Company overview
Profit Tools, Inc. began in 1995 as a joint venture between trucking company owner James P. Daley Jr. and software specialist Brian K. Widell. The goal was to create a trucking software package that served as a full business operating system for multimode "flexible service" carriers. James Daley's trucking operation, S&J Transportation of Lee, NH, had identified the need for software that could run their entire operation from dispatch to billing and everything in between.
We began marketing our system in 1998 and currently have over 300 trucking companies running on our trucking software in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Our customers come from a variety of Intermodal, General Carrier, Multimode, TL, LTL, and Brokerage operations, that are typically small to mid-sized. Over one third of our customers focus exclusively on intermodal drayage, and intermodal operations are our expertise.
Our software development efforts are focused on continually improving features and functionality from customer requests and as part of our rigorous development track. We have three major version releases each year and many smaller updates in between. Now, instead of one model company we have over 300, covering all modes of operation in nearly every region in North America. We have invested over $2 million in product development so far, and continue to invest annually in upgrades to make our products better for our customers. More than one half of our new features come directly from the requests of our users.
Product Background
Profit Tools began as a windows-based system from its first line of code, starting in 1995 just prior to the official release of Microsoft Windows 95. With no DOS, UNIX, or other text-based legacy code to contend with, Profit Tools was able to start with a "clean slate" and take full advantage of the Windows operation environment right from the start. This is evident to users when they find that Profit Tools requires fewer steps and much less navigation to accomplish transactions than with systems of older design.
Behind the scenes Profit Tools was developed using industry standard software development methodology and rock solid development tools including PowerBuilder from Sybase Corporation. We use the Sybase Adaptive Server Anywhere database engine, which is based on SQL (Structured Query Language), the industry standard relational database language that 99% of all business systems now use. Adherence to such standards and practices have enabled us to readily interface to other software and systems as needed by our users, and in general build a more stable open environment for data sharing and communications to meet our customers' ever expanding needs.
One thing our customers are often looking for in their search for trucking software is integration to their accounting package. Profit Tools easily integrates with several popular off the shelf accounting systems such as QuickBooks Pro, Peachtree, MAS90, and others. Profit Tools can also integrate with other software programs and mobile communication device. Here are some of the systems, vendors, and strategic partners we integrate or interface with:
PC Miler mileage database
Comdata Comchek and TCH fuel card networks
Nextel, Trimble, QUALCOMM, PeopleNet, and Cadec mobile communication systems
EDI Direct
Electronic Document Delivery
activeT.R.A.C. online customer service website
View our full listing of partners here.
