Free tool
Enter your numbers to see how your Days Sales Outstanding compares to freight industry benchmarks.
DSO is the average number of days between invoicing a load and collecting the cash. Industry data puts most freight brokerages between 45 and 65 days. Every day above your baseline is working capital you are lending to your customers for free.
Three operational inputs drive the number: how fast PODs come back from carriers, how clean the invoice is when it goes out, and how consistently someone follows up on aging receivables. POD delay pushes back the start of the billing clock. Billing errors restart it through disputes. Quiet AR lets it run.
To see how your result compares by company type, the freight DSO and AR benchmarks publish composite ranges for brokers, 3PLs, and trucking companies.
See what's driving your DSO higher and how to fix it.
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DSO = (Accounts Receivable / Total Credit Sales) x Number of Days. The math takes thirty seconds. Knowing whether your number is a problem takes context, and that is what the calculator above adds.
The industry average for freight brokers runs 45-65 days. Under 40 days is top-tier: billing goes out same-day with complete documentation and AR follow-up is systematic. Over 65 days means your cash is financing your customers. Where you sit inside that range, and what it costs you, depends on your revenue and terms, which is exactly what the calculator computes.
DSO = (Accounts Receivable / Total Credit Sales) x Number of Days. Take your accounts receivable balance, divide it by total credit sales for the period, and multiply by the number of days in that period.
Your DSO graded against the 45-65 day freight benchmark, not a generic all-industry number
What one day of DSO is worth in working capital at your billing volume
Which levers (POD turnaround, invoice accuracy, submission method, follow-up cadence) typically move your bracket fastest
Sixty seconds, three numbers, and you will know if your cash cycle is a problem.
DSO is an output. These four inputs are where the days come from.
| What moves DSO | Typical cause | Where it gets fixed |
|---|---|---|
| Days to invoice | The proof of delivery is not in hand, so billing waits. | POD retrieval and document chase |
| Invoice accuracy | A rejected invoice restarts the payment clock. | Pre-billing audit |
| Dispute handling | Short-pays sit unworked until someone chases them. | Accounts receivable (AR) follow-up |
| Follow-up cadence | Nobody calls until the invoice is well past due. | Reminder workflows on your aging thresholds |
Published DSO averages for transportation and logistics generally cluster in the high forties, and freight brokers typically run higher than asset carriers because they sit between shipper payment terms and carrier payment obligations. The 45 to 65 day range used here is our working benchmark for freight brokerage specifically, and it is set out with the rest of our planning figures on the back-office benchmarks page.
Your own DSO is the only one that matters. What the benchmark is useful for is deciding whether the number you calculate above is a billing problem or a customer problem.
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Industry benchmarks put average freight broker DSO between 45-65 days. Under 40 days is top-tier and usually means same-day invoicing with complete documentation plus systematic follow-up. Over 65 days means your working capital is financing your customers.
Divide accounts receivable by total credit sales for the period, then multiply by the number of days. Example: $3.2M in receivables against $2M monthly billing is (3,200,000 / 2,000,000) x 30 = 48 days. The calculator above does this and grades the result against the freight benchmark.
Monthly, on a consistent day, so the trend is comparable. A single reading tells you where you are; the 6-12 month trend line tells you whether your billing process is improving or quietly slipping.
