Audit the Warehouse Invoices Your 3PL Sends You

FreightOptics gives finance and supply chain teams software to extract 3PL invoice line items and check each charge against your rate agreement.

A 3PL warehouse invoice PDF beside the structured record FreightOptics extracts from it, listing storage, pick, pack, supplies, rebill and minimum charges against the basis each is billed on

Trusted by leaders across industries

Why 3PL Invoices Go Unchecked

3PL invoices often arrive as long PDF documents with limited line-item detail. Teams pay them without a practical way to check each charge against the agreement.

A stack of dense 3PL invoice PDFs carrying three risk labels: no line item detail, no rate to check against, and paid as billed
Included

No Cost Baseline

Without structured line items, finance cannot see what it pays per location, compare charges across warehouses, or forecast cost.

Included

Unverified Charges

Overbilled storage, incorrect minimums, and marked-up parcel rebills inflate the invoice and go unnoticed.

Included

Manual Reconciliation

Auditing a PDF invoice by hand is slow, so teams skip it.

3PL Invoice Audit for Shippers

Invoice being examined line by line under a magnifier

Extract the Line Items

Turn PDF warehouse invoices into structured line items for pick, pack, storage, supplies, rebills, and minimums.

Invoice processed automatically by a rules engine

Check Charges Against Your Rate Agreement

Spot storage, handling, and minimum fees that do not match your agreement.

Spend leaking out through charges with no contractual basis

Flag Charges With No Basis in Your Agreement

When a charge code appears that your rate agreement never authorized, FreightOptics flags it for review.

Structured, reviewable record of every audited charge

Give Your Team a Reviewable Record

Every extracted charge, its rate-agreement basis, and its flag status sit in one record finance and supply chain review together.

Turn a 3PL Invoice Into a Cost Record You Can Act On

See What Each Warehouse Actually Bills You

FreightOptics organizes extracted charges by location and charge type, so finance can compare storage, pick, and pack costs across every 3PL site.

A grid comparing relative storage, pick, pack and supplies costs across four warehouse sites
A ledger comparing the agreed contract term with what the 3PL billed for storage basis, pick rate, pack rate, monthly minimum and supplies mark up

Hold Your 3PL to the Agreement

With every charge measured against your rate agreement, your team can raise flagged charges and back each one with the invoice line and the contract term.

A filterable register of extracted 3PL charges by warehouse, charge type, period and amount

Give Finance a Clean Cost Record

Structured line items replace the PDF, so finance works from itemized figures, not a rekeyed document.

Inside the 3PL Invoice Audit

FreightOptics uses AI to read the 3PL invoice and your rate agreement, matching each charge to its contracted rate so finance and supply chain teams review the flags in one place.

PDF Invoice Extraction

FreightOptics reads the PDF invoice your 3PL sends and separates it into individual charges, each tied to its warehouse, date, and charge code.

A specimen 3PL warehouse invoice with two charges flagged for review: storage billed on the wrong basis, and a pallet rehandling code with no basis in the agreement

Rate and Term Validation

FreightOptics checks each charge against the rate and term in your agreement, so a storage rate, minimum, or rebill that does not match is flagged.

Billed 3PL charges matched to the clauses in the rate agreement, showing two mismatches and one match

Structured Exception Review

FreightOptics groups flagged charges by type, so your team works a queue of storage, minimum, rebill, and unauthorized-code exceptions instead of rereading the invoice.

A queue of flagged 3PL charges with the site, exception type and review status for each

Reporting Your Team Controls

Dashboards show recurring charge patterns across invoices, warehouses, and billing periods, so your team can see which charge types repeat.

Relative recurrence of each 3PL charge type across invoices, with the number of warehouse sites affected

Make 3PL Billing Easier to Understand

FreightOptics organizes 3PL billing in one place so finance can review warehouse charges without a new data feed or changes to warehouse systems.

SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant badge for secure shipping data integration

Extract the Line Items

FreightOptics separates storage, handling, and fulfillment charges into structured line items for review against the rate agreement.

SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant badge for secure shipping data integration

One Structured Record

Extracted line items sit in a searchable record your team filters by warehouse, charge type, or period.

SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliance badges attested through Thoropass

Certified Enterprise-Grade Security

Your invoice data is protected on a SOC 2 Type II certified, GDPR compliant platform.

How the 3PL Invoice Audit Works

1
Signed agreement to begin the program

Load Your Rate Agreement

FreightOptics takes the rate agreement you signed with your 3PL, so every charge on an invoice has a contract to be measured against.

2
Document record

Build the Billing Record

Add the PDF invoice your 3PL sent, and FreightOptics extracts each line item into a structured, reviewable record.

3
Assessment of current transportation spend

Run the Audit

FreightOptics checks every charge against the rate and term in your agreement, then flags charges that do not match or have no basis.

4
Advisement on recoverable spend and next steps

Review and Resolve

Your team works flagged charges, resolves each exception, and tracks recurring patterns across invoices and warehouses through dashboards.

Compare 3PL Invoice Audit Approaches

Capability

FreightOptics

Manual PDF review and spreadsheets

Not auditing 3PL invoices (status quo)

Line items

Extracts pick, pack, storage, supplies, rebills, and minimums from the PDF invoice into a structured record.

Someone keys line items from the PDF into a spreadsheet by hand.

Line items can remain locked in the PDF without a consistent review.

Rate checks

Validates each charge against the rate and term in your agreement.

Depends on who remembers the agreement and checks the math.

Charges are paid as billed.

Unauthorized charges

Flags charge codes with no basis in your rate agreement.

Easy to miss inside a long PDF reviewed by hand.

Charges outside the agreement get paid unnoticed.

Storage terms

Checks storage charges against the billing term you agreed to.

Requires cross-referencing every storage line by hand.

Storage is paid however the 3PL bills it.

Exception review

Groups flagged charges into a queue your team prioritizes.

Logged in one reviewer’s spreadsheet that nobody else sees.

Exceptions may not be raised or routed.

Recurring patterns

Dashboards show which charge types repeat across invoices and warehouses.

Recurring charge patterns can be difficult to see across invoices.

No view of what you are billed or why.

Capability

FreightOptics

Manual PDF review and spreadsheets

Not auditing 3PL invoices (status quo)

Line items

Extracts pick, pack, storage, supplies, rebills, and minimums from the PDF invoice into a structured record.

Someone keys line items from the PDF into a spreadsheet by hand.

Line items can remain locked in the PDF without a consistent review.

Rate checks

Validates each charge against the rate and term in your agreement.

Depends on who remembers the agreement and checks the math.

Charges are paid as billed.

Unauthorized charges

Flags charge codes with no basis in your rate agreement.

Easy to miss inside a long PDF reviewed by hand.

Charges outside the agreement get paid unnoticed.

Storage terms

Checks storage charges against the billing term you agreed to.

Requires cross-referencing every storage line by hand.

Storage is paid however the 3PL bills it.

Exception review

Groups flagged charges into a queue your team prioritizes.

Logged in one reviewer’s spreadsheet that nobody else sees.

Exceptions may not be raised or routed.

Recurring patterns

Dashboards show which charge types repeat across invoices and warehouses.

Recurring charge patterns can be difficult to see across invoices.

No view of what you are billed or why.

Trusted by High-Volume Shippers

VP, Supply Chain / Manufacturing / Supply Chain

$500M to $1B

Intuitive Dashboard And Effective Data Analysis To Support Business Needs

“Exceptional customer support throughout the implementation. Was up and running quickly once we initiated the agreement between our companies. The data analysis is very powerful and will enable us to make better business decisions going forward. Was able to set up weekly reports for our teams to take action, making us more efficient and saving us money.”

VP, Operations / Consumer Goods / Operations

$500M to $1B

Better With Them Than Without

“FreightOptics is very transparent in their approach. FreightOptics is also collaborative with us on our requests to educate how the program works. They also provided some financial guidance on the terms of agreements even though we were the decision makers. We enjoy working with the FreightOptics team.”

Director of Supply Chain Management

$3B to $10B

FreightOptics' Solution Has Improved Visibility And Resulting In Net Savings

“FreightOptics has provided a seamless customer experience from discovery through implementation and has delivered on their promise to us. The value FreightOptics brings my customer results in net savings and has greatly improved visibility. My expectations have been exceeded.”

CFO / Manufacturing / Finance

<50M USD

Fantastic Service, Great Company To Work With

“FreightOptics has provided a valuable resource for us. From contract negotiations to operational support – they take the worry off of us with a significant cost factor in our overall operations.”

Chief Financial Officer / Manufacturing / Finance

<50M USD

FreightOptics Revolutionizes Transport Management With Cost-Effective Pricing And Support

“FreightOptics has genuinely revolutionized our transportation management providing first class service, support and more cost effective pricing.”

Frequently Asked Questions

A 3PL invoice audit checks the warehouse and fulfillment charges your 3PL bills against your rate agreement. It extracts the line items from the PDF, validates each charge, and flags what does not match, so your team pays for what the contract covers.

Manual review means reading a long PDF and remembering every rate and term. FreightOptics extracts each line item, checks it against your rate agreement, and flags storage, minimum, rebill, and unauthorized-code charges, so your team reviews exceptions instead of the whole document.

Common findings include:

  • Charges with no basis in your rate agreement
  • Storage billed beyond the term you agreed to
  • Incorrect pick, pack, and case-pick fees
  • Miscalculated inbound and case minimums
  • Marked-up parcel rebills

FreightOptics audits warehouse and fulfillment line items, including pick, pack, storage, shipping supplies, parcel rebills, case-pick, and inbound minimums. It does not audit carrier freight charges.

No. FreightOptics 3PL Audit reviews the warehouse and fulfillment invoice your 3PL sends you, covering pick, pack, storage, supplies, rebills, and minimums. To audit carrier freight invoices, use FreightOptics Freight Audit. For small-parcel carrier bills, use Parcel Audit.

Yes. FreightOptics can audit paid and unpaid 3PL billing, identify charges outside the rate agreement, and give your team a documented basis for raising them with the 3PL.

FreightOptics reports charge patterns across invoices, warehouses, and billing periods. Your team can see which charge types repeat, which locations bill outside the agreement most often, and where to renegotiate terms.

Yes. FreightOptics can structure 3PL billing for review without requiring a new data feed or a change to your warehouse systems.

Yes. The FreightOptics platform is SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant.

Talk to Us About Your 3PL Billing

Tell us which storage, handling, or fulfillment charges are hardest to verify. We’ll talk through how your 3PL bills you and whether an audit can help.

More than $1.7 billion in verified savings over 23 years.

Prefer to start with a conversation? info@freightoptics.com  ·  +1 800-578-4939

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