Invoice Your Customer and Get Paid

Before You Use This Article

• Access needed: Load Manager login and permission to use this screen, report, setting, or workflow.
• Best starting path: Start from Freight Brokers, Carriers, Owner-Operators, and Trucking Companies, or Dispatch Services based on your company type.
• If this is not your setup: If this is not your company type, choose Freight Brokers, Carriers, Owner-Operators, and Trucking Companies, or Dispatch Services.

Use this workflow when a load is ready to bill and you need to create, review, send, and follow up on the customer invoice. Load Manager builds the customer invoice from the saved load details, customer billing setup, customer rates, commodity/accessorial rows, payment terms, and company document settings.

Before You Create the Invoice

Review the load before sending anything to the customer.

• Confirm the customer or payer is correct.
• Confirm pickup, delivery, PO, BOL, and reference details are complete.
• Confirm the customer flat rate, customer mileage rate, and customer-side commodity/accessorial charges are correct.
• Confirm any customer deposit or partial payment is entered as a Payment Advance row when it should reduce the invoice balance.
• Attach required billing documents, such as PODs, BOLs, receipts, or supporting paperwork.
• Confirm the load is in the correct status for your billing workflow.

Open the Customer Invoice

1. Open the saved load.
2. Select the customer invoice, customer quote, or customer confirmation button shown on the load.
3. Review the PDF before sending it.

The document that opens depends on the load status and the report button selected. A quote-status load can generate a customer quote. A load that is active or later in the workflow can generate customer-facing billing documents based on your company's setup.

Review the Invoice Amount

The customer invoice amount can include:

• Customer Flat Rate: A flat customer charge on the load.
• Customer Miles Charge: Customer miles multiplied by the customer rate per mile.
• Commodity and Accessorial Charges: Customer-facing rows that are not hidden from the customer invoice.
• Payment Advances: Negative payment rows that reduce the balance due.

If the customer already paid a deposit or partial amount, enter it as a Payment Advance row before sending the invoice. This lets the invoice show the remaining balance due.

Review Terms, Notes, and Payment Instructions

Before sending the invoice, confirm the payment instructions are correct.

• Payment Terms: The terms printed on the invoice.
• Pricing Notes or Invoice Comments: Notes from the load that should appear on the customer document.
• Company or Bill From details: The company identity shown on the invoice.
• Factoring or remit-to details: Payment instructions used when your company factors invoices or uses special remittance wording.
• Online payment option: Appears only when an online payment workflow is enabled for your company.

Email the Invoice

1. Open the load.
2. Select the envelope icon beside the customer invoice or customer document button.
3. Review the recipient list.
4. Review the subject and message.
5. Add billing attachments when your workflow requires them.
6. Send the email.

Customer invoice email defaults are controlled in Settings >> Configuration Options. Customer contacts marked to receive invoice emails can be included automatically depending on your customer setup.

Use Online Payment Options When Available

If an online payment workflow is enabled for your company, the customer invoice workflow can include the payment instructions supported by your account setup.

Online payment options are separate from factoring. Factoring is a receivables workflow where a factoring company may collect or remit payment according to your factoring setup.

Record or Confirm Payment

After the customer pays, follow your company's normal payment workflow. Depending on your setup, that may include Load Manager accounting, QuickBooks, factoring, or an outside accounting process.

Do not mark a load as fully customer paid until your company considers the customer balance fully paid. A partial payment entered as a Payment Advance reduces the invoice balance, but it does not mean the full customer balance has been collected.

Troubleshooting

• The invoice amount is wrong: Review customer flat rate, mileage rate, visible commodity/accessorial rows, and Payment Advance rows.
• The balance due is too low: Check whether a Payment Advance row was entered on the load.
• A charge is missing from the invoice: Check whether the Commodity Type is marked Hide on Customer Invoice.
• The customer PO or BOL is wrong: Update the load, save it, and reopen the invoice.
• The email text is wrong: Review customer invoice email defaults in Configuration Options.
• The online payment option is missing: Confirm an online payment workflow is enabled for your company and that the invoice is eligible for that payment option.

Related Articles

• Customer Invoice and Quote Layout
• Show a Partial Customer Payment on an Invoice or Quote
• Accounting Screen: Customer Inquiry, Open Invoices, and Year-End Setup
• Use the Load Screen to Build and Manage a Load