Every load’s papers
in one folder

Everything in freight hangs off the load number. It is the one thing on every document, so make it the one thing your folders are built around.

Keep it simple. One folder per load, and nothing deeper. If you want to sort by month or customer, do it with search and groups instead of more folders.

Pick which number is the load number. A broker’s load ID, a shipper’s PO and a carrier’s PRO number often differ for the same trip, and the rate confirmation may show only one of them. Use the number your invoice carries, and keep the others in the file name or folder note.

Start every file name with the load number, then say what the document is. That way the files sort together in any folder and you can tell them apart without opening them.

Avoid names like RateCon (3), BOL_final or IMG_2210. They look useful for a day and then they are the files nobody can identify.

Real loads are messier than three documents. A multi-stop load can have a POD for each stop, and a lumper receipt or detention paperwork often arrives days later.

A basic load has three documents. When each load lives in its own folder, a folder with only two is easy to see.

Check weekly. Open the loads that delivered in the last seven days and confirm each one has a POD file, then look at it yourself to see that it is signed. Chasing the driver on day two is far easier than on day thirty.

Most small fleets start with a naming rule and a shared folder. It works until the loads pile up and someone is busy.

The next step is a rule that runs on its own whenever a document comes in. You can build it with a script or a no-code tool if you are happy to keep it running. Or you can describe the rule in plain words and let Filex read the load number and file each document for you.

It files documents. It does not check that a signature is valid, tell you a POD is missing, compare the rate on the confirmation with your invoice, or send invoices to your customer. It also cannot file a document that has no load number on it, so a blurry or cut-off photo may need a quick look from you.

Older loads are a separate job. It starts with the paperwork you give it, so last quarter’s loads need their own pass.