Freight Audit and Payment Services

Streamline Your Logistics with Sheer

Tired of freight invoice discrepancies that cost you time and money? Sheer Logistics makes sure your freight bills are on time and accurate.

Freight Audit and Payment Correction Verify Your Freight Bills for Accuracy

A successful supply chain is also an accurate one. Anything that is done at a high frequency is more likely to be incorrect—it’s a simple law of averages. Shipping and your supply chain are areas where inaccuracies and overcharges can slip under the radar, and if not acted upon and corrected, can cost your business. Sheer Logistics not only automates this process but also acts as your advocate to negotiate refunds and correct invoicing errors for future billing. 

“What companies like ours care about is accountability, accuracy, and completeness—and Sheer displays that.”

– Director of Logistics and Transportation for a Sheer client

Outsourced freight audit and payment takes a look at both ends of shipping, from loading dock to destination, to root out errors and lower freight costs for shippers, customers, and carriers alike. Too often, companies rely on accounting and logistics teams to work together to find and mitigate freight errors, but for businesses with large freight demands, this is more work for even large businesses. Freight bill audits, done by a professional third party, make sure actual services match what was billed and agreed upon and these errors are corrected. This is an important service that Sheer provides for our managed clients. Your business is too busy to follow audits and remediate these claims. We serve as your shipping advocate, and when your supply chain is riddled with errors and inaccuracies, we are here to fix the errors and modernize your shipping processes.

What Is the Freight Audit Process?

A freight audit and payment is a process where freight bills are examined, adjusted, and verified for accuracy. This can be an internal event with the goal of examining a certain period of time or invoices from a particular carrier, or it can be an ongoing process. All variables such as mileage, shipping weights, bills of lading, tracking numbers, discounts, and contracted prices are verified. The singular goal of any freight audit is to ensure that shipping charges match what was quoted at the time of shipment. Sheer Logistics can help you get to the root of these shipping issues.

How Is Freight Bill Payment Optimized?

Freight payment is, in some ways, an accounts payable service for a narrow classification of invoices, namely freight invoices and transportation costs. While the normal issues facing freight spend—such as reducing expenses and maximizing efficiency—haven’t changed, new technologies and TMS applications offer new ways to maximize these functions. At the very root, data intelligence pays bills on time, but more importantly, it ensures they are being paid accurately.

Benefits of Freight Audit Services

  • Cost Savings

    Sheer scrutinizes freight bills for accuracy and compliance with negotiated rates, contracts, and tariffs. We identify billing errors, duplicate charges, and overcharges, helping our clients avoid unnecessary expenses and recover erroneous payments. On average, our clients save 3-4% with freight audit services.

  • Efficiency

    Handling freight invoices manually is time-consuming and prone to errors. Our freight audit and payment services, powered by SheerExchange, streamline the process by automating invoice processing.  This improved efficiency reduces the burden on your internal logistics and finance teams, allowing your staff to focus on core business activities rather than administrative tasks.

  • Compliance

    Freight audit and payment services help ensure compliance with contractual agreements, industry regulations, and internal policies. They verify that carriers adhere to agreed-upon rates, terms, and conditions, reducing the risk of contract violations and disputes.

  • Cash Flow Management

    Timely and accurate payment processing is essential for maintaining positive relationships with carriers and vendors. Freight audit and payment services help our clients manage cash flow by ensuring that invoices are processed efficiently and payments are made on time, thus avoiding late payment penalties and improving vendor relationships.

  • Dispute Resolution

    In the event of billing discrepancies or disputes with carriers, Sheer acts as the intermediary, facilitating resolution processes and negotiating settlements on behalf of our clients. This saves time and effort for finance & logistics teams and helps maintain positive relationships with carriers.

  • Scalability

    As your business grows and shipping volumes increase, managing freight invoices becomes more complex.  Sheer’s freight audit and payment services can quickly scale to accommodate growing needs, ensuring that your business can efficiently handle higher transaction volumes without sacrificing accuracy or compliance.

Our Freight Pay & Audit Process

Instead of bogging down your finance team, carriers will submit your freight invoices to Sheer’s invoice processing department. Leveraging SheerExchange, we can receive invoices from thousands of carriers in virtually any format; Mail, e-mail, EDI, or API.

Upon entry into our system, each invoice undergoes a series of standard validations and customer-defined business rules to ensure accuracy and compliance. These validations include checks for duplicate invoices, presence of required data, and other safeguards to protect our customers and facilitate seamless processing. Simultaneously, the software applies customer-specific business rules, empowering clients to tailor actions based on invoice data. For instance, customers can opt to review invoices exceeding certain thresholds or containing specific product-country combinations. By enabling seamless integration and automation of business logic, we empower customers to customize and optimize their freight bill audit process effortlessly.

All invoices are processed through Sheer’s robust rating engine to ensure the billed amount matches the agreed upon rate stored in the TMS. Customizable tolerance thresholds can be implemented to ensure we address high-variance invoicing errors. We’ll also check for all possible overcharges including:

  • Duplicate invoices
  • Missing or incorrect discounts
  • Inaccurate classifications
  • Incorrect tariffs
  • Wrong mileage and/or zip codes
  • Accessorial charges

Once invoices pass through the audit and verification stages, they are approved for payment. Payments may be scheduled according to predetermined terms or as per negotiated agreements with carriers, but you can rest assured that all invoices are paid on time and in full.

Sheer’s custom dashboards and reporting tools provide insights into freight spending, carrier performance, and billing trends. Sheer’s middleware, SheerExchange, enables access to multiple data sources, including ERPs, WMS, TMS and more. This data helps identify cost-saving opportunities, optimize transportation strategies, and improve overall supply chain efficiency.

An Outsourced Freight Audit Discovers Common Errors

When discrepancies are found, they need to be remediated. This solves the current issue, but each error can be an indication of a deeper problem. When we do freight audits, variances in freight charges can be found in some key areas:

Shipper inaccuracy – No matter how automated your supply chain processes are, there is always a human element, and without proper checks, shippers can make mistakes.

Detention – These are penalty fees carriers charge when the shipper delays pick up beyond an allotted time frame.

Accessorial charges – These are fees charged when a carrier performs freight services beyond normal pickup and delivery.

Powered by Our Technology

Our state-of-the-art logistics manager system offers real-time transportation network visibility, analytical support, and global supply chain network optimization that delivers value and performance.

Why Choose Sheer Logistics as Your 4PL Provider

  • Proven freight savings

  • Efficiency gains

  • Service improvements

  • Increased supply chain agility

  • Risk mitigation

  • Enhanced visibility & control

  • Actionable business intelligence

  • Continuous improvement

Managers visiting warehouse

Best-In-Class Ecosystem of Logistics Technology

The Sheer TMS is core to our Managed Transportation Services offering. It’s  your ultimate solution for efficient, cost-effective, and streamlined transportation management. From Planning to reporting and insights, the Sheer TMS is an end-to-end solution that provides a full suite of tools for bringing order to your unique supply chain. Check out this brief overview, and if you are ready to leave emails, spreadsheets and underpowered TMS behind, contact us for a demo.

Signs That Your Company Can Benefit from Sheer’s Managed Transportation Services

  • You don‘t currently have a TMS, and relying on emails and spreadsheets to manage your logistics just isn’t cutting it.
  • You’re unhappy with your current TMS and/or Managed Transportation provider.
  • You’re experiencing rapid growth, and need solutions that are more scalable.
  • Your company is entering new markets, and need the support of an experienced partner.
  • Your process is inefficient, and you need technology and expertise to streamline your operations.
  • You are challenged with strategic and/or tactical talent shortages.
  • There are critical gaps in your vendor/carrier network.

Why Shippers Love Us

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FAQ

Performing a freight bill audit is essential for identifying and correcting billing errors, leading to significant cost savings and improved financial accuracy. It enhances efficiency by reducing manual invoice verification and ensures compliance with transportation agreements, preventing potential disputes. Additionally, audits provide valuable data insights for strategic decision-making and help detect fraudulent activities, ultimately supporting better cash flow management and stronger carrier relationships.

There are several steps and methods for verifying freight charges. As your freight audit partner, Sheer verifies your freight charges by comparing invoices with your contracts, checking for common billing errors, and auditing shipments regularly. We ensure the weight and classification match what was quoted, reconcile charges with delivery receipts, and address discrepancies promptly. Sheer also utilizes freight management software to automate audits and track shipments for improved accuracy and efficiency.

The freight payment process involves carriers submitting invoices, which are then verified against shipment documentation and contracts. An audit is conducted to identify any billing errors, and discrepancies are resolved with the carrier. Once verified, invoices are approved and payments are processed. Detailed records are maintained, and data is analyzed to monitor carrier performance and inform future shipping decisions.

A freight post audit is a detailed review conducted after freight bills have been paid. It involves examining past freight invoices to identify and correct billing errors, such as overcharges, duplicate charges, or incorrect rates. The audit ensures that payments made align with contractual agreements and helps recover any overpaid amounts. Additionally, insights gained from post audits can improve future shipping practices and carrier negotiations.

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The Sheer Difference

Our mission is to build trust, use our brainpower for the best interests of every customer, and always deliver extraordinary results. Let’s Think Logistically.