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Introducing the next-generation of transport payments

On the 12th June 2024, TEG announced the release of SmartPay. This post explains the significance of SmartPay in more detail – and outlines SmartPay’s key benefits.

In the transport sector, as many of us know, it’s strangely difficult to pay and get paid.

The reasons are numerous. But perhaps the biggest reason of all is, in transport, shippers work with multiple carriers. Often, multiple times a month. It’s an efficient system that gets precise goods to precise locations at precise times. In fact, it’s quite a spectacle.

The collaboration does, however, leave shippers with an onslaught of disparate PODs and invoices.

Some carriers submit their invoices and PODs by email. Some prefer post.

Some carriers send their paperwork both by email and through the post. For bigger shippers, the administrative burden quickly adds up, triggering a chain reaction that leads to all sorts of problems – like the need to build payment files, lengthy payment terms, chase calls, delayed payments, and, sometimes, funds being transferred to the wrong places.

Surely a better way must exist?

That better way is now here. It’s called SmartPay.

Introducing SmartPay

SmartPay is the latest evolution of TEG’s popular invoice management platform, Finance Manager – but with one, major addition. 

As well as managing invoices, SmartPay facilitates payments between load posters and carriers. You can use SmartPay to pay and get paid. 

That might seem minor. But, as SmartPay is designed for the transport industry, it solves so many of the inefficiencies and inconveniences outlined above.

For example, with SmartPay, both load posters and carriers can see a job, its POD and its invoices – tethered together – in the same screen. You can also see payment statuses. Load posters can change payment statuses – from ‘pending’ to ‘approved’.

Crucially, SmartPay lets load posters pay all approved invoices in one transaction… no matter how many carriers posters have worked with, or how many jobs they’re paying for.

How SmartPay works

Step 1

Carriers invoice through SmartPay, and load posters approve invoices through SmartPay.

Step 2

Come payment time, load posters make a single payment for all approved invoices to their Wallet.

Step 3

SmartPay divides the payment between carriers automatically!

The above process outlines how SmartPay works. In a little more detail:

It’s a comprehensive system, specifically designed to make transport payments easy.

The benefits of SmartPay

SmartPay reduces admin. It reduces errors. It reduces, confusion, hassle, chase calls and headaches.

Meanwhile, it increases clarity. It can therefore increase payment speed. And, for both load posters and carriers, it increases payment transparency and visibility.

Renaming Finance Manager

For us, the innovation is so significant that we’ve updated the name of The Exchange’s invoice management feature, Finance Manager. Naturally, the feature is now called SmartPay.

With SmartPay, you can send and receive PODs and invoices. You can track, approve and query invoices. And you can pay invoices, too.

How to get full SmartPay access

If you’re yet to set up full SmartPay access, simply log in to Trustd and complete the ‘payment setup’ section of your Trustd profile. You’ll then be able to receive payments – and pay other members – using SmartPay.

Get full SmartPay access

SmartPay is an innovation our members have been requesting for years. We’re therefore thrilled to be releasing SmartPay to all Exchange members.

An easier way to pay and get paid awaits. 

After years of development, SmartPay is here – and we couldn’t be more delighted.

All Courier Exchange and Haulage Exchange members now have access to SmartPay. To get full SmartPay access, log in to Trustd and complete the payment setup section now.

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Following on from Making Tax Digital,  you can now integrate your Finance Manager with one of three compliant accounting software – Xero, Sage Business Cloud and QuickBooks!

Once integrated, you can avoid re-keying data and send invoices straight to your accounting software. Just sync your Exchange account with your accounting software and your invoices and credit notes can be sent straight to it with one click. 

Why have we introduced this upgrade?

Simply put, we’re making life easy for you. The accounting integrations feature saves you time and energy – because with just one click, you can manually export your invoices and credit notes from the Exchange to your HMRC-compliant accounting software. 

What is Finance Manager?

Finance Manager is a bespoke digital invoices and payments management solution designed for ease and efficiency when operating on The Exchange. It was built with one thing in mind: to help save you time and energy doing finances.

What is Making Tax Digital?

Recently announced by HMRC, Making Tax Digital (MTD) means that all businesses must now have digital tax records. This means all invoices and credit notes must now be submitted, via an accredited accounting software, to HMRC. 

You must be using a HMRC-compatible accounting software to submit your digital VAT tax records. According to HMRC, MTD will help businesses get tax right. There’s less margin for error, and your tax records will now be filed digitally – meaning you can access them whenever you want.

MTD means you’re no longer permitted to do your tax returns on paper records or spreadsheets. Instead, you must now file your VAT tax submissions on a HMRC-compatible accounting software. 

For more information on how to integrate your accounting software to Finance Manager click here.

As you may know, here at the Haulage Exchange we don’t believe in standing still.  

The Exchange is the UK’s biggest freight marketplace. It routinely grants delivery drivers access to more than 10,000 loads per day. But rather than rest on our laurels, we’re always on the lookout for new ways to help our industry advance. 

Earlier this month, our CEO, Lyall Cresswell, announced several new developments that are about to do just that. The developments really are going to change the logistics industry for the better. So, rather than keep them hush hush, you can read Lyall’s update in full below. 

Dear Members, 

I’m writing this to let you know about the imminent release of the most important developments that we have made to the Transport Exchange Group (TEG) platform over the past few years. Those of you who have been valued members of TEG (and our sub-brands Courier Exchange and Haulage Exchange) for many years will know that we do not believe in standing still and have a long-term vision to continuously improve user experience and reduce friction wherever possible in the process of dealings between our member businesses. 

Over the past three years, despite the unprecedented backdrop of Covid, Brexit, Ukraine and the fluctuating and challenging economy, we have continued to make significant investments in the platform. This year will see us invest £4 million. This is testament to our long-term commitment to our members to develop the TEG platform and improve the user experience so that both are best in class. 

Here are some of the highlights that we will be delivering over the next few months:

Trust and Security – taking this to a new level 

You will soon be invited to enrol your business in our brand new transport compliance and digital identity platform ‘Trustd.net’. Three years in the making, this has been designed to handle onboarding, maintenance and monitoring of key business data used in the Exchange platform. Our aim is to elevate compliance standards and fair dealing both in TEG and also within the industry that we serve to a whole new level. Fully integrated with the TEG platform, Trustd will become the single source of truth for your business profile, whether you are an owner driver, fleet operator or non-asset based transport business. 

Platform security is always at the heart of everything we do and with this in mind we will shortly be launching User Authentication and Multi Factor Authentication. You’re probably already familiar with these from the other secure online platforms that you use. This will further protect your platform login, as well as safeguarding other key account activity, such as when you change your profile or perform certain actions within the system. The ‘unique email’ implementation that you and other users in your account underwent earlier this year was the first stage in this process. 

The Back Office – improving efficiency and reducing friction 

As we all know, the process of paying and getting paid can be problematic and time-consuming in our industry. To alleviate this stress, we have completely re-built the Finance function for both Payables and Receivables. The invoice approval and payment process can now be 100% digital, ensuring unrivalled transparency, compliance, and cost-effectiveness for all parties. We have built new functionality into this area including batch invoicing, dispute handling and improved ‘private’ invoicing. Further, Payables and Receivables can also be fully integrated with your accounting software – see below. 

Accounting Integrations – reduce your data handling 

We have built comprehensive new integrations with the most popular accounting software packages, including Xero, Sage and Quickbooks, so you will now be able to export data seamlessly from TEG into these connected platforms which is valuable to meet your Making Tax Digital (MTD) obligations and most importantly to save you time. 

Using TEG on the Road – our next generation mobile app 

We launched the first version of our driver app back in 2004. Working with the TEG platform from the road has always been an essential part of our user experience and we are now in the process of building a completely new mobile app for both Drivers and Fleets. We will be inviting some of our members to ‘test drive’ the new app later this year and look forward to launching it in Q1 2023. 

Data Transfer – the future is Integrated! 

We live in an inter-dependent and connected world – the future of our industry depends on creating integrations so that data can be transferred in a secure and frictionless manner to and from the TEG platform to third party systems, including TMS and telematics. To this end, we have updated our API documentation and now have an in-house API specialist to demonstrate the benefits of integration and help to guide you through the implementation process. 

Embedded Analytics 

We’re launching ‘Analytics’ – a brand new section of the platform. For the first time you can see detailed reports on Supplier Insights as well as understanding how the freight transport market is performing. 

But enough about the technology enhancements. How about other key aspects of the TEG member experience? 

Our New Customer Support Centre 

We know how important it is that we handle your questions and support tickets as quickly and accurately as possible. We have therefore recently opened a new dedicated Customer Support Centre in Chippenham, Wiltshire. I am delighted with the positive feedback that we have received so far and, whilst we appreciate that it can be hard to get it right every time, we are continually striving to provide the excellent level of support that you expect and deserve. 

Our Team Continues to Grow 

As well as our new Customer Services centre, we have been on a recruitment drive to hire experienced and energetic colleagues across all areas of our business. The Account Management and Product Development teams have seen their numbers grow in particular. 

So as you can see we have been very, very busy! 

We will be writing to you via email over the summer to keep you up to date with further information about how and when these important new developments will be available to your business. 

In the meantime, enjoy the summer and please keep your feedback and suggestions coming – we value everything that you send us. 

Yours faithfully, 

Lyall Cresswell 
Founder & CEO 
Transport Exchange Group Limited 

The Exchange Remains Fully Operational


Transport Exchange Group is responding to the effects of COVID-19 in an empathetic, proactive and practical way. Our top priority is the health and safety of our trade community, partners and staff. 

The Department for Transport has confirmed in writing that the work of the Transport and Logistics sector is essential and should continue to the greatest extent possible through this crisis. It is for this reason that we continue to operate with some adjustments.

Haulage drivers, managers, warehouse staff and all other logistics professionals need to continue to go about their business to keep supply chains moving, and government policy is clear that this applies to all supplies chains and not only those for food and medical supplies. At all times workers should however follow Public Health England guidelines on social distancing.

To download the full letter from Ben Rimmington, click here. 

Our Approach to COVID-19

1. Safeguard our member businesses

It’s our collective responsibility to protect the integrity of the Exchange and safeguard the interests of our member businesses as much as possible. We’ve asked our members to pay drivers and carriers on time or even earlier if possible.

Rest assured that we are also closely monitoring slow payers reported to us. Payment cooperation ensures the smooth-running of businesses and keeps loads moving. 

If you’re having difficulty or anticipate any problems, please speak to us. 

New Complaints Resolution (coming soon) 

We’ll be introducing a new Complaints Resolution process designed to resolve any payment issues quickly and efficiently. 

2. Keep our members informed

Our marketing email communications will continue as usual, with helpful information sent out to members about COVID-19 developments, product releases or platform-related updates. You can also refer to our pop-up banners found on the log in page of the platform for information. 

If your contact details have changed, see this article on how to update them. 

3. Navigate situations accordingly

We realise that each member’s circumstances are different. If you’d like to discuss anything relating to your account, please contact us on 020 8993 7100. 

We endeavour to treat your case with empathy and help you navigate your circumstances accordingly. 

4. Provide continuous customer support

We aren’t compromising the support promised to our members during this time. Our team is still available to help at the same operating hours: Mon-Fri, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm.  

In addition, we’ve expanded our team to cope with the increased volume of calls and enquiries relating to COVID-19. 

5. Have a fully remote workforce

For the continued safety and wellbeing of our staff, our head office remains closed until further notice with all employees working from home. Our operating hours remain unchanged to ensure the continuity of business on the Exchange. 

There are no impacts on our ability to keep the Exchange running reliably and securely. 

6. Share best practices

Transport and Logistics is a key sector and we need to keep supply chains running, but that doesn’t mean the safety of our members must be compromised. Our digital tools and app functionalities allow you to keep your business running while stopping the spread of COVID-19. 

For more tips on how to use our digital features to help stop the spread, click here. 

7. Postponed meetings and events

With all our staff working remotely, we are complying with the government’s social distancing guidelines. We’ve cancelled any pre-arranged face-to-face meetings with members, employees or partners. 

Our annual Members’ Evening, set to take place in June, is postponed until further notice.