What’s the Best TMS Software for Your Trucking Company? Top 5 Picks for 2025

If you’re looking for the best trucking management software (TMS) for your trucking company, choose a tool that:

• Dispatchers and drivers actually want to use. A TMS should simplify your team's workflow with a centralized dashboard offering real-time visibility on unassigned loads, driver availability, and truck maintenance. If dispatch is too complicated, your team will likely ditch the system and go back to their previous process.

• Eliminates redundant data entry. Your TMS should allow load information to flow smoothly from planning to payment, eliminating the need to re-enter the same details multiple times. When dispatch creates a load, the same information should automatically be available for driver communications, customer invoicing, and settlement processing, saving time for your entire team, not just dispatchers.
  
  
• Matches your trucking company’s needs. The best TMS software isn’t one-size-fits-all. For instance, dry and liquid bulk haulers require specialized features for tonnage tracking and BOL management, while brokerages need advanced carrier vetting tools—features carriers don’t need. Choose a TMS that fits your specific needs and existing workflows.
  
  
• Integrates seamlessly with your existing tools. As a trucking company, you're likely using electronic logging devices (ELDs) for vehicle tracking or accounting software like QuickBooks for invoicing and payments. A good TMS connects natively to these third-party apps, avoiding extra manual data entry or costly custom integrations.
  
  
• Creates detailed reports for smarter business decisions. A reliable TMS goes beyond processing customer payments and driver pay. It should also offer reporting capabilities that provide actionable insights into your operations. These reports can highlight your most profitable runs, route optimization opportunities, and truck maintenance statuses to help reduce costs and grow your business.

In this guide, we compare five of the best TMS software for trucking companies. We start by sharing how bulk haulers can use our software, Toro TMS, to improve dispatch operations, minimize repeat data entry, and get better business visibility.

Tired of complicated trucking software? Book a demo today to see how Toro TMS can streamline your operations and help you grow your business without adding headcount. 

1. Toro TMS: The top TMS software for bulk haulers

In your trucking company, everything starts with dispatch. When dispatch runs smoothly, drivers stay on track with clear load assignments, customers receive on-time deliveries, and back-office work is completed faster. 

When dispatch is inefficient, it creates a ripple effect of problems downstream. For example, drivers sit idle waiting for late load details, or your accounting team scrambles to input billing information from manual document submissions. 

The only way to solve these inefficiencies is to use a TMS that eliminates repeat data entry and automates the load management process. 

With the right TMS, you'll enter the initial load details once, and that load will move downstream—from dispatch to invoicing—without having to enter the same data twice. If you’re a bulk hauler managing multiple loads per truck daily, this can save you hours of manual data entry.

But for you to benefit, your software must be intuitive and easy to use for both dispatchers and drivers—something most TMS solutions fail to deliver.

That's why Toro TMS focuses on simple, driver-friendly dispatch tools that prevent these issues before they arise. Our dispatch trucking software is built for bulk haulers looking to minimize data entry while successfully tracking and managing multiple loads per truck each day. 

Specifically, Toro TMS allows you to:

• Build reusable load templates for repeat pickups and deliveries, so you don’t have to enter data for repeat orders.
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• Assign loads in seconds using the drag-and-drop calendar, with live visibility into driver availability, current or upcoming tasks, and truck maintenance.
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• Speed up billing by pulling load details straight into your invoices—no need to re-enter data. 
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• Gain real-time visibility over your trucks and loads by integrating with ELDs. 
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• And much more.

Below, we cover these features in more detail. We’ll show you how Toro TMS helps simplify your dispatching process while reducing the time your teams spend on back-office tasks. 

Automate dispatching & load assignment to get trucks on the road faster

For many trucking companies, dispatching and load assignment is still a manual, time-consuming process. 

Typically, a customer calls with a job request, and dispatchers scramble to organize the details using pen and paper, whiteboards, or spreadsheets. Then, they piece together driver availability, manually assign loads, and text drivers one by one with instructions.

Even with software, trucking companies often find themselves re-entering the same details four to five times for each load—from dispatch to the back office. What’s more, they frequently need to build repeat loads from scratch every time. 

For bulk haulers, this means repeatedly entering the same origin points, destinations, material types, and rate structures, despite handling the same routes for the same customers daily.

With Toro TMS, you eliminate all repetitive data entry. Create a load once, and it can be reused for future repeat loads. This is done from the main dispatch dashboard, where users can: 

• Create load templates for regular orders, so there’s no need to enter the same information twice. Add the customer, locations, rates, and any other required details. Information will be saved and reused on all future orders when the template is selected.
  
  
• Find available drivers for load assignments in real-time along with your unassigned loads. Stop relying on a manual system to track driver schedules or reaching out to each driver individually. Toro offers an easier way to dispatch, allowing you to see where drivers are and what their schedules look like.
  
  
• Stay updated on load statuses by syncing each truck’s ELD with your TMS to track delivery statuses and predict potential delays. You can also use this to provide customers with live tracking updates in our customer portal. 

Load information, driver assignments, and delivery statuses are all updated in real-time. 

Any changes—such as a customer rate increase—automatically populate downstream to accounting, allowing invoices to be issued without reentering data. Plus, with ELD integration, trucks are tracked in real time, providing dispatchers with live visibility over drivers’ progress and the miles they drive. 

Simplify driver communication & document uploads with automated text messages

Using paper tickets causes delays and headaches. Invoicing and payroll teams must wait for drivers to return scale tickets before manually scanning them into the system. 

This results in slower customer payments, wastes staff time on driver settlements, and piles of physical documents. 

To solve this, some teams use mobile apps or online portals for drivers to upload documents. However, drivers often resist these options due to their complexity and continue using paper instead.

With Toro, driver communications are done through text message, as most drivers prefer. Once they’ve created and assigned a load, dispatchers can automatically generate a message with all the details drivers need, as well as a unique URL for document uploads—no downloads or sign-ins required. This system makes it easier for drivers to receive load information, stay connected with dispatch, and upload necessary documents without using a mobile app.

Drivers can access the portal right from their text message to quickly snap and upload photos of their BOLs or scale tickets for instant submission. That means all the relevant documentation is instantly available to the billing team—so accounting can send out invoices faster and you can get paid sooner.

Quickly generate & batch-send invoices for faster payments

If you’re using a manual ticketing system, your accounting team must track down and re-enter details after a load is delivered to create customer invoices and process driver settlements. 

Even with a TMS, you may still need to review loads for relevant details, such as:

• BOL/PO numbers to match loads with customer orders and verify delivery.
• Tonnages to calculate billing rates and confirm load weights.
• Miles driven reports to determine driver pay and fuel costs for each trip.

With Toro TMS, all of these details are already in the system and available to your invoicing team. BOL references are extracted directly from the documentation submitted by drivers, while tonnage information is pulled through from the load you built at dispatch. 

Instead of having to re-enter this information, Toro populates your invoices automatically with the required details (customer email, PO #, Addresses, BOL #, etc.) and lets you create them in bulk. Just click “Create invoices” when you’re ready. 

Sync your invoices, payroll & IFTA data directly with QuickBooks

Calculating driver pay requires managing multiple payment methods, fuel deductions, and state mileage tracking. Most trucking companies waste hours each week manually reviewing loads, calculating route-based pay, and factoring in fuel costs just to process payroll.

Toro TMS automates the entire driver payment process by maintaining detailed driver profiles that specify payment methods (per mile, per load, or hourly), along with their availability and HR information. The system automatically applies these pay rules to each completed load, while pulling in fuel card transactions and calculating net earnings.

What’s more, Toro automatically tracks miles driven in each state and combines this data with fuel transactions to give you an instant, accurate calculation for your IFTA declarations. This eliminates the need to manually add up the miles driven in each state for every load and truck.

Once driver settlements and IFTA reports are ready, they can be synced directly to QuickBooks with a single click or exported to other payroll providers. The system maps all charge types to the correct QuickBooks items and general ledger accounts.

Read more: QuickBooks trucking software: How to save 70% of time on back-office tasks

Track maintenance schedules & prevent unexpected downtime

Managing service intervals across an entire fleet with spreadsheets or paper records is a headache, especially for fleets with more than 10 trucks on the road at a time. 

To keep your fleet on the road, Toro TMS incorporates maintenance tracking directly into the dashboard. For instance, you can set custom maintenance intervals based on your fleet's specific needs, such as changing the air filter every 10,000 miles or a full service every 35,000 miles.

Because our trucking management software tracks both mileage-based and time-based maintenance requirements, you'll never miss a service interval. Dispatchers receive automatic alerts when attempting to assign trucks that are due (or overdue) for maintenance. 

Plus, each truck has its own detailed profile where you can track service history, upcoming maintenance needs, and associated operational costs. This view helps users monitor expenses at the vehicle level and make informed decisions about equipment replacement or repairs.

Uncover actionable, industry-specific insights into your trucking operations

Toro TMS not only automates critical processes within your trucking operations but also makes it easier to understand your performance, efficiency, and key financial metrics like revenue, expenses, and profitability.

By bringing all of your business’s load, dispatch, and financial data into one place, Toro’s advanced reporting helps you to:

• Identify profitability drivers: Analyze revenue and costs by truck, driver, customer, or load to pinpoint what’s boosting your bottom line.
  
  
• Reduce empty miles: Automate mileage tracking, identify empty miles, and uncover trucking-specific insights to better optimize route planning and decision-making.
  
  
• View your company's financial summary: Create tailored reports for the metrics most important to you, such as commodity-specific cost savings or seasonal revenue trends.

Ready to cut your time spent on back-office tasks by 70%? Book a demo today to see how Toro TMS can help your trucking company. 

2. Turvo: A TMS software for brokerages and hybrid logistics

Turvo is a collaborative logistics management platform designed for freight brokerages, 3PLs, and hybrid logistics operations. 

Its intuitive interface enables real-time communication between all supply chain participants. Meanwhile, its extensive integration capabilities make it particularly valuable for companies managing complex networks of carriers, shippers, and partners.

Turvo's key features include:

• End-to-end visibility with real-time shipment tracking
• Automated order-to-shipment workflows
• Digital load board integration
• Personalized alerts and notifications for team members
• Mobile driver app and portal

Turvo TMS pricing starts at $5,000 per month. 

3. Ascend TMS: A TMS for very small companies

Ascend TMS is another cloud-based transportation management system for trucking companies, but it specifically caters to small carriers and owner-operators just getting started with TMS software.

The stripped-down interface and basic freight management tools make it an accessible entry point for teams transitioning away from spreadsheets and paper-based systems. However, it won’t provide the functionality of more complete solutions. 

While it does lack some advanced features — like real-time updates and tracking — it still has plenty to offer. Some notable features include: 

• Basic load planning and dispatch
• Standard accounting integrations
• Document scanning and storage
• Driver pay and IFTA reports

Ascend TMS offers a 30-day free trial with its three pricing tiers:

• Basic: $49/user/month
• Premium: $99/user/month
• Pro: $149/user/month

4. Truckbase: A TMS software for LTL and heavy haul

Truckbase is a TMS offering dispatch, invoicing, driver settlement, and ELD vehicle tracking. It specializes in serving long-haul carriers and those managing partial or less-than-truckload loads. 

Key Truckbase features include:

• Dispatch system that separates out trips and orders, so you can better manage, combine, and track LTL and partial loads. 
• GPS-based load tracking, so you can inform customers with accurate ETAs.
• Integrations with 30+ ELDs.
• Profitability analysis tools (coming soon). 

Truckbase pricing starts at $290 per month, billed annually, with a volume-based pricing model.

5. McLeod: TMS software solutions for enterprise trucking companies

McLeod is a comprehensive enterprise-level transportation management software with specialized features for large-scale trucking companies managing fleets across multiple terminals.

The platform's high level of customization is the most appealing feature for companies running hundreds of trucks that require sophisticated business intelligence tools for driver management. However, you might find that its user experience is a little dated.

Other McLeod key features include: 

• Advanced business intelligence reporting
• Multi-company financial management
• Terminal-to-terminal operations control
• EDI integration functionality
• Enterprise-grade security controls
• Complex workflow automation
• Carrier relationship management
• Custom API development options

As an enterprise solution, McLeod doesn’t disclose pricing. However, new customers can expect implementation costs to start at $100,000+ with ongoing licensing and customer support fees. 

Reduce data entry and grow your trucking fleet with Toro TMS, the best TMS software for bulk haulers

In this guide, we've outlined the top TMS features you'll need for trucking success. Most importantly, look for a software that serves your specific type of trucking company—and that provides a dispatch your teams will love.

If you're a bulk hauler looking for a trucking management software, Toro TMS is the perfect fit. It's a user-friendly platform that helps you:

• Dispatch loads quickly with clear driver visibility.
• Reduce data entry with reusable load templates.
• Sync operations seamlessly from dispatch to accounting.

Ready to see how Toro TMS can grow your trucking business? Book a demo today!