Could your records fit?
Buyers look for records that show a piece of work from start to finish. Here’s what that looks like in a trucking or freight business. You only need to describe it. No exports at this stage.
Loads and billing
A shipper tenders a load. Your team confirms the rate, dispatches a driver, tracks check calls, collects proof of delivery and invoices. Sometimes a detention or lumper charge takes a dozen emails to settle.
- Where it usually lives
- Your TMS (McLeod, Trimble TMW and similar), email, accounting, ELD and telematics.
- Worth mentioning when you get in touch
- Roughly how many loads you run a year, how many years are in the system, and whether invoices and emails carry the load number.
Maintenance and repairs
A driver's inspection report flags a defect. The shop opens a work order, orders parts, logs the repair and puts the truck back in service.
- Where it usually lives
- Maintenance software, shop notes, parts invoices.
- Worth mentioning when you get in touch
- Fleet size and how far back your work orders go.
Claims and exceptions
A shipment arrives damaged or short. Someone pulls the bill of lading and delivery photos, trades emails with the shipper and the insurer, and the claim is paid, reduced or denied.
- Where it usually lives
- Claims logs, email, shared drives.
- Worth mentioning when you get in touch
- Roughly how many claims you handle a year and whether each claim's files are kept together.
Quotes and customer service
A customer asks for a quote. Your team prices it, books the load, and handles the missed pickup two days later.
- Where it usually lives
- Email, your CRM or TMS, Slack or Teams.
- Worth mentioning when you get in touch
- Which channels your team uses with customers, and how long you've kept them.
These are illustrations. Every company keeps different things, and the buyer’s review decides what fits.
What the buyer looks for first
- 30 or more full-time staff
- Several years of records across more than one system
- Records mostly in English
- US operations come first
Some records are off the table
Driver qualification files, medical certificates and drug and alcohol testing records stay out. So does payment card data, and anything a customer contract says you can’t share.
Personal details in the rest are removed or transformed before the data goes to anyone else. You approve the scope before anything is delivered.
Describe what you keep
Tell me which systems you use and how far back they go. A rough answer is fine. I'll reply by email with what I think is worth a closer look.
Start with a short description of your company. No files needed.