How to invoice for trucking and freight

A carrier's invoice is checked against two documents before anybody looks at the amount: the rate confirmation that agreed the load, and the signed bill of lading that proves it moved. An invoice that does not reference both is not late, it is not yet in the queue.

Edit this template

Reference the load, not just the customer

  • The load or pro number the broker assigned
  • The rate confirmation number, and the agreed linehaul rate
  • Origin and destination with the actual pickup and delivery dates
  • The signed bill of lading, attached — a proof of delivery is the document that releases payment

Accessorials are separate lines with evidence

Detention, layover, lumper fees, driver assist, tarping and reconsignment each go on their own line, with the times or receipts that support them. Rolling them into the linehaul rate makes the invoice disagree with the rate confirmation, and a disagreement is a hold.

Fuel surcharge is calculated, not estimated

Where the rate confirmation sets a fuel surcharge, show the basis — the rate per mile and the miles it was applied to — so the figure can be recomputed. A surcharge that appears as a lump sum is the line most often queried.

If you factor, the remit-to changes

A factored invoice must carry the factoring company's notice of assignment and their remittance details, not yours. Payment sent to the wrong party on a factored load is a problem that takes weeks to unwind, and it is the carrier who unwinds it.

Invoice the same day the load delivers

Broker payment terms run from receipt of a complete invoice package, and quick-pay windows are measured in days. A signed bill of lading sitting in a cab for a week is a week of terms nobody started.

Start from the trucking invoice template

Common questions

What has to be in a freight invoice package?
The invoice itself, the signed bill of lading or proof of delivery, the rate confirmation, and receipts for any accessorial you are billing. Missing any one of them usually stops the clock.
How do I bill detention?
As its own line, at the rate on the rate confirmation, from documented arrival and departure times, and only after any free time the confirmation allows.
Does factoring change the invoice itself?
The remit-to details change and a notice of assignment is added. The load references, the rate and the accessorials are exactly as they would be otherwise.

Where to next