Phase 6 — Carrier Payment Processing

This phase covers Forza’s payment obligation to the carrier (or the carrier’s factoring company) for delivered loads. Where Phase 5 is about money coming in, Phase 6 is about money going out — and the two are operationally linked because HaulPay handles both sides for the majority of loads.

Total steps: 4 (Steps 6.1–6.4) Primary owner: Concetta (Accounting) for all steps; HaulPay executes Path A

Key context:

• HaulPay handles carrier payments as part of Scenario A — for factored and Path A loads, HaulPay pays the carrier. Forza’s role is verification, not execution.
• Path B loads require Forza-direct carrier payment — fully manual. Rare exception.
• Option B payee configuration — carrier is the vendor; factoring company address is the payee. Supports carrier-level payment visibility, AP aging, and 1099 reporting.

flowchart TD
    A([Phase 5 Complete:\nPayment Received]) --> B{Path A\nor Path B Load?}
    B -- Path A / Factored --> C[6.1 Path A: HaulPay-Managed\nCarrier Payment\nForza verifies remittance email]
    B -- Path B --> D[6.1 Path B: Forza-Direct\nCarrier Payment\nFull manual workflow]
    C --> E{Discrepancy?}
    D --> E
    E -- Yes --> F[6.2 Discrepancy Handling\n7 discrepancy types\n5-day resolution SLA]
    F --> G
    E -- No --> G[6.3 Carrier Payment Confirmation\n9-element documentation checklist\nEZ Loader + QBO + Remittance archive]
    G --> H([✅ Load Fully Closed])
    I[Annual: 6.4 1099 Compliance\nNov prep → Dec verify → Jan file\nOption B makes this a clean export]

Steps

Key Flags

🛑 Critical Blockers

• EZ-Loader ↔ QuickBooks-Online sync broken — carrier bill payment status in QBO not visible without sync. Same Step 1.10 blocker that threads through every phase.
• No Path A carrier payment verification SOP — Accounting receives HaulPay remittance emails but no structured check process.
• No Path B carrier payment SOP or remittance template — manual and undocumented.

⚠️ Open Questions

• Quick pay flag end-to-end verification with HaulPay — has the flag been confirmed to apply correctly? (Step 6.1)
• CPA year-end role confirmation — what does CPA own vs. Accounting? (Step 6.4)
• Is EZ-Loader capable of email attachment to load records for structured remittance archival? (Step 6.3)

🔲 Nick Decisions Required

• Carrier payment discrepancy resolution SLA (suggested 5 business days — Step 6.2)
• HaulPay relationship escalation protocol for recurring carrier payment issues (Step 6.2)
• Quarterly W-9 audit cadence and ownership (Step 6.4)
• CPA coordination model for year-end (Step 6.4)

🔗 Upstream Dependencies

• Step 6.4 (1099) depends on Step 2.4 (W-9 collection) and Step 2.7 (Option B configuration)
• Step 6.3 (documentation) depends on Step 3.6 (accessorial discipline) and Step 4.2 (carrier invoice audit)
• Step 6.1 (carrier payment) depends on Step 4.6 for Path A and Step 5.1a for Path B

Previous phase: Phase 5 — Cash Application & Reconciliation Next phase: Phase 7 — Reporting & Month-End Close