Invoice Creation & Managemen

What is Invoice Creation & Management?

Invoice Creation & Management in TMS.ai is your command center for billing customers and getting paid faster. The platform transforms invoicing from a tedious manual process into an automated workflow that generates professional invoices in seconds, not hours. When you complete a shipment, TMS.ai automatically pulls order details, rates, accessorials, and supporting documents into a ready-to-send invoice. You can create individual invoices for single orders or combine multiple shipments for the same customer into one consolidated bill, giving you complete control over how you bill your customers.

The system stores all supporting documents (rate confirmations, proof of delivery, bills of lading) in one place and lets you combine them into a single PDF attachment. This eliminates the back-and-forth with customers asking for paperwork and speeds up payment cycles.

How Invoice Creation & Management works:

1. Select orders ready for invoicing from the Invoice Items Board or Orders board. The system displays all completed shipments that haven't been invoiced yet, filtered by customer, date range, or order status.
2. Choose your invoicing method based on your billing requirements. Click "Create Individual Invoices" to generate separate invoices for each order, or select "Create Consolidated Invoice" to combine multiple orders for the same customer into one bill.
3. Review and customize invoice details in the invoice editor. The system auto-populates line items from the order (freight charges, fuel surcharges, accessorials), but you can add additional charges, adjust descriptions, or modify amounts before finalizing.
4. Combine supporting documents using the document merge feature. Select multiple documents such as proof of pickup, proof of delivery, the invoice PDF, and any other relevant files. Check the box to "Combine the selected documents into a single PDF file" and the system automatically merges them into one attachment.
5. Set your reply-to email address in the "Reply To" field, which pre-populates with your email. This ensures when customers reply to the invoice, their responses come directly to your inbox rather than a generic system email.
6. Send the invoice by entering the recipient's email address and clicking "Share." The customer receives a professional PDF invoice with all supporting documentation attached, and the invoice status updates to "Sent" in your Invoices board.
7. Track invoice status and payments in the Invoices board. View which invoices are sent, pending, paid, or overdue. Access the Documents tab at any time to download the invoice PDF or retrieve supporting documents.
8. Export to accounting systems like QuickBooks with one click to sync invoice data automatically, eliminating double-entry and keeping your books current.

What it means for you:

TMS.ai cuts invoicing time by up to 4x compared to manual processes. What used to take hours of copying data, chasing down documents, and emailing back and forth now happens in minutes. Your team stops hunting for rate confirmations or PODs because everything lives in one system, attached to the relevant order.

Consolidated invoicing gives you flexibility in how you bill customers. Some prefer one invoice per load, others want weekly or monthly statements. The platform adapts to your customer relationships rather than forcing everyone into the same billing format. Combined document PDFs mean customers get everything they need in one clean package, reducing payment delays caused by missing paperwork. The automated reply-to feature keeps conversations organized and ensures you never miss a customer question about an invoice, leading to faster resolution of billing issues and improved cash flow.