No, I’m afraid I don’t know where the invoice might be stalled – why don’t you call the accounting department?” Who hasn’t heard sentences like this? Delays in clearing processes occur for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s due to incorrect or missing information, then there’s a lack of authorisation from the manager. Other times it is too complicated to correctly map all the partners involved in the transport of broken shipments. This not only costs time and nerves, but also money – after all, the service cannot be invoiced as quickly as possible. We will now show you how freight assessments in real time and automated clearing processes work.
A freight clearing tool ensures that all steps from the clarification of freight costs to invoicing between different parties run smoothly. This guarantees that transport costs are calculated clearly and transparently – regardless of how many forwarders, transport companies, carriers and other parties are involved. Balancing, retroactive accounting and offsetting are also included.
But that’s not all: the tool also calculates delivery costs and provides price information for the clients. With the freight cost calculator, users can easily calculate the costs for their order. This allows companies to offer an online booking option including reliable calculation of transport costs. This increases customer satisfaction and conversion rates and is the foundation for successful collaboration along the supply chain. After all, a business relationship can hardly start worse than with the question of why the transport has now become more expensive than originally planned. Another advantage: all booking-relevant data relating to the shipment, such as the type and dimensions of the packages, the volume in cubic metres, storage spaces and loading metre details, are requested or calculated directly via the form during online booking. This ensures that all information is available for invoicing the freight forwarder.
Storage space is the space required by a Euro pallet with the basic dimensions 1.2 m * 0.8 m. The unit is used to assess the space required by a consignment during transport. The formula for the calculation is: length * width / 0.96.
If the goods are stackable, this is also taken into account. For example, stackable Euro pallets with a height of one metre can be stacked twice in a lorry (stacking factor = 0.5). The calculation formula is then: (length * width / 0.96) * stacking factor. Thus, for example, a Euro pallet full of shampoo requires half a storage space according to the formula (1.2 m * 0.8 m / 0.96) * 0.5 = 0.5.
A shipping cost calculator is worth its weight in gold: It ensures that the invoice is approved by everyone as quickly as possible and that there are no nasty surprises. All factors are included here: extra-services, the truck costs per kilometre, special charges for distances or the transport of dangerous goods, surcharges in specific areas as well as the weight and volume of the shipment. Even broken transports consisting of several transport steps are no problem for the freight cost calculator.
The software should also be able to map and manage a complex tariff structure. All relevant factors, which can vary depending on the product, weight class or route, must be taken into account. It is an advantage if the rates can be managed on a customer-, partner- and client-specific basis by assigning individual rules to them.
Many cooks spoil the broth – admittedly, this is an often-used saying, but there is a grain of truth behind it. If many people are involved in creating an invoice, it is easier for errors to creep in. That’s why a comprehensive change management system completes the tool: If an incorrect entry has been made, for example if the weight is not quite correct, the tool makes it easy to adjust these billing-relevant changes before invoices or credit notes are created, thus saving additional correction documents. For each change, an integrated approval process can be initiated before the invoice run, allowing partners to coordinate and agree. This not only ensures fast clearing processes and transparency, but also promotes trust between the partners.
The more complex the transport, the more complex the invoicing for the freight forwarder and other partners – sounds logical. But with a freight clearing tool, this doesn't have to be the case. It is particularly suitable for co-operations that link many parties together. As the software calculates transport costs and evaluates consignments in real time, there is always a reliable basis for the clearing process. The comprehensive change management ensures that adjustments can be made bilaterally between the parties involved. This also makes work in accounting much easier, thanks to automatic invoice approval.
Although the links between the various partners are sometimes very complex, especially in co-operations, a freight clearing tool enables seamless and transparent collaboration. Good software can be easily integrated into all relevant systems, such as the partners’ TMS, the freight forwarder’s billing system or the centralised shipment tracking system. This makes all logistics processes more efficient, as different systems and data formats are no longer a problem.
Users benefit from the included shipping cost calculator, which ensures that there are no nasty surprises when it comes to invoicing. Possible sources of error are reduced by querying relevant data during transport booking. Comprehensive change management, including automatic invoice approval, ensures that corrections can be made quickly and bilaterally. The transparent presentation of invoice processes also strengthens trust between the partners. Unnecessary delays in clearing are a thing of the past – now that’s what we call good news!
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