3PL billing software features checklist

Billing software for a 3PL has to do something a normal invoicing tool does not: it has to price the same activity differently for each client. One client pays by the pallet-day, another by the cubic foot. One has a monthly minimum, another has none.

This checklist is for anyone judging a billing tool, a billing module inside a larger system, or their own spreadsheet. It does not name products. Use it to write your own scorecard.

Rate cards per client

This is the foundation. Each client should have a rate card that the tool applies on its own.

Check that you can:

• Store a separate set of rates for each client.
• Set start and end dates on a rate, so a rate change does not rewrite old invoices.
• Copy a rate card from one client to another and change a few lines.
• Attach different units to different lines: per pallet, per carton, per order, per hour.

Hypothetical test: client A is priced per order and client B per order line. Run the same ten orders through both and check that the totals differ the way you expect.

Several storage methods

Some clients want pallet-days, some want a flat monthly pallet position, some want a per-location charge. The tool should support the methods you actually sell, not just one. Ask to see the same inventory priced under two methods.

Activity capture

A billing tool is only as good as the activity it can see. Ask where each charge comes from.

• Do receiving, picking and packing events feed billing automatically?
• Can staff add a manual charge, such as a relabel job, with a reason and a quantity?
• Can you import activity from another system as a file?
• What happens to an event that arrives late, after the period was closed?

If the answer to the first question is "no", someone will be keying counts, and mistakes will follow.

Invoice output

Look at a sample invoice, not a screenshot of settings.

• Does each line show its unit, quantity and rate?
• Can you group lines by type: storage, handling, shipping, other?
• Can you add your own wording and terms at the bottom?
• Can you produce a summary and a detailed backup for the same invoice?

Clients dispute what they cannot follow. A clear invoice with a backup report saves hours of calls.

Minimums and proration

A monthly minimum needs to appear as a visible top-up line, not as a hidden adjustment. Ask how the tool handles a client who starts mid-month or leaves mid-month. Run a test with a start date of the 17th.

Adjustments with an audit trail

You will need to correct things. A credit, a rate fix, a recount. The tool should record who changed what, when, and why, and the original figure should stay visible.

If an adjustment can silently overwrite a number, you cannot prove your invoice later.

Pass-through charges

Carrier cost, freight, and materials bought on behalf of a client should sit on their own lines with the amount you paid and any markup shown according to the contract. Ask whether the tool can import a carrier invoice or only accept typed amounts.

Accounting export

Most 3PLs finish billing in their accounting package. Ask:

• What file or connection moves invoices there?
• Does it carry client codes, tax settings and account codes?
• If an invoice is edited after export, what happens?

Ask to see a real export, and have your bookkeeper look at it.

What your client can see

Some 3PLs let clients view charges in a portal. Even if you do not, check that the tool can show a client the activity behind a line, such as the dates and counts for storage. Open numbers shorten disputes.

Approval and review before sending

Before invoices go out, someone should review them. Look for:

• A draft state that is separate from sent.
• A list of exceptions: zero-value invoices, unusually large changes, lines with no rate.
• Permissions, so a floor user can record activity but cannot change a rate card.

Questions to ask any supplier

Write these down and keep the answers with the date.

1. How do I price one activity differently for two clients?
2. Show me last month's activity for a sample client turning into an invoice, start to finish.
3. How are rate changes handled for work already done?
4. What happens when I need a charge the tool does not have?
5. Who owns the data, and in what format can I take it out?
6. What does a rate or method change cost, and who makes it?
7. How is the price calculated as I add clients, users, or volume? Ask for it in writing.
8. What is the process when a calculation is wrong?

A note on routes

You can buy a subscription tool, extend the system you already have, or commission something built for your own billing rules. Each has trade-offs. We make Cargohold, which is a one-time custom build, no per-seat, per-truck or per-client fees. Because we sell that route, treat this page as a checklist to hold us to as well as anyone else.

Scoring it

Give each item a score: met, partly met, not met, or not shown. "Not shown" counts as not met until you see it work. Weight the items by how much they matter to your own contracts. A 3PL that only bills per pallet-day cares less about cubic-foot support than one with ten pricing styles.

Next step

Pick two real clients with different billing styles and one awkward invoice from last year. Ask each supplier, or your own team, to produce that invoice from raw activity. What they cannot reproduce is your list of gaps.