Managing freight costs can be a tough task for any business. With so many invoices and details to handle, it’s easy to make mistakes or lose track of expenses. This is where Freight Pay and Audit services come in to simplify the process. But what exactly is it, and how can it benefit your company? Let’s break it down.
What is Freight Pay and Audit?
Freight Pay and Audit is a service that helps businesses review and manage their freight bills. It ensures you’re not overcharged and that payments are made on time. Here’s how it works:
- Collect Invoices: All your freight bills are gathered in one place.
- Audit the Invoices: Each invoice is checked for errors like incorrect rates or duplicate charges.
- Make Payments: The service pays your freight carriers on your behalf after verifying the bills.
- Provide Reports: You receive detailed reports that show where your money is going and how you can save.
Top systems can be adjusted to set a rate tolerance. If you expect fluctuations due to factors like dynamic pricing, the system can flag only significant issues, leaving smaller variations unmarked.
How Freight Pay and Audit Helps Your Business
Save Money by Catching Errors
Freight invoices are often complex, containing multiple line items that reflect various charges, such as base rates, fuel surcharges, accessorial fees (like lift gate service or detention), and even taxes. With so many details to track, mistakes can easily happen. These errors might include incorrect rates, duplicate charges, unjustified accessorial charges, fuel surcharge miscalculations, and weight or dimension errors.
How it helps: A freight audit service carefully checks every bill for errors, saving you money. Most companies save 2-5% on freight costs by using this service. Even small mistakes add up over time, especially if your business deals with hundreds or thousands of shipments. Regular audits ensure you catch these issues before payments are made, saving money and preventing financial leaks.
Improve Cash Flow and Keep Carriers Happy
Handling multiple freight invoices on time can be challenging, especially for businesses with high shipment volumes. With numerous weekly shipments and multiple carriers, each with their own billing cycles, payment terms, and deadlines, staying on top of every invoice can be tough. Delayed payments can lead to more than just fees—they can strain cash flow, hurt relationships with carriers, cause service disruptions, and increase administrative workload.
How it helps: Automating freight payments through this service can alleviate these challenges. Process all invoices promptly and accurately to avoid late payments, maintain healthy cash flow, and build stronger relationships with your carriers. This system helps keep your supply chain running smoothly while minimizing the risk of service interruptions or added administrative headaches.
Gain Insight with Better Reporting
Tracking freight expenses can be a complicated task, especially when you handle large volumes of shipments across multiple carriers, regions, and modes of transportation. Without detailed data and visibility into your freight spending, it becomes challenging to identify where inefficiencies lie, which areas are costing you the most, and how to optimize for cost savings.
How it helps: By implementing a system that extracts invoice data, you gain full visibility into your freight spend. You can use these insights to negotiate better rates and optimize your shipping processes.
Free Up Your Team’s Time
Manually reviewing and paying freight invoices is a time-consuming task, especially for businesses with many shipments. Each invoice needs careful checking for accuracy, including rates, fuel surcharges, accessorial fees, and errors like duplicate charges. Resolving discrepancies often means back-and-forth communication with carriers, adding to the workload. As shipments increase, so does the paperwork, slowing down your team and pulling their focus away from more important tasks.
How it helps: Instead of focusing on core business functions such as optimizing operations, improving customer service, or pursuing new business opportunities, your team becomes bogged down in managing invoices. Over time, this repetitive, manual work can significantly impact overall productivity, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for growth. By automating the process, you can free up valuable time and resources, allowing your team to focus on higher-priority initiatives.
Ensure Compliance and Reduce Risks
Freight invoices contain complex terms that need careful attention, like rate agreements, fuel surcharges, delivery timelines, and extra charges for additional services. Many of these terms are set by carriers and must also meet regulatory requirements, such as taxes, tariffs, and international shipping rules. Overlooking these details can cause big problems, like contract or regulation violations, which may lead to financial penalties, surprise fees, or even legal disputes with carriers or authorities.
How it helps: Verify every aspect of the invoice to avoid costly legal issues, protect your business’s reputation, and maintain smooth supply chain operations.
Is this Service Right for My Company?
Freight pay and audit services are ideal for businesses that:
- Handle a lot of shipments.
- Work with multiple carriers.
- Have limited time or resources to manage invoices.
- Want to track and reduce freight costs.
If your company deals with large volumes of freight or frequently encounters billing errors, these services can save you both time and money.
Start Freight Audit and Payment Services
Freight Pay and Audit services can greatly simplify the management of your shipping costs. By outsourcing this complex process, you can save money, improve cash flow, and free up valuable time for your team. Plus, you’ll gain better control and insight into your freight spending, helping you make smarter business decisions.
Ready to take control of your freight costs? Partnering with a trusted freight audit provider can make all the difference. Let the experts handle the details, so you can focus on running your business.