I bought a computer system and "school bus management" program from a company in F--- A-------, WI. You could keep track of the students on the routes, the drivers, and it would do payroll, which was a huge step up from the hand written payroll I was doing until then. Unfortunately, the company was not available when needed for help, and soon went out of business. Updates were not available, and soon the programming was obsolete.
Then I met a guy from Tomahawk, WI in July of 1992 and bought a program from him that could do everything that my old obsolete system could have done if it was working...and more. He took my old data base and converted almost all of the information so I didn't have to re-enter the whole thing. The mans first middle and last name is SERVICE! He is most always available, and when not...he actually returns calls! To me that's the most important bell or whistle available. The system does my payroll, IN HOUSE (no fees for a service to do your payroll for you in a "few days") for my 37 or so employees in about two hours from start to finish. That includes licking the envelopes. The most time consuming part of payroll is compiling the data so you (or the payroll service) can enter it. I don't understand why anyone would do the most time consuming part of the payroll and then pay someone else to finish the job at a latter date. Once it's in the computer the info is there for any report you need to print out, at the stroke of a button. The info is always at hand waiting for your beckoning. The student lists are on the computer and are easy to update. Each student record contains the miles from school, so year end school reports are a breeze. I have the maintenance records on the computer so I can track costs of repairs. By listing all of your vehicles in the maintenance file, you have available a list with VIN's, License plate numbers, seating capacity, engine/transmission, fleet number, original cost, year, chassis and body combinations. This info is available to you when you need to fill out a special application, or print out a copy to get insurance quotes. I am just starting to work with the mapping program. It's too early to comment on that, however if it's anything like the rest of NORTHWOODS COMPUTER SOFTWARE, I'm sure it will be a breeze to learn. AND THE BEST PART IS....I know that if I have trouble with anything on the system, Larry will be there to help out! And that's what makes this programming PRICELESS!
Fred Wittenberger, Vice President, Wittenberger Bus Service, Inc.
6-6-97