Audit freight invoices for overcharges and billing errors
Checks carrier invoices against contracted rates and shipment data, totals the overcharges, and drafts the dispute.
The prompt
Help me audit freight invoices for overcharges.
Invoices: [PASTE OR SUMMARIZE: INVOICE NO., SHIPMENT ID, DATE, ORIGIN, DESTINATION, WEIGHT, CLASS OR DIMS, CHARGES BY LINE]
Contracted rates: [RATE TABLES, FUEL SURCHARGE FORMULA, DISCOUNTS, MINIMUMS, ACCESSORIAL SCHEDULE]
Our shipment records: [BILL OF LADING DATA, ACTUAL WEIGHTS AND DIMENSIONS, PROOF OF DELIVERY, APPOINTMENT TIMES]
Dispute window in the contract: [e.g. 90 or 180 days]
Check each invoice for:
- Rate not matching the contract for that lane, weight break, or class.
- Fuel surcharge applied at the wrong index or percentage.
- Reweigh or reclassification charges without supporting inspection evidence.
- Accessorials we didn't request or can disprove (liftgate, residential, inside delivery, detention without appointment evidence).
- Duplicate billing for the same shipment.
- Minimum charges applied incorrectly.
- Late delivery where service guarantees allow a refund.
- Math errors.
Rules: only flag an error if the data supports it; if I'm missing the contract term or record needed, list it as [NEED DATA] rather than guessing. Do not estimate refunds without showing the calculation.
Return:
1. An exceptions table: Invoice | Shipment | Issue | Billed | Should be | Difference | Evidence.
2. Total overcharge and the top recurring error types.
3. A dispute email to the carrier listing claims with evidence and the response deadline.
4. Process fixes to prevent these errors (pre-audit rules, accessorial approvals, dimensioner checks).
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Finance & Accounting prompts
What to fill in
- e.g. 90 or 180 days
- NEED DATA
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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