The 13 Amazon DSP Billing Categories Explained — And Where Errors Hide

Most DSP owners pay close attention to three or four line items on their weekly settlement: variable pay, incentive pay, maybe vehicle lease deductions. The rest gets a glance at best. That makes sense — operations eat up 90% of your attention, and the settlement report is dense.

But Amazon bills across 13 distinct categories, and errors can hide in any of them. Understanding what each category covers — and where the math tends to go wrong — is the first step toward catching money that would otherwise disappear into the noise.

The 13 Billing Categories

1. Variable Pay

This is the big one. Variable pay covers route-level compensation — either per-route, per-package, or per-block, depending on your contract structure. For most DSPs, this represents 60-75% of gross settlement revenue.

Where errors hide: Dropped routes. A route shows as completed in the Work Summary Tool (WST) but doesn't appear in the settlement. This happens more often than most owners realize — typically 1-2 routes per week for a 30-route operation. At $180-250 per route, that adds up fast.

2. Incentive Pay

Amazon pays bonuses based on your scorecard tier: Fantastic+, Fantastic, Great, or Fair. The per-package incentive rate varies significantly between tiers — the gap between Great and Fantastic can be $1-3 per package delivered.

Where errors hide: Tier lag. Your scorecard updates weekly, but the incentive rate applied to your settlement may reflect a previous week's tier. If you improved from Great to Fantastic mid-period, your settlement might still show the Great rate.

3. Fixed Costs (Vehicle Leases)

If you lease vehicles through Amazon's fleet program, the monthly lease amount is deducted directly from settlements. This is typically a flat per-vehicle charge divided across the month's settlement periods.

Where errors hide: Fleet count mismatches. If you returned a vehicle mid-month or received a replacement, the deduction should adjust. Sometimes it doesn't. Check lease deductions against your current active fleet count quarterly.

4. Insurance Deductions

Amazon deducts insurance premiums from settlements for DSPs enrolled in the group insurance program. Like lease costs, these should be predictable and match your contract terms.

Where errors hide: Rate changes without notice. Insurance adjustments can appear mid-quarter. If your premium increased but you weren't notified, the only place you'll see it is in the settlement deductions.

5. Fuel Surcharges

Some contracts include fuel surcharge pass-throughs, which fluctuate based on regional diesel prices. These appear as a separate line item, not rolled into variable pay.

Where errors hide: Regional rate mismatches. The fuel surcharge should reflect your station's region, not a national average. Cross-reference against published regional fuel indexes.

6. Tolls

Toll charges for routes that pass through toll roads are typically deducted from settlements. These should correspond to actual routes driven in areas with toll infrastructure.

Where errors hide: Toll charges appearing for routes that don't cross toll roads. This is less common but worth checking for stations near toll boundaries.

7. Training Costs

Amazon may deduct training costs for new driver onboarding, safety refreshers, or mandatory certifications. These are typically one-time charges per driver.

Where errors hide: Duplicate training charges for the same driver, or charges for training sessions that were canceled or not attended.

8. Uniform Costs

Uniform charges cover Amazon-branded driver apparel. These are usually deducted when new uniforms are ordered or when drivers are onboarded.

Where errors hide: Charges for uniforms ordered for drivers who never started, or duplicate orders. Small amounts individually, but they accumulate across a year of driver turnover.

9. Technology Fees

Monthly fees for Netradyne dashcams, Mentor safety app licenses, and other Amazon-required technology. These are charged per vehicle or per driver, depending on the tool.

Where errors hide: Per-vehicle charges that don't match your active fleet count. If you've reduced your fleet but tech fees still reflect the old count, you're overpaying. Also watch for charges on vehicles that are down for maintenance and not on routes.

10. Vehicle Damage and Accident Charges

When a vehicle is involved in an accident or sustains damage, Amazon may deduct repair costs or deductible amounts from settlements. These can be substantial — $500-5,000+ per incident.

Where errors hide: Charges for incidents your fleet wasn't involved in. This happens when station-level incidents get attributed to the wrong DSP. Cross-reference every damage charge against your internal incident reports and fleet records.

11. AFS (Amazon Flex Substitution) Charges

When you can't fill a route, Amazon sends a Flex driver and charges you a premium — often significantly more than what the route would have cost you to run with your own driver.

Where errors hide: AFS charges for routes you actually covered. If your fleet records show a driver completed the route but the settlement shows an AFS charge for the same route code and date, you're being double-billed. This is one of the highest-value discrepancies to catch.

12. Late Cancellation Penalties

If you cancel routes too close to the shift start time, Amazon applies a penalty. The threshold varies but is typically 2-4 hours before the scheduled start.

Where errors hide: Penalties for routes that were canceled within the acceptable window, or routes that Amazon canceled (not you) but the penalty was still applied to your settlement.

13. Miscellaneous Deductions

A catch-all category that includes recruitment fees, hiring bonuses clawbacks, equipment charges, and anything that doesn't fit cleanly into the other 12 categories.

Where errors hide: Everywhere. The "miscellaneous" label makes these the hardest to verify because there's no standard format. Each charge needs to be individually researched against your records.

Why Cross-Referencing Matters

No single Amazon portal gives you the full picture. The settlement report shows what Amazon says they owe you. The Work Summary Tool shows what you actually delivered. Payee Central shows what they actually deposited. Fleet management shows what vehicles and drivers were active.

Errors become visible only when you compare across these sources. A settlement that looks correct in isolation might be missing two routes, overstating a deduction, and reflecting the wrong incentive tier — all at the same time.

The challenge isn't knowing what to check. It's having the time and access to check all 13 categories, across all portals, every single week. For most DSP owners running 20-40 routes, that's 4-6 hours of manual work per period — assuming you know exactly where to look.