INTERMODAL
Outsourced back-office operations for intermodal marketing companies (IMCs)
Every intermodal move has a rail leg and a dray leg at each end. Each carries its own invoices, accessorials, and documentation. We run every leg for IMCs and intermodal logistics providers, so a charge that belongs on one leg does not quietly disappear into the other. Billing, carrier invoice checks, accounts receivable (AR), and compliance all sit on one desk.
THE INTERMODAL BACK OFFICE
Built for rail and dray coordination
Intermodal billing sits at the intersection of rail tariffs and drayage accessorials. The rail leg has its own rate structure, fuel surcharges, and container charges. The drayage legs at origin and destination carry chassis fees, per diem, terminal charges, and delivery accessorials. An intermodal marketing company or broker has to reconcile all of these against a single customer rate.
We handle the full billing workflow across both legs: rail tariff verification, drayage carrier invoice audit, customer invoicing with all costs reconciled, per diem and chassis fee passthrough, and AR follow-up.
Volume is what makes intermodal billing unforgiving. A hundred containers a week means a hundred chances for a chassis split to go unbilled, a per diem clock to run past free time unnoticed, or a rail invoice to disagree with the tariff. Reconciling both legs against the customer rate on every move, while the move is current, is the difference between container-level margin you can trust and a quarterly surprise.
- Rail carrier invoice audit against tariffs and contracts
- Drayage carrier invoice audit with chassis and per diem verification
- Customer invoicing with multi-leg cost reconciliation
- Per diem and container tracking across legs
- AR follow-up and collections
- Carrier compliance monitoring
99%
Invoice Accuracy
<24h
POD Chase
Weekly
Reporting
Where does intermodal margin leak?
Rail and dray costs not reconciled
The rail invoice and the drayage invoice often arrive at different times and are processed separately. When nobody reconciles both legs against the customer rate, margin discrepancies go unnoticed until they show up in the P&L.
Per diem falls between legs
Container per diem can accrue during the rail transit, at the ramp, and during drayage. Tracking which party is responsible for which days and passing through the correct charges requires matching timestamps across rail and dray records.
Chassis fees missed on dray legs
Drayage carriers charge chassis fees that vary by provider and location. On intermodal moves, the chassis charge on each dray leg needs to be captured and either included in the customer rate or billed as a passthrough.
Documentation spread across systems
Rail tracking, drayage POD, container events, and customer billing often live in different systems. When documents for a single shipment are scattered, the billing file is incomplete and the invoice gets delayed or disputed.
Intermodal adds per diem and storage on top of the linehaul. Both are covered in the accessorial charge reference and screened in carrier invoice audit.
How we run your intermodal back office
- 1
Discovery
We audit your rail carrier tariffs, drayage provider rate structures, ramp relationships, and the per diem and chassis fee schedules that apply to your lanes.
- 2
Onboarding
Our team learns your rail tariff structures, drayage accessorial schedules, and per diem rules specific to your ramps and lanes. About 2 to 3 weeks to go live.
- 3
Ongoing operations
Rail and drayage invoice audit, customer invoicing with multi-leg reconciliation, per diem tracking, and AR follow-up on every shipment.
- 4
You scale
New ramps, new lanes, more containers. The billing operation absorbs the growth.
Back-office services for intermodal operations
A container crossing three legs collects charges from all of them. A dedicated team keeps rail, dray, and equipment billing reconciled from ingate to invoice.
Carrier invoice audit and accounts payable (AP)
Learn more →Rail invoices, dray invoices, and equipment charges arrive on different cycles and disagree with each other. Each gets audited: per diem against free days, storage against notice dates, fuel against the index, duplicates flushed across legs.
Customer billing and invoice preparation
Learn more →One move, one invoice. Rail and dray legs, accessorials, and pass-throughs consolidated with backup and submitted to spec, so the customer sees a bill they can approve without a phone call.
Document processing and POD retrieval
Learn more →Ingates, outgates, interchange records, PODs: matched to the container as they post, keeping billing and disputes supplied without anyone digging through portals.
Accounts receivable (AR) management and collections
Learn more →Intermodal short pays come down to equipment days. Answering them with the gate record on file wins faster. Follow-up holds a fixed cadence and aging stays visible to you.
Pre-billing revenue recovery
Learn more →Where the billing desk is ours to run, moves get checked before they invoice: equipment days against free time, accessorials against the rate. Missed charges surface pre-invoice, when they can still be billed. Performance-priced.
Carrier compliance and onboarding
Learn more →Dray partners join to your standard and stay watched: authority, certificate of insurance (COI), FMCSA safety data, and W-9 collected up front, expirations tracked so nothing lapses mid-move.
What intermodal operations get back
The result is a back office that handles the complexity your freight demands.
When the container side of intermodal runs under your own house bill, the ocean leg brings its own paperwork: MBL settlement, CFS charges, and per diem clocks. NVOCC back-office support covers that side of the desk.
- Rail and drayage costs reconciled against customer rates on every move
- Per diem tracked across legs and passed through correctly
- Chassis fees verified on every dray leg
- Customer invoices with complete multi-leg documentation
- Carrier invoices audited before payment
- Consistent AR follow-up across intermodal customers
Works inside the systems you already run
We work inside the TMS platforms you already use for intermodal dispatch, container tracking, and billing, with no migration and no new software to learn.
Frequently asked questions
Can ClearLane reconcile rail and drayage billing on intermodal moves?
Yes. We audit the rail carrier invoice against the tariff or contract and audit each drayage carrier invoice separately. Both legs are reconciled against the customer rate before the invoice goes out, so margin on each move is accurate.
Do you handle per diem tracking across intermodal legs?
Yes. On international boxes we track steamship-line per diem across rail transit, ramp time, and drayage. On domestic moves in railroad, EMP, or private 53-foot containers we track the railroad or equipment provider’s free time and detention instead. The charges are matched to the correct leg and party, and passthroughs are billed to the customer with the supporting documentation.
What does intermodal back-office support include?
Intermodal back-office support covers rail carrier invoice audit, drayage carrier invoice audit, customer invoicing with multi-leg cost reconciliation, per diem and chassis fee management, and AR follow-up.
How much does outsourced intermodal back-office support cost?
Pricing is scoped to the functions you hand off and the team that work needs, including the number of legs per move, and resized as container volume changes rather than metered per container. A 20-minute call covers the details.
Will this work with our existing intermodal TMS?
Yes. Profit Tools, CompCare, and other intermodal-specific platforms are all systems we work in daily. Rail tariff verification, drayage billing, and per diem tracking all happen inside your existing setup.
How do you handle street turns and empty returns on intermodal moves?
We track empty return deadlines and per diem exposure on every container. When a street turn opportunity exists, we coordinate the documentation so the billing reflects the actual container movement. Empty return confirmation is documented and matched to the per diem record to close out the charge.
Related services
Carrier Invoice Audit
Learn more →Rail tariff and drayage accessorial verification.
Pre-Billing Revenue Audit
Learn more →Catch per diem and chassis fees before invoicing.
AR Management
Learn more →Follow-up across intermodal customers.
Bookkeeping
Learn more →Settlement and books kept current as you scale.
Get Started
See how we can help your intermodal operation
Most intermodal clients start with carrier invoice audit and per diem tracking across legs, then grow into full back-office management.