Seven 3PL billing errors you can find from the invoice alone

Some 3PL billing errors only show up against your contract or your order data. Others are visible in the invoice itself, if you compare it with its own lines and with the invoices before it. These seven need nothing but your invoices.

1. Duplicate lines

The same fee, on the same date, for the same amount, twice. It usually comes from a re-run billing job or a manual correction that was added instead of replacing the original. Sort the invoice by fee, date and amount and look for identical neighbours. Some repeats are legitimate (two pallets received on one day), so check the quantity and reference columns before disputing.

2. Lines that do not add up

Every line with a quantity and a rate should bill quantity × rate. A line that says 1 × $300.00 and bills $320.00 is wrong by its own numbers, whatever the contract says. Multiply each line out; this is the easiest error to prove.

3. Rates that drift

Compare the rate on each line with the same fee on last month's invoice. A pick fee that moves from $0.42 to $0.47 without a notice of a price change is worth asking about, even before you open the contract.

4. New fees

A fee name that was on none of your earlier invoices is either a new service you asked for or a new charge you did not agree to. List every fee name per month and look at what appears for the first time. Then check the contract: if the fee is not in it, ask what it is for.

5. Surcharges that stay

Peak, fuel and "temporary" surcharges have a way of becoming permanent. A surcharge billed three months running at a steady amount deserves a question, especially outside the season it was introduced for.

6. Spikes

A fee that is suddenly far above its usual level (storage doubling in a month when your stock did not double) is not proof of an error, but it is the cheapest place to look. Compare each fee with its average over the last few months.

7. Totals that do not match the invoice

Add up the lines. If they do not equal the invoice total, the invoice itself is wrong, and nothing else on it can be trusted until it is corrected.

What to send your 3PL

For each error, give the invoice number, the line, the amount you dispute and why, in one sentence. Ask for a credit on the next invoice. Keep it factual: most errors are mistakes, and a clear list gets them corrected fastest.

Check your invoices now

Our free invoice quick check finds duplicates, arithmetic errors, new fees and spikes in your invoice exports in under a minute. To check rates and terms as well, get a free audit with your contract.