Billing

[PackRat]

Afternoon all,

What is everyone's thoughts on suppliers emailing invoices to dispatch and then saying "well you were sent the invoice...it's not our fault they didn't forward on to payables"
We are having an increase in A/R departments looking for payment on invoices that were never sent to payables (May or may not have been emailed to dispatch).
Thoughts?
PR

 

[bellcitytransport]

It's on the tender, exactly how to submit invoices... not dispatchers responsibility to forward it on. It's the carrier's responsibility to follow directions.

 

[Freight Broker]

It is payable’s responsibility to be on top of paying suppliers, even when invoices have been lost, misdirected, or not sent at all. if I don’t get an invoice from a supplier within three or four days of load delivery I will actively follow up with the carrier. That way they get paid promptly, and my days 2 pay stays low. A lost or misdirected invoice is not a reason to delay payment.

 

[Igor Galanter]

It is payable’s responsibility to be on top of paying suppliers, even when invoices have been lost, misdirected, or not sent at all. if I don’t get an invoice from a supplier within three or four days of load delivery I will actively follow up with the carrier. That way they get paid promptly, and my days 2 pay stays low. A lost or misdirected invoice is not a reason to delay payment.

I do respect your point of view @Freight Broker, but if someone can not be organized themself and organized their employees, they shouldn't be in business, but just work for some one.
Following customers instructions is a crucial part of customer service
( and you are a customer for carriers).
One the other hand I did received from very few customers tenders without invoicing instructions and questioned that right away.

And ,of course, we all have to keep in mind that an office stuff turnover happening, so have to deal with it individually...

 

[loaders]

We all like to pay our bills within our suppliers terms however, if they cannot ensure that their invoice finds its way to our payables department after explicit instructions were sent on how to do exactly that, then that is the suppliers problem. Freight invoices should be sent to the accounts payable department not the dispatch office. Our payables staff is not responsible for tardy, sloppy or inefficient invoicing on the part of our suppliers. Send us the invoice and we will pay it…..simple, just do your job!

 

[LrgCar]

Invoices should be directed to the right department especially when it's listed on the CC. I however do not believe in starting the terms from when the invoice is found as mistakes happen even from the most senior members in the AP/AR dept.

 

[tasuinam]

Usually our practice is to send the POD to the disptach team - and the best solution I find is when the dispatch team responds with - : "Thank you - please send invoice and POD to XYZ email" - this way there is no way the info is not communicated

It can be in the email signature as well

 

[Freight Broker]

A lost or misdirected invoice becomes my problem when the carrier calls six months later looking for payment. The invoice somehow got lost and now they’re reporting me at 240 days 2 pay. While I agree it is the supplier’s responsibility to present invoices in a timely manner, it is my responsibility to followup.. so that sloppiness, forgetfulness or neglect on their part doesn’t inadvertently impact my own creditworthiness and days 2 pay. Creditworthiness is the currency of success in this business..a good days to 2 pay number puts you ahead of the competition, all other factors being more or less equal. Why let someone’s lack of care or forgetfulness mess with that?

 

[Gr8Loads]

This is why most brokers have a 48 hour POD policy, I dont care if you bill me now or come looking for payment in 200 days. As long as I billed my customer and got paid, you will get paid instantly, given you provide an invoice of course.

 

[Mario]

First thing our A/R does when a new customer comes on board is the big question by email " where do you want the invoice sent to"! Once they respond and 99% of the time its to their A/P people. Makes life so much easier and we include in dispatch. Have not had an issue yet

 

[Freight Broker]

This is why most brokers have a 48 hour POD policy, I dont care if you bill me now or come looking for payment in 200 days. As long as I billed my customer and got paid, you will get paid instantly, given you provide an invoice of course.

you will care when your days to pay goes to shit and makes you look like an old whore with the clap to your carrier base. In this day and age with scammers everywhere you don’t want that look. You want to manage your days 2 pay like it matters as much as how quick you get paid.

 

[LrgCar]

you will care when your days to pay goes to shit and makes you look like an old whore with clap to your carrier base. In this day and age with scammers everywhere you don’t want that look. you want to manage your days 2 pay like it matters as much as how quick you get paid.

1000000% especially with bankruptcies on the rise, good luck moving freight with a high days 2 pay or credit score. Would rather have a truck sit than do charity work. In this day, and age, and especially market, your word is no good and numbers dont lie ( well sometimes )

 

[Gr8Loads]

you will care when your days to pay goes to shit and makes you look like an old whore with the clap to your carrier base. In this day and age with scammers everywhere you don’t want that look. You want to manage your days 2 pay like it matters as much as how quick you get paid.

But lets think realistically, if the transport company cant figure out how to send you an invoice properly - do you think they can really figure out how to ruin your credit score? The only companies that can impact your days 2 pay or credit score are Financial entities. Which I always had a question about, but in reality it makes sense, imagine how bad someone can make you look when they in fact are the reason behind your delinquent payment!? Did I get your statement right?

1000000% especially with bankruptcies on the rise, good luck moving freight with a high days 2 pay or credit score. Would rather have a truck sit than do charity work. In this day, and age, and especially market, your word is no good and numbers dont lie ( well sometimes )

I can see how you should thread the needle carefully on paying quickly, but that goes to large companies who sell their loads to Tom, Dick and Harry without vetting them properly. Dont want to seem like a smartass, we made our fareshare of mistakes on loads that were brokered and double brokered. One of the reasons why we stopped doing quick pay options ( unless we know who you are). Afterall, if you want to get paid quicker go setup with a factoring company.

 

[loaders]

If I had to worry about every slipshod, poorly run carrier we might do business with sending their invoices in properly, I wouldn’t have the time to operate my own successful enterprise . If a carrier, or anyone for that matter, can’t get their invoices out on time and addressed properly, I sincerely doubt that they would have the knowledge or wherewithal to report it to any credit agency. Sorry, but someone has to accept the responsibility of ensuring invoices are properly addressed and sent out to the correct party, and that person isn’t me or my accounts payable department. If your on time, weekly payables runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars, one or two missing, lost, misplaced invoices isn’t going to adversely affect your credit score.

 

[EricG]

But lets think realistically, if the transport company cant figure out how to send you an invoice properly - do you think they can really figure out how to ruin your credit score? The only companies that can impact your days 2 pay or credit score are Financial entities. Which I always had a question about, but in reality it makes sense, imagine how bad someone can make you look when they in fact are the reason behind your delinquent payment!? Did I get your statement right?



I can see how you should thread the needle carefully on paying quickly, but that goes to large companies who sell their loads to Tom, Dick and Harry without vetting them properly. Dont want to seem like a smartass, we made our fareshare of mistakes on loads that were brokered and double brokered. One of the reasons why we stopped doing quick pay options ( unless we know who you are). Afterall, if you want to get paid quicker go setup with a factoring company.

Actually a number of companies subscribe to Dun Bradstreet, and have automated systems that report on a monthly or quarterly basis automatically the days to pay and credit limit usage.

Its no longer just financial institutions that affect your "days to pay" or payments with terms. The companies that spend money for a D&B subscription and reporting, also more than likely report to one of the Credit bureaus / agencies such as TransUnion or Equifax, as the additional cost is minimal for a solid risk management strategy.

 

[loaders]

In order to ensure an accurate picture of your company’s payment history, it is advantageous to submit your own payables schedule to D&B or other credit agencies. The suppliers that you pay on time are not, or at least not often, reporting your good payment behaviour to these outfits. Just like any other data, the results are dependent upon the accuracy of the information being entered. It has been my experience that checking with an existing supplier/s of goods or services is the most accurate way to determine the creditworthiness of a new entity.

 

[EricG]

In order to ensure an accurate picture of your company’s payment history, it is advantageous to submit your own payables schedule to D&B or other credit agencies. The suppliers that you pay on time are not, or at least not often, reporting your good payment behaviour to these outfits. Just like any other data, the results are dependent upon the accuracy of the information being entered. It has been my experience that checking with an existing supplier/s of goods or services is the most accurate way to determine the creditworthiness of a new entity.

Exactly.. the good 'ol trade references check... provide me with 3 companies who you work with or have a revolving line with in the transportation sector that will tell me you pay your bills in under 30 days on a regular basis.

We use trade references and D&B among other things to determine potential risk prior to onboarding.