Dashboard → Finance → Invoices → click the invoice → History tab
When a freight bill shows up in your accounting system, such as Ramp, NetSuite, or QuickBooks, with an amount you didn’t expect, the answer is almost always on the matching invoice in Owlery.
Find the Invoice in Owlery
1
Open the invoice
Bills Owlery sends include the load numbers and a link back to the invoice in the memo. Click the link, or search Invoices for the load number or invoice number. Search covers every tab.
2
Check the entered line items
On Details, read the Line Items table. These are the charges the carrier entered, and they’re exactly what Owlery sent to your accounting system. See What Owlery Audits.
3
Check who approved it
Open History to see who approved the invoice and when, or whether Owlery approved it automatically. The Approved by column on the Invoices page shows the same thing.
4
Check related invoices
If a yellow banner says there are other invoices for this load, open it to see everything you’ve been billed for the load. See Multiple Invoices on One Load.
Common Causes
The Entered Amount Doesn’t Match the PDF
If the carrier attached a PDF, the line items they typed or sent may not match it. Owlery audits and pays the entered line items, not the PDF. Compare the PDF in Documents to the line items in Details. A common version: the carrier billed a new charge, such as a lumper fee, but also included the line haul again.Part of the Load Was Paid Outside Owlery
Owlery only knows about invoices submitted in Owlery. If you paid a load before you turned on Freight Audit and Pay, or paid it directly in your accounting system, Owlery has no record of that payment. When the carrier later bills that load in Owlery, Owlery compares the invoice against the full awarded rate. An invoice that repeats the line haul looks like it matches, even though you already paid it.Several Invoices Cover the Same Load
Each invoice on a load becomes its own bill. A line haul invoice and a later detention invoice are two bills for one load. That’s expected, as long as the charges don’t overlap. Check the related-invoices totals.It Was Approved Automatically
If Approved by shows Auto Approved, your Invoice Auto Decision Rules approved it. Check that your thresholds and checks match what you intended.Fix the Bill
How you fix it depends on where the bill is.- Not paid yet: in Owlery, click Back to Review on the invoice, then Dispute it with a label and reason, such as “Line haul already paid.” The carrier can then resubmit with only the correct charges. In your accounting system, reject or void the bill so it isn’t paid.
- Already paid, or the invoice is in Payment Created or Paid: the invoice is final in Owlery. Recover the overpayment from the carrier directly, the same way you would for any vendor.
Prevent It Next Time
- Check any attached PDF before you approve: when an invoice is disputed or over your threshold and the carrier attached a PDF in Documents, check that its total matches the entered line items.
- Watch loads paid before Owlery: for the first few months after you turn on Freight Audit and Pay, review any invoice on an older load by hand.
- Ask carriers to bill only new charges: send them Add Another Invoice to a Load.