Warehouse invoice audit: pallet days, handling, and fees vs the receiving record
The Warp warehouse invoice audit takes a 3PL invoice, or one pallet entered by hand, recomputes storage days from your received and shipped dates, checks the storage rate against your contract, and flags handling and pick and pack lines that do not match an actual event.
How it works:Drop the 3PL's CSV or PDF, paste rows from Excel, or type one line. Check the column mapping, then read the findings in three tiers: dispute, review, note. Copy the letter.
What this audit catches
3PL invoices bill in bulk across hundreds of SKUs and pallets, so a small per pallet error compounds fast. This tool checks pallet days billed against the received and shipped dates, the storage rate billed against a contract rate you enter, inbound and outbound handling billed with no matching receiving or shipping event, pick and pack lines billed above what the order count supports, duplicate pallet or SKU IDs in the same file, and any platform or minimum charge fee.
How to run this audit
Export your warehouse or 3PL invoice as a CSV with one row per SKU or pallet. Include the received date, the shipped date if it has moved, pallet count, storage days billed, the storage rate, and any inbound, outbound, pick and pack, or fee lines. Set your contract storage rate and the invoice period end date at the top, then upload the file. Every row that does not match the computed expectation shows up in the findings table with the dollar amount and what to ask the 3PL for.
Every row that does not match your receiving and shipping record lands in a tier: dispute when the evidence is complete, review when one document is short, note when it is worth knowing but not worth a claim on its own.
How Warp bills instead
Warp warehousing is pallet day storage with no minimum stay and no platform fee. You pay for the days a pallet actually sits on the dock, at one rate, with nothing else to reconcile against a contract. There is no minimum charge to hit and no separate platform line to check every month.
Warehouse invoice audit FAQ
What is a warehouse or 3PL invoice audit?
A warehouse invoice audit compares every line on a 3PL bill against the receiving and shipping record for each pallet. It checks storage days against the actual dates freight was on the dock, the storage rate against the signed contract, and every handling or pick and pack line against an event that actually happened. Most 3PL invoices bill in bulk across hundreds of SKUs, so a small per pallet error compounds fast.
How are pallet storage days calculated?
Storage days typically count inclusively: a pallet received and shipped the same day still counts as one storage day, not zero. The count runs from the received date to the shipped date, or to the invoice period end date if the pallet is still in storage. If your 3PL bills more days than that window supports, the extra days are worth disputing.
What is a phantom handling fee?
A phantom handling fee is an inbound or outbound handling charge billed with no matching event on file: an inbound fee with no received date, or an outbound fee with no shipped date for that pallet. It usually means a billing template applied the fee to every SKU regardless of what actually happened, or the pallet has not moved yet.
Why would pick and pack line charges be wrong?
Pick and pack fees are usually billed per line item picked. If the number of lines billed is far above what the order count could reasonably need, either the count is wrong or lines are being split to inflate the bill. Comparing billed lines against a typical max lines per order catches the outliers worth a second look.
Does Warp charge a warehouse platform fee?
No. Warp warehousing is pallet day storage with no minimum stay and no platform fee. If a platform or minimum charge fee shows up on a 3PL invoice, it is a line that would not exist on Warp.
What storage rate should I expect to pay?
Storage rates vary by market, pallet footprint, and volume commitment, typically ranging from about $10 to $25 per pallet per month or a comparable per day rate. The only rate that matters for an audit is the one in your signed contract. Enter your contract rate into this tool and it flags anything billed above it.
Stop reconciling warehouse invoices by hand
Warp warehousing bills pallet days at one rate, with no platform fee and no minimum stay. Nothing else to check.