Contract Management Modules

The Optimization module calculates the most efficient and cost-effective method to fabricate a selected group of orders.

Key Features

• The user can easily select orders to fabricate from the database of orders entered or imported in Production.
• Fabrication schedules can be quickly and easily created by selecting steel from orders wanted in any given time period, and from one or more jobs.

• Schedules are easily modified as well, giving the user the ability to cut & paste rebar items within schedules or drop rebar from a schedule as desired.
• One of the primary distinguishing features of our Optimization module from all other programs is its unique ability to find the lowest cost method to fabricate a schedule.  While most other programs simply attempt to minimize scrap during fabrication, they do not take into account the labor cost to fabricate the schedule.
• This module allows the user to enter their actual labor cost to fabricate as well as their material cost.  These two factors are then used to calculate the lowest total cost method of fabrication.  In this manner, the user can prioritize scrap and/or labor time as they see fit.
• Optimization comparisons with other systems have shown that scrap results in the Soule/KRB program are comparable or better, while the number of loads (steel drops on the shear) are reduced by almost 1/3, thereby saving significant time & money.
• Automatic creation of schedules for shop equipment (including remnants produced)
• Intelligent binning logic
• Ability (with Inventory) to lookup available stock lengths (including remnants)

The Mill Certs module allows for tracking original mill heats (and paperwork) from inventory through fabrication for each project and gives the ability to generate a single packet of PDFs for each shipment.

Key Features

• Mill heat information is entered into the program (manually or electronically) and stored, including chemical compositions, yields, tensiles, and bend tests.  The program can also store the filename of a scanned copy of the original mill heat document.
• In the Production program, the mill heats that were used to fabricate orders (for jobs that require mill certifications) are assigned to these orders.  This can be done for multiple orders at a time.  A summary of the used mill heats are then generated via Microsoft Word for these orders.
• The scanned copy of the original mill heat paperwork can also be printed on-demand as well.

The Freight Tracking module tracks loads from your fab shop to the job site using the driver’s cell phone (your employee or outside vendors) and provides load ETA and status updates.

Key Features

• Works with a simple app download and one-time acceptance by the driver.
• Automatically calculates ETA of each load on the Load Dashboard from the load’s GPS location, with warnings for loads that will arrive late.
• Track loading and unloading times when the driver arrives at the job site and when they leave.
• Automatically displays confirmation when a load arrives at the job site without additional calls to the driver.

The Bar Code Scanning system is the most advanced scanning solution available in the rebar industry. Scanners work without special app store downloads and connect via WiFi or cell data. They can work offline and resend stored scans when back online. The office can easily view real-time fabrication, loading, and delivery scans from dashboards.

Shop Equipment

• Scan inventory bundles and production tags at each piece of shop equipment to track inventory usage, mill heat assignments, and operator/machine productivity.

Production Loading

• Scan each production tag as it is loaded on the trailer, one scan of the BOL automatically shows all of the tags going on that load.
• The operator is given a warning when a straight bar is loaded on the trailer that was missed at the bender.
• The operator is automatically warned if a bundle is placed on the wrong trailer, and the load is automatically shown ready when the last tag is scanned.

Delivery Scanning

• Scan bundles as delivered to the job site, with GPS tracking of where bundles were actually delivered and log of person unloading.
• Releases are automatically marked Shipped back in the office when all bundles are unloaded at the job site.

Physical Inventory

• Create a snapshot of current inventory and download all bundles to one or more barcode scanners.
• Operators then can scan all bundles in the shop and automatically send results back to the office, updating bins and bundle piece counts when necessary.

The Fab KPI quickly summarizes the weekly schedule for fabrication and shows actual man-hours per ton vs goal for each of your plants.

Key Features

• Automatic update every 15 minutes gathers in all fabrication activity from the shop barcode scanning and release schedule changes.
• View estimated vs actual fabrication rates per plant with goals set by fab type (straight vs bending, etc.)
• Displays chart of goal vs actual productivity over the last 30 days per plant.

The Customer Portal allows you to accept online orders from your customers and gives them access to download their own paperwork from your website.

Key Features

• Integrates with your company website.
• Customers can enter orders online (including bend dimensions), which then appear for the office to review and price if necessary before releasing to the fab shop.
• Customers can view the status of their orders from the web, and with freight tracking enabled, can click a link to see their delivery coming to them with updated ETA.
• Customers can download all paperwork associated with their order (mill certs, BOL, and invoice).

The Inventory module provides an easy way to track and manage both your bundle stock inventory and non-rebar items from the generation of purchase orders through the relief of inventory and reporting on its usage.

Key Features

• You can maintain your mill pricing and track price changes by date (even future ones). The customized purchase orders you generate can link to the price in effect at the time of shipment.
• Tracking steel receipts should be simple, but many systems force you to wait until you actually receive the shipment before you can enter it into the system. This can cause costly delays while you wait for someone to generate inventory tags as the truck waits to be unloaded. Our system allows you to electronically download the Bill of Lading (including the list of each bundle on the incoming truck) and mill heat information before you receive the steel—in most cases as soon as the truck leaves the steel mill. This means you can have tags and a checklist waiting when the truck arrives.
• Tracking your inventory usage can be as easy as scanning a barcode on the inventory tag and on the production tag as the operator produces them. This will not only mark each stock bundle as consumed but also make the appropriate mill heat assignment to the releases being produced.
• Gives you the information you need to better gauge your fab shop’s productivity. You can begin to see production rates per machine, rates per operator, crane delays, and even production rates per bend type. You can then make informed decisions on equipment purchases and operator training.
• Multiple vendor invoices can be tied to a single receipt (including steel mill invoices, freight invoices, and even coating charges). You can mark these as “Approved”, reconciling them to the purchase order, before transferring them as Accounts Payable transactions to your accounting system.
• Ability to automatically generate & email PO to vendor
• Download Bill of Lading and heat info from mills before receipt (EDI)
• Stores file attachments of BOL/vendor invoices/etc.
• Easy inventory transfer functionality between locations
• Tracking of special outside processing (epoxy, galvanizing, etc.)
• Precise inventory relief of perpetual bundle stock (with remnant tracking)
• Tracks multiple vendor invoices to a single report (Material, Freight, Coating)
• Maintains inventory history for resolving problems
• Provides real-time inventory reporting and query
• Automated email alerts of low inventory levels (custom defined)

The Customer Document Download system allows the customers to get a link on their invoices to download all of the paperwork related to their delivery/load/project (or retail) billing.

Key Features

• The billing person can easily drag & drop any related paperwork (signed BOL, mill certs, etc.) onto the invoice to form a link.
• Invoices sent to the customer will then give a unique URL (web link) for them to download all of the paperwork associated with the invoice (both in the email and on the invoice itself).

The Contract Billing module calculates and generates invoices for all contracts and retail orders entered/produced in the Production module.

Key Features

• The program allows users to run billing cycles as often as desired, and all orders selected to bill are invoiced according to the particular bid item material/rate structure setup for the contract.
• Allows awarded change orders, either billed separately or accumulated into the base bid, can be tracked and billed as well with this module.
• Complex calculations and functions are performed including material escalation, freight penalties, retention, and tax calculations.
• The invoices are generated via Microsoft Word in the desired format for the particular contract.
• This module comes with an optional Cash Receipts function that allows the user to enter all of the customer payments to jobs or by retail sale customers.
• On one screen, the program displays all of the unpaid invoices for a customer and their job number, giving the user a simple way to apply checks that were not specifically designated by invoice #.
• Comments with a date to follow-up can be entered on each invoice or Customer Aged A/R for users to make notes on the collections process.
• Progress draw billing for installed contracts (unit price & lump sum)
• Complete change order tracking (Pending, Awarded, Approved)
• Material escalation, freight penalties, taxes & retention
• Cash receipts & collections (including debits & credits)
• Contract Billing Analysis, Contract Summary, A/R Reports, and more
• Generates customer statements for each contract

The Accounting interface module is designed to send the data from the Soule system into your company’s accounting software.

Key Features

• The information that is transferred can include: general ledger account values, contract job invoices, retail sale invoices, shipped inventory relieved, payroll/timecard hours, and cash/credit entries.
• Soule Software does NOT require the user to have one arbitrary accounting program, and we can interface with a number of different systems.
• Custom accounting periods with the ability to restrict activity in closed periods.
• Sales & Profitability Reports (by salesperson, location, & market)
• Automated import/update of US zip codes & tax rates

This module calculates the balance remaining to ship for each contract job and allows project managers to schedule the backlog out into future months. This enables your company to project inventory requirements down to the part (bar size/grade/coating) level by fab shop and month.

Key Features

• The backlog reports produced can be used to forecast the P&L contribution to be made by each job/market.
• Each month the previous projection is automatically updated to actual.   A number of methods are made available for the user to adjust the projection for the new balance based on a profile of previous shipments.
• Reporting for complete visibility via the following reports:
  * Backlog forecasting by job
  * Backlog forecasting by size, grade & shop
  * Backlog forecasting by shop & material type (rebar, coil, etc including accessories & couplers)
  * Job Estimate vs Shipped (by date range)
  * Rebar Purchasing Backlog (by shop)
  * Calculations of existing job backlog at each sold rebar base price

The Reporting module brings the entire collection of more than 180+ reports available in the system into one place organized by category with a brief description and sample of each report.

Key Features

• Report categories include Accounting, Accounts Receivable, Backlog Forecasting, Comments, Contracts, Drawings/Detailing, Estimating/Sales, Fabrication, Field Placing, Inventory, Job Costing, Mill Certs, Optimization, Shipping, and Shop Labor.
• Allows users to quickly find the exact report they need without having to look in different software modules.
• Enables users to run reports while simultaneously working in the other modules.

The Job Costing module combines all the information stored for each awarded estimate (revised with approved change orders), the actual shipments and placing activity during the accounting period, and the general ledger costs to produce an accurate profit/loss by job.

Key Features

• Costs and revenues are triggered by the activity that produced the cost/revenue.  This ensures that all costs are allocated or assigned directly to the activities that generated them.  Furthermore, since the same triggers are used to calculate the job revenue and cost, the resulting P&L is matched to the same time period, resulting in a more accurate report.

• At the end of each month, updates to calculated costs-to-complete by job can be made so that projections of each job’s P&L reflect the latest information available.
• End-of-month reports include Job P&L (for the month, year, and job-to-date), job closeout projections, and G/L revenue dollars to post.
• Automated extension of actual activity at estimate rates
• Import direct costs per job from Accounts Payable
• Automatic or manual override of costs to complete
• Allocation of G/L Costs to each job
• Variance, Job Profit/Loss, Uncompleted Job Analysis reporting