Freight audit software
Freight Audit Software for 3PLs and Freight Brokers
Freight audit software reads every carrier invoice, checks each line against the rate confirmation, contract, bill of lading and proof of delivery, and flags what does not match before money moves. Navix does this at the line-item level on 100% of invoices, then bills the customer the moment the load is validated, so brokers and 3PLs get paid sooner.
What freight audit software does
A carrier invoice is only correct when it matches four other documents: the rate confirmation, the customer contract, the bill of lading and the signed proof of delivery. Manual audit teams spot-check a sample of invoices against those documents and let the rest through. Freight audit software checks all of them, on every invoice, automatically.
For a shipper, that catches overcharges. For a freight broker or 3PL, it does something more valuable: it clears the carrier bill fast enough that the customer invoice can go out the same day the load delivers. Every day a carrier invoice sits in audit is a day added to days-to-bill and, downstream, to days sales outstanding (DSO). Navix is built for that second problem. The audit runs pre-bill, and the platform is designed for brokers and 3PLs rather than shippers.
How Navix freight audit software works
- Documents come in from anywhere.Carrier invoices, rate confirmations, BOLs, PODs and lumper receipts arrive by email, carrier portal, EDI 210 or API. Navix reads them across 80-plus carrier document formats with AI-powered intelligent document processing, so no template setup per carrier.
- Every line is matched.Base rate, fuel surcharge, accessorials, reweighs and detention are compared against the rate confirmation, the shipper’s contract and the delivery documents. Rules can be set per shipper, carrier, lane, mode and document requirement.
- Clean invoices auto-approve. Exceptions get a reason.Invoices that match are approved without a human touch. Anything that does not match is routed with the root cause attached and the source document alongside it, so a dispute has a receipt, not a hunch.
- The customer is billed the moment validation clears.Navix Pre-Bill issues the customer invoice as soon as the load is validated, instead of waiting for the carrier bill to finish its cycle. This is the step that moves DSO.
- Approved charges flow back to the systems already in place.Navix sits on top of the TMS, ERP and accounting system rather than replacing them. Integrations include McLeod, MercuryGate, Turvo, SMC3 and project44. Data is typically flowing within 48 hours.
What to look for in freight audit software
Line-item audit, not invoice-level matching
Invoice-level matching confirms the total is close to expected. Line-item validation catches the misapplied accessorial, the duplicate fuel surcharge and the reweigh that was never agreed to. Audit depth is the real differentiator between tools.
Pre-bill, if the goal is getting paid sooner
Post-payment audit recovers overcharges after the fact. Pre-bill audit shortens the gap between delivery and the customer invoice. Brokers and 3PLs should ask where in the cash cycle the audit runs.
Every mode in one tool
A brokerage moves FTL, LTL, drayage and intermodal. Navix audits all of them in a single platform, with more than four years of LTL production data behind the LTL rules.
Evidence, not adjectives
Ask for security attestations and named customer outcomes. Navix is SOC 2 Type II attested and publishes customer results by name. Any vendor handling rate and payment data should produce the equivalent on request.
How Navix compares to the alternatives
The market splits into three models. The right one depends on who is buying and where the audit sits in the cash cycle. A fuller vendor-by-vendor breakdown is in the best freight audit software guide and the freight audit companies comparison.
| Model | Built for | When the audit runs | Audit depth | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit-first AI platform | Freight brokers, 3PLs, asset-based carriers | Pre-bill, on arrival | Line-item, every invoice, every mode | Navix |
| Legacy freight audit and payment outsourcer | Enterprise shippers | Post-delivery, on the provider’s cycle | Charge-level, service bureau | Cass, CTSI-Global, Trax, nVision Global |
| Payment-first network | Brokers paying carriers and factors at scale | At settlement | Invoice-level match | TriumphPay |
| TMS audit module | Existing TMS customers | Inside the TMS workflow | Rules the TMS can see; documents it cannot | Varies by TMS |
What freight audit software costs
Pricing models range from a percentage of freight spend, to per-invoice fees, to a platform subscription. Navix scopes pricing to invoice volume and freight mix after a complimentary assessment: send a sample of recent carrier invoices and Navix shows what its audit would have caught on that data. The freight audit cost guide explains each model, and the how to buy page walks through the assessment.
Frequently asked questions about freight audit software
What is freight audit software?
Freight audit software automatically checks carrier invoices against contracted rates, rate confirmations and shipment documents to find overcharges, duplicate charges and incorrect fees before the invoice is paid or passed on to a customer. It replaces manual spot-checks with a review of every line on every invoice.
How is freight audit software different for brokers and 3PLs than for shippers?
A shipper audits to avoid overpaying carriers. A broker or 3PL audits so it can bill its customer quickly and accurately, because the customer invoice depends on a clean carrier bill and a signed POD. Navix runs the audit pre-bill and issues the customer invoice as soon as validation clears, which is why its customers measure results in DSO, not just recovered overcharges.
Does Navix replace a TMS?
No. Navix sits on top of the TMS, ERP and accounting system and handles the document reading, audit, approval and invoicing those systems leave manual. Approved charges sync back to the systems already in place.
Which modes does Navix audit?
FTL, LTL, drayage, intermodal and cross-border, in one platform. LTL rules are backed by more than four years of production audit data.
How long does implementation take?
Data is typically flowing within 48 hours of connecting the TMS, with full onboarding in about six weeks. Navix implementation specialists handle the integration, setup and training.
How does Navix reduce DSO?
By shortening the time between delivery and the customer invoice. Manual audit is removed from the critical path, exceptions are resolved with the source document attached, and Pre-Bill issues the invoice the moment the load is validated. KCH Transportation cut DSO from 39 to 28 days and Days to Bill from 8 to 4 on Navix.
See the audit run on your own invoices
Send a sample of last quarter’s carrier invoices. Navix runs them through the audit and shows what it would have caught, and what could have been billed same-day.