Truck Dispatch Spreadsheet Template (+ How to Cut Data Entry)

Connor McCormick

If you're looking for a truck dispatch spreadsheet template, you're likely looking to improve your load scheduling and get greater clarity on driver availability. In this guide, we share a free template that helps you do exactly that.

But before we do, it’s worth noting that even the best template won’t deliver lasting efficiency to your dispatch process. For instance, it won’t solve issues like repetitive manual data entry for your dispatchers and back-office teams, or provide real-time visibility into your driver and load statuses.

That’s why we'll also show you how the right trucking management system (TMS)—one that's actually easy for dispatchers, drivers, and back office teams to use—is a smarter way to solve these problems.

Want to see how our dispatch tool simplifies operations for your trucking business? Book a demo for a tour of Toro TMS, our dispatch-first trucking software.

Standard truck dispatch spreadsheet templates vs our template

A standard template helps track dispatch data and keep your operations organized. But most online options only cover the basics—driver name, pickup location, delivery date—and don’t give billing teams any way to automate calculations.

For example, they don’t include fields to automatically calculate total mileage or driver pay, so you'll spend more time on repetitive data entry.

You can find a better truck dispatch spreadsheet template here:‍

‍Download our free dispatch template

This template works in both Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. Just open the sheet and make your own copy to get started. From there, you can easily enter all key dispatch details.

Our truck dispatch spreadsheet template is built specifically for bulk haulers, providing everything you need to efficiently manage high volumes of recurring loads without missing critical details. It includes all the fields most trucking companies need to improve dispatch, such as:

Key company info: Company name, address, and phone number.
Load information: Order number, commodity type, tonnage, fuel, mileage, etc.
Operational details: Truck driver name, pickup/delivery statuses, route info, total stops, special instructions, etc.

Just fill in the load data on the “Orders” tab, and the schedule for each load syncs automatically with the “Schedule” tab.

Back-office teams can export the template straight into their accounting system to save time processing payroll and customer invoices.

Why even the best spreadsheet template has its limitations for dispatch

While they have their uses, even purpose-built dispatch templates won’t really save you a lot of time in your dispatch operations. Simply, this is because spreadsheets have their limitations:

Templates require you to manually input every detail for each new load (such as driver assignments, commodity tonnages, or delivery destinations). That means creating new loads daily from scratch, sending order details to drivers one by one, and manually updating load statuses and new details if anything changes.
‍
Spreadsheets don’t offer real-time tracking updates. Since a template can’t integrate with GPS or ELD systems, you’ll need to call drivers for status updates or wait for in-person check-ins. This lack of real-time visibility impacts your ability to quickly respond to issues, such as unexpected traffic or delays at a previous stop on the route. This can frustrate customers and lead to complaints.
Spreadsheets can become really confusing at scale. If you’re managing more than say 10 or 15 trucks or drivers, keeping track of all the relevant details in a spreadsheet can become extremely frustrating. Simply, it takes a lot of time to cross-reference driver availability with pending loads, delivery addresses, and other details.
If you’re using a spreadsheet for dispatch, you likely have separate sheets for billing, driver pay, and other accounting tasks, which means you’re repeatedly copying the same data over and over again.

Below, we introduce you to Toro TMS, our dispatch-first trucking software, and explain how it streamlines dispatch operations without needing to rely on trucking spreadsheet templates.

Note: Many teams have tried various TMS tools but ran into issues and reverted back to spreadsheets. If this sounds familiar, keep reading to learn how we built Toro TMS to specifically address these common issues.

With Toro TMS, dispatchers don’t have to manually create loads from scratch, back-office teams don’t get bogged down with paperwork and repetitive data entry, and drivers actually want to use the software. Plus, there’s no annual contract—so you can cancel any time.

Ready to see how it works? Book a demo today.

How Toro TMS eliminates repeat data entry and streamlines dispatch operations

Toro TMS homepage: The TMS for bulk haulers

In any trucking company, all the different processes you’re managing start with dispatch—scheduling, tracking, invoicing, and settlements. When dispatch breaks down, load details get scattered across various channels (emails, texts, or paper tickets), causing late deliveries, billing errors, and frustrated drivers.

In order to eliminate these inefficiencies, you need a TMS that dispatchers and drivers actually want to use. Unfortunately, many TMSs are just too complicated, causing your dispatch team to stop using them and revert to manual spreadsheets where they feel more comfortable.

That’s understandable, but once that happens, you’re right back to the same old problems: load information gets stored outside of the system, dispatch details must be sent to drivers manually, documents aren’t stored digitally, and back-office teams can’t access the info they need.

Toro TMS solves this by streamlining dispatch operations with an easy-to-use interface that your teams actually want to use.

With Toro TMS, you can:

Build repeat loads faster with reusable load templates to reduce manual data entry.
View driver availability and track loads in real-time using ELD integration.
Let drivers digitally upload Bill of Lading (BOL) and scale tickets for instant back-office access.
Enter data once into the system at dispatch so it’s available downstream for your back-office team, without them needing to reenter the same details again.
Analyze company performance with detailed financial reporting.
And much more.

Below, we’ll highlight the key Toro TMS features dispatchers love—helping you automate operations and slash manual data entry in your trucking company.

Instantly create repeat orders using pre-made, customizable load templates that are integrated with all your back-office processes

Dispatchers without a TMS waste tons of time manually entering and re-entering load details. This is especially true for bulk haulers handling multiple loads per truck daily.

In order to become a more efficient trucking business, a dispatch template in a spreadsheet won’t be much help. Instead, dispatching tasks—such as building new loads—should be automated entirely. Otherwise, your team ends up retyping the same details four to five times downstream for each load, and recurring loads need to be created from scratch every day.

Toro cuts the time you spend manually entering data with customizable load templates that can be built once and saved for future use. That means you can build a load, enter the details once and reuse it for recurring orders.

In each template, you can store the following details:

Customer details, including client name, contact information, pickup and delivery locations, etc.
Material and weight info, including cargo type (e.g., sand, liquid asphalt) and tonnage.
Dispatch and billing references, like load ID, BOL number, and freight charges.
Special handling notes or custom instructions for drivers.

Once a load template is created, all critical info is digitally accessible across your entire organization. This keeps dispatchers on top of driver schedules and saves back-office teams from drowning in manual data entry.

Load templates automatically populate load-specific data downstream, such as tonnage, mileage, and driver hours, for tasks like invoicing, driver pay, and accounting.

Toro also lets you build recurring orders in bulk, so you can get drivers on the road faster. Plus, if any information changes, you can edit the templates, and the new data will auto-update into all the relevant processes, to further cut unnecessary manual data entry.

Learn more: ‍How to Choose a Dispatch Software for Trucking Your Teams Will Actually Use

View driver schedules, load assignments, and key details in one centralized dashboard

After creating a load, you need to assign it to a driver. With legacy TMSs or spreadsheets, this can be difficult—as you’ll need visibility into driver schedules, pending load assignments, and other key details.

Spreadsheets can't automatically update load statuses, show exact driver locations, or pinpoint where drivers are at any time. While legacy TMS platforms offer this, they often bury it behind clunky interfaces, forcing dispatchers to switch views or manually track details, causing delays.

Toro TMS solves these problems by providing an intuitive dispatch interface even the least tech-savvy dispatchers can easily use.

The Toro dispatch screen shows a calendar view of your drivers’ schedules alongside a sidebar listing all unassigned loads ready for pick up or delivery.

Key features on the main dispatch screen include:

Faster load assignment with a drag-and-drop interface: View live orders and driver availability on one screen, then just drag and drop to assign loads. Drivers receive a notification on their phones with key load details, eliminating the need for manual back-and-forth messaging.
‍
Instant access to driver information: When creating trucking schedules, knowing exactly where your drivers will be is essential to ensure nobody is overworked or scheduled incorrectly. Toro lets you see each driver's HR info (like PTO requests), personal calendars, and past loads—so you can match them with unassigned loads that fit their schedule.
‍
Real-time load status monitoring: By syncing trucks with ELD data, you can track delivery statuses in the dispatch dashboard to alert customers if any potential delays might occur. There's also a customer portal where clients can view live tracking updates and driver statuses.
‍
Centralized truck maintenance schedules: At the top of the screen, the "Trucks" tab shows each vehicle's service history, trip reports, and upcoming maintenance, so you can plan ahead and avoid breakdowns.

Toro solves repetitive data entry by syncing load details entered during dispatch across your whole operation for all downstream tasks.

Let drivers receive dispatch instructions and upload documents via text message

Dispatchers need to love your dispatch system. If drivers don’t adopt it, dispatchers end up manually sending load details, and back-office teams scramble to pull billing info from paper ticket submissions.

Most TMSs rely on mobile apps for drivers to receive load instructions and upload documentation. But from our experience, drivers dread adopting new apps or juggling login credentials. The apps can get too complicated, so drivers stop using them altogether.

From the drivers we’ve spoken to, their preferred method to collect dispatch information is through text message. That’s why we built Toro TMS to allow dispatchers to send all load instructions directly to a driver’s mobile device via text.

Within each message, drivers can view load details—customer name, address, pickup/drop-off time, etc. They’ll also receive a unique URL where they can upload photos of BOLs, scale tickets, and delivery confirmations.

This eliminates the need for manual ticket submissions, storing everything digitally for easy access by all teams.

Plus, our software automatically extracts key details from uploaded documents—like commodity type or tonnage—and syncs them with the order for accounting tasks.

Dispatch Details and Scale Ticket Information

Effortlessly sync dispatch with back-office teams to create invoices & calculate driver pay

Once a load is delivered, your back-office has everything needed to process invoices, calculate driver pay, and sync accounting details.

With Toro, you can:

Instantly create and send invoices: With one click, you can generate ready-to-send customer invoices populated with load data—tonnage, BOL references, fuel surcharges, and client contacts. Just click “create invoice,” and the system also inserts the customer's email address so you can get paid faster.
‍
Automate driver pay calculations: Toro can apply driver-specific pay rules (e.g., per ton, per mile) to load data, factoring in fuel deductions and hours, then generate PDF driver pay settlement summaries for approval.
‍
Quickly process IFTA filings: Toro automatically tracks driver journeys and specifically calculates the number of miles driven in each state. This allows you to file accurate IFTA declarations without additional manual calculations.
‍
Sync everything with QuickBooks: After handling all of these financial tasks, you’ll need to use your accounting software to actually collect payments or balance your accounts. Toro integrates with QuickBooks so you can automatically sync data without any manual reentry.

Generate detailed reports to analyze company performance

Toro TMS takes it a step further for bulk haulers by providing advanced reporting tools to uncover deeper insights into your operations, efficiency, and financial performance.

Financial Summary: Total Revenue, Expenses, Net

Since Toro collects all key load, financial, and dispatch data, its reporting module lets you:

Track profitability by load and customer: Break down revenue, fuel costs, and driver pay by load, driver, or client to identify your most profitable bulk hauling jobs, like high-tonnage gravel runs.
‍
Minimize idle time and empty miles: Use automated mileage and equipment tracking to spot inefficiencies, such as trucks returning empty from delivery sites, and optimize routes for better utilization.
‍
Monitor operational efficiency: Generate custom reports on dispatch metrics, like load completion rates or delivery delays, to streamline scheduling and improve customer satisfaction.
‍
Analyze cost trends: Review expenses like fuel surcharges or maintenance by material type (e.g., sand vs. liquid asphalt) or season to uncover savings opportunities.

These reports deliver insights into dispatch operations that manual spreadsheet templates simply can’t match.

Find out more: Trucking Accounting Software: 5 Best Options to Streamline Back-Office Tasks

Skip spreadsheets and automate your trucking dispatch with Toro TMS

While a truck dispatch spreadsheet template might seem like an easy way to organize loads and centralize operations, it's a short-term fix, not a long-term solution.

At dispatch, manual entry of load details, driver assignments, and delivery status leads to errors, delays, and inefficient scheduling—especially for bulk haulers managing multiple loads daily. Then your back office has to re-enter that information later for invoicing, payroll, and other tasks.

Toro TMS eliminates these issues by:

Cutting repeat data entry with pre-made, customizable load templates.
Providing real-time visibility into driver schedules through tracking and ELD integrations.
Allowing drivers to receive load instructions or upload order documents digitally.
Centralizing load details so back-office teams have everything they need for invoicing, payroll, and accounting tasks.

We also offer in-person onboarding to ensure your team—especially dispatch—knows exactly how our software works. And unlike many other tools, our pricing is fair: monthly payment plans and zero upfront costs or annual lock-ins.

Ready to reduce your manual workload and streamline dispatching operations? Book a demo today to learn more about Toro TMS.