When we introduced our free website applet that allows shippers to track their orders from your website, we promised that we had similar additions planned. We are pleased to announce OnTime's second free applet that can be used on any web page. The new applet allows your website visitors to enter two postal or zip codes and receive an automatic cost estimate for shipping with your company.

The Price Estimate applet is available to every OnTime user, with any subscription plan.

To create this applet and add it to your web page, first set which pricing you want the estimator to use. Enter OnTime Management Suite and go to Tools > Web Site Applets. A window appear will appear:

Select the price set and type of pricing you want to use. You may also include a disclaimer that customers see with the price.

To generate the code for your website, click on the link labeled Generate price estimate form. Paste the code where you would like the price estimate applet to appear on your website. 

If you have any questions about this tool, feel free to contact technical support.

OnTime offers flexible pricing capabilities across the system. Starting in release 2.4.133, more powerful features have been implemented to further improve OnTime’s already capable pricing architecture.

Often, users of OnTime need to calculate a percentage of an order to determine charges, such as fuel surcharges and taxes. OnTime has always allowed these percentages to be determined in relation to the order’s base price; however, some users have requested more flexibility. OnTime accommodates this need by allowing one or more price modifiers to be chosen to make up the base price that the percentage will be calculated from.

To use this feature, follow these steps:

1. Create price modifiers as necessary to describe the percentage charges. Set the modifiers Action type to Flat Percentage.
2. Add the price modifiers to a price set by ticking the left column checkboxes in the Price Modifiers list, as illustrated here:
   
3. A price modifier based on a percentage will display a Set % button when selected, as shown here:
   
4. Click the Set % button to display a list of all price modifiers that are included in the price set. Place a checkmark next to each entry that you would like to be included in the total from which the percentage of this price modifier will be derived.
   
5. Click OK to save these settings and then save the price set.

OnTime can work with Blackberry devices to transmit GPS locations. Because OnTime Mobile Web operates primarily through web browsers, some configuration may be necessary to ensure that a Blackberry successfully transmits location information.

How to configure the Blackberry web browser to allow GPS tracking:

1. Open the Browser.
2. Open the browser's main menu.
3. Choose Options > General Properties.
4. Ensure that the Enable JavaScript Location support option is checked. Save changes and return to the browser home page.
5. Log in to the OnTime Mobile Web application in the browser and you will be prompted with a message box asking permission. Check the box labeled Remember my decision for this site and then click the Allow button. OnTime will automatically transmit the device’s current location once every 60 seconds.

The Blackberry device may have settings that cause it to power down automatically if the user is not interacting with the device for a certain period of time. To work around this power saving feature, try the following:

• Adjust the power settings to prevent the device from turning off automatically.
• Load a third party application to control the prevention of certain applications turning off. Leave It On is an example of an app that may help.

OnTime offers a convenient way of managing documents and other files. Your customers can access these files via the OnTime Customer Web Portal. 

Organize Files

Go to the tracking view in either OnTime Management Suite or OnTime Dispatch, open the desired order, and select the attachments tab:

You can attach files to the order using any of the following methods:

1. Click the Attach File button
2. Right click within the list and choose Attach File
3. Drag and drop a file onto the list

Each file is limited to 100 KB in size. A PDF scanned in black-and-white (not grayscale) will be around 50 to 80 KB.

From the OnTime Customer Web Portal, customers will see something that looks like this when viewing order details with attached files:

Customers can click on files to download and view.

Companies that pay drivers and other employees commission require the ability to modify pricing structures to include commission when appropriate. They require more than an on/off switch to indicate when a charge is eligible for commission — they need a sliding scale that is applicable on a per charge basis. OnTime has taken these needs into account and has features that allow commission-based rates to be calculated with optimal efficiency.

To apply an adjustment to a service level’s base price, open the corresponding price set and set the percent of base price eligible for commission.

To make an adjustment to an individual charge, such as a fuel surcharge, open the corresponding price modifier and set the percent eligible for commission.

The Time and Activity reports will show the commission earned by a user, both summary and detailed by order. If you have questions about how this feature might work in your company, feel free to contact technical support for more information.

During order entry, dispatchers may unintentionally leave important fields blank. OnTime offers an option to set order entry requirements on global and customer levels, issuing an alert if a required field is not filled on a particular type of order. OnTime's required fields feature offers multiple levels of customization. This feature will ensure that orders are filled out completely from the very start.

To set required fields at the global level (apply to every order, regardless of the customer)

1. Start OnTime Management Suite.
2. Go to the Home tab and choose General Options.
3. Select the Order Entry tab and click the button labeled Configure Required Fields to choose the fields that should be required.

To set required fields at the customer level (apply when creating an order for specific users)

1. Start OnTime Management Suite.
2. Navigate to the Customers list.
3. Open the customer whose required fields you want to set.
4. Select the General tab and click the button labeled Configure Required Fields to choose the fields that should be required.

If you have required fields set at both the global and customer level, the requirements are combined and both apply.

While OnTime already offers Enterprise subscribers robust and feature-rich tracking via the OnTime Customer Web Portal, this does require shippers to be set-up with an account and then log into the web portal to access these tracking features. If you need a simplified why to provide your customers with tracking and tracing, using OnTime’s web site tracking applet may be a great option. This makes it possible for your customers to enter a tracking number and get back immediate, real-time results of their order. The tracking applet is available, free of charge, for all subscription levels.

This small form may be inserted into any of your web pages. OnTime generates the necessary code that is then inserted into your web page by you or your website developer. This tracking applet will allow a shipper to enter their tracking number and receive real-time status information about their shipment. Even proof of delivery, including signatures at both collection and delivery points, will be displayed.

To integrate the tracking applet into your website, follow these steps:

1. Open OnTime Management Suite.
2. Select the Tools tab and choose Web Site Applets.
3. Click on the Generate order tracking form link.
4. Copy the generated code to the desired location on your web page. The code inserted by you or your website developer will automatically generate the form needed by shippers to track their orders.

If you have any questions about how to integrate this tool into your web site, feel free to contact technical support.

OnTime synchronizes information in batches, not one record at a time. This technique improves performance while also allowing you to work efficiently, even when your internet connection becomes slow or disconnects.

Changes made that have yet to fully synchronize with the OnTime server appear as pending changes. Here’s how you can check if you have pending changes:

From OnTime Management Suite or OnTime Dispatch

1. Select the Data tab.
2. Click the Data File Management button.
3. Select the Statistics tab to view Pending items.

The number of Pending items represents the number of changes that are waiting to be synchronized to the OnTime server.

Sometimes, when new features are implemented or synchronization issues arise within OnTime Mobile for Windows Mobile, rebuilding the associated data file is necessary.

Note: A stable and reliable internet connection is required to perform this operation. We do not suggest performing the following steps if there is a possibility that you will lose internet connectivity.

How to rebuild your data file in OnTime Mobile for Windows Mobile

1. Open OnTime Mobile and sign in.
2. Wait at the home screen for the initial synchronization to complete.
3. Click on the Tools menu and choose Options.
4. Select the Database tab.
5. Click the Repair Database button.
6. If the repair is successful, a message will appear indicating success and that the application is synchronizing with the server. Dismiss the message and tap Cancel to close the Options screen.
7. Wait for the synchronization process to complete before using the application.
8. Once synchronization is completed, resume using the program.

If the steps outlined above do not work as desired, try performing a soft reset on your device and repeating the process. If you still are not satisfied with the results, contact our technical support team for assistance.

OnTime Mobile may be installed to a Windows Mobile 6.5 device via connection to a desktop computer. Alternately, the delivery software may be installed directly on the device. This method is useful, especially when you do not have immediate access to a desktop computer. 

How to Install OnTime Mobile Directly on a Windows Mobile 6.5 Device

1. From your Windows Mobile 6.5 device, open Internet Explorer and navigate to ppc.ontime360.com.
2. Tap the Download Now link.
3. Choose Menu and then Open.
4. The program will download, usually to the “My Documents” folder.
5. Once downloaded, installation will start. The installation screen will appear for a few moments while the app is installed.
6. Once installation is complete, an “All Done” message will display at the bottom of the screen. Then the installer will automatically close.
7. A shortcut for OnTime Mobile should be in the Start menu, toward the bottom.
8. Tap the shortcut to launch OnTime Mobile.