Forestry & Timber Solutions
Each load is weighed once, then typed in again for contractor pay, grower payments, stockpile figures and export paperwork; we connect your systems so it's recorded once.
- 20+ years connecting business systems
- Works with the accounting, job and CRM systems you already use
- Fixed quote after a free chat
Forestry Is Where We Started
In most forestry businesses the weighbridge is the most accurate system on site. Every truck is weighed and every docket is right. The trouble starts after that: the same load gets typed again to pay the harvest and haulage contractor, again to work out what the grower is owed, again to update the stockpile, and again for the shipping paperwork and the month-end report.
We connect those pieces so a load is recorded once, at the weighbridge, and flows on to contractor and grower payments, stock, shipments, your accounts and your reports. You get fewer payment disputes, stockpile figures you can trust and a current view of volumes and costs without waiting for month end.
This isn't new ground for us. Since 2012 we have built and looked after a forestry export and woodchip port management system for Australian forestry companies, with weighbridge ticket data flowing in from the weighbridge system since 2015.
The Systems a Forestry Business Usually Runs
A typical setup looks something like this: each part doing its own job well, and none of them talking to the others.
Weighbridge software
Harvest and haulage records
Stockpile and shipping records
Quality results
Contractor and grower rate sheets
Accounting
Where the Same Load Gets Typed Again
The weight is recorded properly once. Everything after that is usually manual, and each step is a chance for a docket to go missing or be counted twice.
Dockets into contractor payments
Someone collects the weighbridge dockets each pay run, matches them to the harvest and haulage contractor, applies the right rate and keys the result into accounts. A missing or doubled docket means a phone call and a correction later.
Dockets into grower payments
The same loads have to be totalled again by grower and block to work out what each landowner is owed, often in a separate spreadsheet that has to agree with the contractor figures.
Deliveries into stockpile figures
Port and yard stock is worked out from delivery totals, less what went on the ship, in yet another file that nobody fully trusts.
Loads into export documentation
Shipment quantities, quality results and origin details are pulled together again for the shipping and export paperwork, usually by copying from the other spreadsheets.
Everything into the monthly report
Volumes by product, customer and grower, contractor costs and margin per shipment get rebuilt by hand at month end, so the owner sees last month's picture weeks after it mattered.
The Questions That Take Days to Answer
When the figures live in separate places, simple questions turn into a spreadsheet job. Questions like these:
- What did each shipment actually cost us to harvest, haul and load, and what did we make on it?
- How much chip and log is on the stockpile right now, and will it cover the next vessel?
- Which contractors are running behind their allocation, and which are ahead?
- What do we owe each grower this month, and can we show them the loads behind it?
- Are moisture or quality results trending the wrong way from a particular block or contractor?
- Can we trace this load back to its source block and contract if an auditor or customer asks?
Records You Can Trace
Forestry carries more record-keeping than most industries. Forest certification schemes expect traceable records showing where timber and chip came from, export shipments need documentation that matches what was loaded, and growers and contractors expect to be paid on figures they can check.
We don't advise on what your certifier or the export rules require; that stays with them. What we do is make sure every load is recorded once and linked to its block, grower, contractor and shipment, so pulling the records together is a report rather than a week of digging through dockets.
A Worked Example
This is a made-up business to show the idea, not a client. Picture a company that harvests plantation pine for several growers, uses a handful of harvest and haulage contractors, and sends sawlogs to local mills and chip to the port for export.
Before
The weighbridge prints a docket for each truck. Every fortnight the office collects the dockets, sorts them by contractor and grower, looks up rates in a spreadsheet and keys contractor payments into MYOB. Grower payments are worked out in a second spreadsheet. The port keeps its own stockpile file. Before each vessel, someone reconciles all three by hand, and the owner's margin report arrives well after month end.
After
Each docket's data comes across from the weighbridge system as the truck is weighed, already tagged with the block, grower, contractor and product. Contractor and grower payments are calculated from the agreed rates and checked by a person before they go into MYOB. The stockpile updates as loads arrive and drops when the vessel is loaded. The owner opens a dashboard showing volumes, contractor costs and stock against the next shipment, and a contractor query is answered by looking up the load, not the filing cabinet.
What We Build and Connect
Weighbridge Docket Integration
We take the docket data from the weighbridge system you already run (we don't provide or change weighing software) so each docket is captured once and passed to everything that needs it. See weighbridge integration for how it works.
- Each load recorded as the truck is weighed
- Linked to block, grower, contractor and product
- Checks for missing or doubled dockets
Contractor and Grower Payments
Harvest and haulage contractor payments and grower payments or royalties calculated from the loads and your agreed rates, checked by your team, then sent to Xero or MYOB. Where you pay by recipient-created tax invoice, see RCTI automation.
- Rates by contract, product and distance
- Statements showing the loads behind each payment
- A person approves before anything is paid
Stockpile, Shipping and Export Records
Where off-the-shelf software doesn't fit the way your port or yard works, we build custom software around it, as we have for forestry export since 2012.
- Chip and log volumes on hand, by product
- Vessel loading against what was planned
- Quality and moisture results kept with the loads
- Figures for export documentation taken from the records, not retyped
Management Dashboards
Volumes, costs, stock and payments in one place, built from live records rather than last month's spreadsheet. See reporting dashboards for how we build them on top of your accounts.
- Volumes by grower, contractor, product and customer
- Cost and margin per shipment
- Quality trends by block and contractor
Our Forestry Work
Forestry Export & Woodchip Port System
Weighbridge Ticket Data
Executive Reporting Dashboards
Who Does the Work
Kenomont is a business systems consultancy founded by Aaron Chambers, with more than 20 years of experience building and connecting business systems.
Forestry is our longest-running work. The export and woodchip port system we started in 2012 is still running and still looked after by us, and since 2015 it has received each delivery's ticket data from the weighbridge system as the truck is weighed. So we already know what a docket is, why a contractor rings about a missing load, and why the stockpile number matters before a vessel arrives.
We work with forestry businesses across Australia remotely, travelling to site when a project needs it.
How We Start
There are two ways in, depending on how clear the problem already is.
Free initial chat
If you already know where the pain is (say, dockets into contractor payments), book a free chat. We talk through how loads, dockets and payments move today, what systems you run, and what a fix would look like. If it's a fit, we scope it and give you a fixed quote.
$5,000 Process & Systems Audit
If things are tangled across harvest, haulage, port and office, the Process & Systems Audit maps how the work and figures move through your business and gives you a written report on what to fix, in what order, before you commit to any build.
From there the work is done in stages, each with a working result: usually bringing in the weighbridge ticket data first, then payments, then stock and shipping records, then reporting. You get a handover your team understands, and ongoing support if you want it.
When You Don't Need Us
We would rather tell you up front than sell you something you don't need.
- If your weighbridge software already exports cleanly to your accounts and your team is comfortable with the checking, the built-in export may be all you need.
- If a forestry package you already pay for covers harvest, haulage and payments, it is usually better to set that up properly than to build around it. We can tell you if that is the case.
- If the problem is the scales themselves (calibration, hardware faults, a new weighbridge), that is a job for your weighbridge supplier.
- If you need advice on certification rules or export requirements, talk to your certifier, auditor or export agent. We look after the records, not the rules.
Related Services
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost?
It depends on how many systems and sites are involved, how many contractor and grower rate rules need building in, and how much old data needs to come across. We scope every project and give you a fixed quote after a free initial chat. If you know things are messy but not where to start, our $5,000 Process & Systems Audit gives you a written report on what to fix first.
How long does a project take?
It depends on the scope, so we don't quote a standard timeframe. We break the work into stages, starting with whatever costs you the most today, and each stage gives you a working result before the next starts. Timing for each stage is part of the fixed quote.
Do you sell weighbridge software?
No. Weighbridges and their certified software are governed by trade measurement rules, and we don’t provide or change them. We take the ticket data your weighbridge system already issues into the systems that need its figures: invoicing, contractor and grower payments, stockpile records, shipping and reporting. Your weighbridge supplier still looks after the scales, calibration and their software. We work with them to get the docket data out cleanly.
Do we need our own IT person or developer?
No. We do the work and explain it in plain English. If you have someone who looks after your systems, or an outside IT provider, we work with them on access. We talk directly to your weighbridge and software vendors, so your team isn't stuck in the middle.
Will it work with Xero or MYOB, and with our accountant?
Yes. Your accounts stay in Xero, MYOB or whatever accounting system you use. We feed it clean, checked invoices and payments coded to the right accounts, and we happily work alongside your accountant or bookkeeper so the numbers land the way they want them.
What happens if the internet drops out at the weighbridge?
Remote sites lose their connection from time to time, so we build for it. Dockets keep being recorded at the weighbridge, and the link catches up once the connection is back, with checks so a load is not missed or counted twice.
Can you help with chain of custody and certification records?
We can help with the records side. Forest certification schemes expect you to be able to trace timber and chip back to where it came from, and that is much easier when every load is recorded once and linked to its source block, grower and contract. We don't advise on certification requirements themselves; that is for your certifier or auditor. We make sure the data they ask for is complete and easy to pull out.
Have you actually worked in forestry?
Yes, it is our longest-running work. Since 2012 we have built and looked after a forestry export and woodchip port management system for Australian forestry companies, receiving ticket data from the weighbridge system since 2015, and executive reporting dashboards for forestry operations. Client names stay confidential, but we are happy to talk through the work.
Tired of Retyping Weighbridge Dockets?
Tell us how loads, dockets and payments move through your business today. In a free initial chat we will tell you plainly which connections would save the most work, and if it's a fit, give you a fixed quote. Or call 1300 470 091.