How to Invoice Freight Brokers
Getting paid starts with a clean invoice. Here's what to include, how to send it, and how to follow up so your money doesn't sit in someone else's account for 45 days.
What Goes on a Trucking Invoice
Every trucking invoice should include:
- Your company name, MC#, and contact info
- Invoice number — sequential, unique, never reused
- Invoice date and payment terms (Net 15, Net 30, etc.)
- Broker name and their load/reference number
- Load details: origin, destination, pickup date, delivery date
- Rate — the agreed-upon rate from the rate confirmation
- Accessorials — detention, lumper fees, TONU if applicable
- Total amount due
- Payment instructions — bank info for ACH or factoring company details
Supporting Documents
Most brokers require these attached to the invoice:
- Signed rate confirmation — proves the agreed rate
- Signed BOL (Bill of Lading) — proves delivery
- POD (Proof of Delivery) — if separate from BOL
- Lumper receipts — if you paid for unloading
Missing documents are the #1 reason payments get delayed. Send everything upfront.
Pro Tip
Snap photos of your signed BOL and rate con as soon as you get them. With OTR, those photos are automatically attached to the load — so when you tap "Send Invoice," everything goes out together.
How to Send Invoices
Most brokers accept invoices via email. Some use portals (TriumphPay, RTS Carrier Services, etc.). Send the invoice within 24 hours of delivery — the sooner you invoice, the sooner the payment clock starts.
Always send as PDF, not a photo or Word doc. Include the load number in the subject line so it doesn't get lost in their inbox.
Following Up on Unpaid Invoices
If you haven't been paid by the due date, follow up immediately. A polite email with the invoice attached and the original load number is usually enough. If a broker consistently pays late, that's data you should be tracking.
OTR tracks the average payment speed for every broker you work with. Before you book a load, you can see how fast that broker has paid in the past — so you're never surprised by a 45-day wait.
Manual invoicing
- Type invoice in Word or a template every time
- Attach rate con + BOL as separate PDFs
- Email manually and hope it doesn't get lost
- No idea which brokers pay fast vs slow
- Follow up on overdue invoices from memory
OTR invoicing
- Invoice auto-generated from load data in one tap
- Rate con and BOL already attached from document scan
- Professional PDF emailed to broker instantly
- Broker payment speed tracked automatically
- Overdue invoice alerts sent to your phone
How OTR handles this
From delivery to invoice in under 10 seconds
- Invoice auto-generates from your load — rate, broker, dates pre-filled
- Documents (rate con, BOL) attached automatically from earlier scans
- One tap sends a professional PDF to your broker's email
- Payment tracking shows broker average pay speed and overdue alerts
