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Q7 Tips & Tricks – Trucking Dispatch Hidden Gems Part 2

Posted Nov 22, 2021

Q7, Tips

Mastering dispatch in enterprise trucking dispatch and accounting software can be a learning curve. The hard work pays off when you have more features and more time at your disposal for taking care of the important things. If you missed it, you can check out Part 1 of the trucking dispatch hidden gems here. In this topic, we’ll cover a few more tips that you might not know about that can skyrocket your mastery of the integrated Q7 trucking dispatch board.

 

Use the Trucking Dispatch Board Filter Tool

Frontline’s modern search bar lookup means searching for something specific in a large amount of data is a breeze. Regardless of the pre-programmed or free form Trip sorts that you have set, you can look up an active or available load by any value and return one or more loads that match the criteria. Check out the Q7 Knowledge Base for tips on using exact matches, compound searches, and how to save your searches.

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If you are optimizing loads or active routes, sometimes the search bar isn’t enough. When you need to dig deep with compound searches, that’s where the filter tool comes in. Use one or more fields, apply date ranges, and more. Find the filter tool at the top of each section of the Dispatch Board. You can add to it just by opening it again, or clear it by clicking the tool with the middle button of your mouse.

 

Run Dispatch Reports

Are you a paper person? Or maybe you’d like to produce a report for another staff member. For example, you might have loads stacked up in advance for your drivers and equipment. At the end of the day, you need to generate a dispatch report that tells everyone which assigned loads are delivering the next day. Or, you may want to generate a report of all of the loads being held at your warehouse and when they are scheduled to be delivered.

While there are several dedicated dispatch reports in the Reporting program of Q7, using the trucking Dispatch Board to generate reports is ideal since you can visualize the information you need right in front of you.

In either the active routes pane or the available loads pane, use the search bar or filter to narrow down your desired results. Click the Reports button and fine tune what you want to be included.

Frontline Q7 Trucking Software_Trucking Dispatch Reports

Worried about seeing too much history? No problem! Just open your current days back setting and adjust it before running your report.

 

View a Google Map of Dispatch Routes

Frontline Q7 trucking dispatch software integrates with most ELD providers, which means you already have a bird’s eye view. In addition to ELD integrations, the Q7 Maps module loads your Dispatch Board into a map, giving you full visibility.

Even though Google does not have dedicated truck routes yet, you might want to use a map in a pinch.

Use keyboard shortcuts, or open the Google Mapping tool manually to generate a quick map.

If you’re interested, this map can be added as a thumbnail to printed or emailed load confirmations that are given to the driver. As an alternative, the standalone map can be emailed to the driver.

View the Google map and the route.

If ELD units are integrated, the Google Map includes a short history of GPS coordinates along with the most recent coordinates of the resource along the route.

Q7 Live will include unit GPS coordinates on the Google Map.


Are you getting the most out your trucking dispatch board? With Frontline Q7 integrated trucking accounting software, practical features are everywhere. Reach out to us to learn more about dispatching in Q7!