Onboard once. Haul anytime. Every lane covered.
The Carrier Agreement, also called a Broker-Carrier Agreement or BCA, is the legal contract between a freight broker and a carrier before they move freight together. It sets the terms: who’s responsible for what, what the carrier’s insurance requirements are, how payment works, and how disputes get handled.
No signed agreement means no dispatch. In FTM, the agreement is part of the carrier onboarding flow, tracked, stored, and linked directly to the carrier record in Salesforce so your team always knows who’s covered and who isn’t.
What a Carrier Agreement Covers
A standard Broker-Carrier Agreement defines the working relationship across five areas:
Services and Authority
- Carrier’s operating authority (MC number, DOT number)
- Types of freight and lanes the carrier is authorized to haul
- Prohibition on re-brokering loads without written consent
Insurance Requirements
- Minimum auto liability coverage (typically $1M)
- Cargo insurance minimums (typically $100K)
- Broker listed as certificate holder or additional insured
- Requirements to notify broker of policy changes or cancellations
Rates and Payment
- How rates are set (per-load or as agreed on each Rate Confirmation)
- Payment terms (e.g., net 30 from receipt of clean POD and invoice)
- Factoring assignment: carrier’s right to assign receivables, and broker’s acknowledgment requirements
- Fuel surcharge treatment
Liability and Claims
- Carrier liability for cargo loss or damage (Carmack Amendment baseline)
- Claim filing procedures and deadlines
- Broker’s right to offset claims against outstanding invoices
General Terms
- Term of the agreement (typically evergreen with 30-day termination notice)
- Governing law and dispute resolution
- Indemnification obligations
- Confidentiality of rate information
How It Works Inside FTM
FTM tracks carrier compliance status directly on the Carrier record. When a new carrier is added, your team can log the agreement date, upload the signed document, and flag when insurance certificates are due for renewal, all without leaving Salesforce.
Carrier onboarding in FTM
- Carrier completes the self-serve Carrier Portal signup
- Your team reviews MC/DOT authority and insurance certificates via integrations (Saferwatch, RMIS, Highway, My Carrier Portal)
- Broker-Carrier Agreement is sent, signed, and uploaded to the carrier’s record
- Carrier is marked active and available for dispatch
💡 Compliance at dispatch. FTM can flag carriers with expired insurance or missing agreements before a load is tendered. so your team never accidentally dispatches an uncovered carrier.
Carrier Agreement vs. Rate Confirmation
These two documents work together but serve different purposes:
| Carrier Agreement | Rate Confirmation | |
|---|---|---|
| Signed | Once, at onboarding | Per load |
| Covers | Legal relationship, insurance, payment terms | Specific lane, rate, pickup/delivery details |
| Who keeps it | Both parties, filed permanently | Attached to the load record |
| Changes | Requires written amendment | New Rate Con replaces the previous one |
The Carrier Agreement is the foundation. The Rate Confirmation is the transaction.
The Carrier Agreement in the Freight Document Lifecycle
The Carrier Agreement sits outside the per-load document flow, it’s a prerequisite, not a step. It needs to be in place before the first Load Tender goes out to any carrier.
Carrier Agreement
Signed before the first load. Governs the entire relationship.
Shipper requests a price. Broker or carrier responds with a quote.
Shipper formally offers the load. Carrier accepts or declines.
Sent immediately after acceptance. Locks in the lane, rate, and terms.
Generated at dispatch. Travels with the driver.
Signed at delivery. Triggers invoicing.
Sent to the customer after confirmed delivery.
The agreement is pre-load, it must exist before any freight moves.
Ready to see FTM in action?
Book a live demo and we’ll walk you through the full document workflow: BOL, Rate Con, Invoice, and Lane Quote – directly inside the platform.
