Export loads to DAT with an upload file
Open Import/Export → Export to DAT, tick the sources you want and click Export. SmartLoads downloads a CSV file and marks those loads as sent for your whole agency. You then upload the file with DAT's bulk upload. SmartLoads doesn't connect to DAT for you.
SmartLoads builds the DAT file. You upload it to DAT yourself.
Admins can always export. Other team members need Import / Export turned on by an admin to open the Export to DAT window.
Make the file
- In the left menu, click Import/Export, then Export to DAT.
- At the top of the Export to DAT window, pick Not sent yet or Everything on the board.
- Tick the sources to include. Each source shows how many loads are on the board, how many were sent, and who sent them last.
- Check each source's Phone. It goes into the file's Comment, so make sure it's your number. You can also change a source's Pickup date. Both change this file only.
- Click Export. The button shows how many loads go in the file.
The CSV file downloads. A file with more than 500 rows comes as a ZIP of several CSV files.
Not sent yet lists loads that haven't gone to DAT. Loads kept from earlier days come back here each night so you can send them again. A source that's all sent can be ticked to send its loads again.
Everything on the board lists all the loads for each ticked source, sent or not. Export everything to DAT in the same menu opens the window on that choice.
The window lists the sources SmartLoads has set up for DAT export, one row each. Loads from other sources don't appear in it.
On Not sent yet, Mark as already sent marks some sources' loads as sent without making a file. Its window says which. Use it only when those loads are already on DAT today.
Upload it to DAT
Upload the CSV with DAT's bulk upload on the DAT load board. SmartLoads doesn't sign in to DAT, so the loads aren't on DAT until you upload the file.
What "sent" means
Exported loads are marked as sent. The mark is on the load, so it counts for your whole agency: once anyone exports a load, it's sent for everyone.
"Sent" means the load went into a downloaded file. It doesn't mean DAT has it.
Loads kept on the board overnight go back to not sent each night.
What's in the file
- One row per load. A load that lists more than one trailer type gets one row per type.
- The pickup date is the load's ship date, or the Pickup date you set if that's later. It's never earlier than today.
- The Comment has the tarp line when the load needs a tarp, and the source's phone.
- The DAT rate column stays empty unless the customer's Show rate on load boards switch is on. Per-ton loads never get a rate. The file never carries what your customer pays you.
Some loads are left out: loads held for location or rate review, loads missing a pickup or destination, and loads whose customer has Send to DAT switched off.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send just one load?
Yes, if it isn't sent yet and its source is set up for DAT export. Open the load's row menu (the three dots) and choose the DAT option. It downloads a file for that load and marks it sent.
Can a load go out twice?
Only if someone chooses to send it again: Everything on the board includes sent loads, and on Not sent yet a source that's all sent can be ticked again.
Does SmartLoads remove loads from DAT?
No. SmartLoads has no connection to DAT, so remove loads on DAT yourself. Truckstop is different: once your agency connects Truckstop, SmartLoads posts and removes loads there through Truckstop's API.