For US carriers running 1 to 10 trucks
The truck has arrived. The money has not. An AI that reads every rate con and keeps every date between the signed POD and the deposit. It drafts, you send.
$75,000
the bond a broker must keep in effect. It can be cancelled on 30 days' notice. 49 CFR 387.307(a)
180 days
to bill detention that was left off the invoice. No federal rule sets detention itself. 49 U.S.C. 13710(a)(3)(A)
Delivered Tue 15 Sep, 08:12. Paid: not yet.
7 days
to present the freight bill, weekends and legal holidays not counted. 49 CFR 377.205(b)(2)
15 days
of credit, starting the day after the bill is presented, unless a contract says otherwise. 49 CFR 377.203(b), (c)
18 months
from delivery to file suit for charges still unpaid. 49 U.S.C. 14705(a)
The load is made up. The figures are federal rules, each linked to its text as read on 20 September 2026. A written contract can replace some of them, and on brokered freight the rate con usually does.
A rate con lands before sunrise with a real broker's name on it. Here every one is read against the broker's federal registration before anyone rolls. Pick one.
Nearly $725 million
“In 2025, estimated cargo theft losses in the United States and Canada surged to nearly $725 million”
The one who hauled it
“In many instances, the motor carrier who completes the load does not receive payment for their services”
Dispatch inbox, made up
The addresses end in .example, which nobody can own. The MC numbers are made up. In your office the right-hand column is the broker's public federal registration.
The rate con says
The registration says
Broker name and MC number
Sample Ridge Brokerage, MC 0000412
Sample Ridge Brokerage, MC 0000412, authority active
Matches.
Sender's email domain
freemail.example, a free email provider
sampleridgebrokerage.example
Does not match. The FBI lists "Emails spoofing legitimate company domains using free email providers". FBI IC3 alert I-043026-PSA, 30 Apr 2026
Phone number on the rate con
(615) 555-0148
(404) 555-0110
Does not match. The FBI lists phone numbers that are internet lines or "used for short periods of time". FBI IC3 alert I-043026-PSA, 30 Apr 2026
Bond or trust fund on file
A rate con does not say
On file, no cancellation pending
In effect. Nothing on the rate con to compare.
Two things do not match the registration.
It never calls a broker a fraud, and it never says a load is safe.
Detention is lost on the fine print, not on the clock. This made-up rate con pays it only if the broker was told by email before free time ran out, which is how the clause is often written. Drag the hour, then flip the switch.
Fewer than 50 percent
“While 94.5 percent of fleets charge detention fees, they are paid for fewer than 50 percent of those invoices.”
39.3 percent of stops
“In 2023, drivers reported being detained in 39.3 percent of all stops.”
07:42 Arrived, from the ELD
10:00 Free time ends, clause 11
08:00 Appointment, free time starts
13:10 Departed, from the ELD
09:40
The notice is drafted. 20 minutes of free time left.
It goes to the dispatch address clause 11 names, with the wording the clause asks for. A person presses send.
Rate confirmation SSF-2209, page 2, made up
11. DETENTION. Two (2) hours free at each stop, measured from the appointment time. Thereafter $60.00 per hour, billed in half-hour increments, ONLY IF Carrier notifies Broker by email to the dispatch address before free time expires AND in and out times are signed by the facility on the bill of lading.
Drafted at 09:30 for a person to send
To: dispatch@examplelakeslogistics.example
Subject: Detention notice, load SSF-2209, Example Buckeye Distribution
Our truck arrived at 07:42 for the 08:00 appointment and has not been unloaded. Free time under clause 11 of your rate confirmation ends at 10:00. This is our notice that detention will apply from 10:00 at $60.00 per hour. We will send the BOL with signed in and out times with the invoice.
$1.1 billion to $1.3 billion
“detention is associated with reductions in annual earnings of $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion for for-hire commercial motor vehicle drivers in the truckload sector”
The signature on the POD starts more dates than anyone keeps in his head. Pick a delivery day and they are worked out in front of you. Under them is a carrier's whole board: what is already late or short at the top, then the rest in the order it shuts.
7 days, weekends not counted
“The time period for a carrier to present its freight bill for all transportation charges shall be 7 days, measured from the date the shipment was delivered at its destination. This time period does not include Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays.”
Unless the contract says otherwise
“If the shipper and carrier, in writing, expressly waive any or all rights and remedies under this part for the transportation covered by the contract, the transportation provided under the contract shall not be subject to the waived rights and remedies”
The receiver signed on
Thu 24 Sep 2026
Freight bill presented
7 days from delivery, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays not counted. 49 CFR 377.205(b)(2)
Fri 9 Oct 2026
Payer's credit period ends
15 days, starting the day after the bill is presented, weekends and holidays included. 49 CFR 377.203(b), (c)
Tue 23 Mar 2027
Last day to bill what was left off
180 days from receipt of the original bill. 49 U.S.C. 13710(a)(3)(A)
Delivered Tue 15 Sep 2026. The 7 days skipped 2 weekend days. The rule says “legal holidays” and lists none, so this counts the federal ones in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), on the weekday they are observed when one lands on a weekend. Spacing is not to scale. A written contract can replace the billing and credit dates (49 U.S.C. 14101(b)(1)), and an attorney decides which governs.
Sample Street Freight, every load between the rate con and the deposit
Made-up records, frozen on Mon 21 Sep 2026 so the dates can be checked against a calendar.
Past a date
Delivered Wed 9 Sep 2026. The signed POD is still in the cab with Dale, so nothing has been billed.
Past terms
Invoiced Wed 22 Jul 2026. The rate con's 30 days ended Fri 21 Aug 2026. Unpaid, 31 days past terms. Four hours of detention at the shipper never made it onto the invoice.
Paid short
Paid Fri 18 Sep 2026, $2,250 against an invoice of $2,400. The remittance says "late POD". The POD was emailed Thu 13 Aug 2026 at 16:40, 5 hours 25 minutes after delivery. The rate con allows 24 hours.
Next up
At the receiver now. Arrived 07:42 for an 08:00 appointment. Free time under this rate con ends at 10:00, then $60 an hour in half hours.
On hold
Rate con arrived this morning from a free email address. Two things on it do not match the broker's federal registration. Pickup is Tue 22 Sep 2026 at 09:00.
Next up
Delivered Tue 15 Sep 2026, POD in the same afternoon. The invoice is drafted at $1,607.50: $1,420 linehaul plus $187.50 detention. Not sent yet.
Next up
Written claim for $4,120 received Mon 31 Aug 2026. It has a file number and the date it arrived. It has not been acknowledged yet.
Inside terms
Invoiced Thu 3 Sep 2026, two days after delivery. Inside the rate con's 30 days.
Present the freight bill
7 days from delivery on a collect shipment, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays not counted
The payer's credit period starts the day after the bill is presented. On the other end: whoever pays the freight. 49 CFR 377.205(b)(2), read 20 Sep 2026
The payer's credit period
15 days, weekends and holidays included; a tariff can set up to 30 calendar days
It begins the day after the freight bill is presented. On the other end: the broker or shipper paying the bill. 49 CFR 377.203(b)-(d), read 20 Sep 2026
Bill what was left off the invoice
180 days from receipt of the original bill
The payer has the same 180 days to contest a bill. After it, the right to collect the extra charge is gone. On the other end: the broker or shipper who got the first bill. 49 U.S.C. 13710(a)(3), read 20 Sep 2026
Pay a leased owner-operator
15 days after they hand in the delivery papers
The lease must say so. The papers it can ask for are the logs and what the carrier needs to get paid by the shipper. On the other end: the owner-operator hauling under your authority. 49 CFR 376.12(f), read 20 Sep 2026
Answer a cargo claim
Acknowledge in writing within 30 days; pay, decline or make a firm offer within 120
Still open at 120 days: a written status to the claimant every 60 days. On the other end: whoever filed the claim. 49 CFR 370.5(a); 370.9(a), read 20 Sep 2026
Sue for an unpaid bill
18 months after the claim accrues, which is on delivery
The lawsuit must begin inside the 18 months. On the other end: the broker or shipper who has not paid, then a court. 49 U.S.C. 14705(a), (g), read 20 Sep 2026
The driver's trip papers
To you within 13 days; kept at least 6 months from the day you receive them
Bills of lading and dispatch records count, and nobody may alter what is on them. On the other end: you, then anyone checking the driver's hours. 49 CFR 395.11(b), (f); 395.8(k)(1), read 20 Sep 2026
Plain summaries of federal rules as read on 20 September 2026, not legal advice. A carrier and a shipper can waive some of them in a written contract (49 U.S.C. 14101(b)(1)), so your rate confirmation or broker agreement may set other terms; an attorney decides which governs a load. Detention pay comes from the rate confirmation. We found no federal deadline for it.
The deposit lands, the total looks about right, and the week moves on. Here the remittance is read line by line against the invoice, the rate con and your own sent mail.
After the load was delivered
“Multiple commenters at the March 2023 listening session mentioned charge backs and claims from brokers after loads were delivered.”
180 days
“A carrier must issue any bill for charges in addition to those originally billed within 180 days of the receipt of the original bill in order to have the right to collect such charges.”
Remittance advice, made up
ACH 00918-SAMPLE
Example Lakes Logistics
Paid Fri 18 Sep 2026 to Sample Street Freight
Total deposited$7,975
Invoice SSF-2189: billed $2,400, paid $2,250
Paid $150 short. The remittance says the POD was late. The record says it was not.
Drafted for a person to send
Re invoice SSF-2189. Your remittance of 18 September deducts $150.00 for a late POD. Clause 7 of your rate confirmation allows 24 hours. The signed POD was emailed to your paperwork address on 13 August at 16:40, 5 hours 25 minutes after the 11:15 delivery. The sent email is attached. Please release the $150.00.
The broker's own record
“Each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review the record of the transaction required to be kept by these rules.”
Most of a small carrier's back office is sold already. We checked before writing this page, and we do not rebuild any of it.
Turning a photo of the signed POD into an invoice, and sending it to a factoring company
Already bundled
Carrier billing software reads the driver's photo, checks it for signatures and dates, builds the invoice and submits it from inside the app. It also lists what is unpaid and overdue.
Getting paid fast, and the risk a broker never pays
Sold separately
Factoring companies advance the money when the invoice is uploaded. On non-recourse terms they carry the risk of non-payment.
A broker's credit score and days to pay
Already bundled
Load boards show both beside the load.
Driver logs, stored trip documents, fuel-tax mileage, and how long a truck sat inside a geofence
Already bundled
Electronic logging subscriptions include all four. The arrival and departure times we use come from there.
Single-purpose tools: AI dispatch that books loads, a GPS detention timer that builds an invoice, a broker lookup
Sold separately
Each exists and publishes a price. If one of them is all you need, buy it.
Reading each rate con's fine print into dated duties on the load, keeping the federal dates beside them, and tracing a short payment back to the clause it cites
Not found
Not in the billing, logging, load-board, factoring or dispatch products we checked. This is the part we would build, on your own inbox and documents.
Read from the vendors' own pages on 18 and 20 September 2026. “Not found” means not found in the products we checked, not that it exists nowhere.
Every rate con read before anyone rolls
When a rate confirmation lands in your inbox it is read line by line: the sender against the broker's federal registration, then the fine print. The POD window, the detention rule and who has to be told, the pay terms and the deductions go on the load as dates and duties. It never calls a broker a fraud and never says a load is safe. It shows what does not match, and you make the call.
Every date between delivered and paid
From the signature on the POD, each load carries its dates: the rate con's, and the federal ones beside them. The 7-day freight bill (49 CFR 377.205), the owner-operator paid within 15 days (49 CFR 376.12), a cargo claim acknowledged in 30 days and answered in 120 (49 CFR 370), 180 days to bill what was left off (49 U.S.C. 13710), 18 months to sue (49 U.S.C. 14705). The detention notice, the invoice packet, the claim acknowledgment and the short-pay dispute are drafted. You send them.
A website that says what you haul
We build and run a plain site with your USDOT and MC numbers, your equipment, the lanes you run and how to reach dispatch, so a shipper who finds you, or a broker checking you out, gets a straight answer. It promises no rates and no transit times.
Straight answers, including the ones where the answer is no.
They do, and we will not rebuild it. Turning a photo of the POD into an invoice, sending it to a factoring company, same-day funding, driver logs, fuel-tax mileage, time inside a geofence, and a broker's credit score and days to pay are all sold already. What we did not find in the products we checked is the reading: each rate con's fine print turned into dates on the load, the federal dates beside them, and a short payment traced back to the clause it cites. That is what we build, next to what you have.
No. It compares the rate con with the broker's federal registration and shows what does not match: the email domain, the phone number, a bond cancellation on file. The email and phone checks are indicators the FBI published in its April 2026 alert on cargo theft. The bond check is the broker's own federal record. A match is not a promise that a broker pays, and a mismatch is not proof of fraud. You call the registered number and you decide.
No. It drafts them with the evidence attached and puts them in front of you. You read them and you send them. It will not change a date, a time or a signature on any record.
Some may not. Under 49 U.S.C. 14101(b)(1) a carrier and a shipper can expressly waive rights and remedies in a written contract, though not the rules on registration, insurance or safety fitness. So it keeps the dates your rate con sets, and the federal ones beside them. Which one governs a load is a question for your attorney, not for software.
No. It gives no hours-of-service rulings, no legal opinion on a claim or an unpaid bill, and no fuel-tax or other tax advice. It names the rule a date comes from and hands the question to you, your safety person, your attorney or your accountant.
Move the sliders to your operation. Every figure comes off the published price list, and where the honest answer is custom it says so instead of guessing.
Fits Standard, $749 a month.
StandardYour answers
Website + an AI paperwork desk built for your carrier
Starts at
$749/mo
No setup fee. Or $6,741 for the year, 3 months free.
Pro
Full site with SEO + an AI paperwork desk built for your carrier
Starts at
$1,499/mo
No setup fee. Or $13,491 for the year, 3 months free.
Enterprise
Custom site and custom agent, scoped and run as one
Starts at
Custom
The number does not exist until the scope does.
Estimated from the published price list, not a quote. What gets built is different for every carrier, and that is what the fifteen minutes is for.
Finish pass
Ring the number. That's the product answering.
00 · Any time
That number is Deeplathe's own line. We build custom AI inside the tools a business already uses. Hank, in the corner of this page, is the one built for a carrier. Ask him what is late on the board.
Free · 24/7 · Hang up any time
01 · A set time
Rather book than ring? Take an open slot and Michael runs the call himself.
Book a 15-minute call →Prefer email? michael@deeplathe.com — it reaches Michael, not a helpdesk.
Then we build it, show you the finished thing on a call, and you decide. $0 setup · nothing paid until you've seen the work · 30-day money-back from go-live.
Custom AI, built inside the tools the carrier already uses. It checks rate cons and the dates from the POD to the deposit. Write the voicemail greeting, summarize the email thread before you reply, and send the unpaid invoice reminder after the deposit date.