When you set up a freight payment rule you can requirethe carrier to submit an invoice to Sterling TMS. The systemwill not generate a freight payment voucher until the invoice is receivedfrom the carrier.

To define this option set the CarrierInvoice Required option to Yes onthe second Add Freight Payment Rule page.

In Sterling TMS a carrierinvoice is considered to be received when the carrier has submittedan invoice number. The carrier can submit the invoice number as anEDI 210 transaction or enter the invoice number online on the FreightPayment tab in Execution. For instructions on enteringan invoice number manually refer to the IBM? SterlingTransportation Management System Freight PaymentUser Guide for Shippers.

The Carrier Invoice Required settingalso affects how Sterling TMS processesthe invoice date in the EDI 210 transaction that the system submitsto the shipper:

• If you set this field to Yes SterlingTMS uses the Carrier Invoice Date as the invoice date in an EDI 210transaction or XML.
• If you set this field to No Sterling TMS uses the SterlingVoucher Date as the invoice date in an EDI 210 transaction or XML.The voucher date represents the date of the last voucher status change.

Remember these additional considerations when requiring invoices:

• If you are using the Sterling TMS match payprocess you should set the Carrier Invoice Required optionto Yes. When Sterling TMS receives thecarrier invoice the system compares the carrier charges to the ratedcharges.
• If you set the Carrier Invoice Required optionto Yes Sterling TMS does not automaticallygenerate the voucher as soon as the invoice is received. Instead Sterling TMS generatesthe voucher only after the freight payment triggers have been met.
• If you set the Carrier Invoice Required Option to Nocarriers still have the option of submitting an invoice or unplannedcharges to Sterling TMS.Shipper and carrier users can view the invoice on the FreightPayment tab.
• You can set up multiple freight payment rules and define the CarrierInvoice Required option differently in each rule. Forexample you might require certain carriers to submit invoices andmake invoices optional for other carriers. Or you might require invoicesfor certain modes or shipping lanes.