Auditing your freight bills is essential before you confirm your shipment. At least 15% of freight invoices contain errors, and they can be very costly down the line. However, it’s expensive to have a third-party audit your invoices. But there is a better way to do freight bill audits.
E-commerce companies outsource the freight audit process to third-party companies, which costs thousands. However, they can do an entire freight audit in-house by automating the whole process. Here are five reasons how eCommerce businesses benefit from automating the freight invoice auditing process.
Organizes freight data
Companies can centralize all their invoices in one place. Software can give businesses automatic updates on freight rates and discounts, detect overcharges in size and volume, and instantly check for discrepancies. Having all this data in one place helps companies quickly see errors in invoices.
Can audit every invoice
E-commerce businesses spend too much time auditing invoices. But with many shipments to deal with, auditing all of them is a monumental task. E-commerce companies only manage to check 20-30% of invoices, costing them thousands in overlooked invoice errors. A software solution can streamline the whole audit process and check every invoice.
Maximize returns on overcharges
An automated freight audit solution can compare each invoice against the freight manifest and instantly detect extra charges. The company can send a complete report to the courier and get a refund on those overcharges. An e-commerce business can quickly find logistical cost-saving opportunities and maximize their returns on extra courier charges with automation.
Detects most common errors
A freight audit software solution will check shipment histories, such as package weights, volumes, and even courier base rates. Software can quickly compare the courier shipment data against courier invoices and check if there are invoice errors or discrepancies. If there are any errors, companies can provide this information to the courier to adjust each invoice accordingly.
Integrate freight audit automation with your transport management system
Invoice audit automation works optimally if integrated with a company’s transport management system (TMS). With the proper audit software, the TMS can catch all variances with the freight bill, and the company can send only the invoices that have discrepancies back to the carrier for revision.
Choose the right freight software
Automating the freight audit process helps companies review thousands of invoices in the shortest time, detect invoice errors quickly, and maximize refunds on overcharges. Companies can allocate more human resources to optimize their supply chain rather than have them audit invoices.
The right freight audit software can help companies automate the entire freight audit process and do it all in-house. Companies can consolidate invoices in one place and check for the most common errors in courier invoices, such as weight, volume, miscalculation of rates, and more.
With the right freight automation in place, e-commerce businesses can save thousands on potential overcharges from courier companies and focus on expanding their business.
