Fleet-program billing, on one sheet
Programs pay well, pay slow, and audit. The shops that win at program billing aren't the ones with the best memory, they're the ones that wrote the rules down per payer. This is the sheet to write them on. Free, printable, no signup.
The questions to answer per payer
Before the first invoice goes to any new payer, every box below should have an answer in writing. A blank box is a future short pay.
- Approved labor rate, and whether it differs by work type (PM, repair, road call, after-hours)
- Travel: billable or not, and if billable, at what rate and with what documentation
- Parts markup rules: a cap, a matrix by cost band, or list price only
- Shop supplies, environmental fees, and surcharges: allowed, capped, or rejected on sight
- Sublet work: allowed markup and required paperwork
- Tax handling: who is exempt, on what, with which certificate on file
- Approval threshold: the dollar amount above which work needs sign-off before it starts
- Who can approve: the driver, the fleet contact, or only the program itself
- Photo requirements: failed part, before and after, odometer, unit number
- Inspection or diagnostic documentation the payer expects attached
- PO or authorization number: required on the invoice, and who issues it
- Submission channel: portal, EDI, email, or paper, and the required invoice format
- Line coding requirements, including VMRS codes where the program asks for them
- Submission deadline after work completion before the invoice ages out
- Stated payment terms, and the payer's actual average days to pay
- Short-pay and dispute process: the window to contest and the evidence they accept
Patterns by payer type
The questions are the same for every payer. How hard they bite depends on which kind of payer you're dealing with.
| Payer type | What it is | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| National fleet programs | Maintenance networks that dispatch work on units they manage and pay you directly under their own rate and documentation rules. | Every rule above exists and is enforced by audit. The rates are usually firm but the volume is real. Late or undocumented invoices get short-paid quietly, so capture proof while the job is open. |
| Fleet check and card rails | Payment instruments (fleet checks, fuel and maintenance cards) a driver presents at the point of service. You verify and process them like a payment, not a customer. | Authorization happens per transaction, and a missed verification step means an unpaid invoice with nobody to chase. Know the verification call or portal flow cold before the first road call. |
| Direct fleet accounts | Local and regional fleets you invoice on terms you negotiated yourselves. The rules are whatever the two of you wrote down, if anything. | The risk is the opposite of programs: no written rules at all. Set rates, travel policy, approval thresholds, and terms in writing once, or every invoice becomes a negotiation. |
| Warranty payers | Component or vehicle warranty work billed to a manufacturer or extended-warranty administrator rather than the unit's owner. | Labor times are often dictated from a flat-rate guide, parts may need to be returned or held, and the documentation bar is the highest of any payer type. |
The blank payer rules sheet
Copy this into whatever you run the shop on, one sheet per payer, and date every review. If your software can hold these rules and apply them to the invoice itself, even better.
| Field | What goes here |
|---|---|
| Payer name / program | And the account or vendor number they know you by |
| Labor rate(s) | By work type if they differ; effective date |
| Travel policy | Billable? Rate? Documentation required? |
| Parts markup | Cap, matrix, or list; any excluded categories |
| Fees allowed | Shop supplies, environmental, after-hours premium |
| Approval threshold | Dollar limit and who approves above it |
| Required proof | Photos, inspection sheets, diagnostic notes |
| PO / auth number | Who issues it and where it goes on the invoice |
| Submission | Portal / EDI / email, format, line coding, deadline |
| Payment terms | Stated terms and observed average days to pay |
| Dispute window | Days to contest a short pay, and the contact |
| Last reviewed | Rates drift; date every review of this sheet |
Want the longer read on why each of these matters? How to bill fleet programs without losing the paperwork war.
Or let the invoice follow the rules itself
In Fleet Portal, each payer carries its own rates, markup, deductions, and submission rules, and every invoice follows them without anyone remembering anything. This sheet is the manual version of that feature.