Broker Guide
Learn how freight brokers use FTM to manage customers, quotes, loads, carriers, dispatch, documents, billing, and reporting inside Salesforce.
This guide covers
Customer Management
Quoting & Pricing
Carrier Procurement
Load Execution
Billing & Financial Close
Reporting & Dashboards
Overview
What You’ll Learn
This guide covers the full brokerage workflow inside FTM, from customer request through financial reporting.
Customer Management
Create and maintain customer accounts, contacts, and shipping requirements inside Salesforce CRM.
Quoting & Pricing
Generate customer quotes using tariff tables, lane history, and margin targets directly inside FTM.
Carrier Procurement
Source, onboard, and manage carrier relationships through the Private Loadboard and carrier network inside FTM.
Load Execution
Dispatch loads, track shipment progress, manage milestones, and communicate with carriers from the load record.
Billing & Financial Close
Generate customer invoices, confirm carrier settlements, and close loads financially from the Salesforce record.
Reporting & Dashboards
Monitor margin, on-time performance, carrier utilization, and revenue using native Salesforce dashboards.
Load lifecycle
A Typical Load in FTM
The full brokerage workflow from customer request to financial close. Every stage lives on the same Salesforce record.
Customer Request
Freight need received
Create Quote
Tariff rate calculated
Customer Approval
Quote accepted
Create Load
Load record opened
Source Carrier
Carrier bid and awarded
Dispatch
Rate confirmation sent
Track Shipment
In-transit visibility
Delivery
Delivered, milestone set
Proof of Delivery
POD attached to record
Invoice Customer
Invoice generated from load
Financial Reporting
Margin confirmed, load closed
Core documentation
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Core Workflows
Detailed guidance for each major area of freight broker operations in FTM.
Customer Management
Maintain customer accounts, contacts, credit terms, and lane preferences inside Salesforce CRM. Customer records link to every quote and load, giving a complete account view without switching systems.
Account managers, operations coordinators
Quoting System
Generate quotes using tariff tables, zone pricing, lane history, and margin targets. Approved quotes convert directly into load records without re-entering data. Margin is locked at the quoting stage.
Freight brokers, account managers
Load Management
Create, edit, and manage load records through the complete lifecycle. All load details, carriers, documents, milestones, and billing records connect to the central load record in Salesforce.
Freight brokers, operations coordinators
Carrier Procurement
Post loads to the Private Loadboard, receive and compare carrier bids, award loads, and issue rate confirmations. Carrier selection stays within FTM rather than moving to external communication channels.
Freight brokers, carrier relations teams
Dispatch Console
Manage all active loads from a real-time board. Monitor status, update milestones, flag exceptions, and communicate with carriers from one central screen without opening individual load records.
Freight brokers, dispatchers
Customer Portal
Customers access live shipment status, milestone updates, and documents through the branded FTM Customer Portal. Reduces inbound status calls and provides customers with self-service visibility.
Customers, account managers
Document Management
Attach BOLs, rate confirmations, PODs, customs documents, and carrier agreements to the Salesforce load record. Documents are accessible to authorized users and shared with customers through the portal.
All brokerage team members
Billing & Reporting
Generate customer invoices from the load record using the rate locked at quoting. Confirm carrier settlements. Review margin, revenue, and on-time performance through native Salesforce reports and dashboards.
Operations managers, finance teams
Dashboards
Monitor load volume, margin by lane, carrier performance, and on-time delivery using native Salesforce dashboards that update in real time from live load records. No export required.
Brokers, operations managers, leadership
Day-to-day reference
Common Daily Activities
The tasks most freight brokers perform on a typical operating day inside FTM.
1
Create a Customer Quote
Open FTM, navigate to Quotes, and click New. Select the customer account, enter lane details, and FTM calculates the rate from the applicable tariff table. Review margin before submitting.
2
Convert a Quote into a Load
Open the approved quote record and click Convert to Load. FTM creates the load record pre-populated with the quoted rate, lane, and customer details. No re-entry required.
3
Assign a Carrier
Post the load to the Private Loadboard from the load record. Review carrier bids in the bid comparison panel, select the winning carrier, and confirm the rate. The rate confirmation is generated automatically.
4
Dispatch a Shipment
Open the load record, confirm carrier and equipment details, and update the Status field to Dispatched. The carrier receives the rate confirmation and pickup instructions through FTM.
5
Track Shipment Progress
Open the Dispatch Console for a real-time board view of all active loads. Click any load card to see the current status, last milestone update, and carrier contact information.
6
Upload Proof of Delivery
Navigate to the Files section on the delivered load record. Upload the signed POD and tag it as Proof of Delivery. The document becomes available to the customer through the Customer Portal immediately.
7
Generate a Customer Invoice
Open the delivered load record and navigate to the Billing section. Confirm all accessorials are captured, then click Generate Invoice. The invoice uses the rate locked at quoting with accessorials added at delivery.
8
Review Dashboards and Reports
Open the FTM Brokerage Dashboard from the Salesforce App Launcher. Review daily load volume, margin by lane, carrier performance, and open invoices. Apply date or account filters to narrow the view.
Operational guidance
Recommended Operational Practices
Practices that protect margin, reduce exceptions, and keep the brokerage operation running cleanly inside FTM.
01
Maintain complete customer and carrier records before creating loads
Customer credit terms, carrier compliance status, and contact records should be current before a quote or load is created. Incomplete records cause exceptions at billing and carrier onboarding that are slower to resolve than to prevent.
02
Generate all quotes directly within FTM, not externally
Quotes created outside FTM cannot be converted to loads automatically, cannot reference tariff tables, and do not produce the lane history data that improves future pricing accuracy. Route all quoting activity through the FTM Quoting System.
03
Update shipment milestones at the time of each event
Pickup confirmed, in-transit, and delivered should be updated as events occur. Batch milestone updates at end of shift create inaccurate dashboards, delay customer visibility in the portal, and produce on-time reporting that cannot be reconciled after the fact.
04
Attach supporting documents to every load before closing
BOL at pickup, rate confirmation at dispatch, and POD at delivery should each be attached to the load record immediately. Loads closed without complete documentation create disputes at billing and cannot be audited accurately when customers request documentation later.
05
Invoice customers promptly after POD is confirmed
Generate the customer invoice within one business day of POD confirmation. Delayed invoicing extends the cash cycle and increases the likelihood that accessorials will be disputed by customers who no longer have the event in context.
06
Use FTM dashboards instead of spreadsheets for operational tracking
The FTM Brokerage Dashboard reflects live Salesforce data and requires no manual export or update. Spreadsheets maintained in parallel with FTM introduce version drift, require reconciliation, and frequently disagree with the system of record at the moment decisions are made.
How do I create a quote?
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Navigate to Quotes in the FTM app and click New. Select the customer account, enter the origin and destination, commodity details, and equipment type. FTM calculates the rate from the applicable tariff table for that customer and lane. Review the margin, add any accessorials, and save to create the quote record.
How do I convert a quote into a load?
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Open the approved quote record and click the Convert to Load button. FTM creates a new load record pre-populated with the customer, lane, equipment type, and quoted rate. The quote record links to the load for reference. No data re-entry is required.
How do I assign a carrier?
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From the load record, post the load to the Private Loadboard by clicking Post Load. Approved carriers in your network will receive the posting and can submit bids. Review bids in the comparison panel, select the preferred carrier, and click Award Load. The rate confirmation is generated automatically from the awarded bid.
Where do I upload Proof of Delivery?
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Open the load record and navigate to the Files section. Click Upload Files, select the POD document, and tag it as Proof of Delivery. The document attaches to the record immediately and becomes visible to the customer through the Customer Portal. Carriers using the Driver App can also submit PODs directly from the field.
How do I generate invoices?
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Open the delivered load record and navigate to the Billing section. Verify that POD is attached and all accessorials are captured. Click Generate Invoice to create the customer invoice using the rate locked at quoting plus any accessorials added during execution. The invoice can then be sent through your connected accounting system.
Where can I find reports and dashboards?
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FTM dashboards are accessible from the Salesforce App Launcher. Search for FTM Dashboard or navigate to the Dashboards tab within the FTM app. Pre-built reports for load volume, margin by lane, carrier performance, and aging invoices are available in the FTM Reports folder in Salesforce.
Who do I contact for support?
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Contact the FTM support team at [email protected] or call +1 (949) 800-7197. For implementation planning, workflow design, and platform architecture discussions, book an executive session. Response within one business day.
Support
Need Assistance?
Contact Support
For operational questions, brokerage workflow guidance, configuration help, and technical issues. Response within one business day.
Book an Executive Session
For brokerage workflow reviews, advanced platform architecture, margin reporting, integration planning, and strategic implementation discussions. Not for day-to-day operational support.
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