Key Concepts

Accounting Adjustments

An Accounting Adjustment is a record that TrackAbout creates to edit the balances in the client's main businesses system. These are called Accounting Adjustments because TrackAbout generally refers to a clients' main business system as the 'Accounting System'.

<balloon title="If Customer B returns as asset that was out to Customer A then TrackAbout will create an Accounting Adjustment to remove the asset from the balance of Customer A." > Click here for an example </balloon>

Addendum

It is possible to add more assets to a record after that record is saved. These assets are added to the original record on an Addendum.

Example: A driver may deliver 4 assets and save this record. He then realizes that he forgot to scan a 5th asset. He can scan this 5th asset onto the record. This 5th asset is added to the record on an Addendum.

Alerts

Alerts are email or pager notifications when certain conditions are met. See the Alerts section of the TrackAbout website for setting up Alerts.

Asset

An asset is any physical object that you wish to track using TrackAbout.  A more detailed explanation can be read here.

Asset Classification

An asset's classification defines what type of asset it is. It is defined by its Category, Group, Type, and Product Code.   A more detailed explanation can be read here.

Asset History and Timeline

An asset's history shows the events that have happened to the asset in the past, such as Fills and Deliveries. Its history is shown in a timeline - chronological order - with the most recent event at the top of the list.

Asset Transfer Exceptions

When an asset is moved throughout the system for whatever reason - Delivery, Branch Transfer, Accounting Adjustment, etc. - sometimes there are exceptions. Exceptions can be caused by a number of scenarios, such as an asset being returned from a customer to which that asset had never been delivered. In TrackAbout, a link to an Exception will allow users to see what the specific scenario was and to take action, if necessary.

Asset Types

Asset Type is a part of an asset's classification. A more detailed explanation can be read here.

Collisions

A collision occurs when an attempt to attach an asset to a record was made, but TrackAbout was not able to uniquely identify the asset using either the barcode, serial number, or both. Logic built into TrackAbout automatically resolves collisions based on business rules that have evolved over years of experience. However, some collision scenarios cannot be automatically resolved.

Collisions & Duplicate Serial Numbers

A collision can occur if there are two or more assets in TrackAbout with the same serial number. In these instances you will have to determine which physical asset is correctly identified and either re-barcode the other Asset or modify the other Asset's serial Number.

Common Carrier Information Tracking

At times Assets may be transferred to a customer or another location using a Common carrier. TrackAbout supports this and allows you to record the Common Carrier name and tracking number on either the (Create invoice or Create Order page of the website or with the Deliver action on the Handheld.

Customers

A Customer is any person or company that is or may be in possession of one of your assets.  You may wish to track to which customer an asset has been delivered and for how long it has been there.

Data Lock

Data Lock is a feature that is designed to protect existing records in TrackAbout from unwanted changes. Without a data lock in place, any user with sufficient privileges can edit or make changes to any record in the system, no matter how old.  A demonstration video can be watched here.

Duplicate Barcodes

Duplicate Barcodes occur when two unique Assets being tracked in TrackAbout are attached to the same Barcode.  This is a bad condition.  Because Barcodes are intended to be the unique ID for an Asset, two Assets having the same barcode would be like two people with the same Social Security number.  This can happen if a pair of Barcode labels were split and accidentally applied to two Assets, or if two Identical sets of labels were accidentally printed and used.

Expiration & Retest Date

Both the gas' expiration date and the tank's retest date can be collected. They can then be reported on under Manamgement Reports. There is an Assets To Be Retested report and an Expiring Assets report.

Full/Empty Status

Full/Empty Status is a term used to describe the Use State of an Asset that serves as a container. It is commonly used in the packaged gas industry; but may be useful in other industries as well.  See: [Use States] for more information.

Junked Assets

Occasionally a mistake will create an asset in the system that shouldn't exist. On the Asset History page, there is a Delete/Junk This Asset tool which can be used to permanently delete or "junk" an asset in the system. A junked asset will no longer be viewable in the system. It is only possible to junk an asset if it isn't attached to any records. Therefore, an asset needs to be detached from any records in its history before it can be junked.

Location-Restricted Users

Users can have their access limited to just their home location, or to their home location plus select other locations. If a user is limited in this manner, s/he is known as a location-restricted user. A location-restricted user can only see assets which are in the location(s) to which s/he has been given access, including assets at customers to whose servicing location the user has access.

Locations

Locations are areas where assets can be stored. Any area that is not at a Customer is considered a Location. A more detailed explanation can be read here.

Lost Assets

Assets can be marked "Lost" individually under the Asset Editing Options in the Asset's History. Alternatively, while resolving a customer audit, the system will ask what to do with assets which TrackAbout expected to be at the customer, but which weren't scanned during the course of the audit. One option is to mark all such assets as "Lost." An asset which has been marked as Lost will automatically become Found if its barcode is scanned at any point in the future. No further action is necessary, although it is possible to view such assets in the Lost and Found section of the Dashboard.

Mobile Printing

It is possible to print various actions to a bluetooth printer from a bluetooth handheld. Most commonly, this happens at the end of a customer delivery, after all delivered and returned assets have been scanned. However, it is possible to print other actions, as well. When this extra feature has been purchased, it must be enabled by your TrackAbout representative. It is included in the cost of the Paperless Delivery module.

Not-Scanned Assets

When a barcode is unreadable or unknown, it is possible to track quantities of asset types as Not-Scanned (NS) assets. The ability to use NS assets helps to keep customer balances accurate, even when barcodes have not been scanned. There are several actions which result in NS assets being on a customer's balance. If a driver is unable to scan or read a barcode during a delivery, s/he may enter the asset type and quantity as either a delivery (DNS) or as a return (RNS.) NS assets may also be delivered/returned to/from a customer during integration if an invoice from the business system does not have a matching invoice with tracking data from a handheld.

Ownership

Who actually owns a particular asset may be tracked as a specific attribute of any asset. While many TrackAbout users track only their own assets, it is particularly common in the packaged gas industry to track the locations of assets rented from another distributor.

Product Codes

Product Code is a subset of an asset's Type. Often, a decision is made to make Product Codes which are the same as asset Types. A more detailed explanation can be read here.

Record

Records are any change to an asset that is tracked and recorded within TrackAbout at a specific date, time and location.  Examples would be: a truck load record, a delivery record or a maintenance record.

Record Editing

Recording editing is how TrackAbout allows you to change records which have already been saved to the website. Changes can be made to update records or correct errors which have been made.  A more detailed explanation can be read here.

Retired Assets

One may retire an asset in TrackAbout, marking that particular asset as no longer in use. Retiring an asset changes its location to the unknown location. Once so marked, that asset will no longer be counted in the inventory of any actual location. The history of the retired asset is retained in TrackAbout.

Serial Number Collection Rules

This feature allows for any Asset Type/Ownership combination to not require a serial number. This option is found under TrackAbout Config.

Split and Merge Asset History

If there are two assets in TrackAbout which are actually the same asset, their histories in TrackAbout can be merged together during a Collision Resolution. This will cause them to be one asset in TrackAbout, thereby reflecting the reality that there really is only one asset, not two. Sometimes, two physical assets are being represented in TrackAbout by one barcode. This can be caused by TrackAbout assets being incorrectly merged together, or by a split barcode pair, whereby two assets have the same barcode. In these cases, it is possible to split the history of an asset in TrackAbout to make two unique assets.

Tracking Volume/Weight

It is possible to track Asset Volume/Weight by having TrackAbout staff enable a setting. This is the primary setting required in order to do Tube Trailer tracking, and this feature can be used for other types of assets, as well. Once this setting has been enabled, it will then be possible to enable volume collection on specific product codes.

Unclassified Assets

An Unclassified Asset is an Asset that is being tracked in TrackAbout; but it has not been defined or classified.  The Asset has been recorded within TrackAbout without any details regarding what kind of Asset it is (cylinder?, Tank? , Trailer?, Wheelchair?)

Use States

Use States is the term TrackAbout employs to determine the status or condition of a tracked Asset. Common use states in the packaged gas industry are Full / Empty.  however other use states may be put in place, such as Broken,  In Repair or Repaired.  And for  Medical related industries: DIrty, Patient Ready or In Quarantine.

User Interface

this refers to any screens on a computer or handheld device that allows the user (you) to control or use the TrackAbout software.  A more detailed explanation can be read here.

User Roles and Permissions

Every user in TrackAbout needs to have a Role assigned to him/her. Different Roles can to be created for different job functions, such as System Administrator, Truck Driver, etc. After various Roles have been created, different permissions may be assigned to those roles. For example, you may not want a Truck Driver to be able to delete records, so you would not give Delete permissions to the Truck Driver Role.

Users

A User is anyone that is making use of the TrackAbout Software on the website or the handheld in order to track or maintain Assets.  Users can be employees, vendors, suppliers or with Follow-On Tracking even Customers.

Verification

Verification is a method of simply stopping a record from appearing in the web page on which it is displayed. Invoices are the most common type of records which can be verified - they are verified in the Verifications page. However, there are other pages from which records are verified, such as the Lost Assets Found page.

Invoices may be automatically verified if the tracking data matches the data from the business system. If there are discrepancies between the business system's version of an invoice and the assets that actually got scanned on an invoice through TrackAbout, then that invoice will appear on the Verifications page. An invoice's appearance on the Verifications page gives you an opportunity to confirm, i.e., "verify," that the invoice is correct. Hitting the Verify button will not change the invoice in any way. It will simply cause it to no longer appear on the Verifications page.