Freight Billing Tips to Avoid Not Invoicing a Load
Leave a CommentInvoicing shouldn’t feel like a rodeo. From truckload to LTL to high-volume contract lanes, Q7’s freight billing software tools help tame the billing beast. In this month’s issue of Q7 Tips & Tricks, we put together a few of our favorite tools for auditing your loads to make sure nothing has fallen through the cracks.
What Are Freight Billing Software Flags?
Set flags throughout a load’s lifespan to streamline invoicing. If you’re billing dozens (maybe hundreds) of loads at a time as batch invoices or Q7 Freight Settlement invoices, you need to know you’re billing loads that are ready to go. When you invoice loads that aren’t rated correctly or don’t have the right paperwork, you spend valuable time making corrections.
In a live dispatch environment, most trucking companies bill loads only after delivery. In freight billing software like Q7, this means that the load status is “Complete”. This is done by dispatchers or remotely via an ELD integration or the Q7 Drivers mobile app.
If you assign drivers to loads after delivery, we suggest using Pay Only Trips. The status is already set to “Complete”, but you can still assign a driver, calculate pay, and get a Trip P&L.
The next commonly used billing flag is the POD status. This flag is a visual indicator that load supporting documents are back at the home office. With Document Management, paperwork can be scanned, imported, or remotely transferred and attached to the load. In addition, the POD flag can be set remotely by an ELD or Q7 Drivers mobile integration.
Use these flags to optimize the freight billing process. Hide loads that don’t have a “Complete” status or the POD flag.
However, what happens when an inevitable human error occurs and one or more flags is missed? Let’s cover several tips that you and your team can use to make sure loads never fall through the cracks.
1. Use Orders Management List
This is one of our favorite tools for freight billing auditing. While it may not be a true report, this is a tool that should be in every billing user’s toolbox. The Orders main list has several helpful fields for every type of user. In the case of freight billing, take advantage of the billing flags that are visible right in the main list.
If you are a billing user, drag and drop the Posted, POD, and Hold columns where you can see them at all times. Use the date controls to narrow down your results. For example, if loads booked 2 months ago should be billed by now, narrow down your list to only those loads. Now all you need to do is a quick visual scan.
Q7 PRO TIP
Use the Action menu to generate an invoice, post or unpost a load, and/or set or disable the POD flag. Using this tip saves you clicks and time.
2. Use Invoicing Tools to Check for Unposted Loads
Because you are using the invoicing or Freight Settlement tools anyway, it stands to reason that you can take advantage of them. Periodically remove the freight billing flag filters and skim the results. While it’s true you may see in-progress loads that aren’t due for billing, you may get useful insights. For example, if you sort the unposted loads by booking date, you could find older loads that should be invoiced by now.
3. Use a Report to Identify Unbilled Loads
Last but not least, the heavy hitter of auditing unbilled loads is a dedicated report. Using a report to do this task is quick and clean. Furthermore, you can quickly analyze your unbilled loads in multiple ways.
This report includes all of the key billing flags. In addition, use dates as a visual cue to determine if a load should be billed. When you run the report, try analyzing data in multiple ways. For example, confirm that loads that have a “Complete” status and the “POD” flag is set are invoiced. A load that is invoiced will not appear on the report. Next, remove the requirement for a “Complete” and “POD” status. Are the loads that appear supposed to be billed?
This is where you can catch mistakes that may have occurred throughout the course of the load. For example, someone may have scanned documents for the load, but they forgot to set the “POD” status.
Staying on top of invoicing doesn’t have to be a headache. With the right freight billing software, you can track every load, streamline paperwork, and get paid faster. Frontline Q7 makes it easy to keep your billing organized so nothing slips through the cracks. Reach out to us for a free demonstration.