TMS for Logistics Service Providers Help

TMS for Logistics Service Providers helps freight forwarders, brokers, and 3PL teams manage forwarding, carrier execution, settlement, and customer invoicing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Use this help when you need to create a Forwarding Order, assign Freight Orders, control stages and documents, allocate carrier costs, invoice customers, or review posted history.

Use these terms this way:

Term Meaning
Forwarding Order The main LSP document. It defines what must be moved, who ordered it, cargo details, parties, stages, and settlement.
Freight Order The carrier execution document. It defines who executes a stage, with carrier, vehicle, driver, content, charges, and transport documents.
Stage A leg of transportation, such as pickup, main carriage, or final delivery.
Settlement The financial workspace for income, carrier costs, invoices, credit memos, allocation, and profit review.
Service What you charge the customer for.
Charge What you pay or allocate as cost.
Posted Forwarding Order Read-only transport history after the Forwarding Order is posted.

New to TMS

If you are setting up TMS for the first time, follow this order:

  1. Install TMS
  2. Buy licenses
  3. Assign permission sets
  4. Complete TMS Setup
  5. Set up Statuses and Status Profiles
  6. Set up Stages
  7. Set up Freight Order Types
  8. Create your first Forwarding Order
  9. Run Create and Invoice Your First Forwarding Job
  10. Review Settlement

After step 10, your users should understand the basic LSP flow from customer request to carrier execution, settlement, invoicing, and posted history.

First 30 minutes

Use this short path when you want to prove the basic process in a sandbox:

  1. Complete the minimum setup in TMS Setup.
  2. Create one Forwarding Order Type.
  3. Create one Forwarding Order.
  4. Add content, shipper, consignee, planned dates, and stages.
  5. Create one Freight Order for a stage.
  6. Add one income line and one cost line in Settlement.
  7. Create a customer invoice or review the settlement totals.
  8. Use the short first forwarding job tutorial when you need a guided end-to-end test.

Do this before configuring advanced price lists, attachment rules, API integrations, or Azure Blob Storage.

Choose your role

Role Start with Why
Forwarding coordinator Forwarding Order, Stages, Freight Order Manage customer requests and carrier execution.
Dispatcher or operations planner Freight Load Management, Freight Order, Stage Entries, Carriers Plan carrier work, execution capacity, and stage progress.
Finance user Settlement, Purchase Assignment, Services, Charges, Pricing Control income, cost, allocation, and margin.
TMS administrator TMS Setup, Forwarding Order Types, Freight Order Types, Statuses, Stages Configure the rules that control daily work.
Document controller Attachment Control, Check List, Reports and Documents Track required files, tasks, and customer/carrier documents.
Integration user API, Business Central Integration, Customer Portal Entities Connect TMS to portals, Power BI, and external systems.

Daily work

Job Start here
Create a customer transportation job Forwarding Order
Define the transportation legs Stages
Assign the carrier or executor Freight Order
Plan carrier workload Freight Load Management
Record or review execution events Stage Entries
Add billable services Settlement
Allocate carrier invoices Purchase Assignment, Charges, and Settlement
Create customer invoices Settlement
Track required files Attachment Control
Track operational tasks Check List
Review posted history Posted Forwarding Order

Core concepts

Topic What it explains
Forwarding Order The main LSP transportation document
Freight Order Carrier execution for one or more stages
Stage Entries Execution events, statuses, attachments, images, and map points
Settlement Income, cost, allocation, invoicing, and profit
Stages Stage profiles and transportation legs
Statuses and Status Profiles Workflow control and action permissions
Posted History Read-only history after posting
Reports and Documents Print and email documents

Setup and master data

Topic What it covers
TMS Setup Core system settings
Forwarding Order Types Templates for FWO behavior, defaults, stages, and statuses
Freight Order Types Defaults for Freight Order numbering, status, charge calculation, and cost distribution
Carriers Transport service providers
Vehicles Fleet and equipment records
Drivers Driver records and defaults
Products Generic cargo descriptions
Services Billable service master data
Charges Cost master data and purchase mapping
Forwarding Agreements Customer commercial agreements
Freight Agreements Carrier commercial agreements and cost lines
Routes Reusable lanes or service areas
Time Slots Standard appointment windows
Map Locations Geocoded location records
Map Location Types Classification of map locations
Logistic Unit Types Unit and capacity profiles
Google Maps Integration Google API key setup

Integration and administration

Topic What it covers
API API areas, permissions, and integration pattern
Business Central Integration Standard BC records used by TMS
Customer Portal Entities Portal tickets and notifications
AI and Copilot Features AI-assisted draft creation and AI task results
Order Wizards Guided Forwarding Order and Freight Order creation
Azure Blob Storage for Attachments External storage for high-volume TMS attachments
Assign Permission Sets User and integration permissions
Buy Licenses License purchase and assignment

Troubleshooting starting points

Problem Start with
A user cannot open TMS pages Assign Permission Sets
A Forwarding Order action is disabled Statuses and Status Profiles
Freight Orders cannot be created Forwarding Order, Stages, Statuses
Settlement cannot create an invoice Settlement, Services, Setup
Carrier cost cannot be allocated Purchase Assignment, Charges, Settlement
Distance or route is not calculated Google Maps Integration, Map Locations
Required documents are missing Attachment Control, Statuses

Maintenance