Shipper’s Start Guide

Confirm your company profile

We automatically populate your company profile based on the details you provided at sign up. Be sure to confirm all your info is correct by clicking your name in the top right of the screen, then clicking “Company Profile” from the dropdown menu.

You can also add your business contacts and edit their roles (Owner, Billing, Listing, Dispatch), edit your account preferences, manage your preferred and blocked carrier list, and more.

For more details on setting up your profile, see our user guide >

Set up User Management

User Management gives each employee or contractor in your organization their own Central Dispatch log in — greatly reducing the risk of identity fraud and unauthorized access. It also allows you to assign each team member a role, giving you control over who can access certain features, and who can view certain business information.

Getting started is easy. Just click your name from any page on Central Dispatch and select “Manage Users” from the account dropdown. From this screen, you can add new users, assign their role, or edit any current user.

Adding a new user automatically sends an invitation to the email address you enter for them. Members of your team need to accept the invite before becoming active users.

Get an in-depth look at User Management in this step-by-step video tutorial >

Access and set up billing

To set up your payment methods and billing, click your name at the top right of the screen, then click “Billing” from the dropdown menu. Here you can add or edit your preferred credit or debit cards, pay invoices, view your billing history, toggle on automatic payments, and upgrade or change your subscription.

For more on billing set-up and payment, read our user guide >

Manage your subscription

To view or change your subscription or tier level, go to the “Your Subscription” area in the “Billing” page. There you’ll see the number of vehicles you’ve listed this month, and a progress bar showing you how close you are to your current limit.

Click “Manage Subscriptions” to view all your subscription, tier level, and add-on options. You can make changes in just a few clicks by selecting a new plan, tier, or add-on and hitting “Update Subscription.”

For more on subscriptions and tier levels, read our user guide >

Post your first load

With your profile, users, and billing set up, you’re ready to start posting loads with us! Click the “Ship Vehicles” tab at the top left of your screen to reach the Create Load page. From there, it only takes a few minutes to fill out all your vehicle information to post to the load board or assign directly to a carrier.

You can also use our “Price Check” tool to bring up a table containing recent loads similar to yours and their listed price, helping you secure a fair, competitive rate. Premium subscribers can use “Price Check Plus” for even more listing insights, and AI-powered pricing recommendations.

Carriers will contact you via the phone number you include under “Listing Role,” so be sure to enter the appropriate number in that field before listing. When contacted, you should also always verify their FMCSA information with our FMCSA Checklist, and look through their insurance documentation. We recommend confirming their details through the FMCSA website to be sure their credentials are legitimate.

Once you’ve selected a carrier, navigate to the “Manage Listings” page to assign the load to them.

For more on posting loads, read about our Create Load Experience >

Managing your loads

Once you’ve dispatched a vehicle to a carrier, managing them throughout the shipping process is easy! Just navigate to the “Manage Listings” page, where you can edit, archive, and delete any current listings. You can also find exactly what you’re looking for fast by filtering by Listing status​, pick-up or delivery location​, listing ID​, or YMM​.

If your carrier partner has enabled Real-Time Tracking, you can see your shipments live location on an interactive GPS map, and receive delivery status updates directly from the driver. We recommend requesting all your carrier partners enable Real-Time Tracking for the most streamlined experience possible, and increased peace of mind.

For more on managing loads, view our user guide >

Once a job is complete, use the Transactional Ratings system to rate and review your carrying partner. This system allows you to give each transaction an overall rating, plus ratings in three distinct categories: Timeliness, Communication, and Documentation.

We recommend leaving a written review to give more details on your experience working with them. You can also choose when your review is published, giving you the confidence to share your full experience and provide honest feedback.

Be as fair and thorough as possible when describing your carrier partner’s performance, so other shippers can make better, more informed partnering decisions.

Note: In order to rate a transaction, the load must be in Delivered or Cancelled status.
If the carrier has not updated the status, you can update it manually. See the Manage Loads user guide for detailed steps.

Learn more about Transactional Ratings in this step-by-step video tutorial >

Want to fully maximize your Central Dispatch subscription? Be sure to check out our Resource Center, where we’re always adding new content like in-depth video tutorials, thought leadership, and new feature announcements. It’s the best way to keep up to date with the platform, and ensure you’re using every tool to your advantage!

Ready to post your first load? Get started! >