Track and Fix Invoices

Where to find it: Dashboard → Finances → Invoices Once you’ve submitted an invoice, the Invoices page is where you track its status, find out if it was disputed and why, and correct it if needed. To choose which teammates receive disputed invoice digests and payment remittances, see Manage Contact Roles.

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The Tabs

Your Invoices page has five tabs. Each groups invoices by their current status, and the number badge shows how many are in that state.

• To find paid invoices, open the Paid tab.
• To find disputed invoices, open the Disputed tab.

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Questions About an Approval or Dispute

Your shipper reviews your invoices and decides whether to approve or dispute them. Owlery doesn’t make those decisions. Some shippers set up rules that approve or dispute invoices automatically, but the shipper chooses those rules. Contact the shipper directly if:

• An invoice has been in Needs Review longer than you expect.
• A dispute reason is unclear, or you disagree with it.
• You want to know when an approved invoice will be paid.

Contact Owlery support only if an invoice fails to submit or never shows up. See Troubleshoot Invoice Submissions.

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What the Table Shows

• Shipper, Invoice #, Status, Loads, and Reference #s (BOL, PO, etc.)
• Invoice date, Payment due date, Pickup date, Delivery date
• Awarded (the quoted amount) vs. Actual (what you invoiced) and the Difference
• Dispute Label and Dispute Reason columns when an invoice is disputed
• Approval Label and Approval Reason columns when an invoice is approved

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Finding Out Why an Invoice Was Disputed

Click any invoice on the Disputed tab to open its drawer. You’ll see the reason in three places:

1. A red “Why this invoice is disputed” alert at the top of the Details tab — this shows the labels the shipper selected and the free-text reason they entered.
2. The Dispute Reason column in the invoice table.
3. The History tab in the invoice drawer, which shows the full status-change timeline for the invoice.

Common auto-dispute labels include Rate variance, Missing POD, and Awarded Rate Check. They tell you what needs to be fixed.

• Rate variance means what you invoiced doesn’t match what was awarded. Compare the Awarded, Actual, and Difference columns, then either correct the invoice or add the detail that justifies the charge. To show what makes up the difference, list each charge as its own line item. See Break Out Charges on an Invoice.
• Missing POD is fixed on the load, not the invoice. Upload the POD to the load the same way you’d create a manual invoice — open the load under Shipments (Loads) and attach the document. See Upload Proof of Delivery. Once the POD is on file, the shipper’s rules re-evaluate the invoice.
• Awarded Rate Check with the reason No awarded rate or invoice total found for invoice … means the shipper’s rule had nothing to compare. Usually the load was tendered without a price, so there’s no awarded rate to check your invoice against. First, make sure your invoice has line items with a total. If it does, ask the shipper to add the rate to the load or review the invoice themselves.

To back up a charge without changing the invoice, upload supporting documents to the load’s Documents tab. See Upload Proof of Delivery.

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If Your Invoice Never Appeared

If you submitted an invoice and it isn’t on any tab, the usual cause is a Load Number that doesn’t match a load. See Troubleshoot Invoice Submissions.

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Fixing an Invoice That’s in Needs Review or Disputed

You can update and resubmit an invoice as long as it’s in Needs Review or Disputed. Once it moves to Approved, Payment Created, or Paid, it’s locked — you’ll need to contact the shipper to move it back before you can resubmit. Use the same channel you used to submit the invoice originally. In every case, keep the same invoice number so Owlery matches your resubmission to the existing invoice.

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What Happens After You Resubmit

Every resubmission runs through the same flow:

1. Duplicate detection. If the resubmission is byte-for-byte identical to what’s already on file, Owlery skips the update — nothing to change.
2. Lock check. If the invoice is Approved, Payment Created, or Paid, the update is blocked. Otherwise it proceeds.
3. In-place replacement. Line items, total, load numbers, invoice date, party info, and reference numbers are updated on the existing invoice. The invoice number and current status stay the same, so a disputed invoice remains on the Disputed tab until the shipper’s rules re-evaluate it.
4. Automatic re-evaluation. The shipper’s Auto-Decision Rules run immediately against the corrected data. If your fix clears the issue (e.g., the total is now within their threshold or a missing POD is now on file), the invoice can auto-approve or move back to Needs Review within seconds. Watch the status on the Invoices page to confirm.
5. Exceptions refresh. Rate variance and missing POD are recomputed against the new data.

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What the Shipper Sees vs. What Stays Internal

The dispute label and reason the shipper enters are shared with you — that’s what powers the red alert and the Dispute Reason column. Internal shipper details are not shared: their accounting tags and GL codes, which teammate approved or disputed the invoice, auto-batch state, and their internal accounting sync records.

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Quick Reference

• Same invoice number = update. Different invoice number = new invoice.
• A load can have multiple invoices. Each separate invoice needs a different invoice number.
• Needs Review / Disputed = editable. Approved / Payment Created / Paid = locked.
• Fix and resubmit through the same channel you used originally.
• Auto-decision runs immediately on resubmission — no need to wait.
• Invoice missing entirely? Check the Load Number on the load.