A rate confirmation is the contract for one load. It says who is hauling what, from where to where, when, and for how much. Every later document, the BOL, the POD and the carrier's invoice, gets checked against it, or should.
Most people in a back office learn to read rate cons by doing it. Here is the short version: what each part is for, which parts are noise, and where the errors hide.
The header: who is who
The top of the rate con names the broker, the carrier, and usually the carrier's MC and USDOT numbers, along with a load or reference number.
Where errors hide: the carrier's identity. The name can be right while the MC or USDOT number belongs to someone else, or doesn't match the number on the invoice that arrives later. That mismatch is one of the clearest paperwork signs of double brokering. Check it on every load, not just new carriers.
Stops: where and when
Each pickup and delivery has an address, a date, often an appointment window, and reference numbers the shipper or receiver will ask for.
Where errors hide: a delivery date before the pickup date, a stop missing from the rate con that shows up on the BOL, or a reference number that doesn't match. These look like typos. Some are, and some turn into detention or a refused load.
Equipment, commodity and weight
The trailer type, what's being hauled and how much it weighs.
Mostly noise: "Weight approx. 42,000 lbs" is normal. An approximate weight isn't a problem, and a tool that flags it is wasting your team's time.
Where errors hide: equipment that doesn't match what the load needs, such as a dry van on a load that needs temperature control.
The rate table: the part that matters most
Linehaul, fuel, accessorials and a total. This is where the money is, and where most of the expensive mistakes live.
Where errors hide:
- The total doesn't match the line items. A summary box says $3,100.00; the table adds up to $3,150.00. Which one did the carrier agree to? Someone has to ask before the invoice arrives, not after.
- The rate is quoted one way and checked another. $2.35 a mile over 640 miles should be $1,504 of linehaul. If the rate con prints $1,600, the numbers disagree with each other.
- Fuel is counted twice. Fuel listed as its own line and also folded into an "all-in" linehaul.
- The rate itself is off. Every number can agree and the carrier can still be paid well above what you usually pay on that lane. Only a comparison against your own lane rate will show it.
Accessorials and terms: the fine print
Detention after a set number of free hours, layover, lumper reimbursement with a receipt, truck-ordered-not-used. These terms decide which extra charges on the carrier's invoice you owe.
Where errors hide: the invoice. The question for every accessorial on a carrier invoice is whether the rate con agreed to it, and on what terms. If the rate con says detention starts after two free hours at $50 an hour, an invoice for four hours of detention is $100, not $200.
Payment terms
Quick pay at a discount, or standard terms such as Net 30.
Mostly noise: "Quick Pay 2% or Net 30" is a choice offered to the carrier, not a conflict.
Where errors hide: remit-to details. A rate con, or a later email, that asks for payment to a new bank account or address is the moment to slow down. Confirm it by calling the carrier on a number you already have, never one from the email.
Signatures
Where errors hide: a rate con the carrier never signed. If there is a dispute later, an unsigned rate con is a weak place to stand. Chase the signature before the truck rolls.
What to do this week
Pull ten rate cons from last week and check four things on each: does the total match the line items, do the MC and USDOT numbers match the carrier's invoice, is it signed, and does every accessorial on the invoice appear on the rate con?
If all ten pass, your team is careful. If any fail, you've found where your margin is leaking.
Which part of the rate con causes your team the most trouble? I'd like to hear about it.
Pisto reads every rate con, checks these fields against each other and against the invoice, and sends a person only the ones that need judgment, with the reason. If you'd like to see what it finds in a few weeks of your rate cons, the first pilot report is free.