Free templates / Logistics

Carrier Invoice Audit Template (Excel)

A free Excel template to audit carrier invoices before payment: the contracted linehaul looked up by lane, expected fuel, detention and total rebuilt from your contract, each variance computed, and every invoice flagged as OK, over on a named line, or under-billed.

Download the Excel template

Free, no sign-up. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.

Mirage does this work from your own documents. See freight invoice audit automation

Who uses it, and when

Freight payables teams, transport managers and shippers' logistics accountants use it to check invoices against contracted rates before releasing payment. Freight forwarders use it on their subcontracted carriers before billing their own customer.

It suits a team auditing tens or hundreds of invoices a month by hand. Above that volume, the same checks are usually automated or outsourced to a freight audit provider; the checks themselves do not change.

What is in the file

Audit: Your tolerance, free time before detention and detention rate at the top, then one row per invoice: invoice number, carrier, shipment reference, date, lane, contract linehaul (looked up), invoiced linehaul, the fuel percentage and the expected and invoiced fuel, hours at the stop with expected and invoiced detention, accessorials contracted and invoiced, expected and invoiced totals, the variances, a flag, a status and notes.
Rates: Your contracted linehaul by lane, which the Audit sheet looks up by lane name.
Instructions: How to fill it, step by step.

Column by column

Invoice no., carrier, shipment ref., date: What identifies the invoice and the shipment it bills. The shipment reference (BOL, CMR, order number) is what catches duplicates.
Lane: Spelled exactly as on the Rates sheet, so the contract linehaul can be looked up.
Contract and invoiced linehaul, variance: The rate from your contract, the rate on the invoice, and the difference.
Contract FSC %, expected and invoiced fuel: The fuel percentage for the week of pickup, the fuel amount it gives on the contract linehaul, and what was invoiced.
Hours at stop, expected and invoiced detention: The time on site from the POD or the ELD; expected detention computed with the free time and rate at the top.
Accessorials contracted and invoiced: The sum of accessorials you ordered at contract prices, and the sum invoiced.
Expected and invoiced total, total variance: Computed from the lines above; the variance is invoiced minus expected.
Flag: Computed: OK within tolerance; otherwise the first line over tolerance (linehaul, fuel, detention, accessorials) or 'Under-billed'.
Status and notes: To review, Approved, Short-paid, Disputed or Credited, and the carrier's answer.

How to use it

Fill the Rates sheet with each lane and its contracted linehaul, and set the tolerance, free time and detention rate on the Audit sheet.
Enter one row per invoice: lane, invoiced linehaul, fuel percentage and invoiced fuel, hours at the stop and invoiced detention, accessorials contracted and invoiced, and the invoice total.
Read the flag. A red row names the line that is over; check it against the rate confirmation, the fuel table and the POD.
Approve, short-pay or dispute, and record the carrier's answer in the notes.
Sort by carrier and flag at month end: a carrier whose invoices are often over is a conversation to have.

Limits

One linehaul per lane: contracts with weight breaks or per-pallet rates need the Rates sheet extended and the lookup adjusted.
Accessorials are compared as totals; itemize them in the notes when they differ.
Free time and detention rate are one set for the whole sheet; overwrite the expected detention on rows where a different contract applies.

A worked example

Invoice INV-4471, lane Lyon-Milan, contract linehaul 1,200, fuel 22%, free time 2 hours, detention 75 per hour, liftgate ordered at 45. The truck waited 3 hours. Expected: 1,200 + 264 + 75 + 45 = 1,584.

Invoiced: linehaul 1,200, fuel 303.60, detention 75, accessorials 105 (liftgate 45 and a residential charge of 60), total 1,728.60. Total variance 144.60; flag 'Fuel over', because the fuel was applied to 1,380 rather than 1,200. The notes record the residential charge on a commercial address as well. Status: Short-paid at 1,584, carrier asked for a credit note.

Mistakes to avoid

Auditing the total only. A correct total can hide an overcharge on one line offset by an undercharge on another that will be 'corrected' later.
Using the invoice's own fuel percentage instead of the fuel table for the week of pickup.
Accepting detention without the POD times. The carrier's own clock is not evidence.
Paying first and auditing later. Recovering a paid overcharge takes far more effort than short-paying it.
Not tracking duplicates: the same shipment billed twice under two invoice numbers. Sort by shipment reference before paying.

Questions

What is a carrier invoice audit?

Checking each carrier invoice against the contract and the shipment's documents before paying it: rate, fuel surcharge, accessorials, detention, and the arithmetic of the total.

What are the most common freight invoice errors?

Wrong rate or weight break, fuel surcharge applied to accessorials or at the wrong week's percentage, detention not supported by the delivery times, accessorials not ordered, and duplicate invoices for the same shipment.

What tolerance should I use?

Your own: many teams accept rounding differences of a few units per invoice and question everything above. Set it in the top cell; 0 flags every cent.

What documents do I need to audit an invoice?

The rate confirmation or contract for the lane, the carrier's fuel table, the order showing which accessorials were requested, and the proof of delivery with arrival and release times.

Is there an online version?

Yes: the carrier invoice audit calculator on this site checks one invoice line by line in the browser and explains each flag.

Every invoice checked before payment

This template audits the invoices you type in. Mirage deploys AI agents that read the invoice, the rate confirmation and the proof of delivery, rebuild the expected charges and flag the differences before payment, for your team to decide on.

Book a call See freight invoice audit automation