Back office services for owner-operators
Billing, load paperwork, payment follow-up and IFTA help for owner-operators and small fleets, so the money you earned on the road reaches your bank account.
A load isn't finished when it delivers
The driver gets the signature, the truck rolls to the next pickup, and everybody feels like the job is done. It isn't. The load is done when the money is in your account, and a lot can go wrong between the dock and the deposit: a missing bill of lading, a rate confirmation that doesn't match the invoice, detention nobody wrote down, a broker who goes quiet.
Owner-operators lose real money in that gap, usually not because they did anything wrong on the road but because nobody had time to chase the paper. We explain the whole chain in The Flow of the Load: Why “Delivered” Isn't Done Until It Funds.
Our back office closes that gap. It covers the billing, collection and cash steps of the operating circle, so the rest of the circle has fuel to run on.
What our back office handles
- Invoicing each load with the rate confirmation, signed bill of lading and proof of delivery attached
- Sending invoices to the broker, the shipper or your factoring company
- Tracking every open invoice and following up on late payments
- Documenting detention, lumper and other accessorial charges the way brokers ask for them
- Keeping rate confirmations, bills of lading, receipts and settlements organized by load
- Keeping your miles and fuel records organized by quarter for IFTA
- Keeping your broker setup paperwork current so you can book without delays
How a load moves through our back office
Before booking
The rate confirmation is checked against what was agreed: rate, pickup and delivery details, detention terms and payment terms. See the Rate Con Ready method.
At delivery
The signed bill of lading and any receipts are collected while the driver is still at the dock, not three days later.
Same-day invoice
The invoice goes out with every document the payer needs to pay it the first time.
Follow-up until paid
Open invoices are tracked and followed up. Slow payers are noted so you can decide whether to haul for them again.
Recorded for the books
Each load is filed with its paperwork, miles and fuel so your quarterly IFTA figures and your accountant's records are ready.
Paperwork that costs carriers money
If a broker still won't pay after follow-up, you can file a complaint at FreightBrokerComplaint.com.
Detention
Detention gets paid when the times are written down and the terms are on the rate confirmation. Read how detention works for owner-operators.
Lumper fees
A lumper receipt that goes missing is money out of your pocket. Read how lumper companies and fees work.
Brokers who don't pay
When a broker won't pay, document everything and make a public complaint. Read why public complaints matter.
IFTA help
If you run interstate under IFTA, you file a fuel tax return after every calendar quarter that reports your miles and fuel by jurisdiction (Missouri DOT IFTA filing guide). The return is only as good as the records behind it. Lost fuel receipts and missing state-line miles turn into a bigger tax bill or a problem in an audit.
We keep your miles and fuel records organized load by load, so the quarterly figures are ready on time. For background, read Understanding IFTA fuel tax requirements.
Back office backed by education
Your back office is run by LFS with the education of Freight University behind it. Students, interns and academics learn the back office by applying it to real companies, so there are checks and balances on your paperwork and transparency on every load. How we work.
- Checks and balances on your paperwork
- Transparency on every load
- A team behind your back office
Back office is part of our dispatch service
Carriers on our dispatch service get billing paperwork support as part of the 8% of each load's gross. If you only need the back office, we can do that too.
Questions and answers
Do you work with factoring companies?
Yes. If you factor your invoices, we send the paperwork to your factoring company the way they require it. We explain why factoring matters to small carriers in this article.
Can I use the back office without your dispatch service?
Yes. Tell us what you need on the form below and we will tell you plainly what we would handle and what it costs.
What equipment do you work with?
53-foot dry van, refrigerated (reefer) and power only carriers running CDL freight.
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Get your back office caught up
Tell us how many trucks you run and what is falling behind: billing, collections, paperwork or IFTA. We will reply with what we can take off your plate.
Prefer the phone? Call 901-205-9679.