As grain harvest is now in full swing across New Zealand, it’s truly all hands on deck. With long hours, tight schedules, and countless moving parts, staying organised becomes more important than ever. As a result, keeping on top of job lists and invoices can be a real challenge. That’s why MyTrucking has pulled together our top tips to help set you up for harvest success.
From the Canterbury Plains to the Wairarapa, Kiwi carriers play a vital role in moving thousands of tonnes of grain between farms, silos, and processors. However, when the pressure is on, even the best operators can find themselves drowning in paperwork.
Late invoices are a major headache, especially for owner-drivers working long hours to keep up with demand. As a result, cashflow stress means operators need tools that go beyond pen, paper, and spreadsheets. That’s where a simple transport management system (TMS) comes in to make all the difference.
A smarter way to harvest
Many rural carriers live and breathe harvest work. They cart grain, feed, and produce across their region. However, as their businesses grow, keeping track of jobs, quoted prices, and what has been invoiced can quickly become more challenging. In fact, dispatchers often report the same story:
“We were struggling with transparency across the team. Jobs were in people’s heads and not always written down, and quoted prices were not always recorded.
This meant that we were missing out on jobs, and sometimes missing out on invoicing our customers, as it was not clear at the end of the month what jobs had been done and what had not. Our end‑of‑month issues just got bigger and bigger.”
By trialling MyTrucking, operators have found a transport management system (TMS) that lets them grow with confidence.
“MyTrucking is so easy and simple to use, for us it is really cost effective and the support is great. Dispatching and billing are now much clearer, anyone in the team can see what is going on, especially at month end. It is really clear what has been invoiced and, more importantly, what has not. Most of the hard work is already done, it is just a matter of checking a few things then posting the lot through to Xero in one go.”
MyTrucking tips for harvest success
- Go Mobile: Use the MyTrucking Drivers App to snap job paperwork on the go and get instant updates, so there is no more chasing missing forms.
- Working with sub-contractors? Use Import and Reports to make working with subcontractors easy as, and ask about the Cost Rate feature to allocate subbie rates and report with ease.
- Split and repeat jobs: Break down big grain contracts into multiple loads and keep track of what is left. You can split jobs off a contract, run multi-day, multi-load work, and with Multi-date Select you can repeat jobs across your harvest window in seconds.
- Customer Portal power: Invite your customers to view their load volumes and paperwork in real time. They see only what they need, with no sensitive information shared.
“I would just like to say we have had a very, very big harvest and MyTrucking has made it soooo easy to keep on top of all dockets and loads. Thank you for making our life much easier” – Lorrice from Auhl’s Transport.
Plan smarter and stay ahead through harvest with MyTrucking. Start your FREE trial today.
