Take Control of Freight Costs with Automated Freight Invoice Audit & Payment

Transportation is a significant cost driver for many businesses. Logistics costs remain elevated, surging 22.4% in 2021 and nearly 20% in 2022 from a $1.5 trillion baseline pre-pandemic, according to FreightWaves.

Beyond these rising expenses, companies face complex invoices and billing inaccuracies, leading to inefficiencies and inflated costs. Coupled with higher taxes and stricter regulations, it’s no surprise that businesses are under mounting pressure.

“It’s really tough to make it out there,” shares Hank Duran, President of Las Vegas-based HD Team Transport, told Exhibit City News. “I wouldn’t recommend someone green going into this business.”

This is where automated freight invoice auditing and payment systems step up to the plate. By replacing manual processes with automation, companies can uncover hidden savings opportunities, streamline workflows, and avoid logistical and legal risks often missed in manual audits.

These systems not only automate labor-intensive tasks but also equip businesses with the data they need to focus on impactful cost-saving strategies.

From streamlining processes and pinpointing discrepancies to generating actionable insights, automation is transforming how businesses manage transportation costs—and IntelliTrans’ advanced Transportation Management System (TMS) is at the forefront of this revolution.

The High Cost of Billing Discrepancies

Manual freight invoice audits are time-consuming and prone to human error, often resulting in:

Billing disputes: Missed errors in manual audits can lead to disputes with carriers, souring relationships and delaying shipments.
Legal risks: Failure to comply with contract terms or tariff agreements due to overlooked discrepancies can lead to lawsuits or regulatory penalties.
Lost savings opportunities: Human oversight may miss cost-saving opportunities, such as unaligned fuel surcharges or incorrect accessorial fees.

Trucking firm fined for overcharging U.S. Postal Service

Billing discrepancies and overcharges can result in significant financial losses:

Beam Bros. Trucking, and its owners, agreed to pay $1.025 million to resolve allegations of overcharging the U.S. Postal Service. The company misused Voyager Cards, which were intended for Postal Service business, to purchase fuel for non-Postal Service contracts.

This resulted in inflated charges, ultimately violating the False Claims Act. These overcharges, which were only discovered after a thorough investigation, highlight how billing inaccuracies can escalate into significant financial and legal consequences—issues that might have been caught much earlier through automated auditing processes.

This demonstrates how critical it is to identify discrepancies early. By adopting automated freight auditing systems, companies can streamline operations, reduce the risk of disputes, and uncover hidden opportunities for cost savings, preventing costly mistakes and legal headaches.

How IntelliTrans TMS Transforms Freight Management

The IntelliTrans TMS automates the entire freight invoice audit and payment process:

1. Three-Way Match Process

The TMS compares shipment details, invoice charges, and contract rates (both contract and tariff), including complex pricing conditions like Rule 11, ensuring every charge aligns with agreements and eliminates overbilling.

2. Advanced Charge Matching

Fuel surcharges, accessorial charges, and mileage fees are matched against pre-stored schedules and shipment data for unmatched accuracy.

3. Streamlined Approval & Reporting

Enables electronic approval transmissions to payment systems and generates detailed reports of approved invoices, cutting out labor-intensive manual approvals.

4. Actionable Analytics

With a centralized repository of freight invoice data and historical spend analysis, IntelliTrans identifies cost-saving opportunities. Cross-referencing active shipments with contract rates and invoices highlights discrepancies, such as recurring accessorial overcharges, enabling businesses to renegotiate contracts and achieve substantial savings.

Proven Results

A customer faced challenges with missed carrier payments, a manual accounts payable process, and inaccurate invoices, resulting in significant financial losses. By implementing IntelliTrans’ automated audit and payment services, they achieved quick resolution of disputes and ensured compliance, ultimately recovering millions in overpayments and streamlining their payment process.