Begin with completed-load evidence
Gather the dispatch reference, agreed rate, proof of delivery, approved additional charges and customer or carrier statement. Use the same load reference when recording the invoice and payment. If documentation is missing, identify whether it is delaying billing or simply missing from the accounting file. Those are different problems and should go to the person who can resolve each one.
Illustrative example: a smaller bank deposit
A hypothetical settlement lists $15,200 in approved freight revenue. It deducts $2,100 in fuel advances, $450 in documented insurance charges and a $300 previously agreed adjustment, leaving a $12,350 deposit. The books preserve the $15,200 revenue and the supported deductions. The treatment of the adjustment depends on its underlying reason; the label on a statement is not enough. If fuel-card records also arrive separately, reconcile them to the advance so the same $2,100 is not counted twice.
Keep the fuel evidence usable for its actual purpose
For each purchase, retain the date, supplier, location, litres, amount and vehicle reference, together with the receipt. Use trip and vehicle records to explain allocation where appropriate. This supports cost review and the records required for any separately assessed fuel-tax reporting. It does not establish eligibility for marked fuel, an off-road exemption or a refund. Those decisions need the applicable program’s rules and the operator’s actual facts, including travel outside Manitoba.
Review the unsettled items by load
At month-end, list completed loads awaiting invoices, invoices awaiting payment and deductions awaiting explanation. Compare that list with the customer ledger and the expected cash schedule. CRA recordkeeping guidance supports retaining the original documents; the load reference makes them easier to retrieve when a customer asks about a short payment. For management reporting, label whether a route or vehicle result includes maintenance, financing and shared overhead. A net settlement is cash received for several underlying transactions, and its size alone cannot establish whether the loads were profitable.
Put this into practice
Sources and current guidance
A practical next step
Bring the records you have.
We can identify missing information, agree on the scope and organize the next bookkeeping step.
Request a bookkeeping review