Transportation Brokerage Software: What It Is, Why You Need It

Whether you’re a truck broker or just interested in finding out more about the field, there are a few things you’ll need for long-term success.  You’ll have to have qualities like tact, determination, self-motivation, and a great work ethic.  Contacts with truckers and warehouse managers would be helpful as well.  And last but certainly not least, you should have transportation brokerage software.  Here’s why:

1. There’s a great deal of math and recordkeeping that comes with being a transportation broker.  You’ll need to stay on top of whose truck went where and picked up what, how many miles it was hauled, and what the agreed-upon fee was.  You’ll have to know how much to pay both Uncle Sam and your drivers, and how much you’re left with after all is said and done.
2. Staying on top of all these things is nearly impossible to do with a piece of paper and a pencil.  Pocket calculators can help, but make one tiny mistake and you can find yourself owing serious money to your clients or your drivers.  It doesn’t take a college degree to understand why that’s a terrible way to do business.
3. Transportation brokerage software can make your life a million times easier.  With it, keeping everything straight is a simple matter of entering information in a few fields on a computer screen.  Anyone with basic typing skills can use the software, and it will enable you to not only work quicker, but also more smoothly and accurately than your competition.

Of course, not every type of transportation brokerage software is the same.  Here are some features you should demand from whichever package you ultimately decide on.

1. It should be designed either by truckers or by professional truck brokers.  You see, there are plenty of great general-purpose business programs out there; Microsoft Office™ is perhaps the best known.  However, these packages don’t give transportation brokers the kinds of features and support they need.  So invest your money wisely; pick a brand that has specifically created tools for freight brokers like yourself.
2. It should be available online.  That simply means that you don’t need a disk to install it on your computer.  This offers many advantages, including:
   1. Instant updates whenever the software company adds a new feature.  You simply log onto the Internet and enjoy all the advantages the improved software has to offer.  There’s no need to buy new disks and go through the complicated, time-consuming process of uploading them onto your machine.
   2. Software disks are fragile, and can easily be lost, stolen, or damaged.  So whenever possible, it’s better to simply have your programs stored on the Internet, where they’re safe and secure.
   3. Not only are the programs themselves safer on the Internet than when kept on disks, but your confidential business information is as well.  This offers you protection from the dangers of information theft or disaster, and the exposures to legal liabilities that such theft or loss can cause you.
3. It should already be used and trusted by thousands of customers in the trucking and transportation brokerage businesses.  Why take a chance on a new product when you can have one that’s already proven itself to professionals who work in your field?

TruckingOffice Software: The Brand You Can Trust

We’re confident that our own product is quite simply the best of its kind on the market.  TruckingOffice is designed by truckers, for truckers; it has been tried, tested, and loved by other drivers; and the online interface is super simple to operate. But don’t take our word for it; go ahead and take it for a free, no-obligation 30-day test drive—we won’t even ask for your credit card or checking account information.  After that, if you haven’t fallen in love with what we’re confident is the best trucking business software out there, then just walk away.  It’s as simple as that.