CRM for trucking companies and fleets
Carriers usually have a TMS for loads and an ELD for hours, and still have one person doing everything else by hand. Driver documents expire without warning, settlements get disputed every week, and proof of delivery arrives as a photo in a group chat.
Where the generic CRM breaks:
Drivers are not contacts. A driver is a set of expiring documents, a pay agreement and an availability state. None of those exist on a generic contact record.
Settlements outside the system. Calculated in a spreadsheet and revealed on pay day, which is why they are argued about weekly.
Proof of delivery unstructured. A texted photograph proves very little. When a customer disputes, the carrier has no timestamped record to point at.
Compliance data reconstructed quarterly. IFTA and fuel reporting assembled from receipts after the fact, which is both slow and error-prone.
The data model that actually fits:
Driver document. Licence, medical and endorsements with expiry dates that escalate and block dispatch before the lapse rather than after.
Settlement. Built continuously from loads, deductions and advances, and visible to the driver during the week rather than at pay day.
Proof of delivery. Signature, photo, time and location captured against the load in a form that ends a billing dispute.
Load with margin. Revenue against fuel, driver pay and deadhead, so unprofitable lanes are visible while you can still stop running them.
Our verdict: Keep the TMS and the ELD; both are doing jobs you do not want to rebuild. Build driver compliance, settlements and structured proof of delivery. On a fleet under fifty trucks that is most of one person's week, and that person is your constraint.
Do we need this if we already have a TMS?
A TMS handles loads and dispatch. It generally does not handle driver document expiry, settlement transparency or the billing paperwork, which is where the office time actually goes.
How do you reduce settlement disputes?
Show the driver the statement as it builds rather than at pay day. Almost every dispute traces to a surprise deduction, and visibility during the week removes the surprise.
Why block dispatch on an expired document?
Because the exposure of a truck on the road that should not be is out of all proportion to the administrative saving. A block with a logged override keeps the dispatcher flexible while making the decision deliberate.
Is this viable for a small fleet?
Often more valuable, because a small carrier has one person doing all of it. Document tracking plus settlements is most of that person's week and the first thing to give when they are busy.
Last reviewed 22 August 2026