By the time a carrier invoice reaches finance, the shipment is long delivered and the operations team has moved on. Surcharges, detention and accessorials that were never agreed get paid because checking them is slow.
Three-way evidence
- The contracted rate and agreed surcharges
- The shipment milestones that show what happened
- The invoice and the job's accrual
A freight-audit agent lines these up for every invoice, prices any charge that doesn't belong, and drafts the dispute. The controller decides what to dispute and what to pay.
Exhibit 1
Two matching problems, one pattern
How freight audit and COD reconciliation compare
| Freight audit | COD reconciliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence 1 | Contracted rate | Delivery event |
| Evidence 2 | Shipment milestones | Cash or digital collection |
| Evidence 3 | Carrier invoice | Remittance and bank statement |
| Agent output | Priced dispute draft | Breaks explained within tolerance |
| Who decides | Freight-audit controller | Finance operations lead |
Note: From our agent designs; illustrative.
Where to start
Start with the lanes or carriers with the most invoice exceptions, and with the cities where COD breaks take longest to clear. Both have the evidence on file already.