NTG Taps Epay Manager, Igniting AI-Powered Shift in Freight Payments

ATLANTA, GA – February 10, 2026 – In a significant move signaling a deepening commitment to digital transformation, Nolan Transportation Group (NTG), a top 15 freight brokerage, has officially joined the Epay Manager network. The partnership designates the platform, powered by OTR Solutions, as NTG’s full audit, payment, and billing system, aiming to overhaul the financial workflows for its vast network of over 80,000 carriers and 16,000 shipper partners.

This strategic integration, which went live on January 12, 2026, marks one of the largest-scale adoptions of a specialized fintech platform by a leading brokerage. NTG, which moves more than one million loads annually, is leveraging Epay Manager to automate and streamline processes that have long been manual, fragmented, and a source of friction across the logistics industry.

“Partnering with Epay Manager allows us to streamline carrier payments, document audits, and billing, helping our teams work smarter while delivering a better experience for our carriers,” said Mara Dolan, Vice President of Financial Transformation at NTG, in a statement accompanying the announcement. The decision followed a rigorous, months-long evaluation of competing platforms, underscoring the strategic importance NTG places on back-office innovation.

A Strategic Overhaul of the Back Office

The freight brokerage industry has historically been burdened by paper-heavy, time-consuming back-office operations. The process of collecting proof of delivery, bills of lading, and other essential documents, manually auditing them against load data, and processing invoices often results in payment delays, disputes, and significant administrative overhead. For a brokerage of NTG’s scale, these inefficiencies can represent substantial operational costs and can strain relationships with valuable carrier partners.

By selecting Epay Manager, NTG is tackling these challenges head-on. The partnership is a core component of the company's broader technological strategy, which is anchored by its proprietary Beon Digital Logistics Platform. While Beon provides the forward-facing intelligence and tools for shippers and carriers, the Epay integration digitizes the crucial financial settlement process that follows every successfully delivered load. This creates a more cohesive, end-to-end digital experience for all parties in the transaction.

This move reflects a commitment to more than just internal efficiency. For shippers, the platform promises faster, more accurate invoicing. For carriers, the lifeblood of the supply chain, it offers the prospect of a more transparent and predictable payment cycle, a critical factor for the financial health of the small businesses and independent operators that constitute a large portion of the industry.

The AI Engine Driving Efficiency

At the heart of the Epay Manager platform is a sophisticated technology stack designed to eliminate manual intervention. Acquired by OTR Solutions in 2024, the platform leverages what it calls “Audit Proof Invoicing.” This proactive system uses the broker's Transportation Management System (TMS) as the definitive source of truth, automatically creating invoices for carriers shortly after a load is delivered. This preemptive approach bypasses the traditional, often delayed, carrier-submitted invoicing process.

Powering this automation is a layer of artificial intelligence. Epay Manager utilizes AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to review and audit submitted documents in real-time. The system can instantly verify that all required paperwork is present and that the details match the load data, allowing for immediate processing. This capability is what enables the dramatic efficiency gains OTR Solutions claims its clients can achieve, including processing three to five times more invoices per employee and reducing the cost per load by up to 50%.

Clayton Griffin, President of OTR Solutions, highlighted the immediate impact. “NTG is already setting back-office automation records via Epay, and we will continue to work hand in hand to further lower back-office cost per load and deliver fast, accurate, and transparent freight audit and payments to one of the largest carrier networks in the country,” he stated.

The platform’s architecture is built on seamless integration. Carrier onboarding is handled through NTG’s partner, Highway, with Epay accounts being created automatically. This ensures that from the moment a carrier is approved to haul for NTG, they are plugged into the new, streamlined payment ecosystem.

A New Standard for Carrier Payments?

For the tens of thousands of carriers in NTG's network, this transition could be a game-changer. The trucking industry operates on notoriously thin margins, and cash flow is a constant concern. Delays in payment for completed work can create significant financial strain, impacting a carrier's ability to pay for fuel, maintenance, and driver wages. The new system directly addresses this core issue by providing real-time visibility into invoice status and offering faster payment options.

A key aspect of the rollout is that the platform is entirely free for carriers and shippers to use. This removes a potential barrier to adoption and stands in contrast to systems that may pass technology fees onto smaller partners. Carriers can now access a single portal to see the status of all their invoices, understand any issues holding up payment, and access a full audit trail, dramatically reducing the need for phone calls and emails to a broker's accounting department.

By automating the creation and auditing of invoices, the system aims to shrink the payment cycle. While traditional payment terms can stretch to 30 days or more, the efficiency of the Epay platform is designed to make funds available much more quickly, improving working capital for carriers and fostering a more stable and reliable financial relationship with the brokerage.

Reshaping the Competitive Landscape

NTG’s adoption of Epay Manager does not exist in a vacuum. It is a high-profile move within a fiercely competitive landscape where technology is increasingly the primary differentiator. Other major players in the freight payment space, such as TriumphPay and Relay Payments, are also vying for market share, partnering with large brokerages and factoring companies to build extensive payment networks. The entire logistics sector is in a period of rapid digital acceleration, with investments pouring into automation, AI, and fintech solutions.

This partnership serves as both a powerful endorsement for OTR Solutions and a strategic gambit by NTG. For OTR, securing a top 15 brokerage validates its technology and significantly expands its network footprint. For NTG, it represents a calculated investment in operational excellence and partner relations. By offering a superior payment experience, NTG can position itself as a “broker of choice” for carriers, a critical advantage in a tight capacity market.

The move will likely put pressure on other large brokerages that have not yet modernized their back-office systems. As carriers and shippers become accustomed to the transparency and speed offered by platforms like Epay Manager, legacy systems based on manual processes and paper documents will appear increasingly antiquated. This partnership may well be a tipping point, accelerating an industry-wide shift toward a more connected, automated, and efficient financial ecosystem for freight.