For 3PLs · Prepaid billing
Prepaid billing for 3PLs.
Prepaid billing means clients pre-fund a balance, each shipping label draws down that balance in real time, and the balance tops itself back up automatically. For a 3PL it replaces net-terms invoicing: you are funded before you pay the carrier, instead of floating the cost for weeks.
Stop financing your customers' shipping.
- Net-30 invoicing You float carrier costs for weeks.
- Chasing AR Reminders, statements, late payers.
- A line of credit Borrowing to cover the gap.
The New Normal
- Cash positive
- No AR to chase
- Funded before you pay
What prepaid billing does.
- Prepaid wallet Per-customer balance funded via ACH or credit card. PCI-compliant processor — RocketFuel Recharge never holds card data.
- Auto-recharge Drops below threshold, the saved method is charged automatically. Set the amount and threshold per customer.
- Direct deposit Funds land in your bank within days. RocketFuel Recharge never holds the money — straight from processor to you.
- Ledger-backed history Every shipment, adjustment, recharge, and void recorded with the resulting balance. Always traceable.
- Net terms when needed Activity-date-based: Net 7 means a shipment on the 1st accrues on the 8th. Predictable, never invoice-cycle dependent.
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Recharge Meter
Getting paid before you ship is what the Recharge Meter does — a customer-prepaid balance that funds carrier costs in real time and auto-recharges on a threshold.
Frequently asked questions
How does prepaid billing work for a 3PL?
A client funds a balance up front by ACH or card. When a shipping label generates, the carrier cost plus your markup is deducted from that balance in real time. When the balance drops below a threshold you set, the saved payment method is charged automatically. Funds move from the processor to your bank account — the platform never holds the money. Every shipment, adjustment, recharge and void is written to a ledger with the resulting balance.
Is prepaid billing the same as the billing built into my WMS?
No. WMS billing meters warehouse activity — receiving, storage, pick and pack, value-added services — and invoices for it at the end of a cycle. Prepaid billing meters carrier spend at label generation and collects before the shipment moves. They solve different problems and most 3PLs run both: the WMS bills the warehouse work, the billing layer handles parcel cost and cash flow. RocketFuel Recharge is the second one. It does not replace a WMS; it reads from the one you already run.
How is prepaid billing different from net terms?
Net terms invoice after the work is done, so the 3PL funds the carrier cost and waits to be repaid. Prepaid billing collects before the label prints, so the cost never lands on your books. The two are not exclusive — you can run prepaid balances for most clients and activity-date-based net terms for the ones that require it.
Can I still offer net terms?
Yes. RocketFuel Recharge runs activity-date-based net terms — Net 7 means shipments on the 1st accrue on the 8th, the 2nd on the 9th, and so on. Predictable, not invoice-cycle dependent. You control the terms without becoming the bank.
What about third-party or LTL/FTL shipments?
Mark a parcel account as third party and RocketFuel Recharge won't bill for it. LTL and FTL get logged through manual charges — captured without forcing them through the parcel pipeline.
Does my warehouse team need to learn anything new?
No. Your WMS still runs the warehouse. RocketFuel Recharge hooks into the WMS and shipping API at label generation; the billing runs in the background.
See it run on your operation.
30-minute live demo. We'll walk through your billing model and run the math on your last 90 days.