Documentation · Get started

Getting started

From signup to your first audit-ready compliance check in under 10 minutes. No credit card. No data lock-in. Every step below is concrete and works against your real fleet from minute one.

Head to /signup. Email + password or a magic link — pick whichever your team uses. No credit card required for the 7-day trial; the Hazmat add-on is included in the trial period.

After signup you'll see the onboarding wizard at /app/onboarding. Three quick steps:

Carrier basics — legal name, USDOT, MC (we'll auto-populate from FMCSA SAFER if you paste your USDOT)
Power-unit + driver count — drives the per-driver pricing
Operating profile — interstate / intrastate, hazmat yes/no, primary cargo type

That's the only data we require to start. Everything else can be added incrementally as you use the product.

2 · Import drivers + vehicles

Three paths, pick whichever fits your data shape today:

CSV import (fastest for fleets > 10 drivers)

From /app/drivers click Import CSV. We provide the template — the columns map 1:1 to the § 391.51 DQ file slots. Required fields are CDL number, state, expires-on, medical-card-expires-on. Everything else is progressively enriched as you log activity.

CSV columns
first_name,last_name,email,phone,cdl_number,cdl_state,cdl_expires_on,medical_card_expires_on,hire_date,status
John,Doe,[email protected],5555550100,K12345678,MI,2027-04-15,2026-09-30,2024-01-15,active
...

Manual entry (best for 1-10 drivers, mixed data quality)

From /app/drivers click + Add driver. Every input field has the CFR section it satisfies labeled inline. Missing fields glow red — the DQ Files Brain at /app/dq-filestracks completion per driver against the 12-slot § 391.51 checklist.

API ingest (best for ELD + TMS integrations)

If you already have driver/vehicle data in Motive, Samsara, Geotab, or your own TMS, push it via our API. See /docs/api. The same auth + RLS rules that protect the UI protect the API.

3 · Ask Compass your first question

From any /app/ page the Ask Compass widget sits in the lower right (and the full-screen version is at /app/ask). Type a question. Every CFR citation in the answer is round-tripped against the live eCFR.gov registry — verified citations get a green ✓ chip, unverified get an amber ⚠.

Try these to see the surface area:

"What's our random rate target for 2026?"
"How long do I keep DQ files after a driver leaves?"
"4,000 lbs of UN1203 — do I need placards?"
"Annual MVR review — is once-a-year per state enough?"

If you want to test before signup, the same demo is on the homepage at x3compass.com — 5 free questions per IP per 6 hours, no auth needed.

4 · Turn on the daily digest

From /app/settings → Notifications. Pick a delivery time and the channel (email + optional SMS). The digest fires at 07:00 in your local tz with:

Drivers with CDLs / medical cards expiring in 60 days
Vehicles with DOT inspections due in 60 days
MVR pulls overdue this month
Random-rate progress vs. § 382.305 minimum
Open DataQ disputes + status

This is the single feature that prevents 80% of compliance fires — you see what's about to expire before it does.

5 · Run a sample audit export

From /app/audit-export click Generate packet. Compass builds a ZIP with 10 sub-folders organized exactly the way an FMCSA inspector requests them — DQ files, D&A records, Clearinghouse log, MVR history, training records, accident register, inspection history, vehicle records, hours-of-service, financial responsibility — plus a README that maps each file to the CFR section it satisfies.

Even with an empty carrier this works on day 1; you'll see the structure and a sample README. As you add data, every export picks up your real records.

Want the full audit story? Read the sample audit walkthrough— a synthetic 47-truck carrier going through a Compliance Review day-by-day using Compass.

Where next

/docs/api — REST + webhook reference
/docs/integrations — wire up Stripe, Checkr, your ELD
/skills — all 300+ FMCSA skills with their CFR citations
/security — for the SOC 2 / DPA / threat-model crowd
/help — the 12 most-asked support questions