Haulage Customer Onboarding Checklist: From Rate to First Invoice

A customer is not fully onboarded when its name appears in a dropdown. The transport office needs one approved record that turns the agreement into usable rates, safe site instructions, delivery evidence and an invoice the customer will accept.

The first load should test the setup. It should not become the moment the office discovers a mandatory portal, unknown waiting rule or wrong legal entity.

Confirm the contracting customer

Record the exact legal name, company number, registered and billing addresses, VAT details, accounts contact and authorised operational contacts. Match these to the accepted quotation and purchase order.

Complete the customer credit check, approve a credit limit and decide whether prepayment or a deposit applies. Keep the decision separate from the salesperson’s desire to start immediately.

Agree the commercial rulebook

Store:

• rate and currency;
• lane, vehicle and service scope;
• fuel surcharge baseline and formula;
• waiting, cancellation, redelivery and extra-stop charges;
• quote validity and rate-review date;
• payment term and credit limit;
• who may approve exceptions.

Avoid a free-text note such as “£650 all in” without defining what “all” includes. Link the signed contract, rate confirmation or accepted quote.

Build controlled locations

For each collection and delivery site, verify address, postcode, entrance, booking process, hours, contact, PPE, vehicle restrictions, loading responsibility and known risks. HSE workplace-transport guidance emphasises cooperation between the site and visiting employer.

Keep safety instructions distinct from customer preferences. Date the source and review old notes; a driver should not be sent to a closed gate because a five-year-old instruction was copied forward.

Define the job instruction

Agree required fields such as customer reference, PO, commodity, package count, weight, temperature, seal, equipment, stop times and special documents. State how the customer sends work and how changes are authorised.

If jobs arrive by spreadsheet, use a controlled import template. If they arrive by email, define who converts them into a structured record and how a second person checks high-risk details.

Define POD acceptance

Ask what proves delivery:

• recipient name and signature;
• company stamp;
• photographs;
• delivery time;
• seal or temperature evidence;
• signed CMR for international work;
• portal upload or original paper return.

Decide how refusals, shortages, damage and unattended deliveries are reported. Drivers should not improvise acceptance evidence under pressure.

Test the invoice route

Confirm invoice recipient or portal, required legal and VAT information, PO/reference format, POD attachment, billing frequency, statement contact and dispute procedure. GOV.UK sets mandatory invoice information, while the customer can impose additional acceptance fields.

Create a sample or pro-forma workflow internally, but do not mistake a pro-forma for a VAT invoice. Check who releases delivered jobs for billing and how approved extra charges enter the invoice.

Configure access and communication

Give planners, drivers and finance only the information needed for their roles. Avoid placing rates and credit notes in driver instructions. Protect personal phone numbers and site security details.

Agree escalation contacts for late arrival, load mismatch, safety concern, rejected delivery and invoice dispute. A general switchboard is not a contingency plan.

Run and review the first load

After completion, review:

1. instruction accuracy;
2. site access and waiting;
3. driver understanding;
4. POD acceptance;
5. actual versus quoted cost;
6. invoice acceptance;
7. data or communication gaps;
8. actions before the next booking.

Update the customer and location master once, with approval, rather than adding private planner notes.

HauliK can connect customers, saved locations, jobs, drivers, POD and Ultra invoicing. It does not perform credit scoring, route optimisation or contract interpretation. A connected haulage management workflow makes the approved setup reusable.

Frequently asked questions

Who should own onboarding?

One named coordinator should reconcile sales, transport, safety and finance. Each specialist still approves its own controls.

Should the first load use normal credit terms?

Only if the approved risk decision allows it. Many operators use a lower limit or prepayment until the customer and invoice route are proven.

How often should locations be reviewed?

After incidents, access changes, driver feedback or customer updates, plus a proportionate periodic review for frequently used sites.

What marks onboarding complete?

The first job is delivered safely, evidence is accepted, the invoice enters the agreed process and every identified correction has an owner.