One thing you won’t find at DockMaster is the notion that it was founded by folks who stumbled into the marine industry as a way to make a quick buck. The founders have extensive experience in the marina trade, combined with a rich background in software development. Thus, DockMaster’s software for marine professionals covers all aspects of a marine business, because no company understands those needs more.
President Cam Collins, for openers, was a pioneer in information technology, having extensive knowledge in web content management, application program interfaces and other disciplines, even working with cloud-based systems before the term became popular in the online world. DockMaster was formed in 1984, upon Collins acquiring DockMaster in 2003 he had already been working on products targeting the marina market. The creation of the company had already solidified DockMaster as the first creator of a totally comprehensive software management system built exclusively for the marine industry.
“DockMaster has been running marine businesses for over 25 years,” said company lead developer Adam Noble. “It was written as a marine industry product from day one not some parallel product that was adapted to fit marinas. Many of the ideas for DockMaster’s features and functionality come directly from industry professionals that have used our product.”
DockMaster’s Recent Upgrades
Those same industry professionals not only loved the product, they also wanted to see further changes. DockMaster’s willingness to listen and its extensive knowledge of the industry enabled them to come up with an Ideas Portal, created in 2018. The portal not only earned kudos for generating consumer-specific solutions, it even scored a Top Product award from Boating Industry.
Changes like an improved scheduler allowing easier access to appointment times and a mobile app that included Time Clock and Time Card improvements ensured users were able to check assignments without being chained to a desktop. Another innovation, the FuelCloud management system, created greater efficiencies in handling energy sources by extensive tracking of consumption using a wide range of variables beyond price and quantity. SpeedyDock’s introduction and integration with DockMaster synchronizes such information as launch schedules, inventory, order forms and other source documents to cut down on the tedium of double-entry bookkeeping to generate instantaneous results for each transaction. Last, but not least, Swift Harbour takes all the guesswork out of transient moorage with a comprehensive system that takes account of all bookings.
All of these improvements ramped with over the last year were the result of feedback from customers looking for more features in their marine software that would be more of a fit for their own businesses. DockMaster’s technical staff fully realizes that no two marinas are alike and that a basic software program will suit a wide range of needs. The innovations are a testament to DockMaster’s ability to fully comprehend the changing demands of a further fluctuating market.
Our software’s improvements and upgrades have been enhanced by utilizing the Ideas Portal, which became a major source to view customer requests. DockMaster staff previously had to figure out what was needed in the marketplace. With feedback from our valued customers, the front lines of the marketplace who directly impact what is needed for their own operations, the Ideas Portal provided a more concrete way to address those demands.
Conclusion
While DockMaster was set up specifically for the marine market, as opposed to users relying on more generic management software that could be adapted for marinas, one company staff member was astounded over how it was able to cover all areas like what he witnessed in another sector.
“I spent time in the automotive industry and each department in a business had their own software, aside from maybe sharing a Parts program,” remarked Dockmaster IT Support employee James Pate. “To me when I started, that was what impressed me the most, and it still impresses me.”
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DockMaster Software is an industry leading management system for marinas, boatyards, and boat dealerships. DockMaster includes Unit Sales, Prospecting and F&I with fully integrated financial management and numerous integrations with CRM applications, dealer websites and text/messaging services. The Service module includes estimating, labor tracking, and complete parts management with ordering/receiving, subcontractor fulfillment and invoicing. DockMaster Mobile allows technicians to clock on/off jobs from any mobile device. Visual Marina™ management includes storage & billing, occupancy tracking, reservations and dry stack management, including integrations to leading consumer applications for boat rentals, online reservations, concierge/launch scheduling and our new Fuel Integration with FuelCloud. DockMaster also includes Point of Sale, Order Entry with eCommerce and a complete accounting system. Learn more at www.DockMaster.com and follow DockMaster on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Or email info@dockmaster.com
