Build loads from an Excel sheet
Last updated: October 23, 2026
If a customer sends you their loads in a shared Excel workbook on SharePoint or OneDrive, Builder can read the rows straight from the sheet. Open the workbook in Chrome, open the Drumkit sidebar, and each row shows up as a load to build. We set this up per workbook, so it's available once you've talked to the Drumkit team about enabling it for your sheets.
Before you start
- The Drumkit Chrome extension is installed and you're signed in.
- Load Building is turned on for you, and your TMS is one Builder can create loads in. See Which TMSs Builder supports.
- Drumkit has been set up to read that customer's workbook. We do this once per workbook, because every customer lays out their sheet differently. Send the workbook link to support@drumkit.ai to get started.
1. Open the workbook in Chrome
Open the workbook in Excel for the web (from SharePoint, OneDrive or the link the customer sent), not in the Excel desktop app. Go to the sheet tab with the loads you want to build.
2. Open the sidebar and go to Load Building
Click the Drumkit icon in your Chrome toolbar. Drumkit reads the sheet you're on and lists a suggestion for each load row in the Load Building tab. Switch to a different sheet tab in Excel and the list updates to match.
Customer added rows since you opened it? Drumkit picks up changes to the sheet as you work, so give it a moment rather than reloading.
3. Pick a row and check the form
Click the suggestion for the row you want. The load form fills in from that row, the same form you'd get from an email, with the customer, stops, dates and references. Check it top to bottom, starting with the customer. Your TMS guide covers each section: find it in Which TMSs Builder supports.
4. Click Build Load, then record the load number
Click Build Load. You'll see Load Created 🎉 with the new load number and the row's PO. What happens next depends on how your workbook is set up:
- Drumkit writes the number back for you. You'll see "Your load ID was written to" and the place in the sheet. If it can't, it says "Could not update ... automatically. Please paste the load ID there manually." Copy the number and paste it into the sheet.
- You paste it in. Some workbooks are read-only to Drumkit. The success panel shows the load number with a copy button, the row's booking and PO numbers, and Please paste new Load ID into sheet. Click copy and paste it into that row.
That's one row done. Click the next suggestion and repeat.
Putting the load number in the sheet is how you and the customer know a row is built. If you skip it, the next person may build that row again.
How it differs by TMS
The steps are the same everywhere; the form is your TMS's usual Builder form. Two set-ups are common today:
- Drumkit writes back to the sheet. Drumkit reads the workbook through your Microsoft 365 connection and can write the load number into it after you build.
- Drumkit reads the sheet in your browser. The extension reads the rows from the page you have open, and you paste the load number back yourself. The success panel shows the booking and PO numbers so you can find the right row.
Your Drumkit admin knows which one your team has.
FAQs
My workbook is open but no suggestions show.
Check you're in Chrome on Excel for the web, signed in to Drumkit, and on the sheet tab that holds the loads. If it still shows nothing, that workbook may not be set up yet: send the link to support@drumkit.ai.
Can I use the Excel desktop app?
No. Drumkit reads the sheet through the Chrome extension, so open the workbook in Excel for the web.
Does it build every row at once?
No. You build one row at a time, and nothing reaches your TMS until you click Build Load.
A row filled in wrong.
Fix it in the form before you build, then send us the workbook link and the row so we can adjust how Drumkit reads that sheet. See Report a Builder miss.
The customer attached the Excel file to an email instead. Do I need this page?
No. Builder reads Excel attachments on the email like any other tender. See What Builder reads: attachments. This page is for shared workbooks on SharePoint or OneDrive.
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