ImproveCost

Freight invoice audit

Match every carrier invoice to the load, the contracted rate and the proof of delivery before payment.

Tools

Descartes, FourKites, NetSuite, project44

Outcomes

Accessorial charges challenged before payment • Carrier rate errors corrected at renewal • Transport cost per unit tracked monthly

Documentation

Instruction-ready detail below

What breaks

Freight invoices are paid on the carrier's word, so small accessorial charges stack up quietly and nobody notices until the annual cost review.

What the workflow does

  • Each invoice is matched to the rate confirmation, the load record and the delivery event.
  • Every accessorial line is listed separately from base freight so it can be challenged on its own.
  • Fuel and rate escalations are checked against the contract wording in force on the ship date.
  • Invoices that do not reconcile are returned with the exact line and the missing evidence named.
  • Paid rates are compared with contracted rates by lane to build the renewal argument.

What a human approves

The buyer approves what gets paid, disputes each accessorial charge in writing, and signs the rate position taken to the carrier.

Automations

Choose the setup that matches your tools.

Accessorial charge review

Pulls out every accessorial line on a carrier invoice and asks the buyer whether it was agreed.

Freight invoice match

Matches each carrier invoice to the rate confirmation and the delivered load before it is paid.

Problem this workflow solves

Carrier invoices are paid on the carrier's word, so detention, lift-gate and residential-delivery charges accumulate quietly into transport cost and are rarely recovered. Nobody reconstructs the load afterwards, so the overcharge simply becomes the going rate. Auditing each invoice against the rate confirmation and the delivery record turns a fixed cost into a negotiable one.

Related workflows

Supply chain tracking

Shows where goods sit across every tier and supplier, with the date at risk named while there is still time to change the plan.

Vendor management

Keeps every supplier's contract, certificates, banking and tax records current, so renewals and payments stop depending on a phone call.

SLA monitoring

Measures carrier and supplier performance against the service levels actually agreed, and warns the owner before a missed target becomes a credit.

Download

Start with one instruction file.

Download the app and begin with drafts and checklists before you write anything back.

  • •Plain-language instructions
  • •Runs on your machine
  • •Works with your existing setup
  • •Reviewable activity history
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