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Rate Confirmation Processing

Rate confirmation processing that reads each broker's rate con in whatever format it arrives, red-lines every clause against what dispatch agreed on the phone, and prices the fine print before anyone signs.

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Follow one broker load from rate con to signature ↓
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The problem

The rate con rewrote detention, and the dispatcher signed the phone call

A dispatcher books a broker load by phone in two minutes. The rate confirmation follows as a PDF, a scan, a portal page or an email body, each broker in its own layout, and that paper is the contract. Broker-carrier agreements usually say the confirmation governs where it differs from the call.

The dispatcher retypes the load into the TMS and signs, because the truck needs to roll. Detention with a longer wait and a cap, a fine for a late POD, a deduction if the tracking app drops, a quick-pay fee and the payment days all sit in the fine print on page two.

Nobody prices those clauses on the load in front of them. The difference from the call shows up weeks later, when the broker's carrier-pay team short-pays the invoice and points to the line the carrier signed.

Built forDispatchersDispatch managersBilling specialistsControllers

The Problem Today

Each broker sends its own paper, and the fine print on page two can quietly replace what dispatch agreed on the phone.

39.3%
of 2023 stops where drivers were detained, per industry research published

Retyped and signed in a hurry

  • Broker PDFs
  • Call notes
  • Detention
  • Fines
  • Fines found at settlementTracking and paperwork deductions appear on the remittance
  • The same broker habit againNobody keeps track of which clause each broker rewrites

The Solution

  1. Each clause against the bookingMatches, differs, new term or missing, with both sides cited
  2. The broker's pay team playedA challenger prices each clause they could deduct on, our draft included
  3. A counter in fields, re-readThe revised version is red-lined again in full when it comes back
  4. Signed by policyThe dispatcher signs; terms outside policy need the dispatch manager

Built-in controls

  • No agent signs or accepts a rate con
  • Counters go only to the agreement's address
  • Out-of-policy terms wait for the dispatch manager

What You Get

Each rate con is signed as it was agreed, and its fine print reaches the driver and billing as signed.

2,000 h
a year to read and key 20,000 rate cons by hand (assumed) our estimate
  • Drivers see the terms that costDetention start, POD deadline, tracking and late-call rules
  • Billing invoices the signed clauseDeductions met with the signed wording and the bill of lading
  • Broker habits rememberedA check applies once the dispatch manager approves it
Features

Rate confirmation software features, from the broker's PDF to the TMS order

Dispatchers red-line and sign each broker rate con here; the dispatch manager co-signs whatever falls outside policy.

demoSample data: the carrier, broker, load and dollar amounts.

  1. 01Redline

    Broker rate confirmation red-lined clause by clause against the phone booking

    • Any format the broker sends. PDFs, scans, portal printouts, email bodies and phone photos are split into clauses with their place on the page.
    • What was agreed, cited. Call notes, the load-board post, the broker's email and the broker-carrier agreement stand beside each clause the broker wrote.
    • Matches, differs, new term, missing. Each clause gets one state and a certainty score, so what changed since the call stands out from what matches.
  2. 02Settlement desk

    Rate con fine print priced the way the broker's carrier-pay team reads it

    • Each deductible clause, with its risk. Paperwork, tracking and late-arrival fines are priced on this load from your own history, before the dispatcher signs.
    • Clauses used to refuse detention. Terms such as extras only with a broker accessorial number are flagged with the short-pay they caused before.
    • Our own counter challenged. A draft that left the broker's detention cap in place is fixed before it goes out.
  3. 03Load net

    What the load nets as written versus as countered, assumptions shown

    • Detention, fines and quick pay in one view. The rate, detention at the expected dwell, likely fines and the quick-pay fee add up to what the load is worth.
    • Dwell and fine chances editable. Hours at the receiver and the odds of a late POD or a tracking drop start from your own records, and you can edit each.
  4. 04Steer

    Accept a broker's tracking clause in plain words, sent to the manager

    • Steer the agents as you work. Typing that you run this broker's app anyway turns the clause into an exception for your manager, with your words as the reason.
    • Policy checked on every term. Fines and deadlines are compared with the acceptance policy, so you know at once which ones you may accept yourself.
  5. 05Counter

    A structured counter to the broker, clause by clause, from the call notes

    • Only the fields that change. Each clause shows what the broker wrote, the change asked for and the basis, so the broker can reissue without a phone call.
    • Sent to the agreement's address. The counter goes to the contact in the broker-carrier agreement, never to a reply-to printed on the rate con.
  6. 06Broker reply

    Broker answers the counter in fields and the revised rate con is generated

    • A form instead of an email thread. The broker sees only this request and answers each field, so the revised confirmation is built from the answers.
    • Notes are read, never parsed. Free text beside the fields changes no clause and must be read by the dispatcher before signing.
  7. 07Version two

    The broker's revised rate confirmation red-lined again from the top

    • Every clause compared again. The whole revision is red-lined from the first clause, so the counts show at once whether anything beyond the countered clause moved.
    • Signing blocked until the note is read. The broker's own words wait on screen, and the dispatcher must open them before signing.
  8. 08Sign

    Dispatcher signs version two, with the accepted terms listed in the signature

    • What the dispatcher is signing to. The dispatcher signs to having read this version and to the terms accepted that were never discussed.
    • Signed copy held for exceptions. A term outside policy keeps the signed copy from going back to the broker until the dispatch manager co-signs.
  9. 09Co-sign

    Out-of-policy rate con terms co-signed by the dispatch manager

    • Clause and policy opened first. The manager cannot approve before opening the signed version and the acceptance policy.
    • Coded reasons to approve or return. Either choice takes a code plus the manager's own words; a return clears the dispatcher's signature.

Dispatchers sign, managers co-sign, billing and the controller live with it

A broker load's terms pass through four desks before the invoice is paid.

Dispatchers

Booking broker loads and signing each rate con they booked

  • Only what differs from the call
  • Fine print priced on the load
  • A counter drafted from their notes
Dispatch managers

The acceptance policy, lane floors and every exception to them

  • The clause and policy opened before co-signing
  • Broker habits proposed as checks
  • Exceptions with the dispatcher's own reason
Billing specialists

Invoices built from the signed terms, and the short-pays that come back

  • Detention terms as signed
  • The signed clause and the bill of lading
  • Disputes drafted for the controller
Controllers

Payment terms, the quick-pay rule and disputes

  • Quick-pay fees priced against the days saved
  • Rule changes approved by a second person
  • Deductions met with the signed wording
The agents

Eight agents read the rate con; the dispatcher alone commits the carrier

Each passes the load along by name; signing, accepting and sending belong to the dispatcher.

Rate con reader

Finds each rate con in the dispatch mailbox in any format and splits it into clauses.

  • Never guesses a clause it cannot read; a blurred scan goes to a person
Booking recorder

Gathers what was agreed: call notes, the load-board post, the broker's email and the agreement.

  • Never treats a broker's email as agreement on terms it does not state
Redliner

Compares clause by clause and marks each matching, differing, new or missing, both sides cited.

  • Never marks free text as compared
Counter writer

Drafts the structured counter, sends it when the dispatcher presses send, and reads the revision.

  • Never sends without the dispatcher
  • Never writes to a reply-to on the rate con
Broker's settlement desk

Plays the broker's carrier-pay team and prices each clause on this load.

  • Never accepts or signs
  • Never judges the broker's intent
Policy checker

Checks each term against the acceptance policy and the quick-pay rule and names who must sign.

  • Never changes a limit
Order builder

Creates the TMS order with every signed term and sends the terms to the driver app and billing.

  • Never creates an order before the signed copy is returned
Habit spotter

Learns each broker's clause habits from rulings and proposes checks.

  • Never applies a check before the dispatch manager approves it
After the signature

The TMS order, the driver app, billing, broker habits and the day's inbox

Where the signed terms go, and how the rest of the day's rate cons stand.

Order with signed termsThe TMS order carries all ten clauses as signed, each with its source and where it goes: billing, the dispatch board, the detention clock or the driver app.
Driver's termsThe four terms that can cost the driver money: when detention starts, the POD upload deadline, running the broker's tracking app, and the late-call rule.
Billing from the signed clauseThe coming invoice built from the terms as signed, and a $75.00 short-pay on an earlier load answered from the signed clause, the number requests and bill of lading times.
Broker habitsChecks learned from rulings, such as a broker that writes detention at a lower rate on the first version, applied only after the dispatch manager approves.
Rate con inbox82 rate confirmations today in 24 broker formats: 9 differed from the booking and 14 added a term nobody discussed. Each row shows its status and clock.
Audit trailBooking, steer, counter, the broker's answer, both signatures and the order, with who opened which version before signing. Exports go to a spreadsheet or a JSON evidence file.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

A rate con is a contract, so signing it stays with dispatch

The agents read, compare, price and draft; people commit the carrier.

Signing or accepting a rate confirmationOnly the dispatcher who booked the load, after opening any note the broker wrote.
Terms outside the acceptance policyThe dispatch manager reads the term against the policy, then co-signs or returns it.
The quick-pay rule and other money rulesThe controller proposes; the president and owner approves.
Disputes, dropping a broker and legal questionsAsked about these, the assistant points to who decides and never judges what a broker meant.

The dispatch mailbox, call notes, the TMS and the broker agreement

What the agents read to know what was agreed, and where the signed terms go.

Dispatch mailboxRate cons as PDFs, scans, portal pages and email bodies
Call notes and load-board postsWhat the dispatcher agreed on the phone
Broker-carrier agreementsWhich paper governs, and the address for counters
Acceptance policyFine limits, POD deadlines, lane floors and the quick-pay rule
Transportation management systemOrders carrying each signed term, plus dock times and POD history
Driver appThe terms that can cost the driver, and when they were read

What dispatch managers ask about rate confirmation processing

What is a rate confirmation?

A rate confirmation is the broker's written confirmation of a load, and once the carrier signs it, it is the contract for that load. This solution reads each one, red-lines it against what dispatch agreed, prices the fine print, and leaves the signature to the dispatcher.

Does it work with every broker's format?

It reads PDFs, scans, portal printouts, email bodies and phone photos. A blurred or cut-off clause is flagged for a dispatcher to read.

Can it accept a rate con on its own when everything matches?

No. A signed rate con commits the carrier, so a dispatcher signs each one, and terms outside policy also need the dispatch manager.

Does a revised rate con get checked again?

Yes, from the first clause to the last, whatever was countered. Any note the broker wrote has to be opened before the dispatcher can sign.

Should we take the broker's quick pay?

The load's net shows the quick-pay fee against waiting for the payment days. Whether to take it follows the controller's rule, and the agents give no verdict.

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Bring a stack of
this week's rate cons.

Send us last week's broker paper and your call notes, and we will red-line them together.

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