At month end, motor carriers and freight brokers must recognize revenue for loads that have been delivered but not yet invoiced, while simultaneously recording the related purchased transportation and driver settlement expense. This ensures compliance with the matching principle and produces accurate financial statements. The TMS provides the authoritative source of truth through its load status timestamps.
The Core Rule
Use the TMS load status history table to determine whether a load has reached a qualifying delivered state before the accounting cutoff. Common qualifying statuses include Delivered, POD Received, or Invoiced (in some configurations). If the load status timestamp is on or before the final second of the reporting period and no customer invoice exists as of that cutoff, the load is a candidate for revenue and cost accrual.
The accrual entry typically debits Unbilled Revenue (or Accounts Receivable - Unbilled) and credits Freight Revenue. A corresponding entry accrues purchased transportation by debiting Purchased Transportation Expense (or Accrued Carrier Pay) and crediting Accounts Payable - Accrued. Driver pay and related payroll accruals follow the same logic when the driver is company-employed.
Typical TMS Data Model Elements
Whether you run Truckmate, McLeod, TMW, or another system, the following tables are usually involved in the month-end accrual extract:
- Load header (LOAD, ORDERS, or equivalent)
- Load status history (LOADSTATUS, STATUS_HISTORY)
- Customer billing / invoice header (INVHDR, BILLING)
- Carrier settlement / payable detail (CARRSETTLE, VENDOR_PAY)
- Accessorial and fuel surcharge tables
- EDI 214 status records for third-party validation
SQL Extract Pattern for Unbilled Delivered Loads
A production-grade query follows this pattern (shown conceptually - actual column and table names vary by TMS):
| Component | Purpose | Example Logic |
|---|---|---|
| Status Cutoff | Identify delivered loads | MAX(CASE WHEN status_code IN ('DEL','POD') THEN status_timestamp END) <= '2025-01-31 23:59:59' |
| Invoice Check | Confirm unbilled | invoice_date IS NULL OR invoice_date > '2025-01-31' |
| Revenue Calculation | Line-haul + FSC + accessorials | rate_linehaul + rate_fuel + detention + stop_charge |
| Cost Calculation | Purchased transportation | carrier_rate + carrier_fuel_surcharge + carrier_accessorial |
For a worked example, consider a 50-truck fleet that closes its books on the last calendar day of each month. On January 31 at 11:59 p.m., the SQL extract identifies 27 loads that reached Delivered status on or before that timestamp but have no customer invoice posted. The extract calculates $184,650 in total revenue to accrue and $139,200 in purchased transportation and driver pay to accrue. These amounts are recorded as of January 31 and reversed in February when the actual invoices and settlements are posted.
Reconciliation and Cutoff Discipline
The accrual file must be frozen at the exact cutoff time. Any loads that reach Delivered status after the cutoff belong to the next period. Strong Tower recommends generating the accrual extract as a scheduled SQL job that runs immediately after the final status and EDI 214 updates are processed but before any new period transactions begin.
Daily reconciliation reports should compare the prior-period accrual file to subsequently generated customer invoices (EDI 210) and carrier settlements. Variances are usually caused by post-cutoff status updates, rate changes, or accessorial disputes. These variances are posted as true-ups in the current period.
EDI Considerations
EDI 214 status messages from shippers or consignees often provide the earliest confirmation of delivery. Many carriers load these into the TMS status history table. When the 214 contains an actual delivery timestamp, that timestamp should take precedence over manual driver entry for accrual cutoff purposes. EDI 210 invoices generated later close the revenue accrual loop.
Common Pitfalls
- Using invoice creation date instead of delivery status timestamp
- Accruing revenue but forgetting to accrue the matching purchased transportation cost
- Double-counting loads that were partially invoiced mid-month
- Failing to reverse accruals when the actual invoice posts in the TMS
- Not validating fuel surcharge and detention calculations against the carrier rate matrix and customer tariff
FAQ
How do you accrue revenue for delivered but unbilled loads at month end?
Use the TMS load status timestamp (Delivered or POD Received) to identify loads delivered before the accounting period cutoff. Calculate the full line-haul, fuel surcharge, and accessorial revenue that would appear on the customer invoice and record it as unbilled revenue with an offsetting accounts receivable accrual. Reverse the accrual when the actual freight invoice is generated and posted.
Should purchased transportation and driver pay be accrued for the same unbilled loads?
Yes. Matching principle requires that the cost of purchased transportation (carrier settlement or owner-operator pay) and related driver pay be accrued in the same period as the revenue. Use the same TMS status cutoff to identify the loads and calculate the payable amounts based on the rate matrix, fuel surcharge terms, detention, and accessorial rules stored in the TMS.
What SQL query pattern extracts unbilled delivered loads from Truckmate, McLeod, or TMW?
A typical query joins the load header, load status history, customer billing, and carrier settlement tables on load number. Filter where the maximum status timestamp for 'Delivered' or 'POD Received' is before the month-end cutoff and the invoice date is null or after the cutoff. Group by load to produce one row per unbilled delivered load with calculated revenue and cost.
How are the accruals reversed in the subsequent period?
When the freight invoice is created and posted in the TMS/ERP, the system should automatically reverse the prior-period revenue and purchased transportation accruals through a reversing journal entry or by using accrual accounts that are cleared upon invoicing. Strong Tower recommends a daily reconciliation report that matches accrued loads to subsequently invoiced loads.
Systems Architecture Recommendation
Strong Tower Consulting designs transportation accounting integrations that treat the TMS as the system of record for operational status while feeding summarized accrual extracts into the general ledger. Whether your primary platform is McLeod, Truckmate, TMW, or a custom SQL-based system, the month-end close process can be fully automated with proper status governance and rate matrix integrity.
Carriers that implement this disciplined approach reduce their financial statement lag and improve the accuracy of both revenue and cost reporting.
Strong Tower Consulting, LLC and Exspeedite LLC are separately organized sister companies under common ownership. Strong Tower Consulting provides independent systems architecture and technology advisory. Carriers never have to buy our software. Our only product is better decisions.
Schedule a systems assessment with Strong Tower Consulting to review your current TMS month-end processes, accrual logic, and transportation accounting integration.