For ecommerce merchants
3PL Invoice Audit: Check Every Charge Against Your Rate Card
A 3PL invoice audit checks whether your fulfilment bill matches the rates you agreed to pay and the activity behind each charge. WarehouseAudit does the first pass on supported charges and leaves anything it cannot verify visible for review.
One free trial audit. Supported invoice CSV, agreed YAML rate card and ShipHero dispatch CSV required. No card required.
Your invoice, your agreement, your order evidence
A total that adds up is not proof that every charge is correct. A useful audit connects each invoice line to an applicable contract rule and a shipment or warehouse event. Where the evidence supports an expected amount, compare it with the amount billed. Where it does not, keep the amount unverified.
“Check every charge” is the review objective. WarehouseAudit does not automatically verify every fee, carrier service or warehouse activity.
How to run a 3PL invoice audit
- Upload the invoice. Use a supported Mintsoft, Royal Mail OBA or Sendcloud CSV. Preserve charge codes, shipment references and individual amounts.
- Supply the agreed rate card. Use the terms effective for the shipment dates, including permitted surcharges. The public trial requires a supported YAML rate card.
- Connect the operational evidence. The public trial takes a ShipHero dispatch CSV. The Shopify app uses store fulfilment activity for its supported checks. Sales order totals alone do not establish warehouse charges.
- Review the comparison. Inspect the charged and expected amounts where known, differences and supporting rules. Keep missing evidence separate from priced discrepancies.
Illustrative example · not a customer result
A permitted surcharge at the wrong rate
- Invoice
- Handling surcharge — £8.50
- Applicable terms
- £5.00 per qualifying shipment
- Evidence
- One matched shipment; the qualifying condition is established
- Comparison
- £8.50 − £5.00 = £3.50 difference
This is a rate mismatch only when the rule, shipment and condition are established. If the parcel measurements needed to establish the condition are missing, request that evidence first. A difference is not a guaranteed refund.
Common error types worth checking
- Pick fees or billed quantities that differ from agreed rates and fulfilled activity.
- Repeated charges for the same billable event, after accounting for split shipments and credits.
- Surcharges without an applicable permission or with the wrong calculation basis.
- Carrier, storage and handling charges that need service, occupancy or parcel evidence.
This is a broader review checklist. The public trial excludes storage, minimum charges and bundle picks; not every duplicate or carrier charge can be automatically verified. The Shopify flow has its own supported checks and evidence requirements.
Check a suspected 3PL billing error or trace an unexpected 3PL fee.
From manual checking to a first pass
Manual review means finding the right rate version, matching references and repeating calculations across the invoice. WarehouseAudit performs supported deterministic comparisons so you can concentrate on exceptions. It does not use AI judgement to declare an overcharge or automatically claim refunds.
Prefer to inspect the method first? Read the step-by-step manual audit guide or run the synthetic sample.
Upload one invoice and your rate card.
Bring the shipment evidence too. Let WarehouseAudit do the first pass on supported charges, then review the differences and evidence gaps before deciding what to query.
One free trial audit. Supported invoice CSV, agreed YAML rate card and ShipHero dispatch CSV required. No card required.
Need help with the file formats? Ask about preparing your files.