Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for recycling companies.
A checklist built from how recycling companies work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Supplier register and rate cards
- Weighbridge tickets
- Grading and deductions
- Sorting lines and yield
- Bale register and stock bays
- Outbound loads and buyer contracts
- Mill rejections and claims
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For weighbridge operators
- For graders and floor supervisors
- For the yard manager
- For accounts
- For owners
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Inbound tonnage by supplier, material and grade
- Deductions given by reason, grader and supplier
- Sorting yield by line, lot and recovered material
- Bale register and stock by grade and bay
- Containers dispatched against each buyer contract
- Mill receiving weight against yard gate weight, with open claims
- Supplier balances, advances and payments by week
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Weighbridge indicators
- Label and tag printers
- SMS
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it work with our existing weighbridge?
- How are deductions recorded and shown to suppliers?
- Can we trace a bale back to the loads it was made from?
- Can it handle changes to buying and selling prices?
- How do we deal with a mill that weighs lower than we do?
- Can we run a collection fleet from it too?
- How does it work when the company has several yards?
- Can the data be moved out later?
- How is pricing decided?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Deductions are decided on the floor and lost
- Bales cannot be traced to their lots
- Mill weights and yard weights disagree
- Stock is guessed from the heap
- Collectors are paid from a cash book
Prefer to talk it through? See the recycling companies page.