Users first, then Drivers, Customers, Vendors, Equipment Types, Equipment, Materials, Sites, and finally optional items like Departments and Service Classes. Equipment Types must exist before you can add Equipment. See Master Data Overview.
Flat or parent/child hierarchy?
Flat is the default and right for almost everyone. Use parent/child only for real regional splits with separate dispatchers, billing, and AP. See Companies & Hierarchy.
Where do I create drivers, vendors, and equipment?
At the parent company. Share down to child companies that need them. Creating at the child level is the most common setup mistake — it blocks cross-division dispatch and breaks reporting.
What's the difference between a Project and an Order?
A Project is a long-running container — the customer, the site, the rates, the materials. An Order is the daily work that runs against the project. One project can have hundreds of orders. See Orders & Projects.
Do I need a geofence on every site?
Yes. A geofence (a virtual fence around a site) is what triggers automatic load start and end. Without it, drivers have to start and end every load by hand. See Sites & Geofences.
After the load is approved. Approvals run in three tiers: shift, job, and load. Tickets that don’t appear on a settlement are almost always tickets that haven’t been approved yet. See Settlements & Driver Pay.
How do I fix an approved settlement?
Void it. Tread doesn’t edit approved settlements in place. Void, unapprove the lines, fix the data, re-approve, and create a new settlement. Voided settlements stay under the Void filter for audit.
How do fuel surcharges work?
Three pieces. A Fuel Price Index (the weekly diesel reference). A Surcharge Schedule (the price-to-surcharge table). And an Add-On that applies the schedule to an order. Update the index weekly. See Manage Rates, Add-Ons, Fees.
Can I split one job across two invoices?
No. One job is one invoice. If a customer needs separate invoices for different scopes, build separate jobs.
How does commission on driver pay work?
Commission applies to the line item, not the invoice total. If you set a 20% commission, each line carries its own 20% calculation. Test commission on the settlement side before go-live.
Can I export billing to my accounting system?
Yes — QuickBooks (via Rutter), Sage 300, Vista, Foundation, and Spectrum. See Integrations.
What's the difference between a vendor and an owner-operator?
A vendor is a hauling company you sub-dispatch to. An owner-operator (O&O) is a single driver who owns their truck and runs for you directly. Owner-operators get dispatched like internal drivers; vendors receive a job and assign their own driver.
Can I dispatch directly to a driver on a vendor's account?
Yes, if the vendor enables Direct Dispatch on their account. Otherwise the vendor accepts the job and assigns one of their drivers.
How do I remove a driver who left?
Deactivate, don’t delete. Deleting locks the phone number, which blocks reuse later. Deactivation keeps history intact and frees the phone number.
How long does it take vendors and drivers to adopt the app?
Plan for four weeks of resistance. The dispatcher holds the line: tickets and signatures come from the app, no paper backup. Customers who hold this line see zero churn after the first month.
Can drivers see the customer billing rate?
No, and they must not. Driver-facing rates show the driver pay rate only. Customer rates and markups are role-restricted. See Roles & Permissions.
QuickBooks (via Rutter), Sage 300, Vista Viewpoint, Foundation, and Spectrum. The data flows one way: Tread to your accounting system. See Integrations Overview.
Which telematics providers are supported?
Samsara and Geotab. Telematics gives Tread the truck’s GPS and engine state, which powers the live map and auto-geofence triggers. See Telematics.
Does Tread integrate with HCSS HeavyJob?
Yes. The HCSS integration is bidirectional — jobs, cost codes, equipment hours, and timecards sync between systems. See HCSS HeavyJob.
Can I use Tread without an accounting integration?
Yes. Most customers run for weeks on CSV exports before connecting accounting. The export covers customers, invoices, bills, and settlements.
iPhone (iOS 15 and newer) and Android (10 and newer). Older Android devices may run the app but battery and GPS performance degrade.
Does the app work without service?
Yes. Drivers can capture tickets, signatures, and timesheet photos offline. Tread queues the data and uploads when service returns.
Why didn't a load auto-start?
Almost always a geofence problem. Either the site has no geofence, the radius is too small, or the driver’s GPS is disabled. Check the site, then the driver’s location permission. See Sites & Geofences.
Can a foreman create orders from the app?
Yes. A user with the foreman role can create orders, dispatch trucks, and approve work from the same Tread mobile app drivers use. See Foreman App.
Pricing is per truck per month, with a platform fee. Talk to your account executive for a quote — pricing varies by trucks under management, integrations, and contract length.
Do you charge per driver or per vendor?
No. The license is on trucks under dispatch, not on user seats. Dispatchers, foremen, billing leads, and connected customers don’t add to the count.
Is there a free trial?
Tread runs proof-of-value pilots — usually 30 to 60 days against one yard or one customer. Talk to sales.
