How to Read a Rate Confirmation Line by Line
A rate con takes under a minute to sign and 30 days or more to live with. The 10 clauses to read, a 2-version example with a $225 gap and the message to send before the truck rolls.
Why this matters. You sign a rate confirmation in under a minute and live with it for 30 days or more. The rate con is also the document the broker's accounts payable clerk checks your invoice against. If you bill something the rate con does not mention, the clerk has no reason to pay it. So the page does two jobs: it sets the price, and it sets what you may bill.
Not legal advice
We are not lawyers. Whether a clause can be enforced depends on your agreement and the rules where you operate. All loads, amounts and numbers in the examples below are invented. When a clause looks risky or the amount is large, ask a professional.
The ten clauses, in the order to read them
Read the whole page, not only the rate and the stops. For each clause below, find it first. If you cannot find it, that is the answer: ask.
| Clause | What to look for | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Payment terms | Days to pay and what starts the count | Does the clock start at delivery or at invoice receipt? |
| Quick pay | Any fee or percent for early payment | What is the exact fee and who decides eligibility? |
| Free time and detention | Hours of free time, hourly rate, any cap | Is detention in this document at all? |
| Layover and TONU | Whether they are named, and the amounts | What happens if the load cancels after I arrive? |
| Lumper | Who approves it, what proof is needed | Will you approve it in writing before my driver pays? |
| Fuel surcharge | Included in the rate or listed apart | Is the surcharge part of the number I see? |
| Deductions | Chargebacks, offsets, admin fees | Which fees can be taken and on what grounds? |
| Claims wording | Who bears loss or damage, how a claim is filed | Where do I send a claim and what proof do you need? |
| Appointment rules | Late arrival penalties, check call rules | What is the penalty if the dock runs late, not me? |
| Parties named | Which company is the broker, which is the shipper | Does the name match the authority record? |
Source: MileCFO guide, rate con red flags before you sign. The questions are ours; the answers are in your document.
The clause you cannot find is a clause you may not have. If detention, TONU or lumper is not mentioned, do not assume it will be paid. Ask the broker to add it or to confirm it by email, and keep the reply.
Step 1: match the price
Compare the rate and the stops with what you agreed by phone or message. A different number is a stop sign, not a typo to fix later. Here is what one unread page costs.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Agreed rate | $2,400 |
| Rate on the document | $2,250 |
| Gap on one load | $150 |
| Same slip on 4 loads in a quarter | $600 |
The 4 loads are an invented count. The point is the habit: a 30-second compare of the rate con with your message catches it before the truck moves.
Step 2: find the payment and extras clauses
Note the days to pay and the date they count from: delivery, invoice or receipt of paperwork. Then look for free time, detention rate, layover, TONU and lumper. If a charge is not named, assume you will have to argue for it. Our comparison of detention, layover, TONU and lumper shows how each is billed.
Step 3: watch for revisions
A load starts at one price. The broker adds a stop or raises the rate and sends a revision. The dispatcher signs it. Billing, working from the first email, builds the invoice from version 1. Compare the revision with the invoice line by line.
| Line | Rate con v1 | Rate con v2 (signed) | Invoice | Gap against v2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linehaul | $2,100.00 | $2,250.00 | $2,100.00 | $150.00 |
| Added stop-off | $0.00 | $75.00 | $0.00 | $75.00 |
| Fuel surcharge | $140.00 | $140.00 | $140.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $2,240.00 | $2,465.00 | $2,240.00 | $225.00 |
Invented load. 150 + 75 + 0 = 225, and $2,465 - $2,240 = $225. The signed revision governs here.
Nobody sees the $225 unless someone puts the two documents side by side. Name files by load number and revision, such as [load]-v2, and get every price change in writing before the truck rolls. The rate con vs invoice guide covers what to do when versions disagree.
Where the mismatches hide
When an invoice and a rate con disagree, the cause is usually one of these.
- Old version. The invoice came from the first email, not the signed revision.
- Per-mile math. Your odometer miles replaced the miles in the rate con.
- Fuel surcharge. Missing, flat when it should follow an index, or from the wrong week.
- Added stops. A stop-off added by phone and never written into a revision.
- Accessorials. Allowed, earned and never put on the invoice.
- Rounding and typos. A few dollars off, repeated across many loads.
Step 4: ask in writing
Send one email with the questions and save the answer with the signed rate con. A reply by email counts as a record.
Four ways people lose on a rate con
- Signing from the phone. Small print is hard to read there. Open it on a larger screen or print it.
- Trusting the earlier message. The rate con replaces the chat. If they differ, the document is what the clerk checks.
- Skipping the party names. The company on the rate con should be the one you checked. See double brokering.
- Leaving questions for later. After pickup you have less say.
The broker red-flag checker does a similar pass on what you can see about a broker. To find out whether your last 20 loads were invoiced the way the rate con says, send them to us.
Related guides and tools
Guide
Rate con red flags
The clauses worth a second read before you accept a load, and what to ask about each.
Guide
Rate con vs invoice mismatch
A revision-aware, line-by-line check of rate confirmations against invoices.
Guide
Broker vetting
Check authority, the $75,000 bond, the paperwork name and the payment terms before the truck moves.
Guide
Accessorial recovery calendar
A day-by-day and week-by-week routine for billing and chasing accessorials.