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Trucking payments, from the rate confirmation to the proof of delivery
A carrier is paid for paperwork, not for driving. The load is delivered on Tuesday and the money depends entirely on whether the signed document reaches billing before the broker cut-off.
The document is the payment trigger
Everything a carrier is owed depends on a piece of paper arriving intact and on time.
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The rate confirmation is the contract
The agreed terms live in that document, so it is stored with the load and referenced by the invoice rather than living in a driver phone and a dispatcher memory.
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Proof of delivery turns a load into an invoice
A load is not billable until the signed delivery document exists in a legible form, which is why capture at the dock rather than at the terminal is worth building around.
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Accessorials are lost between the dock and billing
Detention and extra stops are earned in the field and forgotten in the office, so they are recorded against the load as they happen rather than reconstructed at invoicing.
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Broker terms and driver settlements are different clocks
Brokers pay on their terms while drivers settle weekly, and a carrier that does not model that gap ends up funding it without ever deciding to.
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Owner-operator settlements carry deductions
Advances, insurance and maintenance escrow are itemised on the settlement statement so a driver can check it, because settlement disputes are a retention problem before they are an accounting one. DRAFT — pending counsel
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Fuel is the largest controllable outflow
Fuel purchasing is treated as a controlled outflow with per-driver limits rather than as a reimbursement collected from receipts weeks later.
What to ask before changing carrier billing
Questions from somebody who has invoiced a load twice and been paid for neither.
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Ask where the signed delivery document is captured
At the dock on a phone, legibly, or at a terminal three days later. That single choice sets your days to invoice.
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Ask how accessorials get from the driver to the invoice
If the answer is a phone call to dispatch, most of them will not make it, and that is real revenue every week.
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Ask how the gap between broker terms and driver pay is modelled
A carrier funds that gap whether or not it planned to. Better to see it as a number than as an overdraft.
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Ask what an owner-operator sees on a settlement statement
Itemised deductions a driver can check for themselves prevent most settlement disputes before they start. DRAFT — pending counsel
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Ask what happens when a broker disputes a rate after delivery
The rate confirmation stored with the load is the whole answer, provided it was stored with the load.
Questions carriers ask
Answers for dispatch and for the office.
What makes a load billable?
A legible signed delivery document tied to the load and the rate confirmation. Capture it at the dock and the invoice can go out the same day.
How do we stop losing detention and extra stops?
By recording them against the load as they happen. Anything reconstructed at invoicing time is mostly lost revenue.
Can drivers settle weekly while brokers pay on terms?
Yes, and the gap between the two is modelled explicitly so the carrier can see what it is funding.
How are owner-operator deductions shown?
Itemised on the settlement statement so the driver can verify them, which prevents most settlement disputes. (DRAFT — pending counsel)
Do we have to leave our dispatch software?
No. We integrate with it. If it is doing its job, it stays.
Talk to somebody who has run a settlement week
Tell us about the fleet and how to reach you.
Thank you. We will book a short call around your settlement day rather than on it.
We will implement whatever is right for you — including keeping what you have.
Two free tools, before you talk to anybody
Both are open to anyone, and both were written for somebody settling a week on a Sunday night.
- Answer the boarding questions Say that brokers pay you on net-30 while fuel is due today, and it returns a starting configuration that treats the gap between those two dates as the problem to solve.
- Get a free statement audit Send a month of settlements. We name each line so the cost of being paid late is a number rather than a feeling.
Last updated: 2026-08-17