Capable System, Constantly Evolving
What do you like best?
I had the choice of self-hosting or cloud-based hosting. I also like that the system is 100x more modern than our previous solution. The fact that it runs in a web browser makes for easier deployment. Our previous solution was written in MS Foxpro, which obviously is out of date, hard to support and very picky to install on the users' PCs. In Addition, the user interface didn't age very well either.
What do you dislike?
We hosted in the cloud, and unfortunately that can be somewhat limiting and in a few ways not optimal. For instance, we cannot do user maintenance ourselves, including changing passwords. Passwords are selected by the user, communicated to a representative over the phone. Not exactly the most secure way to handle. Another thing is if your business model doesn't fit the software exactly, you sometimes have to get creative. Another minor thing, and it's more to do with the rural area, but the dispatching is a bit too reliant on cellular communication between the drivers' tablets and the back-office. Support is a little too formalized in that all communication happens through the ticketing system only. This can be a little off-putting to some people. Whereas I like that the application is web-based, it opens WAY too many tabs. Anytime you click on pretty much anything a new tab opens. This gets unwieldy over time.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
Work through the online training videos. They did a great job putting them together and they answer most questions.
What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?
We are better managing our propane business with this solution. The latest version of the software has a robust reporting facility that has proven helpful more than once. Cargas also has a much better dispatch functionality, intergrating GPS tracking, and inventory management.
