An Invoice is a financial document issued after a load has been completed. It serves as a formal request for payment from a carrier, broker, or logistics provider to their customer (shipper, consignee, or third party).
In trucking, invoices are critical because they officially document the charges owed for transportation services and often include supporting paperwork (such as the signed Bill of Lading or Proof of Delivery).
Use Cases for an Invoice
Standard Billing
Invoice your customer for completed shipments.
Attach supporting paperwork to ensure quicker processing.
Factoring
Submit invoices to a factoring company to receive payment upfront.
Helps carriers and brokers improve cash flow without waiting 30–60 days.
Carrier/Broker Settlements
Brokers can use invoices to collect from shippers before paying carriers.
Keeps payment timelines and obligations organized.
Customer Accountability
Provides a legal record of charges owed.
Helps resolve disputes if there’s a question about what was billed.
How to Generate an Invoice
Super easy! Invoices are generated once the following conditions have been met:
A Customer has been to the load (Customer Info tab)
At least one Pickup and one Delivery have been added to the load (Edit Stops tab)
An Income line item has been added to the load and labelled as Income From the same Customer as listed on the Customer Info tab (Financials tab)
The load has been Sent to Accounting
Need a little help with steps 1-3 above? Just visit our How to Build a Load Help Guide link below.
How to Download, View or Send (Email) an Invoice
While you can download, view, and send invoices from several areas in AscendTMS, we strongly recommend using the Accounting Management section. The Accounting tool is designed to give you and your team a smoother, more efficient invoicing experience with added benefits that you won’t find elsewhere in the system.
Need a step-by-step walkthrough? Check out our Accounting Help Guides below to learn how to download, view, and send invoices with ease.
How to Customize Your Invoice Document
Begin by locating the Settings tab within your AscendTMS main menu
From within Settings, locate the Report & Documents Settings section and click on Edit the Default Settings for Invoice Documents
The following screen will appear, giving you the ability to customize the Terms and Conditions, along with the ability to customize the Footer of the Invoice document
