Broker Load Entry + Dispatch Features You Should Expect in a TMS
The best broker workflows eliminate re-typing. Capture load details once, validate required fields, reuse templates, and push the same data into dispatch, docs, billing, and reporting automatically.
Fast Load Entry
- Customer + lane templates for repeat freight
- Required field validation (PO, pickup #, ref #)
- Multi-stop load entry and appointment windows
- Clone loads and build from saved templates
Coverage Workflow
- Coverage statuses: open → quoting → covered
- Carrier assignment and contact history
- Carrier notes, lane preferences, internal ratings
- Exception logging (fall-offs, late arrivals)
Dispatch + Docs
- Rate confirmation generation and send
- Dispatch instructions and stop-level notes
- POD/BOL upload and document checklists
- Billing-ready packet creation
Visibility + Margin
- Status updates and optional tracking visibility
- Automated alerts for delays and exceptions
- Margin per load, lane, and customer
- Exportable reports for accounting
Common broker outcomes: fewer load entry errors, faster coverage, cleaner paperwork, faster invoicing, and clearer margin control.
Load Entry Built for Speed (Without Sacrificing Accuracy)
Load entry should feel like a workflow, not a form. Standardize the fields your team needs, auto-fill what you already know, and prevent bad data before it becomes a service failure.
- Auto-fill shipper/receiver addresses from saved locations
- Stop-level instructions (dock rules, contact names, reference requirements)
- Required fields that prevent “missing PO” and “missing pickup #” issues
- Quick add accessorials (detention, TONU, lumper) with documentation rules
Quoting, Rate History & Standardized Pricing
Faster quoting = faster load entry. Store historical rates by lane and customer, apply rules consistently, and reduce pricing mistakes that hurt margin.
- Customer-specific rate history and lane averages
- Quick quote tools tied to order details
- Target margin guidance (optional)
- Approval workflow for out-of-bounds pricing (optional)
Coverage Workflow: From Open Load to Covered
Keep coverage organized with clear statuses, carrier records, and communication history. When everything is tied to the load, your team reduces fall-offs and handles exceptions faster.
- Coverage statuses: open, offered, negotiating, covered
- Carrier profiles: contacts, lane preferences, notes, performance history
- Carrier requirements: insurance, W-9, carrier packet (as needed)
- Fall-off tracking and reason codes for continuous improvement
Add your exact compliance checks based on what your system supports (authority status, insurance expiration, etc.).
Rate Confirmations & Broker Dispatch Execution
Once a load is covered, dispatch should be automatic: generate the rate confirmation, include clear instructions, and maintain an audit trail of revisions.
- Rate confirmation generation from load data
- Stop instructions, appointment windows, and special handling notes
- Send confirmations via email/portal with timestamps (as supported)
- Revision history and approval controls
Tracking, Milestone Updates & Proactive Alerts
Reduce check calls by standardizing milestones and surfacing exceptions early. Tracking (where enabled) creates shipper confidence and helps your team manage by exception.
- Milestones: dispatched, arrived, loaded, departed, delivered
- Optional location visibility and ETA updates (when enabled)
- Delay alerts and exception reason logging
- Customer update log tied to each load
Docs, POD & Billing-Ready Packets
Brokers get paid when paperwork is complete. Attach POD/BOL and receipts to the load, enforce customer-specific doc checklists, and hand billing a complete packet—fast.
- POD/BOL uploads and document checklists by customer
- Auto-attach documents to the correct load
- Proof for accessorials (detention, lumper, TONU) with attachments
- Billing packet exports and audit trails
Margin Reporting: Control Profit Per Load, Lane & Customer
Load entry and dispatch should feed margin visibility automatically. Track customer revenue, carrier costs, accessorials, and adjustments to understand true profitability and optimize lanes.
- Gross margin per load with cost breakdown
- Lane profitability and customer rankings
- Carrier cost history and service performance notes
- Exportable reporting for accounting and forecasting
Ready to Upgrade Broker Dispatch and Load Entry?
Standardize load creation, speed up coverage, reduce check calls, and produce billing-ready paperwork—inside a broker-ready TMS.
- Enter loads faster with templates and validation
- Cover loads faster with structured coverage workflows
- Track milestones and exceptions in real time
- Improve margin control with per-load profitability reporting
Replace sales@example.com and the canonical URL with your real contact + page URL.