Shipping mistakes happen. Someone fat-fingers a number when entering an invoice amount, or a shipment gets coded to one cost center instead of another. No matter the error, the result is the same: lost money for the business. Auditing can help remedy these mistakes and set things right, but truly forward-thinking companies will recognize freight bill auditing has the power to unlock opportunities rather than just remediate mistakes.
Freight Bill Auditing Protects a Business’s Bottom Line
Freight bill inaccuracies are more common than you might think. Conservative reports estimate 5-6% of all invoices contain errors, which quickly add up to increased transportation expenses. For enterprise companies, this is equivalent to millions of lost dollars per year.
With the constant flux of shipping rates and surcharges, it can be challenging for businesses to accurately track and manage freight bills. But with the help of freight bill auditing, companies can identify and dispute billing errors, reduce unnecessary fees and charges, and gain better visibility and control over their shipping processes. Not only does this lead to significant cost savings, but it can also improve overall efficiency and lower the potential for risk associated with inaccurate billing.
A detailed review (and recalculation) can ensure you’re only paying for the services you’ve used and your costs add up accordingly to where you’ve accounted for them. Accurate invoicing begets accurate bookkeeping, which leads to financial peace of mind.
Outsourcing is a Practical Solution for Freight Bill Audits
Freight billing is the backbone of the shipping industry, but it can be difficult to navigate. From confusing surcharges to bewildering codes and abbreviations, there’s a lot to fathom. Outsourcing this function to a dedicated freight audit and payment company allows businesses to focus on their core competencies while realizing the benefits of efficient freight billing.
With a reliable freight audit and payment provider partner to minimize errors and catch clerical mistakes, the auditing process becomes even more efficient. The time and energy saved by not going through every invoice in-house enable shippers to concentrate on other areas of their freight operations, such as drilling down into carrier data to better understand where and how they’re allocating budget and spending.
Outsourcing Unlocks New Efficiencies
Imagine being able to examine last quarter’s shipping data to see which carriers charged you the most. Which ones were consistently on time? Who’s hitting you with surcharges? How many times did you have to contract a carrier and pay spot rate? This data is invaluable, but few companies have the time to go through it — or the accuracy in their numbers — due to the demands of freight bill audits.
Now, imagine partnering with a dedicated and experienced freight audit and payment provider for this task. An auditing partner has access to a team of experts who bring vast experience and knowledge to the table, improving the accuracy and efficiency of your auditing processes. A freight audit partner can also provide key insights you can apply to operational improvements. By outsourcing this tedious yet necessary task, you can free up time and resources for your in-house team to focus on your core business objectives.
Remember, fixing invoice mistakes is an essential part of balancing your books. But applying the data you learn from clean, corrected invoices to your freight decision-making is critical to growing your bottom line.
Struggling to manage your freight bill auditing? Interested to see what trends an invoice audit might find for your organization? Let the experts at nVision Global help you maximize your ROI from freight bill auditing beyond just recovering costs.