Short answer
To choose a freight broker TMS, write down your users, peak monthly loads and must-have integrations, shortlist three vendors, and run the same real load through each demo. Before you sign, check the renewal and notice terms, every one-time fee, what data you can export and in what format, and who does the migration work.
Start with your own numbers
Vendors run better demos when you show up with specifics. Fill this in before the first call and send it to every vendor on your list.
| Write down | Example of what to capture | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Users by role | 2 carrier sales, 2 ops, 1 billing, 1 owner | Per-user and tiered plans price on logins, including part-time ones |
| Loads per month, peak | Average 280, busiest month 360 | Per-load pricing and shipment caps bill on volume |
| Freight mix | FTL dry van, some reefer, LTL, drayage, air-freight delivery orders | LTL rating, drayage and multimode depth vary a lot by vendor |
| Documents you receive | Rate cons from other brokers, tenders by email, delivery orders | Decides what load entry and document storage need to handle |
| Tools in use today | Load boards, tracking provider, carrier compliance, accounting, factoring | Each one is an integration to confirm, or a manual step to keep |
| EDI partners | Two shippers sending 204s, expecting 214s | EDI is often counted per partner and priced separately |
| What goes wrong now | Loads dispatched before the rate con is signed, PODs missing at billing | This becomes your demo script |
| Contract dates | Current TMS renews March 1, 60 days’ notice | Sets the real deadline for the whole selection |
TMS selection in six steps
Write the requirements
Use the worksheet above. Mark each item as must-have or nice-to-have, and keep the must-have list short.
Shortlist three vendors
Filter on segment, published price range and the integrations you can’t live without. More than three demos blurs together.
Send every vendor the same brief
Same user count, same load volume, same integrations. Quotes built on the same brief are the only ones you can compare.
Run scripted demos
Send the checklist below ahead of time and ask the vendor to run your load instead of their sample data.
Read the contract before the last call
Renewal, notice period, fees, price increases and data export. Get answers in writing.
Plan the migration backward from your notice date
Work out when notice is due on your current system, then decide how long you need to run both side by side.
Demo checklist: make them run your load
A demo on the vendor’s sample data shows you the happy path. Your job is to find the edges. Ask the vendor to do each of these live, while you watch.
Load entry and booking
- Enter a two-pickup, one-delivery load with an appointment at the first stop and a window at the last.
- Show separate customer and carrier times on the same stop.
- Book a carrier and show exactly what the system still needs before dispatch.
- Find a carrier in your records by MC number.
Rate cons and fall-offs
- Generate a rate confirmation on your letterhead with your terms.
- Change the rate after the carrier signed. Does the system make a new version, and does the old signature still count?
- Swap the carrier after dispatch. What happens to the old assignment, the old rate con and the history?
Checkpoints and overrides
- Try to dispatch without a signed rate con. Does the system stop you, warn you, or let it through?
- Try to mark a load delivered without a proof of delivery. Same question.
- Ask who can override a required step, whether an override needs a reason, and where that reason is recorded.
- Ask whether the rule is enforced for integrations and imports too, or only on the screen you’re watching.
Tracking, billing and reporting
- Show a load where tracking stopped. How long before someone gets flagged, and where does the flag show up?
- Upload a POD photo taken on a phone and attach it to the right load.
- Bill a load for a customer who requires a POD and a BOL before invoicing. What stops a load missing one?
- Pull margin and on-time reports for last month, and export them.
Audit and access
- Show who changed the carrier rate on a load, when, and the before and after values.
- Log in as a billing user and a carrier sales user. What can each one see and change?
- Ask whether anyone, including an admin, can edit or delete audit history.
AI features
- Drop in one of your real rate cons. Where did each extracted value come from, and what happens to a field the document doesn’t contain?
- Ask what the AI does on its own and what a person approves.
- Ask who built it. Several broker TMS agents run on partner platforms, which isn’t bad, but it’s worth knowing who supports it.
Live or roadmap
For every feature you care about, ask one question: can a customer use this today? If the answer is “it’s coming,” write down the date they give you and ask for it in the contract.
Contract questions to ask before you sign
Examples come from vendors’ public terms and pricing pages as of September 10, 2026. Your own contract may differ, so read it.
| Ask | Why it matters | Published example |
|---|---|---|
| Does the agreement auto-renew, and for how long? | Some renewals repeat indefinitely | Tai: auto-renews “in perpetuity” after the initial term |
| How much notice do I need to cancel? | Miss the window and you’re paying another term | Tai: 60 days. BrokerPro: 14 business days. EZ TMS: 60 days |
| What does leaving early cost? | Buyouts can outweigh savings from switching | EZ TMS: 50% of the remaining contract value |
| Can the price go up, and with how much notice? | Renewal pricing is where budgets break | EZ TMS: price increases with 60 days’ written notice |
| What are the one-time fees? | Setup and implementation are rarely in the headline price | EZ TMS: $1,500 setup, waived on 12 months. Aljex: one-time setup fee. Port TMS: onboarding fee may apply |
| Are refunds possible after renewal? | Tells you how firm the renewal date is | BrokerPro: no refunds after renewal |
| What happens to AI pricing after a promotion? | A free period can turn into a new line item | Port TMS: agents free for 3 months, then priced by proposal |
| Is there a long-term commitment at all? | Month-to-month lowers switching risk | AscendTMS and Alvys advertise no long-term contracts |
Terms and pricing as of September 10, 2026. Sources below.
Data ownership and export
Your load history, carrier records and PODs are the business. Before you sign, find out exactly how you get them back out. Ask for answers in writing, and ask to see a real export during the demo.
- Does the contract say you own your data, including documents and audit history?
- Can you export loads with their stops, rates, carriers and statuses, or only a flat list of load numbers?
- Can you export customers and carriers with contacts, compliance status and notes?
- Can you pull every document in bulk, still linked to its load (rate con versions, BOLs, PODs, freight photos)?
- Is export self-serve, or does it need a support ticket or a paid project?
- How long is your data available after you cancel, and in what format?
- Is there an API, and does it cost extra?
Ask every vendor these questions, including us. A vendor that answers them clearly before you sign will usually be easier to leave, and easier to stay with.
Get roadmap promises in the contract
If a feature you need is “coming next quarter,” it isn’t part of what you’re buying. Ask for a date in writing and a remedy if it slips, or plan to work without it.
Migration questions
Switching a TMS touches carriers, customers, accounting and every person on the floor. Ask each vendor these questions, and get the answers from the person who will run your onboarding as well as the salesperson.
What moves, and who moves it
- Which records come over: customers, carriers, open loads, closed load history, documents?
- Who does the mapping and the import, and what does it cost?
- What format does the vendor need your data in, and can your current vendor produce it?
Timing and parallel running
- How long do they recommend running both systems side by side?
- Should open loads finish in the old system, or move mid-flight?
- How does the migration plan line up with your current contract’s notice deadline?
Integrations and people
- Which integrations need new credentials or approvals from the other vendor (load boards, tracking, compliance, factoring, accounting)?
- Do EDI partners need to re-test with the new system?
- What training is included, and how are new roles and permissions set up?
On our side, we scope migration on a demo call. FreightVero has CSV import for customers and carriers today. More on how we approach it on our TMS migration page.
How FreightVero fits into a checklist like this
FreightVero is our product, so here’s the short version against the checklist above.
The demo items on checkpoints are where it’s strongest. Dispatch needs the latest rate con version signed, Delivered needs a POD and the signer’s name, and the rules sit in the database, so integrations and direct database writes hit them too. See how the checkpoints work. The manual tracking override exists, and it’s recorded in the audit log with a reason.
Where it’s thin: one design-partner customer (Bronco Logistics), few live integrations, no e-signature and no invoice sending yet. Pricing is published, and you can compare it against 11 other vendors in our broker TMS pricing guide.
Bring the checklist to our demo
Send us your worksheet and a real rate con. We’ll run your load, and we’ll say which items aren’t built yet.