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Getting Started with Commercial Weighing

This guide walks you through setting up a new commercial weighing site on TruLoad, from tenant creation to your first weigh transaction.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  • A TruLoad platform account with tenant admin privileges
  • At least one weighbridge scale connected via TruConnect
  • Network connectivity between the scale workstation and the TruLoad backend

Tenant Setup

1. Create or configure your tenant

Your TruLoad tenant is provisioned by the platform administrator with the Commercial Weighing module enabled. Once created, you receive:

  • A tenant slug (used in URLs and API calls)
  • An admin user account
  • Access to the commercial weighing module

Multi-site operations

If you operate multiple weighbridges, each physical site is configured as a station within your tenant. All stations share the same user directory but have independent scale configurations and shift schedules.

2. Configure your station

  1. Navigate to Setup > Stations and create a station for each physical weighbridge location.
  2. Set the station name, address, and operating hours.
  3. Assign the default cargo types handled at this station.

3. Set up users and roles

  1. Navigate to Setup > Accounts and create user accounts for operators, supervisors, and finance staff.
  2. Assign roles:
Role Access
Operator Weighing capture, ticket printing
Supervisor Weighing review, tolerance approval, tare management, reports
Finance Invoice management, payment reconciliation
Admin Full access including station setup, commercial settings, and user management

4. Configure TruConnect

Install and configure TruConnect on each workstation connected to a scale. Verify the live weight feed appears in the weighing screen before proceeding.

Module Configuration

Commercial settings

Navigate to Setup > Settings > Commercial and configure:

Setting What to set
Weighing Business Model Third-Party Weighbridge if you charge transporters per transaction; Facility-Owned Scale if you weigh your own fleet with no per-transaction fee
Weighing fee (KES) Per-transaction fee (only applies to Third-Party Weighbridge model)
Default tare expiry (days) How long stored tare weights remain valid (default: 90 days)

See Business Models for a full comparison of the two models.

Tolerance settings

Navigate to Setup > Tolerances and define acceptable weight variances. Transactions that exceed a tolerance are flagged and require supervisor approval before the ticket is finalised. See Setup & Configuration for field details.

Configure cargo types

Navigate to Setup > Weighing Metadata > Cargo Types and define the commodities your site handles:

  • Name and code (e.g., Maize / MZ)
  • Default tolerance percentage or absolute weight
  • Quality parameters (moisture target, foreign matter limit) if deductions are enabled

Configure origins and destinations

Navigate to Setup > Weighing Metadata > Origins/Dest. and add the locations your vehicles travel between. These appear on weight tickets and enable route-based reporting.

Register drivers and transporters

Navigate to Setup > Weighing Metadata:

  • Transporters — register haulage companies. Enter the portal email address to invite them to the transporter portal.
  • Drivers — add driver names and licence numbers for fast lookup during capture.
  • Vehicles — pre-register vehicle plates with known tare weights to enable stored-tare single-pass operations.

First-Time Checklist

Use this checklist to confirm your site is ready for production weighing:

  • [ ] Tenant created and accessible at your assigned URL
  • [ ] Commercial weighing module confirmed active (weighing screen shows commercial stepper, not enforcement forms)
  • [ ] Business model selected under Setup > Settings > Commercial (Third-Party Weighbridge or Facility-Owned Scale)
  • [ ] At least one station configured with correct operating hours
  • [ ] Weighing fee and tare expiry set under Setup > Settings > Commercial (fee required for Third-Party model only)
  • [ ] Users created with appropriate roles
  • [ ] TruConnect installed, configured, and streaming live weights
  • [ ] At least one cargo type configured under Setup > Weighing Metadata > Cargo Types
  • [ ] Tolerance settings configured under Setup > Tolerances (optional — only evaluates if operator provides expected net weight)
  • [ ] Key transporters and drivers registered under Setup > Weighing Metadata
  • [ ] Test weighing completed end-to-end (capture → first weight → second weight → ticket printed)
  • [ ] Transporter portal invitations sent to relevant haulers (if applicable)

Next Steps

Once your site is configured, proceed to: