Five Years of Electronic Accounting

Staff At Toulon Grain Doesn’t Miss The Old Manual Tickets

Before Toulon Gain Co., Toulon, IL put its grain accounting and financials on computer, everything was done the old-fashioned way - with paper tickets and documents filled out by hand. Switching over to the computer was a little scary, but nobody at Toulon Grain misses the old ways today.

"I had been thinking about it (going electronic) for a couple of years and had talked to several software companies," says General Manager Carl Schalber. "I went with Vertical Software (Peoria, IL 309-676-0700) because they were located close by, and they would be there if you have any problems."

That’s the way it’s worked out, too he says. Whenever there is a problem, the software provider can be contacted on-line. Vertical Software’s technicians can run a diagnostic program and make programming changes to Toulon Grain’s package directly via modem.

Software Package

Vertical Software in 1992 sold Toulon Grain its complete grain accounting package, plus a financial report package by Red Wing Business Systems, Red Wing, MN (800-732-9464). Vertical Software programmers developed the interface between the two systems. The software currently runs on a series of Dell PCs equipped with Pentium microprocessors, also purchased from Vertical.

Two years after going electronic, Toulon Grain upgraded its system with a scale management package, Vertical’s ScaleTrac, tied in to their Cardinal truck scale.

As the system currently exists, when a farmer brings a load of grain across the scale, the total weight, tare weight, and net weight are recorded and the data entered automatically into the computer system. The scale operator takes a grain sample, grades it for dockage and moisture, and enters that data into the system, as well. The system automatically prints out a scale ticket.

The first thing the following morning, the clerical staff takes the accumulated data and applies it to producers’ individual accounts on the computer system for settlements. Thanks to the interface with the financials package, the company’s profit and loss figures and other financial information are updated automatically. Financial reports are printed out monthly. "If we buy grain in advance from a producer, or if we ship grain to a processor or a river terminal, the contract is printed up automatically, and the financials are updated then, too," Schalber says.

Benefits Schalber cites these benefits from electronic grain accounting:

• More data for judging the performance of the business is available instantly. Schalber no longer has to wait until the end of the month to adjust various operations.
• Dealings with grain suppliers and buyers is more accurate. When a document is handled two or three times, there is more of a chance for math or other errors to creep in. Only a portion of the data needs to be keystroked with the Vertical package, and it’s done only once.

"Like everyone else, I was a little skeptical of computers at first," Schalber comments. "But we moved into it slowly and made sure we understood everything before taking the nest step."

Ed Zdrojewki, editor Grain Journal

General Manager Carl Schalber and Grain Accountant Sheila Schierer like how their grain accounting software interfaces with their financial software.