What is a freight invoice audit?
Freight invoice audit is the systematic checking of carrier invoices against the underlying contracts, rate agreements, and actually delivered services. The goal is to identify discrepancies between what was agreed and what is being billed, at the shipment level.
For a typical shipper with a few thousand shipments per month, there is usually between three and eight percent structural deviation between invoice and contract. These are double billings, incorrectly calculated weight surcharges, fuel surcharges that are not justified based on the contractual formula, accessorials billed without proof, and incorrectly applied zone tariffs. At volumes from around half a million euros freight spend per year, this quickly adds up to a serious annual amount.
The difference between a freight invoice audit and a one-off spend review lies in the continuity. A one-off audit finds errors in the historical data. A continuous audit prevents the same errors from repeating and builds structured feedback toward your carriers.
When is this relevant?
The business case for a freight invoice audit becomes stronger when three conditions converge. High shipment volume where manual sample checking no longer scales. Multiple carriers and different rate structures, making it impossible for one person to keep track. And a freight spend that is meaningful in the company results, typically from five hundred thousand euros per year.
A freight invoice audit is therefore not a replacement for what your internal logistics team does. It is an additional control layer that relieves their work and structurally adds quality to the financial side of your transport operation.
Our approach
We audit the first three months of invoices fully manually to map the most common deviations and their causes. This delivers a baseline report of structural errors.
Based on the baseline we define control rules per carrier and per shipment type. These rules are applied automatically in the monthly audit, with human review on exceptions.
Each month all invoices are audited, deviations identified and disputes prepared. Disputes are formally filed in consultation with your team and we follow up until credit note or correction.
Each month you receive a report with identified deviations, recovered amounts, ongoing disputes and trend analysis. The dashboard shows KPIs per carrier over time.
Each quarter we evaluate findings together with your team and your carriers. Goal is structural improvement, not endless disputes. A good carrier learns from patterns and we help formulate that message.
What you get
- Monthly audit report with identified deviations and substantiation per shipment
- Full dispute administration with follow-up to credit
- KPI dashboard with audit results per carrier over time
- Quarterly review with recommendations for process and contract improvements
- Annual benchmark of error percentages against sector averages
Frequently asked questions
How many shipments does my company need for a freight invoice audit to be worthwhile?
A freight invoice audit typically becomes worthwhile from several hundred shipments per month, or from a freight spend of around half a million euros per year. At lower volumes a one-off audit is more sensible than an ongoing retainer.
What information do you need to start?
We need access to your freight invoices from the past three to six months, your carrier contracts or rate agreements, and your transport management system or shipment data overview. Onboarding is completed in one or two weeks.
How do you handle identified errors?
Identified deviations are presented in a monthly report. Disputes are filed formally with the relevant carrier with substantiation and documentation, in consultation with your team. We follow the process until the credit note or correction is processed.
Do you work on a no-cure-no-pay basis?
No, we work on a fixed monthly fee, agreed upfront. This gives you predictable costs and no incentive to inflate disputes for our own compensation. Our value lies in structural process improvement, not only in one-off recoveries.
What is the typical notice period?
Our freight invoice audit service runs monthly with one month notice. No multi-year contracts or prepayments for services you no longer take.
A first audit of your invoices?
Schedule a call where we walk through what a baseline audit would look like for your company.