Freight brokers are master jugglers. They have to juggle finding and dispatching loads, locating carriers, tracking shipments, processing payroll, sending out invoices, and the list goes on. With all of that juggling, it’s not surprising that a ball or two will occasionally hit the ground. But they don’t have to.
In order to be successful in the fast-paced freight broker business, you need freight management software to do the juggling for you. But which one do you choose? The answer depends on your individual needs and your available budget. An effective TMS (Transportation Management Software) will streamline the whole process, allowing your business to grow.
Fortunately for today’s freight broker, there are a lot of choices for a good TMS, each with their own various features and price points. Gone are the days of expensive software that you load onto your possibly compatible computer only to have to endure costly upgrades every few months. Most freight broker software today are web-based and cloud-based, allowing you to access the software and your information from any device at any location and because they’re subscription services, you’re not roped into a lengthy expensive commitment.
Best Freight Software Today
With this software you can quote, book, organize, invoice, and manage loads. Its straightforward interface allows you to fax or email invoices, provides overviews of weekly and daily activities, search their Master Carrier Database of over 160,000 carriers across the country. It has an accounting ledger, personal calendar, and more.
Strategy Systems software includes trucking dispatch, fuel tax, billing payroll, driver logs, mapping, shipment tracking and vehicle maintenance. Its easy-to-use interface features a broker board, load info screen with pay tab, billing screen, and a settlement screen that integrates with Quickbooks.
From the dashboard, the broker can access a number of tools to automate daily tasks. The software is scalable so it can be used whether your operation is big or small. Its simplified interface allows you to streamline your accounting activities and see all your shipments, has easy document management, and secure backups.
This software has all of the usual tools that help you to increase the efficiency of your freight brokerage operation but also includes a handy customer portal that allows your customer to track and rate shipments as well as a sales portal that gives your sales reps the ability to create quotes, dispatch loads, and track shipments.
Rose Rocket’s freight software provides real-time shipment visibility, real-time invoices and settlement, real-time chat function, and has a handy mobile app. It has a sleek interface and is easy to manage for any sized company. It’s easy to use, from the initial quote to the completed invoice.
This supply chain management software (SCM) is a good fit for any sized business. It has many of the usual features of this kind of software and includes GPS tracking to track your carriers on an integrated map. One of its key features is its driver payroll function which allows you to pay drivers using different payment structures (per mile, hour, pallet, ton).
Most freight broker software companies allow you to see a demo on their websites, and some have trial offers so you can get the feel of the software before you commit to using the service. Look for one that has all of the features you need, doesn’t force you to sift through features you don’t and feels comfortable to use.
The competition in the freight broker industry is fierce. For freight brokers to keep up, they must find the right software to simplify their work and give them an edge over the competition. Automation is the key to success and will help keep those juggling balls in the air.
Do your homework and examine several TMSs to find one with the right features for you. Most TMSs do not include load boards but rather are designed to integrate with top load boards like Direct Freight to make the entire shipping process smooth and efficient.
At Direct Freight, we make it easy for freight brokers to find loads or to find trucks to carry loads and we are fully integrated with many of today’s most popular freight brokerage software. You can even try us out free for 14 days. Call us today at (888)894-4198 or go to DirectFreight.com to find out more about our services.