General Flow of a Freight Invoice Process
The following is a brief explanation of FreightWise's processing stages/phases regarding freight invoices and their progression through processing. Every single freight invoice follows this process to ensure a uniform, consistent, and expedient audit and payment process.
01 - Processing
During the processing phase/state of the invoice is "keyed" (Keyers). Keying includes all aspects of data regarding the freight invoice and our client's requirements.
These include adding the invoice numbers, BOL, PO, SO, and Account numbers to the invoice. In addition the Mode, Direction, From/To, Commodities, Accessories (if any) and invoiced pricing are added too.
Once all data has been entered the "keyer" usually uses FreightWise's auditing engine to ensure that the carrier invoiced our client correctly based on the pre-negotiated tariffs we have in place.
GL Coding is also performed during this phase with the auto look-up feature.
Next State/Process Options:
- Ready For Audit
- Paused (special case - see below)
- Rating Issue (special case - see below)
- Need Help (special case - see below)
02 - Ready For Audit
At this state the freight invoice is ready to be audited by the auditing team (Auditors). Generally invoices are audited in the order that they have been inserted into this state (FIFO). However in cases that require a fast turnaround time on carriers that have short payment terms or clients that require FreightWise to expedite payment on certain invoices Auditors can pull any invoice into "In Audit" anytime.
Next State/Process Options:
- In Audit
- Processing (reverting back one stage)
03 - In Audit
During the Audit phase each invoice is carefully checked (Audited) for any issues that may have arised during the keying process.
FreightWise also reviews rating issues and other problems relating to invoices. Expl: Carrier miss-identified the class, assigned incorrect weight, or billed for accessorials that were not required.
The audit phase is a critical step in FreightWise's process to ensure 100% accuracy of full-audit compliance. By requiring each freight invoice to flow through the audit stage, FreightWise ensures that each freight invoice is audited - We do not "spot-check" freight invoices!
Next State/Process Options:
- Audit Complete
- Rating Issue (special case - see below)
- Holding (special case - see below)
04 - Audit Complete
This phase indicates that the freight invoice has completed and passed auditing; and is ready to be linked (associated) with a client's invoice (see Client Invoices for details). In general freight invoices do not rest/stay long at this stage in the process.
Next State/Process Options:
- In Audit (reverting back one stage)
- Linked
05 - Linked
This phase indicates that the freight invoice has been linked to a client invoice.
No further actions will take place on the freight invoice since it has been linked (locked to a Client Invoice) and cannot be modified anymore.
Note:
If reviewing the freight invoice online a "blue" button is now available that can open the associated Client Invoice.
Next State/Process Options:
- Client Accepted
- Rejected By Client (special case - see below)
06 - Client Accepted
Indicated that the Client Invoice was accepted by the client. This in turn also means that all the freight invoices associated / linked with the client invoice were accepted.
Next State/Process Options:
- Carrier Paid
07 - Carrier Paid
Indicates that the freight invoice amount has been paid (check or ACH sent) to the carrier. Freight invoices will remain in this state until FreightWise confirms that the carriers have accepted payment.
Note:
If reviewing the freight invoice online a "blue" button is now available that can open the associated Carrier Payment.
Next State/Process Options:
- Completed
08 - Completed
Indicates that the freight invoice amount has been paid and the carrier has accepted payment by "cashing" the check or ACH payment received.
At this state no further action is performed on the freight invoice and it is locked.
Special Cases
These states allow for expedient handling of special cases that can arise during the processing of freight invoices.
Paused
This state is commonly used as an area for the "Keyers" to pause a freight invoice and research or consult with other Keyers on questions, issues, etc... pertaining to the completion of the freight invoice keying process. Usually this happens when a new client comes on-board with FreightWise and details are defined on each client's preferences. In no way does this stage indicate an issue with a Freight Invoice.
Next State/Process Options:
- Processing
Rating Issue
This state serves as a holding area to Auditors can pick-up and review any rating issues experienced by the Keyers. By having a special holding area for problem invoices, FreightWise can react and interact quickly with carrier to resolve issues regarding invoices.
Next State/Process Options:
- In Audit
Need Help
This state serves as a holding area to Auditors to pick-up issues that are not related to invoice rating.
Next State/Process Options:
- In Audit
Holding
This state serves as a holding area for Auditors. Usually freight invoices in this area are waiting for comment/response from carriers regarding rating issues. The holding area is simply to handle the freight invoices that require actions on the carrier's behalf.
Next State/Process Options:
- In Audit
Errors & Rejections
These states allow for expedient handling of issues and an area to park / stop processing of freight invoices that do not pertain to a client.
Rejected By Client
Freight invoices that end up in this state were rejected by a client from the Client Invoice processing operations. In essence if a freight invoice is in this stage / phase then our auditors will review why it got rejected and take immediate action.
Next State/Process Options:
- In Audit
Do Not Pay
Freight invoices designated to this state will stay (forever) here. This is a state that serves to designate the invoices as Do Not Pay.
An example of such would be that a carrier billed FreightWise's client, however after review with the client the freight invoices should have been billed to the client's vendor or customer. In such cases FreightWise places these invoices in this state so as to have a record of the issue and be notified if the carrier re-bills again.
0 Comments