Times look shifted in my TMS
Last updated: October 23, 2026
A pickup or delivery time that looks an hour or three off is almost always the right time shown in a different time zone. Check which zone the form shows next to the time, then which zone your TMS screen uses. If the time is wrong, it's usually an AM/PM guess or an appointment the email didn't actually give.
Quick check
| What you see | Likely reason | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The time is off by a whole number of hours | Drumkit shows the time in the stop's local time zone; your TMS screen shows it in another zone (often your office's). | Compare the zone in brackets on the form label with the zone your TMS uses. If they convert to the same moment, nothing is wrong. |
| Off by 12 hours (7:00 became 19:00) | The email didn't say AM or PM, and Kit had to pick. | Fix the time before you build. If the customer always writes times this way, tell us so Kit reads them right next time. |
| The appointment time is blank | The email didn't clearly give an appointment. | Type it in if you have it. Blank is deliberate (see below). |
| The window landed in the appointment fields, or the other way round | The email mixed a ready time, a window and an appointment. | Move it to the right field before you build (see "Appointment or window?"). |
| An error about a missing time zone | The location in your TMS has no time zone set. | Set it on the location in your TMS and build again. |
Which time zone the form uses
On most TMS forms, each date and time field shows the stop's time zone in brackets, for example Appointment Start Time (EDT). The time you see is local to that pickup or delivery, the way the facility would say it. It's sent to your TMS as that exact moment.
Your TMS may show the same moment differently. Many TMS screens show every time in your company's or your user's zone. A 10:00 Eastern pickup then shows as 9:00 on a TMS set to Central. Both are right.
If a label has no zone in brackets, the time goes to your TMS exactly as typed, with no conversion. That's how some TMSs work (see below), and it's also what you'll see when a stop's location has no time zone yet.
Before you call a time wrong, convert it. "8:00 EDT in Drumkit, 7:00 in the TMS" is the same pickup if your TMS shows Central time.
Notes by TMS
| TMS | How times work |
|---|---|
| 3G | Times use the stop's time zone, which comes from the location in 3G. 3G won't accept an order if a pickup or delivery location has no time zone: set it on the location and build again. |
| McLeod | Drumkit shows each stop in its own time zone, shown in brackets on the label. If your McLeod screens use a different zone, the two can look an hour or two apart. |
| Revenova, Turvo, GlobalTranz | Times use the stop's time zone, shown in brackets on the label. |
| Stark | Times use the stop's time zone when Stark has one. If the label shows no zone, double-check the time on the shipment in Stark after you build. |
| Aljex, Tai, PLS 3.0, MercuryGate | No conversion. The time goes to your TMS exactly as it's shown in the form, so set it the way your TMS expects (usually the facility's local time). |
Appointment or window?
Emails mix three different things, and TMS forms keep them apart:
- Ready time or must-deliver-by. When the freight is ready, or the latest it can arrive. Some forms call these Ready Time and Must Deliver By.
- A window. The hours the dock takes trucks, like 7:00 to 15:00. Some forms use Open Time and Close Time, or an appointment type such as Range or FCFS.
- An appointment. A booked time with the facility, often with a confirmation number. These go in Appointment Start Time (and End Time, if it's a slot) and Appointment Number.
Your TMS guide lists the exact fields on your form: find it in Which TMSs Builder supports.
Why the appointment is sometimes blank
Kit only fills appointment fields when the email clearly states an appointment. "Pickup Monday morning" or "dock hours 7 to 3" isn't one. We'd rather leave it blank than have a load look booked when it isn't: a time in that field reads as confirmed to the next person, and a truck showing up unannounced is worse than an empty field. If you have the appointment, type it in.
Only tick boxes like Appointment Confirmed With Location or Confirm Appointment when the facility has actually confirmed.
FAQs
The time was right in Drumkit but wrong in the TMS after I built.
Check the zone first: your TMS may be showing the same moment in a different zone. If it's genuinely a different moment, send the email, the load number and a screenshot of both to support@drumkit.ai.
Can Drumkit show times in my office's time zone instead?
No. On forms that show a zone in the label, each stop is in its own local time, because that's how facilities and carriers talk about appointments.
The customer writes 24-hour times and Kit got them wrong.
Fix them in the form and send us the email. A pattern that repeats for one customer is something we can tune Builder for.
I'm cloning a batch of loads and the times are off.
Look at the Extraction notes on the clone results: Kit says what it assumed. Add a customer instruction so the next batch reads right. See Clone loads from an email.
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