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Owner operator TMS: what you actually need

A one truck business has no office, so its software has to live on the phone. It needs your loads and invoices, your receipts for tax time, your papers with their dates, and help when the truck breaks down. A fleet TMS with a dispatch board is more than you need.

Updated

What an owner operator needs

  • Loads: the rate con turned into a load with its stops, times, rate and miles.
  • Invoices: sent the day of delivery, or straight to factoring. See how factoring works.
  • Receipts: fuel, tolls, repairs and scales filed as you go, not in a shoebox in April.
  • Your numbers: rate per mile, cost per mile and what you actually kept. See cost per mile.
  • Papers: CDL, medical card, registration, insurance and permits, with a reminder before each one runs out.
  • Help on a breakdown: truck shops, tows and mobile mechanics near you. See finding a truck mechanic.

What you can skip

A dispatch board, driver pay statements, user roles and fleet reports are built for an office with several trucks. They add screens without adding money for one truck. Pick software that lets you add them later if you hire a driver, so you do not start over.

Leased on or your own authority

Leased onto a carrier, the carrier books the loads and pays you a settlement, so you mostly need receipts, papers and your own numbers. On your own authority you also invoice brokers, chase payments and file your own IFTA, so loads and invoices matter as much as receipts. See IFTA explained.

Questions

Do owner operators need a TMS?

Not a full fleet TMS. They need the parts of one that fit on a phone: loads, invoices, receipts, papers and their own numbers.

What records should an owner operator keep?

Every rate con, BOL and POD, every invoice and payment, fuel and expense receipts, and miles by state for IFTA. Ask your tax adviser how long to keep each; IFTA records are kept for four years.

Can I start alone and add a driver later?

With software built for it, yes. Look for one where your loads, receipts and papers carry over when you add a driver.

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