Tailwind Trucking Dispatch and Fleet Management Software for Carriers
Tailwind CMS for trucking dispatch, fleet maintenance, and carrier management provides your transportation business the tools it needs to efficiently grow, and operate in the best; and most cost effective way possible. Read More
Creating & Managing Quotes
- Convert quotes to orders automatically.
- Generate follow-up reminders for expiring quotes.
- Obtain carrier rates for specific quotes.
- Send carrier quote requests directly over fax or email.
- Search and sort quotes by a wide range of criteria.
- Create complex quotes with multiple delivery locations and rates.
- Order and Quote Templates.
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Creating & Managing Orders
- Order templates for convenient generation of new orders.
- Colour-coded filter to view shipment status at a glance.
- Unlimited pickups and drops per order.
- Link to associated dispatches directly from orders and shipments.
- Automatic invoicing upon delivery of last shipment.
- View available customer credit from the order, quickly and easily.
- Record proof of delivery date for each order.
- Fuel surcharges and taxes are supported.
- Easy US-Canadian currency exchange.
- Custom brokers and border crossings can be tracked throughout the system.
- Order and Quote Templates.
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Dispatching Software
- Company Driver and Brokered Carrier Dispatch.
- Cross-Docking.
- Tractor/Trailer Switching.
- Tractor and Trailer Tracking.
- Flexible and intuitive.
- Dispatch Wizard makes frequent loads for regular customers quick and accurate.
- Graphical weight and trailer capacity for easy load planning.
- Full Load and LTL support.
- Precisely tracks mileage, trailer capacity, scheduled and actual pickup and delivery times, switches and hours for driver pay.
- Print, fax, or email standard forms like Driver Trip Manifests, Brokered Load Confirmations, and Bills of Lading.
- Revenue, expense and profitability automatically calculated and tracked on every dispatch.
- Automatic driver pay.
- Routing maps supported for both ProMiles™ and PCMiler™.
- Alerts can be set up to notify dispatchers with details on customers, equipment, carriers and vendors.
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Details for Vendors and Carriers
- A wealth of details can be recorded, such as current and historical activity, credit terms, lanes of operation, equipment types, and cargo and liability insurance, etc.
- Storing various types of vendors in one place.
- Vendor rating system.
- Alerts can be set up to notify operations and accounting staffs on bills and dispatches for specific vendors or carriers.
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General Personnel Information
- From contact information to preferred currency, a wide range of details can be recorded for employees.
- Specific roles and personnel groups can be assigned to better manage your employees.
- Multi-level security settings can be configured to allow or prevent access to specific areas of the program, either on a per-user basis or for groups of individuals using the security setting templates.
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Employee & Driver Information
- Additional details such as SINs and health insurance numbers can be recorded.
- Notes can be logged to create a detailed employment history.
- Driver-specific information can be stored, and reminders can be set up for license and certificate expiries.
- User-defined fields and communication settings can also be added to suit your specific needs.
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General Customer Information
- Specific details for customers to best describe and categorize every single one.
- Unlimited number of contacts can be assigned to each customer.
- Alerts can be set up to notify operations and accounting staffs on quotes, orders, and invoices for specific customers.
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Equipment Management
- Automatically track current truck positions through normal dispatch operations without manual data entry.
- Schedule upcoming service and maintenance and set reminders.
- Track service and maintenance expenditures.
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Integrated Load Planning
- A click-and-drop interface for planning your shipment loads with individual trailers.
- Customizable "virtual trailers" allow for efficient and accurate load planning.
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Integrated Load Matching
- Ability to post available loads online.
- Ability to have carriers post available trucks.
- Automatically match available loads with available trucks.
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Shipment Tracking
- A complete listing of live shipments.
- Colour-coded based upon their delivery status.
- A snapshot of a shipment's details.
- Pickup and delivery locations.
- Details of the dispatch(es) moving the shipment.
- Billing amounts.
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Invoicing & Accounts Receivable
- Schedule upcoming service and maintenance and set reminders.
- Supports US and Canadian currencies.
- Receivables age automatically from invoice printed or POD date.
- Reminder statements can be automatically faxed to customers with overdue accounts.
- Incoming Cheque Wizard makes payment entries quick and accurate.
- Printable bank deposit forms.
- Fully customizable receivable charge types.
- Powerful search filters.
- Print, fax or email standard account forms.
- Integration with popular accounting packages such as QuickBooks™ and Simply Accounting™.
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Bills & Account Payables
- Fully customizable payable charge types.
- Powerful search filters.
- Integration with popular accounting packages such as QuickBooks™ and Simply Accounting™.
- Driver trip, expense processing and settlement reports.
- Easy check run capabilities.
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Customer Credit Information
- Detailed information is available to make an instant credit assessment.
- Credit status is automatically updated to consider current available credit, A/R, trade reporting, collections, profitability and pay history.
- Credit control prevents orders to be dispatched if credit is not approved or alternative payment has not been arranged.
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Available payment methods
- Actual rate per mile (within North America, within Canada only, or within US only).
- Contract rate per mile.
- Different rates for empty miles vs. loaded miles.
- Percentage of revenue or profit.
- Rate per hour.
- Rate per drop.
- Different rates for team situations.
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Reports & Customizations
- Various reports, lists and tools providing vital profitability and activity information improve management analysis and decision-making dramatically.
- Customized reports available for your specific needs (subject to additional fee).
- Build your own reports with Crystal Reports.
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Data History
- Automatically logs "who", "what", and "when" for all records that are created, modified, or deleted.
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POD & Document Import
- Ability to import hundreds of scanned Proof-Of-Delivery (POD) images into your CMS database with one step.
- POD images can be stored in any digital format that your computer can open (i.e. JPG, BMP, PDF, etc).
- Each POD image is attached to the order that it relates to, so that users can view related POD images from the order form with just a few clicks.
- Imported POD images can be downloaded by users on your online web-tracking site (** Optional module, extra charges may apply).
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Accounting
Trucking software developers are experts in trucking, not accounting, so purchasing dispatch software with a built-in General Ledger is asking for problems. At Tailwind, we prefer to leave accounting software to the experts, and allow users to export their critical financial data into a professional accounting software package. If you're still not convinced, consider these facts:
- Accounting software companies, such as Intuit (Quickbooks), Sage (Accpac), and Microsoft Dynamics (Great Plains), are primarily focused on building high quality accounting software. Trucking software companies are primarily focused on building high quality dispatch software. Who would you rather trust with your business-critical financial data?
- When applying for a large business loan or line of credit, banks will often ask what accounting software your company uses. If you use an accounting add-on for a dispatch software package that they've never heard of, they're less likely to approve the loan or give your company the best possible rate, since unknown accounting software increases your company's perceived risk.
- Using industry-standard accounting software allows you to hire an accountant who will already know how to operate your accounting software, and can start working right away without spending weeks or months learning your non-standard accounting software.
- Using industry-standard accounting software allows you to easily share your financial data with accountants, financial experts, tax agents, etc., who often already have these products installed. Many accounting packages even include an option to export an "Accountant Version" of your database which a third-party accountant can use to audit your Chart of Accounts, correct any mistakes, and then merge back into your live accounting database.
Tailwind software integrates with QuickBooks™ US and Canadian editions, and plans to support Microsoft Great Plains in the near future. Our easy-to-use integration allows you to:
- Export all of your CMS customers, vendors, item types, tax types, invoices, bills, invoice payments, and bill payments to your accounting database with the click of a button.
- Audit changes to your accounting records BEFORE they are made in your accounting software.
- Eliminate the need to re-enter financial details in your accounting software manually.
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Faxing Integration
- Fax any reports from CMS.
- Review logs and status of all fax transmissions.
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Check Clearing
- Presents a listing of all checks which have not yet cleared your bank account.
- An auditing and cash flow analysis tool.
- Screen is protected by way of Personnel Security.
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Mileage & Mapping
PC Miler™
- Generate truck-specific driving directions and state/prov mileage summaries that include road clearance warnings and other truck restrictions within the turn-by-turn directions.
- Comply with U.S. DoD and GSA distances for approved freight rating and billing.
- Import pickup, delivery or company specific locations to eliminate manual trip entry.
- Customize the map by avoiding or favoring road segments, entire roads or an entire jurisdiction per your specs.
- Calculate stop costs and driver break options for more accurate travel and arrival times.
Try a Free Demo!
ProMiles™ XF
- Address to Address Routing.
- Fuel Prices Along Route.
- State Mileage Summary.
- Full color interactive maps.
- Detailed driving directions.
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Try a Free Demo!
Rand McNally™ Intelliroute
- Route by truck type: 48- or 53-foot trailers. Minimize your exposure to fines based on non-compliant routing.
- Route by lowest cost: Calculate complete cost including maintenance, tolls, fuel, and driver breaks for each load.
- Customize road usage: Avoid/select toll roads, close/open borders, and turn restricted roads on/off by category.
Try a Free Demo!
Microsoft™ MapPoint
- Address to Address Routing.
- Full color interactive maps.
- Detailed driving directions.
Try a Free Demo!
ACE (E-Manifest)
Tailwind has partnered with Oceanwide Inc. on a solution to submit electronic E-manifests to US Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) in order to expedite border-crossings for your southbound international shipments. The ACE E-Manifest integration module provides the ability to complete the necessary information and submit the form to Oceanwide electronically for submission to CBP.
How does it work?
An E-Manifest can be transmitted to CBP in 3 steps:
- A dispatcher enters standard shipment information into TAILWIND™ CMS.
- The dispatcher then clicks the "Send ACE E-Manifest" menu item to send the manifest data to Oceanwide™'s Truck AMS website.
- Using the Oceanwide™ website, the dispatcher performs a final edit check, makes any corrections or additions, and transmits the manifest data electronically to CBP.
When does it go into effect?
As of January 25th, 2007, the filing of e-manifests for trucks is mandatory in Washington, Arizona and selected ports in North Dakota (Pembrina, Neche, Walhalia, Maida, Hannah, Saries, Hansboro).
On April 19th, 2007, e-Manifests will be mandatory in the second group: all land border ports of entry in the states of Texas, California, and New Mexico.
CBP will release additional notices regarding mandatory e-Manifest dates for additional ports in the Federal Register 90 days in advance of implementation.
Oceanwide™ was selected by TAILWIND™ as our E-Manifest partner based on their team of experts who for many years have provided and supported electronic connectivity to a number of CBP automated trade systems. Together, we have developed an E-Manifest option that is quick and efficient by making use of data that is already available in TAILWIND™'s database.
Oceanwide™ works closely with US and CDN customs, ensuring that you are always in compliance, so that you can have peace of mind while focusing on what your company does best. Truck E-Manifest includes advanced alerting functionality, unlimited storage and most importantly, it is fully integrated with CMS.
If you are currently moving goods across any of the borders listed above, contact us to learn how you can get registered and ready to meet this requirement. The dispatcher is ultimately responsible for the accurate transmission of the manifest, not the broker, the exporter, or the importer so it is very important that the manifest is done right and on time. For more information download our ACE manual.
Fuel Tax
- Conforms to IFTA Standards.
- Uses dispatch routing data and imported fuel card data to generate fuel tax listing for all IFTA-reportable tractors.
- Seamlessly exports fuel tax data to ProMiles™ Fuel Tax or PCMiler™ Fuel Tax.
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Driver Communications & GPS
Mobile Communications
- GPS tracking
- Two-way messaging (free-form and macros).
- User-configurable macros (with ability to upload and download from mobile comm provider).
- Outbound macros can contain fields that are filled automatically when the dispatcher is ready to send a message.
- Inbound macros can contain abilities that are triggered automatically to modify CMS records.
- Conforms to Qualcomm "Circle of Service".
Integration
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Auto Rating
- Ability to define base zones.
- Ability to define rate schedule based on base zone, weight, service code, etc...
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Integrated Web Tracking
- Track shipments down to the finest details, from dimensions to arrival/departure dates and times.
- Web-based and real-time, so shipments can be tracked from anywhere with internet access.
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CSA Program
The Customs Self Assessment (CSA) program is part of the Customs Action Plan. It was introduced by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) as a progressive trade option for clients who invest in compliance. Clients can reduce compliance costs while enhancing their ability to comply with customs requirements, and the CBSA will have the opportunity to better align its resources with trade of higher or unknown risk.
Benefits of the CSA Program:
- Streamlines accounting and payment process for all imported goods, eliminating the need to maintain separate and costly customs processes, and allowing users use their own business systems to fully self assess and meet their customs obligations.
- Streamlines clearance option for CSA eligible goods, eliminating the need for transactional transmissions of data elements, allowing the clearance of goods based on the id of the approved carrier, and registered driver.
- Ends the need for artificial customs systems.
- Increasing the certainty of expedited customs processing.
- Making it easier for clients to meet their obligations.
- Streamlines legitimate trade.
Carriers Eligible to Apply:
- Bonded or post-audit;
- Have a history of transporting goods to Canada for at least two years;
- Without contraband or major commercial infractions;
- Willing to be liable and maintain control of CSA shipments until delivered; willing to provide senior management representation that proper commercial business processes and audit trails exist or will exist; and prepared to sign a Client Undertaking document with the CBSA.
How to Apply:
Part II of the carrier application process for CSA requires that your dispatch software be capable of tracking CSA approved shipments, drivers, customers, and carriers, and also capable of printing the following auditing reports upon request:
- Canada Bound Shipments Listing: Shows all shipments that are crossing the border into Canada for a given date range.
- Segregated Shipments Listing: Shows all shipments that are crossing the border into Canada for a given date range and are CSA approved.
- Complete Shipments Listing: Shows all shipments in the system for a given date range or range of order numbers.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
EDI is a set of standards for structuring information to be electronically exchanged between and within businesses, organizations, government entities and other groups. The standards describe structures that emulate documents, for example purchase orders to automate purchasing. The term EDI is also used to refer to the implementation and operation of systems and processes for creating, transmitting, and receiving EDI documents.
EDI is considered to be a technical representation of a business conversation between two entities, either internal or external. EDI documents generally contain the same information that would normally be found in a paper document used for the same organizational function. For example an EDI 204 load tender is used by a shipper to tell a carrier to ship a load to a destination. It typically has a ship to address, ship datetime, descriptions of the commodity and quantities. It may have other information if the parties agree to include it. For more info on EDI, contact us.
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Online Backup
Why is Online Backup the best method?
It's the easiest, safest and most affordable backup method. Read why here.
How much does online backup cost?
$29.95/Month
How does it work?
The Tailwind agent on your server machine communicates with the 'Backup Settings' in the 'System Configuration' to find the next date and time you wish to have a backup completed. When that time comes the agent performs a SQL server backup and a .BAK file that contains a compressed version of your backup is created. That file is then sent via the internet to an offsite server location. If you are a Tailwind user, you can view more information on setting up the Online Backup here.
How do I set up the Online Backup?
First contact Tailwind Technical Support to register for online backup. Once the payment options are finalized Tailwind will then provide you with a new license key and bcid file to be used as your 'Encryption Key'. Tailwind users can access detailed setup instructions here.
Are there any extra costs aside from the monthly fee?
This depends on the agreement with your ISP. If you are charged for the amount of bandwidth that you use then this could end up costing you money because the average size for a backup file is 200 MB. If we backup every night for a month, that is an average of 60 GB of data that is sent over the internet.
Does my computer have to running?
Only the server machine has to be running in order for the backup to work. The Tailwind Agent must also be working.
How do I check to see if my Online Backup is running/working properly?
The 'Backup Settings' in 'System Configuration' will show the most recent history of the backups attempted. Tailwind also monitors the status of all of our customers' backups on a regular basis.
How long does it take to restore a backup?
It depends on the size of the database, but can take as little as an hour to restore. Note: A computer with internet access is required on the customer's site to act as the server computer.
Is there a way to retrieve data that has not been backed up?
Tailwind can only restore database information that has been backed up. Any information entered after the last successful backup cannot be retrieved.
Is there any information that is lost when restoring a backup?
As long as the backup file is in good condition then the all information will be restored, without exception.
Fuel Import
Fuel card imports allow you to import electronic fuel bill files in proprietary fuel company formats directly into the software.
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Below is the list of fuel cards we currently support:
- Chevron
- ComData
- Esso (CAD & USD)
- EFS
- FleetOne
- GasBoy
- Husky
- PetroCanada
- PetroCard
- Quick Fuel
- Shell
- TCH
- T-Chek
- UFA Cooperative Ltd
- Voyager Fleet Systems
Supported Server Operating Systems
- Windows 2000 (Not recommended for new installations)
- Windows XP Professional
- Windows Vista Professional
- Windows 7 Professional
- Windows 2003 Server (all variants)
- Windows 2008 Server
Minimum Hardware Configuration for company with less than 5 users
(Assuming an installation of SQL 2008 Express)
- 4 GB RAM
- 20 GB free disk space
- One 1.4 GHz (x64 processor) or one 1.3 GHz dual-core; or faster
- 100 Mbit network adapter
Minimum Hardware Configuration for company with less than 20 users
(Assuming an installation of SQL 2008 Express)
- 6 GB RAM
- 60 GB free disk space
- One 1.4 GHz (x64 processor) or one 1.3 GHz dual-core; or faster
- 100 Mbit network adapter
Minimum Hardware Configuration for company with more than 20 users
(Assuming an installation of SQL 2008 Express)
- 8+ GB RAM
- 100 GB free disk space
- Single processor with 1.4 GHz (x64 processor) or 1.3GHz (Dual Core) or faster
- 100 Mbit network adapter
Remote Connectivity
- Firewall with UPNP
- Ping latency with clients of no more than 20ms
Fax
- Fax line (it is recommended to have a dedicated outgoing fax line for Tailwind)
- Fax modem (on the server)
SQL Server Version
- For customers with fewer than 10 client machines, the free version of Microsoft SQL Express 2008 is recommended.
- For customers with more than 10 client machines, a full installation of Microsoft SQL Server is required (2005 or 2008).
Materials
Tailwind CMS 5.x Server Installer - SQL Express
Note: To install the Tailwind CMS database on SQL server versions other than those available through the installer packages, the server installations must be performed manually.
Tailwind software system s the solution for all your dispatch, operational, billing, administrative, rating, and driver settlement processes. Carriers are given the ability to automatically control all of their scheduling, report managing, routing, and administrative needs with Tailwind carrier software.
With Tailwind you will always be provided with an ever advancing software system. Your business will be provided the options to automatically post to various load boards, utilize EDI capabilities, document storage and imaging, and integrating with PROMILES, PC MILER, and RAND McNALLY to offer efficient routing, among many other optional modules above and beyond our basic core system. As your company expands and grows, Tailwind will grow and expand with you.
Tailwind software is known as the most flexible trucking dispatch software available, providing customers the best solution for their unique needs. Every company is different and Tailwind works to fit your company's needs instead of you fitting ours.
To manage your accounting and administrative needs Tailwind is the only program with a complete synchronization with QuickBooks, enabling you to automatically enter and track all your payable and receivable needs from your customers, and vendors. You will save time, and money as this synchronization means entering everything once, and enabling you to track all your GL, and auditing needs with ease.
With capabilities such as the web tracking module your business will allow your customers to track shipments automatically, from dimensions to arrival/ departure dates and times, you will be able to track down to the finest detail in real time. Our transportation software will allow your business to communicate with your customers and track information from anywhere with internet access via our carrier portal or web tracking module.
Tailwind trucking dispatch software is a solution for carriers doing single picks and drops, multi picks and drops, TL, LTL, switches, fleet maintenance, and more.
Whether you are just starting out or have years of experience, Tailwind dispatch software can fit your business.
