Worked example
What a freight invoice check actually produces
One shipment, start to finish. A quotation and a final invoice go in; what comes out is every charge paired against its counterpart, the portion the documents already explain separated from the portion nothing explains yet, and the specific document that would settle each remaining question.
This shipment is fictional
The company, the provider and the documents are invented, and the figures are real output from the same deterministic engine a customer's upload goes through. No customer's paperwork appears anywhere on this page.
The two numbers, kept apart
Most of the difference between a quotation and an invoice has an explanation somewhere in the paperwork. Reporting the gross variance as though it were money owed is the single most common mistake in freight invoice review, and it is why so many of these conversations with a provider start badly. So the two figures are never merged.
Quoted total
C$4,850.00
Taken from the quotation, not entered by hand.
Invoiced total
C$6,140.00
Taken from the final invoice.
Gross variance
C$1,290.00
Arithmetic difference. Not an amount owed to you.
Potentially disputable
C$882.00
What no document on file explains yet. Most of it still needs evidence.
C$408.00 of the variance is explained and is deliberately excluded from the disputable figure: a fuel surcharge the quotation expressly permits to move, and chassis days billed within the quoted allowance. Finding those and setting them aside is as much of the job as finding the rest.
Six findings, each with what settles it
Charges are paired on what they are rather than on how they are worded, so a “documentation fee” on the quotation matches a “B/L fee” on the invoice. Every finding names the rule that produced it, the amount it covers, the evidence that would resolve it and who holds that evidence — and quotes the source text it was read from.
Documentation fee billed above the quoted rate
C$75.00
of C$150.00 charged
The quotation prices a documentation fee and the invoice bills the same charge at a higher figure, on the same basis and for the same shipment. Both documents are on file and they disagree, so nothing further is needed to raise it.
Evidence
- Freight quotationYouProvided
- Final invoiceYouProvided
Read from the documents
“Documentation fee — 75.00 per bill of lading”
demo-quote-MGQ-4471.pdf, page 1
“Documentation / BL fee 150.00”
demo-invoice-MGI-88213.pdf, page 1
Additional freight billed for a revised measurement
C$402.00
of C$402.00 charged
The invoice carries an additional freight charge attributed to a revised measurement. A charge of this kind is checkable only against the measurement record that produced the revised figure: the certificate, who took it, when, and against what original declaration.
Evidence
- Measurement certificateProviderOutstanding
- Reweigh or remeasurement recordProviderOutstanding
- Packing listYouProvided
- Bill of ladingProviderProvided
Read from the documents
“Additional freight - remeasurement 1.7 W/M @ 236.47 402.00”
demo-invoice-MGI-88213.pdf, page 1
“Chargeable basis: W/M, greater of one tonne or one cbm”
demo-quote-MGQ-4471.pdf, page 1
“Declared volume: 12.5 CBM”
demo-quote-MGQ-4471.pdf, page 1
Examination / inspection billed without a supporting receipt
C$285.00
of C$285.00 charged
Examination / inspection is billed as an amount advanced on your behalf. Charges of this kind are supported by the underlying third-party receipt rather than by the quotation. The documents provided do not include that support, so the amount cannot be reconciled to what was actually paid.
Evidence
- Third-party receipt for the advanced amountProviderOutstanding
- Customs examination noticeProviderOutstanding
- Terminal invoiceProviderOutstanding
- Line-by-line calculation breakdownProviderOutstanding
Read from the documents
“Customs examination site handling 285.00”
demo-invoice-MGI-88213.pdf, page 1
Storage billed for five days
C$120.00
of C$300.00 charged
Storage is billed for more days than the dates on the documents appear to support. The arrival notice establishes three chargeable days; the invoice bills five. Part of a delay can be attributable to the importer, which is why this asks you for the collection date rather than assuming the difference is disputable.
Evidence
- Arrival noticeProviderProvided
- Date you collected or released the cargoYouOutstanding
- Published daily rate scheduleProviderOutstanding
Read from the documents
“Storage 5 days @ 60.00 300.00”
demo-invoice-MGI-88213.pdf, page 1
“Last free day: 3 days from availability”
demo-arrival-notice.pdf, page 1
Fuel surcharge higher than quoted
C$0.00
of C$338.00 charged
The fuel surcharge on the invoice exceeds the quoted figure by C$48.00. The quotation expressly allows this charge to be revised at time of sailing, so the difference is contemplated by the agreement you accepted. It contributes to the gross variance and nothing to the disputable amount.
Evidence
- Freight quotationYouProvided
Read from the documents
“Fuel surcharge is subject to revision at time of sailing per carrier tariff.”
demo-quote-MGQ-4471.pdf, page 1
Chassis usage billed within the quoted allowance
C$0.00
of C$120.00 charged
Chassis usage is billed at the quoted daily rate for a number of days the arrival notice supports. Nothing about it needs raising, and saying so is as much a part of the report as the findings that do.
Evidence
- Arrival noticeProviderProvided
- Freight quotationYouProvided
Read from the documents
“Chassis usage 4 days @ 30.00 120.00”
demo-invoice-MGI-88213.pdf, page 1
The same report, in motion
Twenty seconds through the actual application, on this shipment. Nothing is staged and nothing is mocked up — it is a recording of the product rendering the output above, captioned so it reads without sound.
Then it drafts the letter
Correspondence is built only from findings that qualify, and it asks for documents rather than for a discount — because a provider who holds the receipt simply sends it, whereas an argument about whether a rate is fair is one you will not win from an invoice.
Nothing is ever sent for you. Approval is a separate, explicit step, and then you copy it, download it, or open it in your own email client — so the message to your provider comes from you.
Drafted from the findings above
To: Meridian Global Logistics Inc.
Shipment reference: DEMO-SHP-1042
Quotation number: MGQ-4471
Invoice number: MGI-88213
Bill of lading: MGLU7741208
Quoted total: C$4,850.00
Invoiced total: C$6,140.00
We have reviewed the invoice above against your quotation and the shipping
documents. Before settling, we would like to understand the basis for the
charges set out below. In each case we have noted the document that would
resolve the question.
1. Additional freight billed for a revised measurement
Amount in question: C$402.00
Documents requested:
- Measurement certificate identifying who measured the cargo, where,
and to what dimensions.
- Reweigh or remeasurement record showing the original and revised
figures.
2. Examination / inspection billed without supporting receipt
Amount in question: C$285.00
Documents requested:
- Third-party receipt for the advanced amount.
- Customs examination notice.
Requested action
Please provide the documents listed above, or confirm the basis on which
each charge was raised.
This review is based on the documents in our possession and is not a legal
determination. We are raising these questions so the account can be settled
accurately.What it will not tell you
It will not tell you that C$882 is recoverable, because that is not something a document can establish. Four of the six findings above are still waiting on evidence, and some of them will resolve the moment the certificate or the receipt arrives — which is the correct outcome, not a failure.
It is also not legal advice, and ChargeBasis is not a law firm. What it produces is a description of what your documents do and do not support, which is the thing you need before a conversation with your provider rather than after it.
Free, no account needed. Uploads made without an account are deleted after 24 hours.
How charges are recognised in the first place is set out in the fee glossary, and what happens to your documents is set out on the security page.