Forty carrier invoices and a Friday payment run
The accounts team has a payment run on Friday. The inbox holds invoices from two shipping lines, an airline's handling agent, three UK hauliers and a terminal. Each lists charges under its own names: THC, DTHC, terminal handling destination, port charges. Some are in dollars, some in euros, some in sterling. Checking them properly means finding the rate agreed for that shipment, adding any surcharges in force at the time, and comparing line by line.
Mostly, they are paid if they look about right. The one that is noticeably high gets queried, by email, to a carrier's billing team who reply a week later asking for the booking number, and the query quietly dies. The small differences, a surcharge that was not in force on the sailing date, a handling fee charged twice across two invoices, a haulier's waiting time for a delivery where the POD shows a quick turnaround, go through untouched.
Why checking is so hard
An invoice can only be checked against something, and in most forwarders that something is spread across rate sheets, booking confirmations and emails.
- Charge names differ between suppliers for the same thing.
- The rate in force on the shipment date is hard to find.
- Surcharge notices change totals and are held separately.
- Currencies differ between invoice, rate and job.
- Disputes are raised by email and forgotten.
What unchecked invoices cost
Overcharges, duplicate charges and charges for services not provided come straight out of margin. Disputes that are raised but not followed up are never credited. And because nobody tracks disputes by supplier, you do not know which carriers or hauliers invoice accurately and which do not.
The invoice checking we build
- Supplier invoices are read from the accounts inbox or supplier portals, and every charge line is extracted.
- Charges are mapped to your standard charge list, so 'DTHC' and 'terminal handling destination' are recognised as the same thing.
- Each invoice is matched to its job and shipment by bill of lading, container, booking or airway bill reference.
- Every line is compared with the rate that applied on the shipment date, from your rate store or the job's buy rates, including surcharges in force at the time.
- Invoices that match within your tolerance go to approval and on to your accounts system. Differences go to a dispute queue with the invoice line, the agreed rate and the source side by side.
- Disputes are tracked until credited or resolved, and reports show dispute rates by supplier.
| Check | By hand | With invoice checking |
|---|---|---|
| Which job? | Search by reference | Matched automatically |
| Which rate applied? | Find the sheet and notices | Rate on shipment date looked up |
| Charge names | Interpreted each time | Mapped to your list |
| Disputes | Emailed and forgotten | Tracked to credit |
After
Accounts approve clean invoices quickly and spend their time on the differences. Disputes are raised with evidence and followed through. Job costs reflect what you agreed to pay, not just what you were billed. And you can show each supplier where their invoicing goes wrong, with examples.
Over time the dispute record becomes part of how you choose suppliers. A haulier who is slightly cheaper but invoices inaccurately every month may cost more in accounts time and lost credits than one who is slightly dearer and gets it right. That is a judgement you can now make with the figures in front of you.
Checklist
- Supplier invoices are paid if they look about right.
- Charge names differ across carriers and you translate them in your head.
- Disputes are not tracked to a credit.
- Invoices regularly exceed the quoted buy rate.
- You cannot say which suppliers overcharge most.