Tailwind TMS Trucking Review: Features & Pricing

• Deciding Factors
• Best For

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• Tailwind TMS From $165 monthly

• QuickBooks Online (with RLS integration) From $30 monthly

• RigBooks From $19 monthly

The A/R module allows you to create and send invoices to your clients and even print them if needed. Once an order is completed, administrators will be notified and can easily send the invoice from the Invoice list. The invoice list displays all orders that are completed but not yet posted.

To process the invoice, select the invoice from the list and click on the “Approved” toggle on the left side of the invoice entry. If you wish to review the invoice details before sending, simply click the blue “〇” button next to the toggle button.

After selecting the invoice to process, there are three ways to proceed:

1. Transmit Only: Print, email, or send a copy of the invoice electronically.
2. Post Only: Post the invoice without printing it.
3. Transmit & Post: Print or send a copy of the invoice and then post all checked orders.

When you post an invoice, Tailwind TMS will create an entry in the Receivables list, waiting for payment from your customer. If you post an invoice without transmitting it, then make sure to send the customer through another channel.

When an order is completed, all expenses associated with that order will show up in the Bill Posting module, just like how invoices appear on the Invoices list. While you can post the invoice along with the related bills, you can post a bill separately, particularly if it’s not associated with an order—whether it’s an office expense or employee wage.

To create a new standalone bill, go to the Payables list and then click on the Create button to bring up the Create Bill page.

On the Create Bill screen, you must provide the necessary details, such as the appropriate bill type, the vendor, and the bill date.

You can also see the bills waiting to be posted from the Bill Posting module. These bills include those from completed orders and those that have been recorded as standalone bills. To review or edit the bill details, click on the blue “〇” button, and if you wish to post the bill, click on the Post button on the top of the screen.

Tailwind TMS lets users:

• Create orders for your customers, representing where the load is picked up and delivered to
• Charge customers basic freight charges or fuel surcharges
• Track sales commissions, carrier partner pay, and company driver pay by the mile, by the hour, or by owner-operator revenue splitting

Its design allows for a wide variety of approaches to moving cargo. Whether you have a customer who needs multiple shipments delivered simultaneously, requires the swapping of carriers midroute, or falls under any other variation, the software can assist you with keeping everything on track.

What’s more, you and your customers will receive email notifications alerting you when a load has been picked up or delivered. You can also copy an existing order for customers who always want the same shipment delivered so that you don’t have to enter the same information repeatedly.

To create a new order in Tailwind TMS, go to the Orders list and click on the Create button. The “Order Creation” table shows up, asking you to select the customer you’re creating the order for. You’ll also need to provide shipment details and revenue lines.

For trucking companies, it’s essential to keep track of their equipment, such as tractors and trailers. Tailwind TMS provides the tools you need to manage and maintain your equipment, including the ability to track their location, who’s using them, and when they need maintenance.

You can view the list of your equipment records from the Equipment List menu. To add a new equipment record, simply click on the Create Equipment button and complete the “Create Equipment” form as shown below.

Some of the fields you need to complete include the unit type, owner, certification information, weights and measurements, and purchase details. Once you have provided all the necessary details, click the Create button to finish.

Tailwind’s Fuel Import tool allows you to import fuel invoices directly from vendors into the system instead of entering them manually. The tool generates a bill automatically for the fuel vendor while also recording fuel stops to your equipment records.

However, note that before you can use the Fuel Import tool, you need to set up fuel expense items to allocate your costs and related items, such as fuel, cash advance, oil and additives, fuel transaction fee, and fuel rebates.

Small and midsize shipping companies rarely have enough staff to stay on top of all their personnel and equipment compliance issues—and Tailwind TMS allows you to store compliance details in specific records.

When you set up your company drivers or owner-operator drivers, you can track compliance details, such as Hazmat certificates, the expiration of medical exams, and the last time you did an annual driver record review. The platform also tracks commercial driver’s licenses and their related expiration dates.

You also monitor all compliances on equipment records, such as safety inspections or IFTA renewal dates. You can even keep comprehensive preventative maintenance schedules for the servicing of your vehicles. The software will remind you automatically when a compliance item is due, helping you to avoid costly violations.

The Enterprise and Unlimited subscription plans allow you to set up a self-service portal for your customers and carriers. The Customer portal grants your customers access to information about their accounts, shipments, and invoices. They can also use the portal to request quotes or even place orders directly, which saves you time.

The Carrier portal is a tool that allows your carriers to have limited visibility into the parts of your Tailwind TMS database that directly relate to your business with them: available loads, shipments you have dispatched, and information regarding current and past-due payables. This allows for quicker and more efficient communication between you and your carriers.

Tailwind TMS can act as a CRM platform for your business. It allows you to track your customers, keep comprehensive credit information, and make notes on when sales calls were made. You can generate a customized report that summarizes this data for review.

Tailwind TMS helps you manage orders, invoicing, and receivables. You can:

• Capture and manage shipper and shipment details, such as appointment times and pickup and delivery windows, quickly and easily
• Pull information from orders to create dispatches—or create a standalone dispatch and then choose a carrier partner to move the load

Once a dispatch is created, you can send a trip manifest to your driver’s cellphone. If you’re using a carrier partner, you can send an electronic load confirmation to them with pickup city, delivery city, and rate details.

You can find the order you wish to dispatch from the Order list, shown below.

Preconfigured reports allow you to see the overall health of your business quickly and which customers are most profitable. There are over 40 built-in reports, which give you the ability to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) easily. There is also an option to use advanced search to apply multiple filter parameters, which gives you the flexibility to pull the reports you need.

Here are some examples of available reports:

• Administrative: A/R Aging Summary, A/P Aging Summary, Trial Balance, Transaction List by Customer, and Expense Item Summary
• Sales: Revenue by Sales Rep Detail, Profit by Account Rep Detail, Profit by Invoice, Number Loads Per Account Rep, and Number Loads by Sales Rep
• Operations: Profit by Customer Detail, Profit by Trip, Quote to Order Percent, Driver Miles, and Bill of Lading Details
• Equipment: Miles Per Truck Detail, Shipment Delivery Dates, Fuel Per Mile, Fuel Purchased by State, and Revenue Per Mile

Tailwind TMS Dispatcher Dashboard
(Source: Tailwind Management Software)

• Breakdown
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• General Accounting Features
• Trucking-specific Features
• Ease of Use
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• User Reviews