Freight audit software that checks every vendor invoice against the job.
TIO’s payables check matches each line of a carrier or vendor invoice to the job’s charges. Lines that match are booked. Lines that do not go to your team with the invoice attached. It does not pay.
TIO payables
Vendor invoice, 5 charge lines
| Charge | Expected | Billed | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean freight | Expected$2,400 | Billed$2,400 | ResultBooked |
| Drayage | Expected$650 | Billed$710 | ResultHeld: $60 more than expected |
| Chassis | Expected$120 | Billed$120 | ResultBooked |
| Customs exam | Expected$300 | Billed$300 | ResultBooked |
| Demurrage | ExpectedNone | Billed$450 | ResultHeld: not expected |
Your books · 3 payable lines booked
Held for your team · 2 lines, invoice attached
Audit log · actor, time, before, after
Expected is your job’s charge. Billed is what the vendor’s invoice says. Example with sample numbers, not a customer’s record.
Freight audit software checks that what a carrier or vendor invoiced matches what the shipment recorded. For a freight forwarder, the check belongs before the payable is booked. TIO payables reads vendor invoices every weekday, finds the job each one belongs to and compares each line with the job’s charges in your TMS. Lines that match are booked as payables, for the vendors you have approved. A line with no matching charge, an amount above the job’s charge or a duplicate invoice number waits for your team, with the invoice attached. In the sample above, 3 of 5 lines are booked and 2 are held. Your team decides what each held line means: dispute it, correct the job, or approve it as it stands. TIO does not pay the vendor. Payment stays with your team.
How the check runs.
- 1
The vendor emails the invoice to your billing mailbox.
- 2
TIO reads the invoice and finds the job it belongs to.
- 3
It compares each line with the job’s charges, read live from your TMS.
- 4
It books the lines that match, for the vendors you have approved, and reads each write back.
- 5
It emails your team a table of what differs, with the invoice attached.
A hand check against TIO payables.
| Step | By hand | TIO payables |
|---|---|---|
| When the check runs | By handWhen someone has time | TIO payablesEvery weekday |
| Lines that match | By handA person keys each one | TIO payablesBooked for the vendors you have approved |
| Lines that differ | By handFound if someone compares the two records | TIO payablesHeld for your team with the invoice attached |
| Paying the vendor | By handYour team | TIO payablesYour team |
Three invoice gaps this check catches.
A TMS can hold the quoted charge and the invoiced charge as two separate records, with nothing comparing them.
| What happened | Expected | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| A charge the job never had A pier pass or a chassis split. It may be fair, and it is easy to miss because there is no quoted amount to compare it with. | ExpectedNothing | BilledPier pass |
| A rate above the quote A fuel change, a rate nobody recorded, or an error. | ExpectedDrayage at the job’s rate | BilledDrayage above it |
| A duplicate The same invoice number arrives twice, and each copy looks correct on its own. | ExpectedOne charge | BilledThe same charge twice |
Each of these is held for your team with the invoice attached. Your team decides what it means: dispute it, correct the job, or approve it as it stands. Read how charge reconciliation works on an ocean import job.
One job checks the invoice. Another re-checks the finished record.
Both work with the systems you already run. The second one reports what it finds and does not change a record.
Payables
In production at a US import forwarder
Matches each line of a vendor invoice to the job’s charges and books the payable. It does not pay.
- Vendor invoice or statement
- Lines matched to the job’s charges
- Payable booked for approved vendors
- Takes in
A vendor invoice or statement
- Leaves behind
Payable lines booked in your system, and a list of lines that do not match
- On its own
Books lines that match, for the vendors you have approved
- Sent to your team
A line with no matching charge, a duplicate invoice number
Record audit
In production at a US import forwarder
Re-checks finished records against their source documents and reports each difference with its cause.
- Finished record pulled
- Every field checked against the documents
- Differences reported, grouped by shipment
- Takes in
A finished record and the documents it came from
- Leaves behind
An email that groups the differences by shipment, each with one reason
- On its own
Runs on a schedule and reports. It does not change a record
- Sent to your team
Every difference waits for your team
Check the invoice the week it arrives, not at month end.
A month-end check reaches a gap weeks after the move, when the question for the vendor is harder to ask.
TIO payables runs every weekday, so your team can ask while the move is still fresh.
Your rules decide what gets booked.
Each action has its own setting. Anything outside your rules goes to your team. For each write to your TMS, TIO keeps what TIO sent and what the TMS replied.
Done by TIO
Lines that match the job’s charges are booked as payables, for the vendors you have approved.
Sent to your team
A line with no matching charge, or a duplicate invoice number, with the invoice already attached.
Never
Paying a vendor. TIO books the payable. Payment stays with your team.
Corrections become vendor rules
When your team corrects TIO, it turns the correction into a rule for your operation. It applies to your operation only.
- Applied
Vendor name on invoices maps to your vendor record
Came from a correction by your team
- Applied
How this vendor bills chassis
Came from a correction by your team
Built for the forwarder’s side of the invoice.
TIO works for the forwarder who receives the vendor invoices and owns the job they belong to.
A good fit when
You are a freight forwarder checking carrier and vendor invoices against your own jobs.
Your jobs and charges live in a system you want to keep.
Several vendors bill the same job on their own schedules.
You want matching lines booked and only the gaps sent to your team.
Not a fit when
You need a provider to pay carrier bills for you. TIO books the payable and does not pay.
You want to replace your TMS. TIO works with it.
You want to automate your whole finance team at once. TIO starts with one job, as a paid pilot.
Questions about freight audit with TIO.
More on how TIO works on the what-TIO-does page and the back-office overview.
Freight audit software checks that what a carrier or vendor invoiced matches what the shipment recorded. For a freight forwarder, that means comparing each invoice line with the job’s charges in the TMS before the payable is booked.
No. TIO books the payable lines that match, for the vendors you have approved. Payment stays with your team.
It is held. A person on your team sees the line and the invoice, then decides what it means: dispute it, correct the job, or approve it as it stands.
Payables checks each vendor invoice against the job’s charges. Record audit runs on a schedule, re-checks finished records against their source documents, and reports each difference with its cause. It does not change a record.
No. TIO works with the systems you already run.
TIO is priced per job, not per seat. Start with a small paid pilot on one job. You get a number on a short call about your process.
Let’s have a quick discussion about your process.
We work around your people and your schedule. Your people, your processes, not the other way around.
Talk about your process