Carrier Checklist for a Freight Marketplace

Carrier readiness is the essential prerequisite for reliable access to freight markets. This introduction outlines the practical elements every carrier must verify before engaging on a marketplace platform, ensuring faster onboarding, smoother bookings, and consistent performance.

Preparare compliance e operational readiness by confirming legal authority, insurance coverage, and equipment availability. A current MC number and adequate insurance limits, maintained maintenance logs, and certified safety programs reduce risk and build trust with shippers.

Equipment and maintenance readiness ensure dependable capacity. Verify that tractors and trailers comply with safety standards, that ELD devices are installed and functioning, and that vehicles pass regular inspections and maintenance schedules. A ready vehicle pool minimizes downtime and detentions.

Onboarding and data quality: create a complete carrier profile, supply valid insurance documents, MC authority numbers, and a robust safety rating. Timely document updates keep the marketplace profile accurate and enable faster load matching.

Operational discipline and communications: establish clear processes for load confirmation, ETA accuracy, and proactive issue resolution. A readiness mindset translates into better match rate, higher utilization, and fewer detention fees.

Verify Carrier Credentials, Insurance, and Regulatory Compliance

Collect and verify the carrier’s legal business name, USDOT number, and MC number (where applicable). Validate these identifiers in the FMCSA database or SAFER system to confirm that the authority is active and accurately matches the carrier’s profile. Ensure the authority level covers the intended operation (for‑hire vs private, interstate vs intrastate) and that the scope aligns with the planned lanes, commodities, and equipment.

Assess operating authority against the shipment requirements. Confirm the carrier has the appropriate endorsements and authority for the requested services and commodities (for example, dry van, flatbed, refrigerated, or hazmat where applicable). Check for any lane or commodity restrictions and verify that the carrier is not prohibited from transporting specific cargo types relevant to the contract.

Request a current certificate of insurance (COI) and verify it against the carrier’s authority. The COI should include the insurer’s name, policy numbers, effective and expiration dates, and the required coverage types (auto liability, general liability, and cargo insurance as applicable). Ensure the COI lists the broker or recipient as certificate holder and, if required, designates the broker as additional insured with primary and non-contributory language. Confirm that the coverage limits meet the thresholds set by the contract and remain valid throughout the shipment window.

Perform regulatory compliance checks beyond insurance. Review FMCSA safety rating (Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory), CSA scores, and any active or past enforcement actions or out‑of‑service orders. Verify that safety programs (such as a functioning Drug and Alcohol testing program) are in place and that drivers are compliant with Hours of Service rules and required documentation. If HazMat is involved, confirm HazMat endorsements, proper placarding practices, and carrier suitability for hazardous materials transport.

Validate driver and vehicle documentation that supports ongoing compliance. Ensure driver qualification files (DQFs) exist for all drivers, with valid CDLs and medical certificates. Confirm vehicle inspections, maintenance records, and up-to-date registrations. Verify that carriers use compliant logging methods (ELD where required) and maintain accurate logs, inspection reports, and maintenance schedules for the equipment involved in the shipment.

Outline onboarding and ongoing verification steps. Gather and retain copies of USDOT and MC credentials, COIs, MCS‑150 data, and BOC‑3 designations if applicable. Establish a re‑verification cadence (e.g., quarterly or upon COI renewal) and set up automated alerts for license status changes, COI expirations, or new safety actions. Maintain a single source of truth for all regulatory documents to ensure fast re‑verification during audits or inspections.

Identify and respond to red flags promptly. If authority is suspended, COI is expired or insufficient, safety actions are unresolved, or critical documentation is missing, withhold onboarding and shipments until remediation is completed. Require corrective action plans, updated certificates, and re‑verification before resuming engagement to protect shipment integrity and broker risk exposure.

Define Rates, Payment Terms, and Invoicing Workflow

Publish a transparent rate card that defines all price components for each lane and service level. Rates are expressed in the marketplace currency, with explicit effective and expiration dates, renewal rules, and versioning. Each shipment type maps to a standard rate set to prevent ad hoc pricing, while exemptions are managed via approved addenda.

Base rate components include: linehaul per mile or per shipment, fixed-rate lanes, and optional service surcharges. Fuel surcharge is indexed to a published fuel price, calculated with a defined formula, frequency, and caps. Accessorial charges are itemized with clear definitions and amounts, including detention, layover, residential pickup/delivery, inside pickup/delivery, liftgate, appointment rescheduling, and cross-dock fees. Minimums, stop-off charges, and equipment-type adjustments are explicitly described.

Rate validation and publishing: any new or updated rate card undergoes pricing, legal, and compliance review; changes are versioned with effective dates. Carriers must acknowledge and accept the rate terms before tendering. The marketplace stores rate cards and surfaces them to shippers and carriers via API or UI, with change history and audit logs.

Payment terms: standard terms specify when payment is due after delivery or receipt of a compliant invoice. Common terms are Net 30 or Net 45, with exceptions documented. Accepted payment methods include ACH, wire transfer, or card where allowed. Clarify whether fuel surcharge is included in base payment and how taxes are handled. Document late fees or penalties and dispute resolution timeframes.

Invoicing workflow: after tender and rate confirmation, carriers deliver the shipment and submit an invoice containing shipment reference, rate components, charges, and supporting data. The system performs three-way matching against rate confirmation, BOL, and POD. Invoices can be submitted via EDI 210, API payloads, or secure email, with required data fields validated automatically. Invoices enter an approval queue, where automatic validation or manual review occurs, and approved invoices trigger payment according to the terms.

Disputes and adjustments: disputes initiated for charge discrepancies, late deliveries, or detention disputes require attachment of supporting documents. Adjustments follow an approval workflow and are reflected on the next invoice or via a retroactive credit. Ongoing disputes pause payment until resolved. Reconciliation runs weekly or per-cycle, with dashboards highlighting aging invoices and variance reasons.

Governance and controls: enforce rate integrity by preventing mismatched lane-service-rate pairs and prohibiting duplicate invoices. Maintain audit trails for every rate change, approval, and payment action. Implement alerts for rate variances, rate-card expirations, and suspicious activity.

Systems and data exchange: integrate rate cards and invoicing with TMS, ERP, and the freight marketplace via APIs and EDI. Ensure real-time currency, tax handling, and currency conversion as needed. Data standards include required fields for rate components, shipment identifiers, and document hashes. Provide dashboards for carriers to monitor outstanding invoices, payment status, and aging.

Best practices: publish a single source of truth for rates, with clear documentation and onboarding materials. Keep rate cards simple to avoid ambiguity; define escalation paths for exceptions and rate disputes. Schedule regular rate reviews aligned to market conditions and automatically propagate updates with backward compatibility rules on affected lanes. Train carriers on how to read rate cards and use the invoicing workflow.

Onboarding and readiness: require carriers to provide test invoices and rate cards during onboarding. Verify bank accounts, payment contacts, and API access. Enforce role-based access, MFA, and secure data transfer. Archive historical rate cards and invoices for audit purposes and maintain data retention policies.

Enable Onboarding and Technical Readiness: Documentation, ELD/Tracking, and API Access

Onboarding and technical readiness ensure carriers can reliably exchange data with the freight marketplace. This section defines the essential components: documentation, ELD/tracking integration, and API access, along with the testing and governance required to achieve a production-ready connection.

Documentation readiness requires carriers to provide complete, verifiable information about legal entity, authority, and insurance. Submit current operating authority numbers (DOT/MC), carrier profile details, tax documentation, and proof of coverage. Include primary and secondary points of contact, data privacy statements, and a documented security policy to support ongoing compliance reviews.

ELD and tracking readiness covers the ability to stream compliant telematics data. Carriers must support an ELD or equivalent device that delivers location, timestamped events, duty status, and hours-of-service data in a timely manner. Data quality, time zone consistency, and reliability are critical, with clear expectations for data latency, gap handling, and reconciliation against delivered shipments.

API access readiness provides secure programmatic entry to core marketplace capabilities. Authentication is issued per environment, employing API keys or OAuth2 tokens with defined scopes. Production and sandbox environments are distinct, each with its own base URLs, rate limits, and versioning rules to manage backward compatibility and change control.

Sandbox and production credentials should be obtained through a formal onboarding request. In the sandbox, use representative test data and mock shipments to validate integration logic, error handling, and event flows without impacting live operations. Production credentials are granted after successful sandbox validation and a formal compliance review.

Data formats and mapping establish a consistent data model. The platform requires clearly defined JSON schemas for shipments, equipment, locations, and events, with strict field naming conventions and data type validation. Mapping rules must align carrier systems to the marketplace data dictionary, including equipment codes, stop sequences, and service level indicators.

Security and compliance underpin operational integrity. All data must transit and be stored over encrypted channels, with access controlled by least-privilege principles and periodic access reviews. Implement robust audit logging, token revocation, IP allowlisting, and a documented data retention policy aligned with applicable regulations.

Onboarding workflow outlines the end-to-end sequence from request to live operation. The process typically starts with document submission, followed by verification, ELD data connection setup, API credential issuance, sandbox testing, and compliance sign-off. A go-live plan includes predefined monitoring, rollback procedures, and escalation paths for incidents.

Testing and validation cover end-to-end scenarios across ELD streams and API interactions. Validate real-time location and status updates, shipment creation, rate retrieval, status changes, and proof-of-delivery events. Validate error handling, retries, idempotency, and reconciliation between carrier systems and marketplace records.

Operational readiness requires proactive monitoring and alerting once live. Establish dashboards for data latency, message throughput, and error rates, plus incident response playbooks and defined service-level targets. Regular reviews with support teams ensure rapid diagnosis and resolution of data discrepancies or connectivity issues.

Developer resources should include comprehensive documentation, data dictionaries, and ready-to-use examples. Provide sample payloads, non-production test cases, and a changelog that communicates version updates, deprecations, and required migration steps. Clear guidelines for support channels and response times help maintain sustained reliability.

Go-live criteria and success metrics define objective thresholds for production readiness. Approval should require verified ELD data feed stability, authenticated API access, complete documentation submission, and passing sandbox validation. Ongoing success is measured by uptime, data accuracy, low retry rates, and timely event delivery against agreed SLAs.