FLATBED & HEAVY HAUL
Outsourced back-office operations for flatbed and heavy haul carriers
Flatbed loads carry high per-load values and accessorials that do not exist on van freight. Tarping fees, escort charges, permit costs, and equipment surcharges all need to be documented and invoiced correctly. We run that desk for flatbed and heavy haul carriers and the logistics companies that move their freight. The paperwork gets filed, the invoice goes out complete, and someone chases the money.
THE FLATBED BACK OFFICE
Built for open-deck and oversized freight
Flatbed, step-deck, lowboy, and RGN billing carries a different accessorial structure than enclosed trailer freight. Tarping fees depend on the commodity and customer requirements. Escort and pilot car charges vary by state and load dimensions. Oversize and overweight permits are route-specific and need to be matched to the correct shipment for passthrough billing. Equipment surcharges for specialized trailers are often negotiated per load.
The load values are higher, which means more margin at stake when an accessorial is missed. We handle the post-dispatch workflow: POD retrieval, carrier invoice audit with permit and accessorial verification, shipper billing with all load-specific documentation, and accounts receivable (AR) follow-up.
The economics are what make flatbed billing unforgiving. Open-deck accessorials run larger per event than dry van charges: a tarp fee, an escort day, or a multi-state permit package can each wipe out the margin on a load, so a single missed charge erases what the freight earned. Permits price differently by state and by dimensions, escort costs vary with route and duration, and project-site detention runs for hours at a time. Capturing each one with backup while the load is current is the difference between hauling specialized freight and subsidizing it.
- POD retrieval with load photos and delivery documentation
- Carrier invoice audit with tarping, escort, and permit verification
- Shipper billing with permit costs and equipment surcharges
- Oversize/overweight permit cost tracking and passthrough
- AR follow-up and collections
- Carrier compliance monitoring
↓30%+
DSO Reduction
<24h
POD Chase
99%
Invoice Accuracy
Where does flatbed margin leak?
Tarping fees not invoiced
Tarping is labor-intensive and often required by the customer or the commodity. Tarping fees typically run $50 to $150 per load (or per tarp) depending on the commodity and cover requirements; re-tarping after a partial unload on a multi-stop move is billed separately. When the tarping charge is agreed with the customer at booking but never documented for billing, that cost is absorbed instead of billed. Over a month of loads, undocumented tarping adds up fast.
Escort and pilot car charges missed
Oversize loads often require escort or pilot cars. Industry rates for a standard escort typically run $2 to $3 per mile plus a daily standby fee. Height-pole and police escorts run higher, and each is billed on its own terms. Multi-state moves may require a pilot car in each state, and each state sets its own escort requirements by load dimension. If the escort invoice comes in after the customer invoice goes out, it becomes a rebill situation or an absorbed cost.
Permit costs not passed through
Route-specific oversize and overweight permits are passthroughs that belong on the customer invoice. Permit costs vary by state and can be significant on multi-state moves. When permits are purchased by dispatch and the receipts do not reach billing, the passthrough does not happen. Some states also require separate bridge permits and utility crossing permits that add to the total.
Equipment surcharges underbilled
Specialized trailers (step-deck, lowboy, RGN) carry equipment surcharges that may be negotiated per load. If the surcharge is not documented on the rate confirmation or is applied at the wrong amount, the invoice is short. At specialized equipment rates, that shortfall is rarely small: the surcharge often carries a meaningful share of the load’s premium over dry van pricing, so billing it right on every load is margin protection, not paperwork.
Tarping, oversize permits, and layover are the charges that go uncaptured on flatbed. See the accessorial charge reference and pre-billing revenue recovery audit.
How we run your flatbed back office
- 1
Discovery
We inventory your trailer types, lane patterns, state-by-state permit requirements, and customer-specific billing rules for tarping, escorts, and equipment surcharges.
- 2
Onboarding
Team members train on your flatbed billing rules, permit tracking workflow, and customer-specific requirements for tarping and escorts. About 2 to 3 weeks to go live.
- 3
Ongoing operations
POD retrieval, carrier invoice audit with accessorial verification, shipper billing with permits and surcharges, and AR follow-up run on every load.
- 4
You scale
More equipment types, more lanes, more loads. The back-office capacity is already there.
Back-office services for flatbed carriers
Oversize loads earn oversize accessorials, when the paperwork keeps up. A dedicated team turns permits, tarps, and detention into billed revenue.
Document processing and POD retrieval
Learn more →A flatbed load leaves a paper trail: signed PODs, BOLs, permit copies, securement photos. It all gets gathered from drivers and inboxes, tied to the load, and sits billing-ready before the truck is washed.
Billing support and invoice preparation
Learn more →Tarp fees, oversize surcharges, escort costs, detention: billed the day the POD lands, each with its backup, each matched to the rate confirmation, submitted the way the customer wants it.
Accounts receivable (AR) management and collections
Learn more →Brokers pay the carriers who follow up. Yours runs on a fixed cadence, with short pays contested using the paperwork and slow payers surfaced before invoices age past leverage.
Pre-billing revenue recovery
Learn more →On billing desks ClearLane operates, no invoice leaves without a check: tarp and oversize charges against the rate confirmation, detention against the logbook times. Earned accessorials get invoiced. The fee ties to what we recover.
Bookkeeping
Learn more →Settlement season is easier with reconciled books. A dedicated bookkeeper keeps bank and credit card accounts reconciled, transactions categorized, accounts payable and accounts receivable recorded, and months closed. Taxes stay with your CPA.
Ownership and transaction reporting
Learn more →Equipment-heavy balance sheets need clean reporting for lenders. Owner and lender packages go out weekly, monthly, or quarterly, per your SOP, with combined statements when the iron sits in more than one entity.
What flatbed operations get back
The result is a back office that handles the complexity your freight demands:
- Tarping fees and escort charges captured on every applicable load
- Permit costs tracked and passed through to the customer
- Equipment surcharges verified and billed correctly
- POD with load photos and delivery documentation
- Carrier invoices audited for flatbed-specific accessorials
- Consistent AR follow-up on high-value invoices
Works inside the systems you already run
We work inside the TMS platforms you already use for flatbed dispatch, billing, and permit tracking, with no migration and no new software to learn.
Frequently asked questions
Can ClearLane track oversize/overweight permit costs for passthrough billing?
Yes. We match permit costs to the shipment file and include them on the customer invoice as a documented passthrough. Permits purchased by dispatch are tracked from receipt through billing so nothing falls through.
Do you handle tarping fee and escort charge billing?
Yes. Tarping fees and escort or pilot car charges are verified on the carrier invoice and billed to the customer per the rate confirmation or load-specific agreement. The team documents each charge with the backup required for the customer to approve it.
What does flatbed back-office support include?
Flatbed back-office support covers POD retrieval, carrier invoice audit with tarping, escort, permit, and equipment surcharge verification, shipper billing with all load-specific charges, AR management, and carrier compliance monitoring.
How much does outsourced flatbed back-office support cost?
Pricing is scoped to the functions you hand off and the team that work needs, and resized as volume changes rather than metered per load. A 20-minute call is enough to walk through your operation and put together the right package.
Will this work with our existing flatbed TMS?
Yes. We work inside TMW, McLeod, Magnus, Axon, Tailwind, and other platforms common in flatbed and heavy haul. Your workflow stays the same. We log in and handle the billing from inside your system.
How do you handle multi-stop flatbed loads with different accessorials at each stop?
Each stop is documented separately with its own delivery confirmation, accessorial charges, and backup. Re-tarping at one stop and an extra stop-off or crane assist at another are captured individually and billed per the rate confirmation or load-specific agreement.
Related services
Pre-Billing Revenue Audit
Learn more →Catch tarping, escort, and permit charges before the invoice goes out.
Carrier Invoice Audit and AP
Learn more →Verify equipment surcharges and load-specific accessorials.
AR Management
Learn more →Follow-up on high-value flatbed invoices.
Bookkeeping
Learn more →Settlement and books kept current as you scale.
Get Started
See how we can help your flatbed operation
Most flatbed clients start with carrier invoice audit and permit cost billing, then grow into full back-office management.