Freight Document OCR Accuracy: What to Check Behind It
Freight document OCR accuracy collapses on handwriting, stamps and multi-load invoices. Here is what OCR gets wrong and which fields to verify by hand.
By Emily12 min read
Emily
Freight AP & Process
Emily writes about freight accounts payable workflow at CheckMyFreightBill: approval routing, coding, duplicate control, and month-end close.
Freight Invoices in QuickBooks: A Workflow for Exceptions
A freight invoices QuickBooks workflow that keeps disputed charges, short pays, and carrier credits out of the wrong month and off the wrong GL account.
By Emily11 min read
EDI 210 Freight Invoice Format vs a PDF in Your Inbox
The EDI 210 freight invoice format gives you structured charge lines. A PDF gives you the charges plus the documents. Here is what each one lets you audit.
By Emily10 min read
How to Export Freight Invoice Data From Your TMS
Four ways to export freight invoice data: TMS reports, carrier portals, EDI feeds, and your own inbox. What each path gives you, and what it leaves out.
By Emily11 min read
Duplicate Freight Payment Refund: 49 CFR 378.9 Duties
A duplicate freight payment refund is not a favor. 49 CFR 378.9 puts 30-day and 14-day duties on the carrier. Here is how to invoke them and get paid back.
By Emily12 min read
Consignee Liability for Freight Charges: The 13706 Notice
Consignee liability for freight charges does not end because the BOL says bill the shipper. What 49 U.S.C. 13706 requires, in writing, before delivery.
By Emily12 min read
Freight Records Retention: What to Keep and How Long
Freight records retention requirements are driven by deadlines, not a filing rule. Which documents to keep, for how long, and which clock sets each one.
By Emily10 min read
Statute of Limitations on Freight Charges: 18 Months
The statute of limitations on freight charges is 18 months for a carrier to sue and 18 months for you to claim an overcharge. Here is when each clock starts.
By Emily11 min read
The 180-Day Rule for Balance-Due Freight Invoices
A balance due freight invoice 180 days after the original bill has a statutory problem. What 49 U.S.C. 13710 says, and the reply that ends most rebills.
By Emily11 min read
Freight Overcharge Claim Process After You Already Paid
Paid the invoice, then found the error? The freight overcharge claim process under 49 CFR 378 gives the carrier 60 days to pay, decline, or settle it.
By Emily13 min read
Freight Audit and Payment vs Audit Only: Which You Need
Freight audit and payment services bundle two jobs: checking the bill and paying it. Here is what the payment half really buys, and when you should skip it.
By Emily10 min read
How to Evaluate a Freight Audit Provider Before You Sign
How to evaluate a freight audit provider using nine things they should show you first: findings on your own bills, the price, the contract tail, your data.
By Emily10 min read
How to Run a Freight Audit Pilot Without a Sales Cycle
No demo required. Here is how to run a freight audit pilot on your own invoices in two weeks, and how to evaluate the findings with pass or fail set first.
By Emily11 min read
In-House vs Outsourced Freight Audit: Break-Even Math
The in house vs outsourced freight audit decision comes down to loaded minutes per invoice. Here is the model, the break-even points, and where it breaks.
By Emily12 min read
Cass Information Systems Alternatives for Small Shippers
Most Cass Information Systems alternatives are priced and built for enterprise volume. Here is how the options actually segment under 1,000 loads a month.
By Emily11 min read
Freight Audit Contingency Fee Percentage: What It Costs
Published freight audit contingency fee percentage ranges disagree by a factor of four. Here is what each source says, and what the percentage applies to.
By Emily12 min read
GL Coding Freight Charges: Linehaul, Fuel and Accessorials
GL coding freight charges to one catch-all account hides every overcharge you have. Here is an account structure for linehaul, fuel, accessorials and claims.
By Emily11 min read
Freight Accrual Accounting When Invoices Arrive Late
Freight accrual accounting done right: accrue off the shipment event, not the invoice, estimate fuel and accessorials separately, and read every variance.
By Emily11 min read
Freight Short Pay Letter: A Template That Holds Up
A short pay letter freight template with the CFR citations built in, plus what to attach so your deduction reads as an audit finding, not a nonpayment.
By Emily11 min read
Should I Short Pay a Carrier Invoice? Run the Math
Should you short pay a carrier invoice or pay in full and file a claim? Here is the threshold formula, the clocks each path starts, and when to skip both.
By Emily11 min read
Consolidated Carrier Invoice Reconciliation, Load by Load
Consolidated carrier invoice reconciliation breaks naive matching. Here is how to split a multi-load bill, tie each load to its rate con, and short-pay it.
By Emily11 min read
Three-Way Match a Freight Invoice: Rate Con, BOL, POD
A three way match on a freight invoice uses the rate con, BOL and POD. Here is what each document proves, why they never tie cleanly, and how to resolve it.
By Emily10 min read
Freight Invoice Audit Process: Catch Errors Before You Pay
A freight invoice audit process that works is five gates run in order before payment. Here is each gate, what it checks, and what to do with an exception.
By Emily11 min read
What Freight Audit Really Costs: 3 Pricing Models
Contingency fees, per-invoice fees, or flat software. Here is what each freight audit pricing model costs at 200, 500, and 1,000 loads a month.
By Emily11 min read
How Duplicate Freight Invoices Hide in Your AP
The same load, two invoice numbers, five weeks apart. Here is how duplicate freight bills slip past AP and the four checks that catch them every time.
By Emily11 min read
Every Freight Billing Deadline, With the Rule Behind It
180 days to bill a balance due. 9 months to file a claim. 60 days to resolve an overcharge. Every freight billing deadline, with the regulation cited.
By Emily13 min read