# TMS integration planning: map the data first

TMS integration planning is the work of deciding which system owns each important fact, how it moves, and what the team does when two systems disagree. A vendor logo list cannot answer those questions. Start with the actual tools used in dispatch, telematics, documents, accounting, and payments.

## Make a field map

For each connection, record the source system, destination, unique identifier, fields, direction, expected delay, error path, and human owner. At minimum, trace load ID, truck and driver ID, stop times, status timestamps, rate, POD, invoice number, and settlement status. Specify whether the TMS can edit the field or only display it.

For example, if the telematics system sends a truck location while the driver reports an arrival, decide whether these are separate facts or competing versions of one status. Store their timestamps and sources. If the accounting system owns the final invoice number, the TMS should not create a second authoritative number.

## Test the failure path

- What happens when an event is delayed, duplicated, or arrives out of order?
- How is a failed sync surfaced and retried?
- Can the team reconcile a record without losing the original evidence?
- Who can disconnect a source and what data remains accessible?

ELD requirements should be checked separately from TMS integration claims. [FMCSA's ELD guidance](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/elds/electronic-logging-devices) describes US records of duty status; [Transport Canada's ELD page](https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/electronic-logging-devices) covers Canadian requirements and certified devices. A TMS connection does not itself establish regulatory compliance.

RunaboutX lists integration categories on its [integrations overview](/integrations/), but no named connector is publicly confirmed. Use this map to ask for a specific supported path and its current status.

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Canonical: https://www.runaboutx.com/resources/learn/tms-integration-planning/
Last reviewed: 2026-09-26