Past due freight invoices: who owes you, and the email to send

Stays in this browser. Nothing leaves it unless you ask AI to read a document.

What your statement should say

Pick the pay period, check your loads, then compare with what landed. Dibs shows the gap, the loads missing from your statement, and the questions to send accounting.

Example numbers. Replace with yours.
Pay period
Your termsEdit

From your agent agreement or commission plan. You set these once. Leave a field at 0 if it doesn't apply.

Read my agreement

Drop your agent agreement or commission plan (PDF, photo or pasted text). AI finds the terms and quotes the line each one comes from. You check them before anything changes.

    You should get

    $0

    Compare with your statement

    Which loads are on it?

    Paste the statement or open its PDF. Dibs looks for each load number of this period. It is read right here, nothing is sent.

    Questions for accounting

    Built from the numbers above. Edit before you send.

      Loads in this period

      Billed = everything the customer pays. Fee = quick pay or factoring fee charged to you on that load. Customer paid = the date the money came in; leave it empty while it's open.

      Load #CustomerDeliveredBilled $Carrier $Fee $Customer paidGP

      Track unpaid freight invoices by days past due

      When you are paid on collected, a slow customer is your problem before it is the brokerage's. Who Owes Me lists your customers' open invoices with the due date from their Net terms, the days past due, and the next step for each one. It is an accounts receivable aging report for your own book, kept in your browser.

      Add invoices by hand, or upload the customer invoice, rate con, POD or remittance. AI reads the load number, amount, dates and terms and shows them before anything is saved. A remittance marks every load it lists as paid.

      A past due invoice email written for freight

      Dibs drafts the email with what the customer's AP team needs to find the load. You copy it and send it from your own email. The first past due reminder looks like this:

      Subject: Invoice for load 4127 ($2,025.00) is past due
      Hi, the invoice for load 4127 ($2,025.00) was due November 1 and is now 6 days past due. Can you send the payment date or the check/ACH number? The POD and rate confirmation are attached again in case you need them. Thanks,

      At 15 days past due the draft asks AP for a quick call. At 30 it says new loads are on hold until it is paid and asks for a payment date.

      When to follow up

      1. Right after invoicing: make sure the invoice is in the customer's AP portal, if they use one.
      2. Before the due date: a friendly check that the invoice is approved for payment.
      3. Past due: the reminder above, with the load number and POD.
      4. 15 days past due: call AP and ask for a payment date.
      5. 30 days past due: talk to your brokerage's credit team before you book that customer again.

      Your brokerage's credit policy comes first. These are reminders, not rules.

      Questions freight agents ask

      What does Net 30 mean on a freight invoice?

      The customer has 30 days to pay, usually counted from the invoice date. Some customers count from the date they receive the invoice and POD, so a late POD pushes the due date. Dibs counts from the invoice date and lets you change the terms per load.

      What should a freight invoice include?

      The brokerage load number, the customer's PO or reference number, pickup and delivery locations and dates, the agreed rate and any accessorials such as detention or lumper, the payment terms, and the POD. Missing references are the most common reason an invoice sits unpaid.

      How do I write a past due invoice email?

      Keep it short. Name the load number, delivery date and amount, attach the POD, state the due date, and ask one question: when will it be paid, or what is holding it. Send it to AP, and copy your contact at the shipper on later reminders.

      What is an accounts receivable aging report?

      A list of unpaid invoices grouped by how late they are, for example current, 1 to 30 days past due, 31 to 60, and over 60. Who Owes Me is the same idea for your own customers.

      Does Dibs send the emails for me?

      No. It writes the draft and you send it from your own email, so the customer hears from you.

      Where are my invoices stored?

      Only in this browser on this computer. There is no account, and nothing goes to your brokerage or to us unless you ask AI to read a document.

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