In AscendTMS, what is the difference between an invoice and a bill?

• A. The invoice is billed to the shipper for services; the bill is the charge the broker/carrier bills to payables/accounts payable
• B. The invoice is billed to the broker for services; the bill is billed to the shipper for payables
• C. They are the same document with interchangeable terms
• D. The invoice is used for internal budgeting; the bill is used for customer invoicing

Answer: (A)

In AscendTMS, the difference comes down to who is billed and who pays. An invoice is the document you send to the shipper for the freight services provided—the shipper is billed for the work done. A bill, on the other hand, is the charge you receive that goes into accounts payable; it records what your company owes to the broker or carrier and will pay them.

This separation aligns with how billing and payments flow in a brokerage/trucking context: revenue from the shipper via invoices, and costs paid to carriers via bills recorded in AP. The other options mix up who is billed or treat the documents as interchangeable, which isn’t how the system tracks money in and out.