You're running three systems to do one job.
A load board for loads. QuickBooks for invoices. A spreadsheet for carrier rates. Email for everything else. When a customer asks for a status update, you're alt-tabbing between all of them.
You've been here.
Your per-seat TMS bill grows with every hire.
Most TMS vendors charge per dispatcher seat plus a platform fee. Add a second dispatcher and your monthly cost jumps $150-300. Add an accounting person and it jumps again. You're paying for headcount, not throughput.
Carrier vetting is a manual Friday afternoon job.
Someone has to check the FMCSA database, pull the COI, verify the BOC-3. If nobody remembered, you find out when a claim comes in. Insurance lapsed in February. Load ran in March.
Payment timing hurts your carrier relationships.
Paper checks or ACH batch runs take 5-15 business days. Carriers who need to get paid to fill their tank for the next run start avoiding your loads. Your network shrinks quietly.