Rating & Invoicing

Q: Can the automation handle custom surcharges or discounts for specific customers?

Yes, the automation applies surcharges and discounts based on rules you define in your rate card. Custom rules are configured during setup.

Q: Will the automation work with our existing QuickBooks Online setup?

Yes, the automation integrates directly with QuickBooks Online to create invoices using your existing chart of accounts and customer records.

Q: What happens to invoices that are already in our system before automation starts?

Historical invoices remain unchanged. The automation only processes new shipments going forward, so your audit trail stays intact.

Q: How does the automation handle exceptions or disputes after an invoice is sent?

Your team reviews flagged exceptions before invoices are sent. After delivery, disputed invoices can be corrected manually or the automation can be adjusted to prevent similar issues in the future.

Accurate freight rates and compliant invoices reach cold-chain customers the moment a shipment is confirmed.

312 hrs

Manual time identified

Companies have mapped

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About This Automation

Rating and invoicing for cold chain shipments requires manual lookups, rate card calculations, and data entry across multiple tools. This repetitive work consumes significant time and introduces calculation errors.

Automation extracts shipment data, applies rate rules, calculates charges, and creates invoices in the accounting system without manual intervention. Invoices are generated and delivered the same day with zero calculation errors.

Key features:

Extract shipment data automatically from email, CSV, or manual entry

Look up distance bands and temperature zones without manual spreadsheet searches

Apply rate card rules and calculate charges based on weight, distance, zone, and surcharges

Create and send invoices in your accounting system on the same day

Log all shipments in a tracking sheet for monthly reconciliation

Flag exceptions and errors for human review before invoice delivery

Data insights How it works Apps used What you get FAQ

Top friction points when done manually

The issues teams report most often with this process

#	Friction point	Companies Report This
1	Manual rate card lookups Staff spend time searching spreadsheets or calling the warehouse to find distance bands and temperature zones.	80%
2	Calculation errors Manual math and rate application lead to invoicing mistakes that require rework and customer disputes.	67%
3	Data entry delays Typing shipment details and charges into the accounting system is slow and error-prone.	53%
4	Invoice delivery lag Invoices take 3 to 5 days to reach customers because of manual processing queues.	40%
5	Tracking sheet maintenance Manual logging of shipments for reconciliation is tedious and prone to omission.	26%

Disclaimer

Automation readiness

How well-suited this process is for automation

Process Pain Score™

9.0/ 10

AI Fit Rating™

9.1/ 10

Automation Lift Index™

8.8/ 10

Hidden Overhead™

7.3/ 10

How The Automation Works

The full workflow, from trigger to completion.

1. Shipment Ready for Ratingtrigger

A new shipment notification arrives via email or webhook, containing tracking number, weight, destination, and service level.

2. Extract Shipment Data

The automation parses the incoming email or API payload and extracts key fields: tracking number, weight, destination zip, temperature zone, and service level.

3. Look Up Distance and Zone

The automation queries a reference table to find the distance band and zone surcharge for the destination zip code.

4. Calculate Charges

The automation applies the active rate card rules, multiplying base rate by weight and distance, then adding any zone or service surcharges.

5. Create Invoice in QuickBooks

The automation creates a new invoice with the customer, shipment details, and calculated charges, then marks it ready to send.

6. Send Invoice via Email

The automation sends the invoice to the customer, including the tracking number and a brief summary of charges.

7. Log to Tracking Sheet

The automation appends a row to the Google Sheet with the shipment number, customer, charge, and invoice date for audit and reporting.

8. Notify Finance Team

The automation sends a confirmation message so the finance team knows the invoice has been generated and sent.

Most popular tool stack used

— the complete tool combinations companies use

58% of companies

28% of companies

13% of companies

Disclaimer

What you get when you map this process

Everything you need to understand, plan, and build your automation.

ROI and business case

What this process costs today and what changes once it's automated.

Launch schedule

What gets built, in what order, and what success looks like once it's live.

Process runbook

How the automation runs day to day, including exceptions and human decision points.

Developer handover pack

Full build spec, logic, and configuration — ready to hand off without a briefing call.

Integration and connections guide

Every tool connection, credential, and data mapping the build needs.

Test and QA plan

20 hrsIdentified

4Mapped

View

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know before mapping this process.

What happens if the automation encounters a shipment with missing or invalid data?

The system flags the exception and notifies your team for manual review before creating an invoice. This ensures no incorrect charges are sent to customers.

Can the automation handle custom surcharges or discounts for specific customers?

Will the automation work with our existing QuickBooks Online setup?

What happens to invoices that are already in our system before automation starts?

How does the automation handle exceptions or disputes after an invoice is sent?

View more FAQs

Process pain:9.0/10

Mapped by:4 Companies

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Page updated 10 August 2026