Transitioning from Auto Transport to Freight

I am a broker and have mainly stuck to auto transport thus far using Jtracker and Central Dispatch. Recently however, a friend of mine who sells medical supplies conveyed to me that he works through a broker when shipping them and I saw it as an opportunity to break into freight. I plan to use Internet Truck Stop. I have a few questions as to how things are arranged typically when brokering freight.

1) How is payment arranged?
Typically, in auto transport I take my fee by credit card at the time the driver is contracted. The remaining balance is paid COD to the carrier. How is payment typically arranged when shipping freight? What is the best/most convenient way for all parties?


2) What information is needed in the contract?
With Jtracker and Central Dispatch, everything was contracted over the internet. It looks as if I will be faxing contracts with freight. What information needs to be included? Is there a contract template somewhere online that I can follow?

3) Pricing
Obviously this is one of the most essential parts of being a broker. I am currently awaiting my account to be activated with Internet Truckstop. I know they have a tool called ratemate that assists in pricing. To anyone who has used ITS ...Will I be able to accurately price my loads without using ratemate? Any help on how I can start to becoming an accurate freight quoter would be greatly appreciated.


Any help or feedback is greatly appreciated. Also, if there is some other information you feel I should know about brokering freight, please do share!