Freight Audit Template: Verify Freight Invoices Step by Step

What a freight audit is

A freight audit is the review of a carrier's invoice before you approve it for payment. The invoice tells you what you are being charged for a shipment: the freight subclass it falls into, the base rate, any discounts, accessorial charges, tax, and a total. Your job is to confirm that each of those elements is correct. The audit is not a single check. It is a sequence. You work through the invoice from the shipment identification through to the final total, and each step depends on the one before it. If the subclass is wrong, the base rate will be wrong; if the base rate is wrong, the total will be wrong. Treating the audit as one review of the bottom line misses where the error came from.

Why it matters

Freight charges accumulate across many shipments, and errors on individual invoices are easy to miss when they are processed at volume. The errors are not always in the carrier's favour, but the ones that matter most are, and they repeat: the same wrong subclass, the same missing discount, the same accessorial billed above the contracted rate. A documented audit gives you a record of what was checked and what was found. When a discrepancy is identified, that record is what supports a query with the carrier or an adjustment to payment. Without it, the error is absorbed into the cost of the shipment.

What the audit verifies

The audit works through the invoice element by element: - **Duplicate billing** — the invoice is cross-referenced against payment records to confirm it has not already been charged. - **Freight subclass** — the subclass assigned to the shipment, from Class 50 for clean freight over 50 lbs through to Class 500 for shipments under 1 lb, is confirmed against the invoice. - **Base rate** — the confirmed base rate for the shipment is entered and checked. - **Contractual discounts** — all contractually eligible discounts are confirmed as applied. - **Accessorial charges** — handling fees, residential delivery fees, and delivery area surcharges are checked against the correct contracted rate. - **Tax** — charges are checked for consistency with current state, federal, and international tax regulations, including applicable customs duties and tariffs. - **Total** — once the checks above are complete, the total freight charge is confirmed as accurate.

How to run the audit

Run the audit in order. Start with duplicate billing. A charge that has already been paid should not be approved again, and there is no point verifying the detail of an invoice that should not exist in the first place. Move on to the shipment itself. Confirm the freight subclass, then the base rate the shipment should carry. With the rate established, check the commercial terms: whether all contractually eligible discounts have been applied, and whether each accessorial charge is billed at the correct contracted rate. Accessorials are worth checking line by line, because a single incorrect fee is easy to overlook in a combined charge. Verify tax last among the financial checks. Tax treatment depends on jurisdiction and on the nature of the shipment, so check the charges against the state, federal, and international rules that apply, including customs duties and tariffs where relevant. Only after those verifications should you judge the total. If the total is inaccurate, the earlier steps tell you why. Finish by documenting your findings. Record any discrepancies, anomalies, or other observations, along with the administrative detail: the date the audit was conducted, who prepared it, the location, the signature, and the actual start and end times and dates of the inspection.

Frequently Asked Questions

A freight audit confirms that an invoice is charged correctly. Before approving payment, you cross-reference the invoice against payment records to make sure it is not a duplicate charge, confirm the shipment's freight subclass and base rate, check that all contractually eligible discounts have been applied, verify accessorial charges such as handling fees, residential delivery fees, and delivery area surcharges are billed at the contracted rate, and validate tax charges against current state, federal, and international tax regulations, including applicable customs duties and tariffs.

The audit walks through the invoice in a set order. You start by cross-referencing the invoice against payment records to confirm it is not a duplicate charge. You then select the assigned shipment freight subclass, enter the confirmed base rate, confirm that all contractually eligible discounts have been applied, check that accessorial charges are billed at the correct contracted rate, and verify that tax charges are consistent with current state, federal, and international tax regulations. Only after those verifications do you confirm whether the total freight charge on the invoice is accurate, and then document any discrepancies, anomalies, or additional observations you identified.

Select the freight subclass assigned to the shipment. The audit template lists the classes along with their weight bands: Class 50 for clean freight over 50 lbs, then Class 55 through Class 500 covering progressively lighter shipments, from 35 to 50 lbs down to less than 1 lb. If the subclass on the invoice does not match the shipment, the base rate tied to it will be wrong.

Yes. The audit includes a specific step to verify that tax charges are consistent with current state, federal, and international tax regulations, including applicable customs duties and tariffs. That check sits alongside the other verifications for duplicate billing, subclass assignment, base rate, discounts, and accessorial charges.

Record exactly what you found in the audit. Note any discrepancies or anomalies, along with any additional observations, so the findings are available when the invoice is queried or payment is adjusted. The audit records the date it was conducted, who prepared it, the location, a signature, and the start and finish times.

Written by

Arne Reis

Founder

Process optimizer with 25 years of expertise, focused on operational excellence in quality, maintenance, EHS, and commissioning. Emphasizes innovative solutions and top-quality standards.

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