Why is financial management within a TMS crucial for trucking companies?
Say goodbye to spreadsheets and switch
to a TMS that offers trucking templates
Spreadsheets are great when it comes to entering data, but not for tackling business problems in real time. Entering data into a free TMS template offered by various websites and adjusted by your team is easy and convenient, but why limit yourself when you have endless possibilities with Datatruck?
Should you stick to spreadsheets and their limited features or opt for a smart and simple TMS that offers trucking templates that match your business requirements? Spreadsheets are straightforward, but they aren't helpful when it comes to maintaining strong relationships and automating daily repetitive tasks.
The free Google Spreadsheet templates you have created may be just enough, but as your business grows, you'll encounter obvious problems and functional limitations. Datatruck enables you to do much more than just enter data; you can access numerous trucking sections customized for various types of departments, cases and freight industry to get a running start.
How are spreadsheets killing your team's productivity?
No quote-to-cash load visibility
With spreadsheets, it's hard for dispatch or accounting team to get a clear idea of how many loads they're currently working on and which stage of the pipeline a deal is currently in. Without real-time updates and visual representations of your operations, loads and payments are going to slip through the cracks.
Poor data organization
Yes, spreadsheets can store data, but that data is seldom organized efficiently. There's no way to establish a relational hierarchy of records within your system, which makes it difficult and time-consuming to access information.Yes, spreadsheets can store data, but that data is seldom organized efficiently. There's no way to establish a relational hierarchy of records within your system, which makes it difficult and time-consuming to access information.
No way to prevent duplicate entries
If you email or call the same load customer/broker twice, your reputation is sure to take a hit. And if you decide to stick with spreadsheets, you're also going to generate a substantial amount of duplicate entries.
Endless manual data entry
With spreadsheets, the struggle is real when it comes to entering records manually. There are always going to be instances where you need to bulk-edit a set of records (like adding a tag or updating a field)—something that just isn't possible with spreadsheets.
Security
In the age of a GDPR-compliant and privacy-first business culture, you simply cannot leave crucial customer data vulnerable in spreadsheets to be copied and exported by anyone with access.
Reasons why people moved away from spreadsheets:
22%
Killed my productivity
26%
Poor pipeline visibility
27%
Error-phone data
27%
Too much manual data entry
All these stats point to one thing: Spreadsheets are ineffective for small trucking businesses who actually want to excel. They deserve a better solution to help them do their jobs.