If your business relies on small parcel shipping, the carrier you use plays a huge role in your bottom line. That said, small parcel shipping is essentially limited to the UPS and FedEx duopoly. Therefore, despite your years of experience, relational equity, and the effort you leverage towards contract negotiations, the two companies will always have an upper hand.
Every year, billions of small parcel shipping refunds from FedEx and UPS go uncollected. That means that the duopoly makes fortune over services they did not render, at the expense of your business’s bottom line.
Betachon is here to help you regain control over your shipping costs and claim the refunds that FedEx owes you. Request a FedEx audit now from Betachon and start saving.
What is an audit?
Before we delve into FedEx audits, we must understand what an audit entails.
An audit is simply an official inspection of an organization’s invoices, transactions, and accounts to identify and correct any inconsistencies.
Conducting an audit yourself is called an internal audit, and it’s a great way to evaluate what you’re paying for and what quality of services you’re getting.
What is a FedEx audit?
A FedEx audit is a comprehensive examination of your FedEx invoices to determine if there are any errors, unfounded fees, or overcharges. This ensures you’re not inappropriately charged for FedEx shipping. It is also the first step toward recovering refunds rightfully owed to you by FedEx, such as those of late deliveries.
A comprehensive FedEx audit goes further than your current FedEx invoices. Auditing should be done weekly to ensure any billing mistakes are detected in time for refunds.
Additionally, your current contracts can be reviewed to ensure your shipping costs are at par with industry averages. If not, you can find a different shipping carrier or negotiate your FedEx contract.
What’s the purpose of a FedEx audit?
The primary goal of an audit is to save your business money. There are several ways a FedEx can do that, but it requires you to understand what you’re being charged for in every transaction.
With that information, you can identify where you were mischarged, or where FedEx failed to honor its end of the agreement. Here are some of the most common scenarios:
Charges were:
- Based on inaccurate measurements
- Increased unnecessarily
- Duplicated
- Improperly converted
Deliveries were:
- Lost
- Late
- Damaged
- Shipped to the wrong address
Once you identify these mistakes, you can bring them to FedEx’s attention. In most circumstances, they’ll give you a refund for the lapses in service.
However, you must ask for one. This makes it vital to conduct a regular FedEx audit as you might end up saving thousands of dollars with shipping refunds.
Why is it important to go through my FedEx invoices every week?
Conducting weekly FedEx audits is essential to finding inconsistencies with your FedEx shipments. Each mistake in your FedEx shipping costs is money lost.
When you conduct a weekly FedEx audit, you can detect these mistakes pretty early and start the refund process. This helps you lower your shipping costs and boost your bottom line.
Types of parcel invoice audits
There are three primary types of audits you can use for FedEx and other shipping companies. Each has its share of advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a quick look at them:
Manual audits
As the name suggests, manual audits involve an employee manually going through all the invoices and checking for errors. This method can be pretty time-consuming, especially when only one employee has been tasked with the whole process.
Pros
- In some instances, it can be cheaper than the other methods.
- It can reveal some areas that need improvement and identify potential savings.
Cons
- Depending on the backlog, it can become expensive because of the labor costs.
- It’s prone to human error.
- It requires industry knowledge to turn the data into outcomes.
- It’s not very efficient.
Parcel audit software
A parcel audit software is a huge improvement from manual auditing. It automates the process and allows you to conduct a FedEx invoice in minutes. The software evaluates your invoices and highlights areas of concern or interest.
Pros
- Easy to use (doesn’t require in-depth industry knowledge.)
- It’s pretty accurate.
Con
- At initial purchase, it’s potentially more expensive than manual auditing.
FedEx audit services
Parcel audit services allow you to outsource your auditing needs. You work with a team of industry experts who help you identify any billing errors.
While this method could sometimes be more expensive, it’s more sustainable in the long run as it helps you save more money.
Pros
- The experts use their industry know-how and effort.
- You still get access to the auditing software.
- Accurate data.
- The process is automated, which allows you to earn without doing all the heavy lifting.
Cons
- It could be more expensive than the other methods in the initial stages.
Why shouldn’t I do my own FedEx audits?
The age-old adage “if you need something done properly, do it yourself,” doesn’t apply universally, especially when it comes to FedEx audits. Here are some problems you might encounter while doing internal audits on FedEx invoices:
- It’s very time-consuming to conduct a line-by-line FedEx audit every week. This time can be used to focus on other aspects of your business.
- The invoice auditing world has become so complicated that potential errors could be overlooked. It’s essential to work with a group of industry experts.
- You’d also need all the resources that are solely dedicated to invoicing audits. For the average company, this is not feasible.
Who offers FedEx audit services?
There’s a wide variety of companies that offer FedEx auditing services. However, Betachon stands out for a couple of reasons:
- We don’t force you into a long-term commitment. You can use our services month to month at any time without penalties.
- There’s no risk in using our services. Since we get paid a percentage of your savings, you will never have to pay out of pocket when there are no savings.
- We give you access to over 30 credit and analytical reports that allow you to understand your shipping spend.
Don’t skip FedEx invoice audits
Admittedly, going through your FedEx invoices to check for errors every week can be a daunting task. Fortunately, you can focus on your business and leave the hard part to us.
Our methods are tried and tested by some of the world’s leading brands, who we’ve helped save thousands of dollars in FedEx shipping refunds.
Schedule a free demo today and learn how the parcel audit process works.