TeleNav Track API
We are working on closing another auto-transport project, and part of the specifications required that we pull orders from the PDA devices registered to all the truckers who work for our client. They use TeleNav with form data entry, and we are going to use the TeleNav API to pull the scanned VINs and geo-data into their dispatching system. Sounds cool in theory, right? Well, the TeleNav API doesn’t support pulling address lists from its Web Forms, and it took them a good couple of weeks to admit this. We can get the ID, but when we use that ID to pull the address from the meta-data, it turns out there’s a different ID associated with it.
Finding this out involved talking to literally four different people. My project lead and I have been down this path before. It’s not in his job description to pound his fist and sometimes I have to step in. Don’t get me wrong. He’s good at tracking down info and is very results-oriented, but I’m the company owner and once in a while I have to play the role of a–hole and get on the phone and make a big stink.
We can still use the API. We can code the ID lookups one time and maintain the list as our client’s customer list grows. If this becomes too cumbersome, we can use web automation to “scrape” the lists from the web forms. It’s an interesting project because of the API and the client also wants a VIN Decoder, so we had to source a VIN database.
We’ve put a lot of hours into the “proof of concept” but it will be a nice project to add to our portfolio once it’s complete. We’ve done mobile-technology, and we’ve done VIN decoding, but we’ve never incorporated those features into an auto-transport system of this size.
Cool Sites
I always wanted to do a post where I reference cool website. I probably come across more than the average person because I own a web development company, and between my colleagues, clients, and workers, I come across a lot of them.
My wife and I have been using Free Rice a lot while in the car on my IPhone (I’m usually driving, and she’s working the phone). Free Rice has a vocabulary game and for every correct answer you get, the site (via various sponsors) donates 10 grains of rice to those in need. They literally end up with 10s of millions of grain of rice donated every day.
If you are sick of googling and want a good directory that isn’t influenced by pay-for-use or advertisers, you should checkout DMOZ. DMOZ is managed by volunteer editors. Also, if you think your site has something unique about it, you should submit it to DMOZ.
If you have your own site and you’d like some help promoting it, you should check out FreeTellAFriend.com and AddThis.com. If you want to check how your site is ranking, you can use Aaron Wall’s (an SEO Guru) tool which can be found on his site seobook.com. The Yahoo Site Explorer will also show you how many pages and back links your site has.
Nervous about falling house prices? Check out Zillow.com. It will show you the price of your house as well as your neighbors. Speaking of neighbors, if you have a nasty neighbor you can post about it on RottenNeighbors.com. Just don’t be upset if you find your address on the site 
If you’re a movie buff you’ve probably heard of RottenTomatoes.com which aggregates all movie reviews and gives you an overall rating. You’ve also probably heard of the IMDB (Internet Movie Database), which lets you look up pretty much any casting detail about any movie in existence. Another Hollywood sites is TMZ, which is basically the top tabloid site out there. The Smoking Gun is similar.
For shopping I can’t recommend Amazon enough, which seems to always have the best price on anything. If you think it’s a site to purchase books only, you are way behind the curve. They basically sell everything. If you are a frequent e-shopper, think about joining their Amazon Prime program which gives you two-day shipping for free on all purchases. Last I checked it costs about $80 per year. Woot and Big Deal of the Day feature a single discounted product every day.
That’s it for now. Maybe I’ll do another similar posting in a few months.
Invoicing on EnterYourHours.com
February was a busy month for EnterYourHours.com, our professional services software (legal billing, IT billing, Consulting Billing, and Time Management). We made our invoicing and payroll reports more robust. Users can group the invoice detail by projects, duties, or even day. Payroll reports now follow this same pattern. Expenses are also categorized in a more clear manner. We’ve also been exercising our new multi-timer feature and have fixed a few bugs, and it has been running very stably now. In case an Internet connection is lost, we are constantly logging time, so the timers are recoverable.
We’ve also stepped up marketing. Going into our fourth month of existence, we are finally getting a little traction. We have about 5 search engine clicks per day on average, and it’s growing steadily, plus more and more referrals every day. Our partnership with Intuit has helped a great deal and some of our best customers are referrals from Intuit’s marketplace site.
The best part of the process is getting customer feedback. We had certain time and billing software concepts in mind when we first developed the system, and of course we got some of it right, some of it wrong, and some of it very wrong. Our first year in business is going to be largely dedicated to product improvement, and I anticipate a good portion of the marketing will happen naturally.
It’s been difficult, and there will be greater challenges ahead, but I’m especially thankful for having a great team working and supporting the system. Working your butt off is a lot less stressful when everyone around you is doing it too. Chad Fisher at Pyramid SEO has also been a great help. I recommend him highly if you need SEO work.
If you are interested in the software, check out the site at EnterYourHours.com.
VIN Decoding
We do a lot of software for the auto transport industry and we’ve gotten more and more requests for VIN decoding. We’ve worked with VIN data for auto insurance projects, so we are familiar with the data, but we still don’t own our licensed copy so we can’t offer it to anyone. That’s hopefully about to change. We did a LOT of research and finally found some of the wholesalers of the data (it was surprising what a small world it was), and we think we finally found some of the best raw VIN data out there, so soon we be able to offer our own decoding.
Guest blogging
I posted an article on CostPerNews.com. Head over there and check it out. The article I wrote focuses on some SEO methods, especially related to content. They are some tricks I’ve picked up along the way, so who knows, you might learn something.
EnterYourHours.com Version 2.0 released
We released Version 2.0 of EnterYourHours.com, our time tracking and billing software product. The software isn’t labeled with the version number because the upgrade gets applied to everyone at the same time. This new version has recurring billing, multi-task timer, more project-oriented features, and an expense quicklist. The invoicing also got an overhaul and you can now control the groupings on the details page.
We’re obviously really excited about the release. If any of you have been thinking of trying the system out, now would be a good time.
New EnterYourHours.com Developer’s blog
I’ve created a new blog that will solely discuss EnterYourHours.com development. It can be found over here: EnterYourHours.com Development Blog. Currently we are talking a lot about the new release, and I have a couple of new feature introductions, so please head over there and check it out.
EnterYourHours.com Next Revision
We are releasing the next revision for our hourly billing software at the end of the month. Some very cool features coming up based on customer feedback:
- Project category and category grouping on invoice details.
- Expense pick-lists with default pricing.
- Timer switching and tracking.
- Recurring billing.
I’ll be sure to announce, on this blog, the details of the new revision once it’s released.
Nifty Screenshot of Auto-Transport Software
One of my guys sent me this screenshot of some auto-transport software that our software development company has created in the past. The reason he sent it was because he noticed it wasn’t on the company website. I plan to do a large update of the website soon and I’ll add it then, but for now I figured I would throw it up on the blog.
This was an early design with faked-up data but the final product is very similar.
Auto transport software screenshot
Consulting Tip #5
You’ve been billing hourly a while. You’ve proven to the client that you always have their company’s best interest at heart, and always consider ROI. The client trusts you to simply report the hours you bill. One day, the client says “I need an estimate” on a small task or project. What should your response be?
Without question, it should be: “Sure, no problem.”
Don’t ever fight a client on this. Agree whole-heartedly like you can’t wait to give them estimates. Most battle-hardened service professionals know that estimates and flat-rate scenarios can be painful for either the client (over-estimated), or the service professional (under-estimated), but there are some environments where the client needs to feel more in control.
We’ve all gone into a store and bought something without checking the price tag when times were flush, and have also checked 5 different stores and looked at every price tag for the lowest price, when times are lean. Clearly, times are lean right now, and while some clients might be recession-proof, many of your clients are looking to control costs.
Hopefully it’s not a lack-of-trust issue. Either way, the client is feeling insecure. This is when you want to be their hero and come to the rescue, and bundle them up in a warm and comfy blanket. Be there for them. After a little while, they will revert to open billing again because estimates and flat-rates slow the process down. Remember, clients should be life-long, and you shouldn’t ever feel offended or lament having to account for your time up front.
