible for tracking day-to-day fleet status. The Daily Reminder instantly offers an indispensable overview – the big picture – of an entire fleet maintenance operation in real-time, Arsenault says. Free evaluation packages of Dossier Version 4.3 are available by contacting Arsenault Associates at (800) 525-5256 or by going to www.arsenault.biz.

Arsenault’s updated Dossier designed to save time, increase accuracy

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