ClearLane website logo

Freight Brokers

Outsourced back-office operations built for freight brokers

Your team books loads. We run the desk that turns them into cash. That means chasing PODs, auditing carrier invoices, billing your shippers and working the aging. All of it inside the TMS you already run, so nothing changes for your people. You keep dispatch and sales.

The broker back office

Everything that happens after the load books

Freight brokers run on margin per load, but that margin sits as cash you have not collected yet. Between delivery and payment, POD documents lag, accessorials go uncaptured, and receivables age. We own that whole post-dispatch workflow so your people stay on sales and capacity. Built for owners and ops managers who are still the ones doing the admin work after the loads are booked. Add outsourced bookkeeping to keep the financial side current as you grow.

  • POD chase and document retrieval
  • Carrier invoice audit and AP
  • Shipper billing with accessorials
  • AR and collections
  • Carrier onboarding and compliance
  • Pre-billing revenue audit

30%+

DSO Reduction

99%

Invoice Accuracy

<4h

Carrier Onboarding

Why do freight brokers have a structural cash gap?

A broker can be profitable on paper and still be starved for cash. The margin is real, but it is locked up in the days between delivery and payment.

POD retrieval slips past 48 hours and the billing cycle slips with it. Accessorials like detention and TONU get agreed on the phone and never make the invoice. Receivables age while nobody owns the follow-up.

Industry data puts average freight broker DSO between 45-65 days. Every day of POD delay and every missed accessorial pushes it higher.

Where does broker margin leak?

  • POD retrieved late

    When proof of delivery sits past 48 hours, the billing cycle slips with it. We chase POD the day a load delivers.

  • Accessorials never billed

    Detention, TONU, and layover get agreed verbally and never reach the invoice. A pre-billing audit captures them before it goes out.

  • Receivables left to age

    Open balances drift when nobody owns follow-up. We run freight broker collections on a schedule and apply cash daily.

  • Compliance checked once

    Authority and insurance lapse after onboarding. We monitor carriers continuously so you do not pay a non-compliant one.

How we run your back office

  1. 1

    Discovery

    We map your current workflow, TMS, volume, and where cash gets stuck.

  2. 2

    Onboarding

    A dedicated team trains inside your TMS and your billing rules. Onboarding runs about 2 to 3 weeks.

  3. 3

    Ongoing operations

    We run POD chase, audit, billing, AR, and compliance on every load, every day.

  4. 4

    You scale

    Add loads without adding back-office headcount. The team scales with your operation.

Back-office services for freight brokers

You hand off the functions that eat your ops team’s day. A dedicated team runs them to your SOP, inside your TMS. Most brokerages start with one function, usually carrier invoice audit or collections, and add more once the first one runs clean.

  • Carrier invoice audit and accounts payable (AP)

    Every carrier invoice gets checked against the rate confirmation before it’s paid: rate match, accessorials verified, duplicates caught, disputes worked to carrier credit. We code approved invoices and prep the payment run, so payables stay clean without eating your ops team’s day.

    Learn more →
  • Carrier compliance and onboarding

    New carriers set up to your requirements: authority verified, certificate of insurance (COI) on file, FMCSA safety data checked, W-9 collected. We monitor the base after setup and flag lapses before they become claims.

    Learn more →
  • Shipper billing and invoice preparation

    We invoice your shippers the day the POD lands, with PO numbers loaded, backup attached, and EDI or portal submission handled to each customer’s requirements. Fewer rejections, fewer disputes, faster payment.

    Learn more →
  • Accounts receivable (AR) management and collections

    Your aging gets worked on a schedule. Shipper follow-up runs on a set cadence, short pays get disputed with documentation, and anything drifting toward a write-off gets flagged to you early. Industry DSO runs 45 to 65 days. Scheduled collections pulls brokerages toward the low end.

    Learn more →
  • POD retrieval and document processing

    Chasing carriers for paperwork is where billing stalls. We collect PODs, BOLs, and lumper receipts from carriers, portals, and inboxes, index them to the load, and hand billing a ready-to-invoice packet the day the load delivers.

    Learn more →
  • Pre-billing revenue recovery

    When ClearLane runs your billing, every load gets checked before the invoice goes out: detention, TONU, and layover against the rate confirmation, lumper receipts against advances. Missed accessorials get billed to the shipper instead of written off. Priced on performance.

    Learn more →

What brokers get back

The result is a back office that turns loads into cash faster:

  • Faster billing the day a load delivers
  • Lower DSO from consistent AR follow-up
  • Recovered margin from pre-billing audits
  • Carriers monitored, not checked once
  • Grow volume without hiring
  • Weekly reporting that shows where cash stands
  • Brokerage plus asset fleet, one MC or separate companies: billing, books, and compliance kept straight for each entity

In-house vs outsourced: what changes

Two ways to run the back office as you grow.

See the full breakdown in our guide to the true cost of in-house back-office staffing.

  • Running it in-house

    • Hire, train, and manage billing, accounts payable (AP), and accounts receivable (AR) staff
    • Coverage gaps when someone is out or leaves
    • Payroll cost stays fixed whether volume is up or down
    • Software, training, and oversight to maintain
    • Follow-up tends to slip during peak weeks
  • With ClearLane

    • A trained team that already knows freight back office
    • Coverage that does not depend on one person
    • Cost that scales with load count, not headcount
    • No new software or management overhead
    • Consistent daily follow-up that keeps DSO down

Works inside the systems you already run

We work inside the platforms you already run, with no migration and no new software to learn.

McLeodTMWAljexMercuryGateTaiTurvo

Frequently asked questions

How does outsourced AR work for a freight broker?

A dedicated team works your receivables inside your TMS the same way an in-house clerk would, just with consistent daily follow-up. They send invoices as loads are ready to bill, chase open balances on a schedule, apply cash, and flag disputes early. You keep visibility into every account. The difference brokers notice first is that follow-up stops falling through the cracks during busy weeks, which is usually what lets DSO drift.

Where brokers usually start: the pre-billing revenue recovery audit to catch accessorials before the invoice leaves, and accounts receivable (AR) management to work the aging behind it. The checks themselves are published in the pre-billing audit checklist.

On the ownership side, owner reporting with fractional CFO support covers the packages owners, lenders, and buyers actually read.

Will this work inside our existing TMS?

Yes. We work inside your system rather than asking you to switch. The team operates in McLeod, TMW, Aljex, MercuryGate, Tai, Turvo, and others. Your rate cons, documents, and history stay where they are. That also means your reporting and audit trail stay intact.

How fast can we expect DSO to come down?

It depends on where you start and how clean your billing inputs are, so we will not promise a number we cannot back up. What moves DSO is mechanical: get POD retrieved faster, get accurate invoices out sooner, and follow up on open balances without gaps. When those three run consistently, the aging curve tightens. The DSO calculator on our site is a good way to benchmark where you are now.

What about carrier compliance and onboarding?

Carrier onboarding and ongoing compliance are part of the same workflow. We verify FMCSA authority, insurance, and safety ratings at setup, then monitor for changes so a lapsed COI or revoked authority does not surface after the load is already moving. Keeping compliance tied to the billing workflow is how you avoid paying a carrier you should not have.

Can I add bookkeeping to my freight brokerage back-office package?

Yes. Bookkeeping is available as a standalone add-on, delivered by a separate dedicated team working inside QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, or Sage. It keeps your AP, AR, and settlement connected to your books, so your cash position stays current as you grow.

What does a freight broker back office do?

A freight broker back office handles everything that happens after the load is covered: chasing PODs, auditing carrier invoices, billing shippers, capturing accessorials, managing accounts receivable and collections, and keeping the books. It is the work that turns a delivered load into collected cash.

How can a freight broker reduce DSO?

DSO drops when invoices go out fast and clean: quick POD retrieval, accurate shipper invoices with the right backup, and consistent AR follow-up before balances age. Most of the gain comes from removing delay and error in the billing cycle rather than chasing customers harder.

How much does outsourced freight broker back-office support cost?

Pricing is scope-based and scales with load count, so it tracks your actual work. For most brokers it costs less than the fully loaded salary, benefits, and management time of an in-house back-office hire.

Should a freight broker outsource the back office or hire in-house?

In-house gives direct control but carries fixed overhead and turnover risk. Outsourcing adds trained capacity that scales with volume and lets you start with the one workflow that hurts most. Many brokers run a hybrid of the two.

Related services

Get Started

See how we can help your brokerage

Most clients begin with POD chasing or invoice verification, then grow into full back-office management.