Freight invoice audit automation
Freight invoice audit automation matches each carrier invoice to its rate confirmation and shipment record, checks linehaul, fuel and accessorial charges such as detention, lumper and layover against agreed terms and receipts, and sends only the differences to your team with the reason. Clean invoices move to approval untouched.
Carrier invoice audit · one run
Rules · Model · Person- 1
Capture invoices
Rules - 2
Read the invoice
Model - 3
Match to the load
Rules - 4
Check the evidence
Rules - 5
Decide the variances
Person - 6
Pay or dispute
Model
- What goes in
- Carrier invoices, rate confirmations, PODs and BOLs, accessorial receipts, TMS shipment data
- What comes out
- Approved invoices, or disputes with the reason and the evidence
- Who approves
- Carrier payables or operations lead, for variances and accessorials above your limits
Where the time goes today
What logistics teams tell us about this work.
Detention and lumper charges without proof
An invoice adds $150 of detention. Whether it is valid depends on the appointment time, the in and out times on the BOL, the free time in the rate con and the lumper receipt. Each sits in a different place.
Small gaps between rate con and invoice
A fuel surcharge computed on the wrong base, a $25 admin fee, a different line count. Small differences across hundreds of invoices add up, and nobody is paid to look for them.
Duplicates and rebills
The carrier emails the invoice, and then its factoring company sends it again under a different number. Payables pays one, and then pays the other.
How the automated workflow runs
Each step is fixed rules, a model reading or drafting, or a person on your team. The people steps are where approvals sit.
- 1
Capture invoices
Collects invoices from the payables mailbox, carrier portals and factoring companies, and deduplicates by carrier, load number, amount and date.
Rules - 2
Read the invoice
Extracts load number, ship date, linehaul, fuel, each accessorial line and totals from PDFs and images.
Model - 3
Match to the load
Finds the load and its rate confirmation, then compares line by line: linehaul against the agreed rate, fuel against your schedule, each accessorial against its terms.
Rules - 4
Check the evidence
For detention, layover, lumper and TONU, looks for supporting records: appointment time, in and out times on the POD, receipts and tracking pings. A missing record marks the line as disputed.
Rules - 5
Decide the variances
Differences inside your tolerance are accepted by rule. Larger ones and unsupported accessorials reach payables with the calculation and evidence, to approve, adjust or dispute.
Person - 6
Pay or dispute
Writes an itemized dispute message that cites the rate con line and the missing evidence, for payables to send. Approved invoices are queued for the next payment run.
Model
Want to see how a project like this is scoped and delivered? Read how we work.
Controls and approvals
- Carrier remit-to or bank-detail changes are verified by calling the number in the onboarding record, outside the email that asked for the change.
- Accessorial charges need matching evidence, and amounts above the limit you set wait for a named approver.
- Every adjustment and dispute is stored with the calculation behind it, so a carrier who asks why can be answered from the record.
What we leave to people
We never withhold payment from a carrier on our own, because a dispute affects a relationship and belongs to a person. Factored and quick-pay carriers follow a separate rule set where the payee on the invoice must match the onboarding file.
Systems it connects to
Examples of tools we work with for this workflow. Anything with an API or a controlled interface is in scope.
- McLeod
- MercuryGate
- Turvo
- QuickBooks
- NetSuite
We read loads, rate confirmations and documents from your TMS, post approved invoices to your accounting system, and write disputes back to the load record. Access is through APIs or EDI where available.
What to measure
We set a baseline from your own records in the audit, then report these every month.
Illustrative example
A broker pays 800 carrier invoices a month and finds a $40 overpayment on 4% of them, which is about $1,280 a month. The rate in your business depends on your carriers and your accessorial terms, so the audit samples your last quarter of paid invoices to find it.
| Measure | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Overpayment avoided | Dollars withheld or recovered after review, as a share of audited carrier spend. |
| Touchless approval rate | Invoices approved with no one touching them, which should rise as your rules mature. |
| Dispute rate and outcome | Disputes raised, and how many the carrier accepted, so you can tune what is worth raising. |
| Invoice-to-pay time | Days from receipt to payment, since carriers notice slow payment more than any audit. |
Common questions
What is a freight invoice audit?
It is a check of each carrier invoice against what was agreed and what happened: the rate confirmation, the shipment record and the supporting documents. It catches wrong rates, unsupported accessorials and duplicate bills before payment.
How much can a freight invoice audit save?
There is no honest universal number, because it depends on your carriers, your accessorial terms and how closely invoices are checked today. We measure it by auditing a quarter of your already-paid invoices and showing what would have been caught.
Can it handle factoring companies and quick-pay carriers?
Yes. The payee on the invoice is compared with the onboarding file, and a change of payee is held for a person to verify by phone. Factoring notices are stored on the carrier record.
Does it audit shippers' freight bills as well?
The same method applies when a shipper audits carrier bills against contracted rates and tariffs. Parcel and LTL need the carrier's rate tables loaded, which we scope in the audit.
Related
- SolutionFinance operationsInvoice processing, payables, receivables, reconciliation and month-end reporting, automated with approvals.Read more
- BlueprintProcure-to-pay systemCarrier invoices follow the capture, match and payment run stages of procure-to-pay, with the rate confirmation acting as the purchase order.Read more
- IndustryAI for logisticsRate confirmations, BOLs, PODs, carrier invoices and status updates, handled in your TMS.Read more
Tell us how your logistics team handles this today.
A 30-minute call with an engineer. You will leave knowing what a system could do for that workflow and what it would take to build.
What happens next
- 1
Strategy call
We learn how the workflow runs today and what a good outcome would be.
- 2
Workflow audit
We map the process and measure where a system would save the most time.
- 3
Proposal
A written scope, timeline and fixed price for your first system. No obligation to build.