Epay Manager: How River City Logistics Scaled Load Volume Without Adding Billing Headcount

As freight brokerages grow, scaling their back office becomes just as important as winning new business. More shipments mean more invoices to process, more carrier payments to manage, and more opportunities for manual workflows to slow operations. Without the right processes in place, administrative teams can quickly become a bottleneck that limits growth.

That was the challenge River City Logistics set out to solve. Rather than adding billing staff as load volume increased, the company focused on building a more efficient back-office operation with connected workflows between its transportation management system (TMS) and its post-delivery processes.

River City Logistics is a mutual Revenova and Epay Manager client, using the integration between the two platforms to facilitate proactive invoicing and connected back-office workflows.

The results speak for themselves. Over the last 12 months, River City Logistics has increased load counts by ~70% without the need to increase back-office/billing headcount. At the Revenova User Conference, the company shared how investing in back-office efficiency helped it scale with confidence.

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Why freight broker growth depends on more than sales

Profitability and success aren't measured by top-line revenue alone. As freight brokers move more loads and win more customers, their back-office operations must be able to support that increased volume. Otherwise, administrative work can quickly outpace the business itself.

During the Revenova User Conference, River City Logistics President and CEO Chris Brewer emphasized that scalability isn't just about generating more revenue. It's about controlling operational costs, maintaining efficient cashflow, and building processes that allow the business to grow without continually adding overhead.

For freight brokers, that means investing in back-office workflows that can scale alongside the business. Efficient invoicing, document audit, payment processing, and accounting operations don't just support growth—they make rapid growth both possible and sustainable.

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The challenge: reducing the number of touches per load

For River City Logistics, scaling wasn't just about increasing load volume. It was about reducing the amount of manual work required after a load was delivered.

During the panel discussion, Chris Brewer emphasized the importance of lowering the "cost-per-load" by minimizing the number of human touches required throughout the invoicing and payment process. Every additional touch adds time, increases administrative costs, and creates more opportunities for delays or errors.

Some of the biggest contributors to post-delivery inefficiency include:

• Manual invoice reviews: Reviewing invoices, sifting through duplicate and piecemealed submissions, matching supporting documents, and resolving exceptions before customers are billed and payments can be approved.
• Payment status inquiries: Responding to carriers and factoring looking for updates on invoice and payment status.
• Disconnected communication: Chasing information between operations and accounting teams to move invoices through the approval process.
• Duplicate tasks and data entry: Entering the same information across multiple systems and teams increasing the risk of errors while consuming valuable time.

As load volume grows, these mundane tasks compound for the business operators. Reducing unnecessary touches allows back-office teams to process more loads efficiently, improve accuracy, and support growth without becoming a bottleneck.

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Building a connected workflow between operations and accounting

When River City Logistics evaluated new technology, the team wasn't looking for standalone software to solve isolated problems. They wanted a connected operational foundation that would support long-term growth. 

One of the deciding factors was the seamless integration between Revenova and Epay Manager, which connected transportation management with key Accounts Payable, audit, and customer billing workflows.

By creating a shared source of truth across operations and accounting, River City Logistics reduced manual handoffs, improved visibility, and built a back-office process that could scale alongside the business.

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The results: scaling without increasing billing headcount

"We moved about 41,000 shipments last year... We're around 70,000 this year, and we didn't add a single headcount."

— Chris Brewer, President & CEO, River City Logistics

For River City Logistics, success wasn't simply about moving more freight—it was about doing so without proportionally increasing administrative overhead. While load volume increased ~70% year-over-year, the company's billing team remained the same size. That operational efficiency allowed River City Logistics to support continued growth without scaling its administrative workforce at the same pace.

Another benefit was greater visibility throughout the carrier invoicing and payment process. With Epay Manager's widely adopted portal, carriers and factoring providers can view the status of their invoices and payments without contacting the brokerage’s accounting team directly. That transparency significantly reduced call and email inquiries while allowing employees to focus efforts  on more high-value responsibilities instead of responding to routine requests.

Brewer also noted that the company can now pursue larger growth opportunities with greater confidence because its back-office processes are built to scale. Rather than worrying whether the accounting team can absorb additional volume, River City Logistics can focus on serving customers while its connected workflows support continued growth.

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Lessons for freight brokers looking to scale

River City Logistics' experience highlights an important lesson for growing freight brokerages: sustainable growth requires more than increasing load volume. It also requires building operational processes that can support that growth over the long term.

As you evaluate your own back-office operations, consider these best practices:

• Focus on process before adding headcount. Growth shouldn't automatically require hiring more administrative staff. Start by identifying opportunities to improve efficiency within your existing workflows.
• Reduce manual touches wherever possible. Every additional handoff, email, or manual approval adds time, cost, and complexity to the invoicing process.
• Connect operational and financial workflows. When your TMS, invoicing, and payment processes work together, teams spend less time chasing information and more time moving work forward.
• Give carriers greater visibility. Self-service access to invoice and payment information reduces routine inquiries while creating a better experience for carrier and factor partners.
• Build for future growth. The best time to improve back-office processes is before they become a bottleneck. Investing in scalable workflows early allows your team to take on more business with confidence.

For River City Logistics, these principles created a back-office operation capable of supporting significant growth without increasing billing headcount. For other freight brokers, they offer a practical roadmap for improving efficiency, protecting profitability, and preparing for the next stage of growth.

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Scalability starts with a stronger back office

River City Logistics' success wasn't simply the result of moving more freight. It came from investing in operational processes that allowed the business to scale efficiently while maintaining profitability and delivering a better experience for both employees and carriers.

As freight brokerages grow, back-office operations become increasingly important. Reducing manual touches, connecting operational and financial workflows, and improving visibility across the invoicing process can help teams support higher load volumes without continually increasing administrative overhead.

Epay Manager helps freight brokers streamline carrier invoicing, automate payment workflows, and create a more connected back-office operation. If you're looking to build a scalable foundation for growth, schedule a demo to see how Epay Manager can help your team work more efficiently.