Skip to content
See the Magic
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Carrier Bill Management

What is Carrier Bill Management?

Carrier Bill Management in TMS.ai streamlines how you receive, review, and pay invoices from the carriers you hire for brokered freight. When a carrier completes a shipment for you, the system helps you track what you owe them, match their invoice to your original rate confirmation, flag discrepancies, and export the approved bill to your accounting system for payment. This creates a clear audit trail from order assignment through carrier payment, ensuring you pay the right amount and catch billing errors before money leaves your account.

The platform centralizes all carrier invoices in one location rather than having them scattered across email, paper files, and different staff members' desks. You can review bills against contracted rates, track approval status, and maintain complete documentation for every carrier payment.

How Carrier Bill Management works:

  1. Receive carrier invoices through multiple channels. Carriers can submit invoices via email, upload them directly if they have portal access, or you can manually upload received invoices into the system. Each invoice attaches to the relevant order in TMS.ai.
  2. System creates bill records in the Carrier Bills board when you upload or receive a carrier invoice. The bill includes the carrier name, order reference, invoice amount, and document attachment. TMS.ai links the bill to the original order for easy reference.
  3. Review bills against rate confirmations by opening the carrier bill and comparing the invoiced amount to the rate confirmation you sent when assigning the load. The system displays both documents side-by-side, making it easy to spot discrepancies like incorrect rates, unauthorized accessorials, or calculation errors.
  4. Flag discrepancies for resolution if the carrier's invoice doesn't match your rate confirmation. Use the system's notes and status features to document the issue, communicate with the carrier, and track resolution. Update the bill amount once you've agreed on the correct payment.
  5. Assign GL codes and accounting tags to each carrier bill for proper categorization in your accounting system. TMS.ai supports custom GL code structures, allowing you to code bills by expense type, customer, lane, or any other dimension your accounting requires.
  6. Approve bills for payment by changing the bill status to "Approved" once you've verified the amount and coding. This creates a clear workflow showing which bills are ready to pay versus which need additional review.
  7. Export approved bills to QuickBooks or other accounting systems using the export function. The system sends the vendor name, invoice amount, GL codes, and reference information to your accounting software, creating the bill payable record ready for payment processing.
  8. Track payment status by updating bills when payments process in your accounting system. This creates a complete record from carrier invoice receipt through final payment, giving you full visibility into accounts payable aging and carrier payment timing.

What it means for you:

Carrier bill management prevents the chaos of tracking what you owe carriers across dozens or hundreds of open loads. Your AP team has one system showing every carrier invoice, its approval status, and what you've paid. The rate confirmation matching catches billing errors before you pay them - saving money by not overpaying carriers who bill incorrectly or include unauthorized charges.

The GL coding and export functionality eliminates double-entry into your accounting system. Your AP team reviews and codes the bill once in TMS.ai, then it flows automatically to QuickBooks or your other accounting software without retyping vendor names, amounts, or codes. This saves time and prevents the data entry errors that cause accounting reconciliation headaches. The complete audit trail from rate confirmation to carrier invoice to payment gives you documentation for dispute resolution or audit purposes. The result is faster bill processing, fewer payment errors, reduced manual data entry, and better control over accounts payable.