Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for logistics and transport companies.
A checklist built from how logistics and transport 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.
- Booking and consignment note
- Trucks, drivers and papers
- Trip sheet and settlement
- POD capture on the phone
- Freight rates and quotations
- Freight billing and truck hire payments
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For the booking counter
- For traffic and dispatch staff
- For drivers
- For accounts staff
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Consignments booked by party, route and hub, with groupage shares shown
- Trip profit and loss by lorry, after diesel, toll, tarpaulin and hire
- Freight and demurrage outstanding by party and age
- To-pay collections pending with drivers and depots
- Diesel drawn and mileage by lorry and route
- Attached lorry hire and backhaul payable by broker
- Vehicle papers falling due for renewal
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- Payment links and gateway
- Accounting export, scoped separately
- GPS tracking devices
- Toll tag statements
- Barcode or label printer
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can we book full loads and part loads together?
- Can attached lorries be handled along with our own?
- How is delivery proof recorded?
- How is to-pay and monthly contract freight billed?
- Does it generate or update the transport permit?
- Can a branch book a consignment when the line is down?
- Can lorries be shown on a map?
- Will it work out the profit and loss on a trip?
- Can the figures reach our accounting software?
- What does it cost, and do we need it with four lorries?
- How soon could the booking counter issue lorry receipts here?
- What should the traffic desk and accounts hand over?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Billing waits for PODs
- Trip expenses are guesswork
- Hired-in truck payments get messy
- Customers call for status all day
Prefer to talk it through? See the logistics and transport companies page.