Free trucking invoice template

Why a trucking invoice needs its own layout

Brokers and shippers pay freight invoices against their own load records. If the load number, BOL or rate confirmation doesn't match, the invoice sits. A trucking invoice needs those numbers at the top, and every accessorial charge backed by a time stamp or a receipt.

This template has a load block for the load number, BOL, origin and destination, and lines for linehaul, fuel surcharge, detention, lumper fees and extra stops. The example is a load within Ontario billed to a broker.

What to include on a trucking invoice, and why

• Load number and rate confirmation. Brokers match invoices to their own records by these. Missing numbers are the top reason freight invoices wait.
• BOL or PRO number. The signed bill of lading is proof of delivery. Attach it.
• Origin, destination and dates. Shows the load you mean, especially when you haul the same lane every week.
• Times for detention. Brokers pay detention against arrival and departure times. Put them on the invoice or the attached paperwork.
• Receipts for lumper and other pass-throughs. Paid at the dock, reimbursed on the invoice. No receipt, no reimbursement.

How to price it

Typical payment terms

• Net 30 is common with brokers; some offer quick pay at a discount
• If you use a factoring company, its remit-to details must be on the invoice
• Accessorials billed with the load, never later if you can help it
• Paperwork (BOL, receipts) sent with the invoice

Whatever terms you use, put them on the invoice itself. A due date printed on the page is easier to enforce than one mentioned on the phone. See how to collect overdue invoices for what to do when a customer is late.

Sales tax, GST/HST and PST on trucking work

United States

For-hire freight hauling is generally not subject to state sales tax, though states differ on delivery charges tied to a sale of goods.

Trucking has its own taxes instead: IFTA fuel tax, the heavy vehicle use tax (Form 2290) and state registration. Those aren't charged on the invoice.

Canada

Freight transportation within Canada is taxable for GST/HST, generally at the rate of the province where the freight is delivered. Continuous freight to a destination outside Canada can be zero-rated.

Show your GST/HST number so the broker or shipper can claim input tax credits.

Check a rate with the US sales tax calculator or the GST/HST calculator, then set it beside the tax lines in the template. Both tax lines can be renamed, so one invoice works for sales tax, HST, or GST plus PST or QST.

The example, filled in

The Invoice sheet opens filled in with the example in the preview: an Ontario owner-operator billing a broker for one load, invoice TR-3391 for an example customer. The lines come to a subtotal of $1,969.00 and a total of $2,224.97. Payment terms are 30 days. The figures are made up to show the layout; they are not market rates.

Freight moved within Ontario is taxed at Ontario's 13% HST. For freight, the rate generally follows the province where the shipment is delivered; continuous freight to a point outside Canada can be zero-rated.

The notes box reads: “Signed BOL, rate confirmation, lumper receipt and detention times attached. Payment due in 30 days. Remit to the account on file.”

Lines on the price list sheet

The Price list sheet starts with the lines trucking businesses usually charge for. Add your rates once and copy them onto each invoice.

What's in the file

Pale yellow cells are for your entries; white cells calculate. Nothing is locked, so you can rename lines or change the layout. The Instructions sheet repeats the steps and the notes on this page.

Download the trucking invoice template (.xlsx)

Or send it from AcboBooks

Need one invoice today? The free invoice generator makes a PDF in your browser. Sending them every week? AcboBooks keeps your trucking price list, turns estimates into invoices, tracks what each customer owes and adds up the tax you collected. It's Windows desktop software, bought once; try it free for 15 days.

Sources

Checked October 25, 2026. Tax rules change and differ by state and province; confirm with the tax agency or your accountant.

• Canada Revenue Agency: input tax credits (information an invoice needs)
• CRA RC4022, General Information for GST/HST Registrants
• CRA: GST/HST rates by province
• IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records
• Federation of Tax Administrators: links to every state tax agency

Questions

Related

• Mileage log template
• Mileage calculator
• How to collect overdue invoices
• Input tax credit (glossary)
• Accounting software for trucking companies
• General invoice template
• All invoice and estimate templates by trade

General information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Check with your accountant or the tax agency before relying on a template for tax.