InvoiceFlow for Freight Trucking: Complete Billing Guide

The invoicing system built for owner-operators, small fleets, and independent freight carriers

Freight invoicing is more complex than most service billing. A single load invoice may include linehaul rate, fuel surcharge, detention pay, lumper fees, accessorial charges, and factoring documentation requirements — all documented against a BOL number and rate confirmation. Getting any of these wrong creates payment delays, disputes, and lost income.

InvoiceFlow handles complete freight billing from one Android app. This guide covers how to build your freight invoice system.

The Standard Freight Invoice Structure

Every load invoice should be created at the point of delivery — before you leave the receiver’s location while all details are fresh and documentable.

Required fields for every freight invoice:

Carrier name and MC number
Load/Pro number
Shipper name and location
Receiver name and location
Pickup date and delivery date
BOL number
Rate confirmation reference number (broker loads)
Total miles
Linehaul rate (per mile or flat)
Fuel surcharge (percentage of linehaul, based on current DOE average)
Any detention, accessorial charges, or fees — itemized

“Freight Invoice — [Carrier Name] — Load #[Load Number]: Shipper: [Name] | Receiver: [Name] Pickup: [City, State] | Delivery: [City, State] | Miles: [X] BOL #: [Number] | Rate Confirmation #: [Number] Linehaul: $[Rate]/mile × [Miles]: $[Amount] Fuel Surcharge ([%] of linehaul, DOE $[price]/gallon, week of [date]): $[Amount] Detention: [Hours] hours × $[Rate]/hr: $[Amount] Lumper Fee (receipt attached): $[Amount] Total: $[Amount] Payment Terms: Net-15”

Fuel Surcharge Invoicing

Invoice Flow app invoice editor of an independent trucker — a freight load with base rate, fuel surcharge, detention and lumper fee itemized, load number and BOL in custom fields — Base rate, fuel surcharge, detention and lumper — every accessorial on its own line, load and BOL in custom fields.

The fuel surcharge is a standard component of freight billing that changes weekly based on the DOE national average diesel price. Your freight broker contract specifies the surcharge table — a percentage of linehaul keyed to DOE price bands.

The most common billing error owner-operators make is applying last week’s surcharge rate to this week’s loads, or calculating it manually and getting it wrong.

Set up your fuel surcharge in InvoiceFlow as a percentage-of-linehaul line item. Update the percentage each Monday when the DOE publishes the new average. When you create a load invoice, the fuel surcharge calculates automatically from the linehaul amount. No manual math, no errors.

Detention Documentation and Billing

Detention pay is the most commonly underbilled freight charge. Most contracts allow $50-$100/hour after two free hours at pickup or delivery. The problem is documentation: without timestamps showing when you arrived and when loading or unloading actually began, detention claims are difficult to prove.

Detention documentation at every stop:

Note arrival time
Note when you were called to dock (start of free time clock)
Note when loading or unloading was complete and you were released
Calculate free time and billable detention

“Detention — Receiver [Name] — [Date]: Arrival at receiver: 14:00 Unloading commenced: 16:15 (2 free hours expired at 16:00) Released: 17:30 Billable detention: 1.5 hours × $75/hr: $112.50”

A detention claim with timestamps is rarely disputed. A claim without documentation often is.

Accessorial Charge Invoicing

Accessorial charges are legitimate billable items that many owner-operators absorb without invoicing. Common accessorials to always document and bill:

Lumper fees (with receipt): paid to receiver warehouse workers for unloading
Extra pick/drop stops: per-stop charge beyond original routing
Oversize/overweight permits: state permit fees for special cargo
TWIC or security fees: access fees for secure facilities
Hazmat placards: for applicable commodity loads
Layover pay: when held overnight due to shipper/receiver delay
Truck order not used (TONU): when dispatched but load cancelled

Each of these should appear as a named line item on the invoice with any supporting receipt noted.

Broker Load Invoicing

Invoice Flow app analytics of an independent trucker — year-to-date freight income across loads for quarterly tax estimates — Every load's revenue rolled into a year-to-date trend — the number your quarterly estimate needs.

When you haul for a freight broker, your invoice goes to the broker. Required fields:

Your carrier name and MC number
The broker’s load/reference number
Rate confirmation number
BOL number (signed by receiver)
Linehaul per the rate confirmation
Fuel surcharge per the agreed schedule
Any approved detention or accessorials

Brokers process invoices against their rate confirmations. If your invoice matches the rate confirmation, payment releases quickly. Discrepancies trigger review.

Direct Shipper Invoicing

Direct shipper relationships often have different billing requirements than broker loads:

Some shippers issue purchase orders — reference the PO number
Some assign account numbers to carriers — include your account number
Payment terms may be net-30 rather than net-15
Some shippers require your FMCSA operating authority number

Use InvoiceFlow’s custom fields to store per-client requirements for each direct shipper. Apply them automatically to each invoice.

Factoring Company Compatibility

If you factor your receivables, the factoring company needs consistent invoice formatting. Factoring companies typically require:

The invoice itself (formatted, professional)
The signed BOL
The rate confirmation (broker loads)

InvoiceFlow’s formatted PDF invoices are factoring-company compatible. Clean, consistent submissions process faster and build your track record with the factoring company.

Fleet Billing for Small Trucking Companies

Invoice Flow app documents of an owner-operator trucker — freight loads for brokers and shippers plus a factored load, each with a load number and BOL reference — Broker loads, a direct shipper and a factored load — the whole month's freight in one list.

If you run multiple trucks, InvoiceFlow allows you to track invoices by load, by driver (using notes), and by client. At any time you can see which loads are invoiced, which are paid, and which are outstanding.

What InvoiceFlow Does for Freight Carriers

Load invoice templates: pre-built freight invoice structure with all standard fields
Fuel surcharge line item: percentage-of-linehaul calculation, update weekly with new DOE rate
Custom fields: MC number, BOL reference, rate confirmation number, PO number per shipper
Accessorial templates: pre-built line items for detention, lumper, extra stops, TONU
Mobile invoicing: create and send the invoice before leaving the delivery location
Payment tracking: see outstanding invoices by load and by client/broker

Getting Started

Build your standard load invoice template with all required fields pre-structured
Set your fuel surcharge as a percentage line item — update the rate each Monday
Set a rule: document detention timestamps at every stop where free time may be exceeded
Create line items for your common accessorial charges (detention, lumper, TONU)
Invoice before you leave the delivery location on every load

Download InvoiceFlow. Stop leaving fuel surcharge, detention, and accessorial income uncollected. Professional freight billing recovers money you are already earning.

InvoiceFlow is a free invoicing app for Android, designed for independent professionals and small business owners.