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We are looking to start a taxi firm off soon.
Just getting everything setup (what a stressfull task!)
Just wondering what software people use to take bookings and whatever else for that matter.

Anyone shed any light on it? The best one I have seen so far is by Diplomat, the rest have all been pretty ugly looking and TBH, dont suit maximum needs.

A bit more info would probably help. How many cars are you starting with/plan to expand to. How much do you want to spend, what area, what range, what do you need it to do?

 

We have 5 vehicles at present and even with loads more the only technology I would need is a diary and a mobile phone.

 

My advice to anyone starting up is to invest in a really good quality pencil and notebook and that way if things don’t go according to plan then your two quid out of pocket rather than thousands. Use what money you have in developing your business because a computer can’t make the phone ring. If and when your business gets off the ground and the paperwork starts to get a bit much, that’s the time to start considering using computers.

A thing I would say though is if you feel that the majority of software packages don’t meet your needs then you should really stop and consider what your planning doing. In our 18 years of experience in dealing with start up companies, those that seek the holly grail of software packages tend to fail.

All the computer packages are much the same; they’re just tools for doing a job and there’s none out there that is so much better than another as to make the difference between success and failure. We say it’s like paintbrushes; doesn’t matter how much you research them or how much you pay for them, if your just not an artist then don’t expect a masterpiece.

Bill

bill have you ever visited www.taxi-today.com

Yep! Just been there for a quick look.

Bill

yeah diplomat is a pretty ugly system.............have you tried a company called auriga? they are supposed to be pretty good.

 

Supposed to be pretty good? I think you're underselling yourself a little there Matt123!

and matt123 calls diplomat a ugly system

how big a list of users do you want on here with bad experiences of Auriga software problems and hard sell plus bad after sales [Allegedly] talk on the ranks etc is where i got my info

what solution did yuo choose at the end? [url=http://www.dialie.com]taximeter[/url] start to developp free digital dispatching software for and a all bunh of free web bases services.

sorry try : taximeter

Hi, Have you looked at Phatsoft? www.phatsoft.co.uk. It is easy to use, quite basic. One step up from a pencil and paper and on £25. You can record your journeys and expenses so most of your accounting is done and dusted, and you can send out invoices/statements to account customers. It's being continuously developed and updates are free. It's the best deal in Taxi software you'll find.

It's highly useful to keep records of takings in a simple diary and keep every possible receipt for expenses.
DIY Accounting produce a specific Cabsmart taxi driver accounts package, priced at £11.99, taxi drivers record sales and expenses and the package then produces an automated profit and loss account and fills in an excel copy of the self employed tax return which saves many taxi drivers money on taxi accountant fees.

CORDIC SYSTEM is the benchmark,  first of the GPRS based systems that really works.  Had the system almost 4 years never lost a day, great product, great back up.  Started with only 8 cars no other provider wanted to know "too small come back whan you have 20 plus cars".  Cordic were new and prepared to taylor their system to make it afforable without losing the main functions.  Don't buy any system without looking at Cordic.  Budget over 5 years to get true costs, forget free offers and 12 month free trials there is no such thing as a free lunch.  This is not an advert I am a real customer of Cordic and happy to recommend them because I am so pleased with the system.

have none of you heard of Marandy or Autocab? stretch out your options gentlemen