Scan and Send Load Documents

Only a summary of the steps is given below; for a longer version with full details, see the next section. Release 6.0 of the mobile app (est July 31, 2023) includes a document scanning redesign to improve the way your device detects, scans, and submits load documents. The new screen examples below show standard user interface elements on a typical mobile phone. Similar steps apply to smart phones and tablets (including Microsoft Surface Pro devices) running Apple iOS, Google Android, or Microsoft Windows.

1. On your Transflo Mobile+ app dashboard, tap Scan Documents or Scanning.

   

2. To add photos of documents already saved on your mobile device, tap ADD EXISTING IMAGE.

   

   1. You can make many of the same edits to your added images as described below for new photos such as crop, rotate, or adjust brightness.

   2. Tap Next after each step.

3. To take a new photo of a document:

   1. Fill the screen with the document. Keep your hands steady. Wait for the blue Document Detected message and then take the picture yourself or let Auto Snap take it for you.

   2. Tap the white circle to take a photo of the current page. If Auto Detect and Auto Snap are ON, the app detects and captures the photo for you. To remind you Auto Snap is ON, the white TAKE PHOTO circle changes to blue.

   3. Tap the green checkmark or tap Delete (the trash can) and try again.

      

4. You can crop the detected preview of a live photo now (when you first capture the image) or crop it later. You can also crop an existing photo of a document you already scanned and are now adding. Tap Next.

5. You can make any of the following optional adjustments:

   • Discard: Confirm your decision to trash this item and start over, or cancel to keep it.

   • Rotate: To rotate your page 90 degrees clockwise, tap Rotate.

   • Brightness: To make an image or text more clear, lighter, or darker, tap the Brightness button at the bottom of the screen.

   • Crop: To crop your image, tap Crop.

   • Format: Choose Black and White, Grayscale , or Color.

   • Tap Next.

6. On the Choose Document Type screen, tap the type of document you just scanned or added.

   

   To change a document type, you can tap on its name in the list and then tap Edit DocType. Select a different document type. On some devices, you might have to tap Back or swipe left or right to go back to the list.

   

7. To add more document pages to send in this same batch for one or more loads, tap the Add Page button and repeat the steps above for adding existing documents or using the camera to capture new documents.

   

8. To view a larger Preview of each item in the list, tap its small thumbnail image. You can also edit the document type one more time on the Preview screen. To go back to the list, tap Back.

   

9. To remove an item from the list, tap X Remove.

10. If you need to cancel all documents, exit the app. Exercise caution when using this feature. You might still have your existing images saved on your device but any recent items you just captured are deleted when you tap DELETE ALL. If you have the paper originals or copies, you can send them later.

    

11. To submit your documents, tap Submit:

    1. A Document Attributes screen might ask you to enter your driver ID, description, load or BOL number, and truck number. In some configurations, your driver ID is entered for you. Tap Next.

       

    2. If your company requires signatures, tap Add Signatures. You might be asked to sign your name or physically hand your device to someone else to sign a document on-screen writing with a stylus or just a finger.

    3. When all documents are ready, tap Send All.

       

12. Your batch confirmation number appears. You can make a note of it now or refer to the text message, e-mail, or in-app notification you receive later.

    

    To view those documents again later (over the next 14 days), go to transfloexpress.com and enter the confirmation number.

    

13. Tap Close in the top right corner of the screen to go back to the dashboard.

14. If you perform the steps above and tap Send All and then get the following message, it means your documents were almost ready to be sent but you lost your 4G/5G cellular data or Wi-Fi network connection:

    Unable to upload. Would you like to add to the upload queue or cancel and try again?

    We recommend that you tap Add to Document Queue and then allow time for your device to re-establish a data or Wi-Fi connection.

Release 6.0 of the mobile app in August 2023 includes a document scanning redesign to improve the way you can detect, scan, and submit load documents. The new screen examples below show standard user interface elements on a typical mobile phone. Similar steps apply to smart phones and tablets (including Microsoft Surface Pro devices) running Apple iOS, Google Android, or Microsoft Windows.

1. On the dashboard, tap Scan Documents, Scanning, or the custom menu item for document capture in your edition of the Transflo Mobile+ app running on your device (features vary by carrier or fleet).

   

2. (Optional)  Review any custom instructions provided by your organization and then tap Start. If you do not see this screen, ignore this step.

   

3. Decide if you want to ADD AN EXISTING PHOTO or TAKE A NEW PHOTO. You can add a photo image of a document you already captured on your phone or take a new photo of each load document. This option is up to you or your company requirements. The batch of documents you send can be a mix of existing documents and new documents. If you cannot decide, do what is most convenient for you:

   • Use Your Own Camera App: Some drivers take photos or save electronic documents on their phone or tablet over the span of hours or days at each stop and then send each batch of existing documents later.

   • Use Built-in Transflo Mobile+ Document Capture: Others wait until final delivery to take all their new photo scans of documents for a load at the same time and then immediately send them.

   • Use Both Methods: For example, you pickup a load in Denver and save a PNG image file of the eBOL. You drive to Cleveland and receive a PDF of the signed ePOD and save it as a JPEG. You also receive a paper unloading (lumper) receipt. When you send your documents for this load, you take a live photo of the paper receipt and add the eBOL (PNG) and ePOD (JPG) files off your phone.

4. To add existing images or photos of documents that you already saved on your mobile device, tap the ADD EXISTING FILE button.

   

   1. Search or swipe up, down, left, or right to locate your existing document. Options vary by device. You can select one document file at a time to add to your temporary list of load documents you are about to send.

      

      

      Tip: Consider using a consistent naming convention to save yourself time. If you snap a photo of an eBOL for load number 1234 and save it as 1234.png, you can easily find it when you are ready to submit all docs for load 1234.

       

       

   2. You can make many of the same edits to your photos as described below for new photos such as crop, rotate, or adjust brightness.

   3. Tap Next after each step.

5. To take a new photo of a document, follow these sub-steps:

   1. A No Document Detected message might appear.

      

      • Allow yourself time to place your document on a flat surface and get your camera phone into position.

      • Place your paper document on a flat, dark, or contrasting non-glare surface with bright indirect surrounding light.

      • Bright light and flash are generally recommended for poor-quality documents, multi-part carbon copy forms, or documents on colored paper.

      • If the document is on glossy paper or a shiny surface, we recommend that you turn OFF the camera flash feature.

   2. If prompted, tap Open Settings to open your mobile device operating system settings to allow camera access permissions for the Transflo Mobile app.

      

      

      Tip: If you are frustrated by these settings, you are not alone. Just bear in mind these are not Transflo app settings. The settings in this step are standard privacy and security settings on your mobile device for all apps and you are in control by design. Transflo cannot control these settings for you.

       

   3. Tap the app Settings button in the lower right corner and choose your camera preferences (the settings in this step are for the Transflo app):

      • Auto Detect: This smart feature automatically detects the edges or borders of pages.

      • Auto Snap: This time-saving feature automatically takes the photo for you when it detects your document. If you want to take your own photos, you can turn Auto Snap OFF.

        

        Tip: To turn Auto Snap ON, you must also turn the Auto Detect setting ON. If you forget, a message appears to remind you.

        

         

      • Flash: Tap Settings and then tap your camera flash preference. From left to right, you can choose: OFF (no flash), AUTO (flash automatically lights up when needed in low-light conditions), or ON (the camera uses flash for every photo you take).

        

   4. Fill the entire screen with the document. Keep your hands steady and try to remain completely motionless when taking the picture. If you are in-cab, turn off your engine to eliminate vibration.

      • To make barcodes more readable, position your camera phone about 14 inches away.

      • To get the best focus, wait for the blue Document Detected message to appear and then take the picture yourself or let Auto Snap take it for you.

      • In some configurations, you can also tap the screen to trigger an auto-focus square and then take the picture. The auto-focus square is configurable based on your fleet settings, so it may or may not appear.

   5. Tap the white circle to take a photo of the document (or page 1 of a multi-page document). If Auto Detect and Auto Snap are ON, the app detects and captures the photo for you. To remind you Auto Snap is ON, the white TAKE PHOTO circle changes to a blue circle.

      • If you are satisfied with the captured preview image, tap the green checkmark.

      • If you are not satisfied with the captured preview image, tap Delete (the trash can) and try again.

        

   6. If the app detects a blurry image, you are prompted to keep it and continue or retake the photo.

      Blurry Image: Image appears to be blurry. Would you like to retake this image?

      • To replace the blurry image with a new one, tap Retake.

      • If you think the blurry image is acceptable or the best you can do for now, tap Continue.

        

   7. If you are satisfied with the image, tap Next.

      

      (Optional:) You can crop the detected preview of a live photo now (when you first capture the image) or crop it later. You can also crop an existing photo of a document you already scanned. To crop out unnecessary parts of the page, drag the blue dots or grab handles around the document at each corner to crop the image down to the exact size you want. As you move each corner, the area is enlarged in a preview circle for optimum precision.

      

      When finished, tap Next.

      

   8. You can make any of the following optional adjustments (or, skip all adjustments and accept the current document as it is by tapping Next):

      

      • Discard: To revert any changes you made and restore the original image, tap Discard. You can then confirm your decision to trash this item and start over, or cancel to keep it.

      • Rotate: To rotate your page 90 degrees clockwise, tap Rotate.

      • Brightness: To make light text more clear, tap the Brightness feature at the bottom of the screen. Darken can be tapped multiple times to continue darkening the text. If the page becomes too dark, tap the Lighter option, to reverse the changes. New in this release is the ability to simply drag the line to adjust the brightness level.

        

        Tip: The brightness setting applies to black and white or grayscale images but not color images. Adjusting the brightness of full-color documents and photos is planned as a future feature.

         

      • Crop: To crop your image (if you didn't already crop it), tap Crop. The app attempts to apply your last saved cropping region to each document. To crop out a different unnecessary region of the page, drag the blue dots or grab handles around the document at each corner to crop the image down to the exact area you want (the rest is unnecessary and cropped or hidden from further view). As you move each corner, the area is enlarged in a preview circle for optimum precision.

        New in 6.0.1 is the ability to choose from the following three (3) Crop Image options:

        • Crop: To apply your current crop region to the document and save that same cropping shape or region so it is applied by default to future documents to save you time, tap Crop.

        • Reset: If you adjusted the last saved cropping region (you moved the blue dots) but want to discard your changes and go back to the last saved crop region, tap Reset.

        • Cancel: To cancel any crop adjustments, revert to the un-cropped original document, and go back to the Scan Adjustments screen, tap Cancel.

          

      • Format: You can often reduce the data size of load documents which can speed performance and save time. For example, tap Format and then decide if you can reduce your image to Black and White without sacrificing quality. If not, tap Grayscale as an acceptable common ground for the majority of documents. Tap Color only if your document requires color to be viewed (for example, a color photograph of people, products, equipment, a map, or a page that uses colors such as red, yellow, or green to indicate status).

        Example: In the following example, the user adjusted the format to black and white and reduced the brightness so the black text was darker. Typically, these adjustments are made separately; however, in this specific scenario, both the format and brightness controls appear at the same time.

        

        

        Tip 1: Many fleets take advantage of a global Transflo feature that automatically sets the document format based on the document type. For example, all invoices might be set to color and all BOLs might be set to black and white. In these environments, the Format button is hidden and you can safely continue to the next step.

         

      • To keep your changes, tap Next.

6. On the Choose Document Type screen, tap the type of document you just scanned. .

   

   To change a document type, you can tap on its name in the list and then tap Edit DocType. Select a different document type. On some devices, you might have to tap Back or swipe left or right to go back to the list.

   

7. At this step, you have at least one document in the list. To add more document pages to send in this same batch for one or more loads, tap the Add Page button and repeat the steps above for adding existing documents or using the camera to capture new documents.

   

8. To view a larger Preview of each item in the list, tap its small thumbnail image. You can also edit the document type one more time on the Preview screen. To go back to the list, tap Back.

   

9. To remove an item from the list, tap X Remove.

   

10. (Optional) If you need to cancel all documents, exit the app. Exercise caution when using this feature. You might still have your existing images saved on your device but any recent items you just captured are deleted when you tap DELETE ALL. If you have the paper originals or copies, you can send them later.

    

11. When you are ready to submit your documents, tap Submit. The steps you take next vary by company:

    1. A Document Attributes screen might appear where you can complete any fields configured by your fleet to make sure the documents you send are associated with the right matching data. For example, in your app, the screen might ask you to enter your driver ID, description, load or BOL number, and truck number. In some configurations, your driver ID is entered for you.

       

    2. Tap Next.

    3. If your company requires signatures, tap Add Signatures. If you are prompted, tap OK and then tap Add Signature.

       

       You might be asked to sign your name or physically hand your device to someone else to sign a document. Sign directly on the screen with a stylus or finger and then tap Next.

       

       In some Transflo configurations, you can electronically send a signature request to someone, an authorized person can sign, and you receive the signed document back all electronically (no paper documents to scan).

       

    4. When all documents are ready, tap Send All.

       

12. Your batch confirmation number appears. You can make a note of it now or refer to the text message, e-mail, or in-app notification you receive later.

    

13. To view those documents again later (over the next 14 days), go to transfloexpress.com and enter the confirmation number.

    

14. Tap Close in the top right corner of the screen to go back to the dashboard.

15. If you perform the steps above and tap Send All and then get the following message, it means your documents were almost ready to be sent but you lost your 4G/5G cellular data or Wi-Fi network connection:

    Unable to upload. Would you like to add to the upload queue or cancel and try again?

    We recommend that you tap Add to Document Queue and then allow time for your device to re-establish a data or Wi-Fi connection.

    To learn more about this new offline scanning feature, see the following section below.

This section lists common concerns, popular tips, and answers to frequently-asked questions (FAQ) about the new 2024 document scanning and photo capture features in Transflo Mobile+ Release 6.0 (first introduced in August 2023).

Q1: How can I tell if I have the old or new document capture features on my mobile device?

A: The best way to identify your current release is to view the app version number on your device. If you have release 6.0 or higher, you have the new document capture features. If you just want a quick way to check at-a-glance, refer to the following example image:

 

• Camera Starts Automatically: In previous releases, you had to choose ADD EXISTING or USE CAMERA. The new release saves you the extra step and automatically starts your camera. It can even auto detect, auto flash, and auto capture the image of your document or photo for you. You still have the option of adding an existing document or image already stored on your device.

• Five (5) Adjustment Buttons: In most implementations, the new release has a row of five (5) adjustment buttons. Previous releases had only four (4) buttons. If your fleet sets all image formats to black and white or grayscale, the Format option might be hidden. The new R6.0 user interface is indicated by the presence of the Crop button. In the new release, the ability to crop an image is available both during capture and again during adjustment.

• Larger Next Buttons: To help you advance through each screen better, the smaller text header buttons to go to the Next screen have been replaced by larger Next buttons at the bottom of each screen.

 

Q2: What does it mean when the TAKE PHOTO circle changes from white to blue?

A: When the TAKE PHOTO circle button you would normally tap to scan a document (or snap a photo) changes from white to blue it means you have the Auto Snap feature ON and the device is about to take a photo of a document. If it shows No Document Detected, hold your camera steady until it shows Document Detected and then your device can snap the picture for you.

 

Q3: What image file formats can I add when sending documents?

A: When you upload documents using the ADD EXISTING button, you can browse through the saved images on your phone (also known as upload from gallery or gallery upload). You can also add scanned image files stored online (for example, in iCloud or Google Drive). A copy of the file is sent to your recipient (your fleet, broker, or payment processing vendor) when you tap Send.

The following image types are supported:

• JPEG: File names end in .jpg or .jpeg.

• PNG: File names end in .png.

• BITMAP: File names end in .bmp.

• WEBP: File names end in .webp.

  

Other image formats might allow selection or upload but might not be fully supported. Remember these are images of documents: no traditional document file types are allowed; so you cannot upload Word documents, PDFs, or text documents.

After you submit your load documents in the mobile app, you can view them as PDF or TIFF files for up to 14 days at www.TransfloExpress.com.

 

Q4: How can I send a PDF?

A: Even though Adobe Acrobat PDF is not yet supported (it is on the roadmap for 2024), you can follow these steps as an easy way to take a screenshot of the PDF and send that instead. When you upload documents using the ADD EXISTING button, you can browse through the saved images on your phone (also known as upload from gallery or gallery upload). PDF is a common format but is not yet supported as a valid image type. As a workaround, to send a PDF, first take a screenshot of it, crop it, and send that.

1. Open the Adobe Acrobat PDF file of your document (such as a lumper or BOL) on your mobile device. Zoom in to size the part you need so it is as large as possible and fits within your screen.

   

2. Take a screenshot. Options vary by device. See the documentation or online videos that explain exactly how to take a screenshot on your iOS or Android mobile operating system release and the exact brand and model of your phone or tablet.

3. Back in Transflo Mobile+, when you tap ADD EXISTING, you can now select the PNG image of your screenshot.

4. Crop it and send it just like you would any other document type.

   

 

Q5: Should I crop my new photo now or adjust it later?

A: You can crop your photo immediately after taking it or adding it; or, you can crop it later with the other adjustment options (rotate, brightness, format). Two advantages to cropping the initial image:

• the specific portion of the page that you want to crop is fresh in your mind

• you have a smaller area to adjust (rotate, brightness, format) later; as a best practice, crop your image first so you can focus on the important part of the document (and crop out the unnecessary parts)

Example A: A driver prefers to place four (4) load documents down on a flat surface and take one (1) photo instead of four (4). The driver uploads the image and crops the borders down to show only page 1. The driver uploads the same image again and crops it to page 2, and so on. The driver sends all four (4) cropped pages from just one (1) photo image.

Example B: A driver prefers to take separate photos of each load document. This driver is comfortable working with a larger number of document image files. With the Auto-Detect (Borders) feature ON, they typically do not have to crop any pages.

 

Q6: Should I send documents for just one load at a time?

A: Yes, most carriers and brokers typically prefer that you send your digital documents or photos of paperwork associated with just one specific load (and matching invoice) at a time. You can submit multiple photos and pages as long as they all pertain to the same single load. Unless you get pre-approval in advance to have someone sort out your batch submissions later, do not send documents for more than one load at a time.

 

Q7: What are the recommended camera and flash specs?

A: For the best quality and performance, we recommend a 12.0 mega-pixel (MP) camera with an available flash feature for scanning documents.

 

Introduced in November 2022, the new document queue feature allows you to scan documents in offline mode and send them later when a 4G/5G data or wireless network connection is available.

Tip: The Offline Document Queue feature is not available in custom white label configurations of the mobile app that display your custom company logo. Only the generic public app available in the Apple AppStore or from the Google Play store includes this feature.

 

1. After you complete the document scanning steps above and tap Send All, if you get the following message, it means your documents are almost ready to be sent but your network connection has low signal strength or was lost:

   Unable to upload. Would you like to add to the upload queue or cancel and try again?

   To save the documents and files in your pending unsent batch locally on your device until a data or Wi-Fi connection is available, tap Add to Document Queue.

   

   On some devices you might still see the following older classic screen design; however, the feature works the same way.

   

2. Tap OK.

   

3. At this point, no further action is required. You can continue driving, go OFF-DUTY, or do other tasks. The app will continue to try to acquire a data or Wi-Fi signal to send your pending batches in the document queue. To avoid delays, make sure your mobile device has a wireless network or cellular data connection.

   All of the remaining steps are optional.

4. To check on progress, tap the ≡Actions menu in the top-left corner.

   

5. In the resulting Actions menu, tap Document Queue.

   

6. On the default Queued Documents page, your pending unsent batches appear.

   

   

   Tip: If you believe you have established network service, tap the Resend button in the top right corner to make the app re-attempt to send all queued documents.

7. At the bottom of the screen, tap Service or No Service. The status of your cellular and Wi-Fi services appears. For example, your documents could not be sent because you had no cellular data or Wi-Fi connectivity. It is also possible that you were in Wi-Fi Upload Only (you can turn this ON or OFF in Settings) mode but not within the range of a local access point or wide-area network.

   

8. When service is restored, the app automatically attempts to upload your queued documents. The spinning progress icon indicates the app is attempting to send your documents.

   

   As examples, service might be restored in any of the following ways:

   • You drive within range of a cell tower.

   • Your signal strength improves.

   • You adjust your mobile device settings for data, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.

   • You connect to a wireless hotspot.

9. If successful, the documents are sent and your queue is empty again.

   

10. To confirm, tap Completed.

    

11. To perform the following options, click the Options menu for a specific batch in the list:

    

    1. To resend a batch, tap Resend.

    2. To delete a batch, tap Delete. For example, you know it is an extra duplicate or you plan to rescan, add more pages, and send the entire corrected batch later.

    3. To get the confirmation number for the batch, tap Confirmation #.

       

12. To view any failed batches, tap the Failed button.

    

    The app continues to try to send any pending documents in the queue that were blocked due to any loss of connectivity; however, even after a successful network connection, a batch might fail because of a more serious issue such as a power outage, network server error, or other failure.

    Whenever possible, all batches return to the queue and are re-attempted until successful. If sending a batch is simply not possible, any Failed Documents appear temporarily, cannot be re-attempted, and are removed from the queue.

    

    If you continue to experience failed documents, contact your manager, fleet administrator, or Transflo Support.

     

If you still see the following screen examples, your device is not yet running the new user interface for document scanning known as the 6.0 release (available July 31, 2023) or your custom app simply continues to use these classic steps. Most fleets and independent drivers will benefit by upgrading to the new release; however, check with your manager. Some fleets might delay or schedule their upgrades as a group at a later date and can continue to use the following pre-6.0 or classic steps and screens.

1. On the dashboard, tap Scan Documents.

   

2. To add existing photos of documents saved on your mobile device, tap the blue ADD EXISTING button.

   

   1. Search or swipe down to locate your document.

      

   2. Tap Accept.

      

3. To take a new photo of a document, tap on the green USE CAMERA button:

   1. If prompted, allow camera access.

      

   2. Place document on a flat, dark or contrasting non-glare surface with adequate bright surrounding light.

      • If the document is on glossy paper or a shiny surface, we recommend that you turn OFF the camera flash feature on your device.

      • Bright light and flash are recommended for poor-quality documents, multi-part carbon copy forms, or documents on colored paper.

   3. Turn the camera flash feature ON or OFF by tapping Auto, On, or Off next to the white flashlight icon at the top.

      

   4. Fill the entire screen with the document. Keep your hands steady and try to remain stable when taking the picture. If you are in-cab, turn off your engine to eliminate vibration.

   5. To make barcodes more readable, position the document about 14 inches away.

   6. To get the best focus, wait for the blue Auto-Focus square to appear and then take the picture. You can also tap the screen to trigger the auto-focus and then take the picture. The Auto-Focus square is configurable, so it may or may not appear, based on your fleet settings.

   7. Tap Snap to take a photo of the document (or page 1 of a multi-page document).

      

   8. On the Cropping screen, drag the blue dots around the document corners to crop the image. Tap Next.

      Example 1: You can crop a live photo when using the camera.

      

      Example 2: You can crop an existing photo of a document you already scanned.

      

   9. To make light text more clear, tap the BRIGHTNESS feature at the bottom of the screen. Darken can be tapped multiple times to continue darkening the text. If the page becomes too dark, tap the Lighter feature, to reverse the changes.

      

4. On the Scan Adjustments screen, make any necessary edits to the image of the document using the buttons on the bottom. When the image has been edited, tap Accept in the top right corner.

   

5. On the Choose document type window, tap the type of document you just scanned. Tap Accept.

   

6. Tap one or more documents to send in this batch and then tap Next.

   

7. Enter your driver ID, description, load number, and truck number. Tap Next.

   

8. To add more documents or pages to send in this same batch for the same load, tap the blue Add Pages button and repeat the steps above for adding existing documents or using the camera.

9. (Optional) If you need to cancel and return to the dashboard, tap the red Discard All button.

10. When all the document images for this load have been added, tap the green Send All button.

    

11. Your batch confirmation number appears. You can make a note of it now or refer to the text message, e-mail, or in-app notification you will receive later.

    

12. (Optional) To view those documents again later (over the next 14 days), go to transfloexpress.com and enter the confirmation number.

    

13. Tap Close in the top right corner of the screen to go back to the dashboard.

14. If you perform the steps above and tap Send All and get the following message, it means your documents are almost ready to be sent but you lost your data or Wi-Fi network connection:

    Unable to upload. Would you like to add to the upload queue or cancel and try again?

    To learn more about this new offline scanning feature, see Scan Offline with Document Queue.

Optional videos for users still on older releases of the mobile app (for example, a classic custom or "white-label" edition of the app):