What is Qargo?
Qargo is an intelligent, cloud-based Transport Management System (TMS) designed for carriers, freight forwarders, and 3PLs. It helps logistics companies manage their entire transport operation from a single platform — from the moment an order is received, through planning and execution, all the way to invoicing.
Qargo supports all types of road transport, including:
General haulage
Groupage (LTL/part loads)
Container and intermodal transport
Freight forwarding
Full Truck Load (FTL)
Who is Qargo for?
Qargo is built for teams across the transport business:
Ops & planners — build trips, assign resources, track execution
Customer service — manage orders, communicate updates, handle issues
Finance & admin — review charges, create invoices, manage subcontractor costs
Drivers — receive jobs, complete stops, upload PODs via the mobile app
Management — reporting, performance overview, P&L per trip
Qargo Structure at a Glance
There are 2 aspects to Qargo:
Section | What it covers |
Setup | Configuration: Customers, Rate cards, Transport services, Resources, Users, Integrations |
Workflow | Day-to-day operations: Orders, Planning, Trips, Invoicing |
📚 Most users spend the majority of their time in the Workflow section. The Set-up section is typically configured once during onboarding and updated occasionally.
Key Terminology
Before you start using Qargo, it helps to understand the core building blocks:
📦 Order
An order is a delivery task requested by a customer, typically including a pickup and a drop-off.
Represents the complete movement of goods from origin to destination.
An order is the revenue-generating unit - it belongs to a customer and has a price attached.
Also called a "job" in some markets (particularly UK & Ireland).
🚛 Trip
A trip is the execution of one or more orders.
It represents a vehicle journey with specific resources assigned (driver, truck, trailer)
Multiple orders can be grouped into one trip.
A trip is the cost unit - it's where you assign drivers, vehicles, and subcontractors.
📚 Key distinction: an order = revenue (what you charge the customer). A trip = cost (what it costs to execute).
📬 Consignment
The goods being transported as part of an order. This includes freight details such as weight, volume, number of pallets, and packaging type.
🔗 Stage / Leg
A stage (also called a leg) is a portion of an order — one segment of the overall transport journey. Orders can be split into multiple stages, e.g.:
Collection stage
Line-haul stage
Delivery stage
Each stage can be assigned to a different trip and executed by different resources (e.g. your own fleet for line-haul, a subcontractor for final mile).
🛑 Stop
A stop is a physical location where an action takes place during a trip — loading, unloading, waiting, customs, etc.
👷 Resource
Resources are the assets used to execute trips: drivers, vehicles, and trailers.
🤝 Subcontractor
A subcontractor is an external carrier or driver you assign to execute part (or all) of an order that your own fleet cannot cover. Qargo has a dedicated subcontractor portal so they can view jobs and upload documents directly.
✅ POD (Proof of Delivery)
A signed confirmation that a delivery was completed. Drivers can upload PODs directly through the Qargo mobile app. Similar to a CMR in road freight.
📋 Task
Tasks in Qargo are specific actions that need to be completed as part of an order or trip workflow — for example: upload CMR, send self-bill, approve invoice, collect POD. Tasks make it clear who needs to do what, and when.
The Qargo Workflow: From Order to Invoice
Here is how a typical transport job flows through Qargo, from start to finish.
📥 Order Entry
Orders can be created in Qargo in several ways:
Manually — typed in directly by your team
Templates — reusable order templates for repeat customers or routes
Import — via file upload (CSV/Excel), EDI, API, or automated email reading (Qargo Intelligence)
Quotes — converted from a quote into a confirmed order
Each order includes: customer, collection address, delivery address, consignment details (weight, pallets, etc.), transport service, and pricing.
🗂️ Planning
Once an order is in the system, it appears in the planning board — Qargo's interactive dispatch tool. From here your planners can:
Drag and drop orders onto vehicles/drivers
Create trips manually or let Qargo suggest optimised runs
Combine multiple orders into one trip
Split orders across multiple trips or legs
Assign subcontractors
Set delivery timeslots
The planning board shows all available resources (drivers and vehicles) and their current assignments at a glance.
📱 Execution
Once a trip is planned, the driver can receive their job on the Qargo mobile app. During the trip, drivers can:
See their stops and route
Mark stops as collected or delivered
Upload PODs, CMRs, and other documents
Log waiting time, exceptions, and incidents
Qargo tracks the trip in real time, updating the status of each order automatically.
🔍 Review & Approval
After delivery, orders move to "Delivered" status. Before invoicing, your team can review:
Whether the correct charges were applied
Whether a POD/CMR has been uploaded
Any adjustments needed (waiting time, extras, etc.)
Qargo Intelligence can automatically read and validate uploaded documents against the order data, flagging mismatches.
🧾 Invoicing
Once reviewed and approved, orders move through the invoicing workflow:
Mark as Ready to Invoice (per order, or in bulk)
Create invoice - consolidate one or multiple orders per invoice
Send to customer - as PDF or directly to your accounting system
Send to accounting - push to your connected accounting tool (e.g. Exact, Sage, QuickBooks)
Qargo also handles:
Purchase invoices for subcontractors
Self-billing - automatically generating invoices on behalf of subcontractors
Credit notes for corrections
Pallet network invoicing - for customers on networks like TPN, Palletways, etc.
What Can Qargo Integrate With?
Qargo connects to a wide range of external systems:
Accounting - Exact, Sage, QuickBooks, Unit4, and more
Telematics / FMS - live vehicle tracking
Pallet networks - TPN, Palletways, Pallex, Parceline, and others
WMS / ERP systems - via API or EDI
Port Community Systems - Portbase, Destin8 (for container operations)
Customer portals - give your customers live visibility of their shipments