How to Audit Carrier Freight Invoices in Epicor Prophet 21
Freight audit checks every line of a carrier invoice against the shipment it claims to bill: is there a shipment record and bill of lading, does the billed weight match the dock scan, and does the charge match the contracted rate and approved accessorials. In Epicor Prophet 21 the audited result becomes AP vouchers, debit memos for disputed lines, and a journal entry that trues up freight accruals.
Carriers bill duplicates, re-weighs and unrequested accessorials, and a shipper has a limited window to contest a freight bill, so the audit has to happen before payment. This guide follows the recorded run: dispatch data, invoice entry, a ghost invoice, the line audit, claims, the carrier's reply, escalation, GL posting, payment and reporting.
- Who does itAccounts payable / freight audit specialist, with logistics and receiving confirming evidence
- How oftenPer carrier invoice (daily), with a weekly recovery report
- Steps14 steps · 4 systems
- By hand8–30 hours a day across the shipping and AP desks
Watch the full workflow
every click in this recording is an AI agent — no one is touching the keyboard.
In the recording, an AI agent exports five shipped-not-audited dispatches from ShipDesk TMS, confirms their shipment records in Prophet 21, reads three carrier invoices from Outlook and enters them as vouchers 30088–30090 pending audit. Ridgeway invoice RT-5531 has no shipment record, so the agent asks receiving for proof of delivery and an AP specialist approves creating a retroactive shipment record. The Excel line audit finds 4 clean lines and 3 flagged Buckeye lines ($569.55): a duplicate billing, a re-weigh and an unauthorized liftgate fee, which become debit memos and a claim email. After Buckeye replies, logistics accepts the re-weigh proof, the liftgate claim is escalated, freight accruals are reversed in a journal entry and three ACH payments totaling $3,041.95 are scheduled before a trends report is emailed.
- 1:24Pull shipped-but-unaudited dispatches
- 2:12Read the carrier invoice and enter it as a voucher
- 2:48Is there a shipment or BOL for every invoice line?
- 3:00Ask receiving to verify the ghost invoice
- 3:36Approve the proof-of-delivery evidence
- 3:48Create the retroactive shipment record
- 4:30Audit each line against shipment and contract rate
- 5:00Are all lines clean?
- 5:42Raise debit memos and send the claim
- 6:00Publish the recovery report
- 6:36Compare the carrier's reply with your records
- 6:48Logistics decides whether the carrier's proof is valid
- 8:12Post the GL entry for verified freight
- 8:30Pay the audited amounts and report trends
Systems involved
You need access to each of these before you start. In the recording the agent works in all of them from one desktop, signed in as the user.
- Epicor Prophet 21Shipping records, Voucher Entry (vouchers, debit and credit memos), Journal Entry and Scheduled Check Printing
- ShipDesk TMSDispatch board with bill of lading, PRO number, pallets and dock-scan weight for each shipment
- OutlookCarrier invoices in, receiving verification, claim and short-pay notice, carrier reply, trends email
- ExcelFreight invoice line audit, carrier evidence comparison, recovery report and audit trends workbooks
What you start with
- TMS dispatch data (BOL, PRO, pallets, scan weight, rated freight)
- Prophet 21 shipment records
- Carrier freight invoices (PDF)
- Contract rate sheet
- Receiving proof of delivery
What you end with
- Vouchers entered and approved for clean lines
- Debit memos and claims for disputed lines
- Claim and short-pay notice to the carrier
- Freight recovery report
- Journal entry reversing accruals and allocating verified freight
- ACH payment batch
- Freight audit trends workbook and email
The workflow at a glance
Action Decision Human review Select a step to jump to how it's done.
- 01 Action · ShipDesk TMS / Epicor Prophet 21 Pull shipped-but-unaudited dispatches
- 02 Action · Outlook / Epicor Prophet 21 Read the carrier invoice and enter it as a voucher
- 03 Decision · Epicor Prophet 21 Is there a shipment or BOL for every invoice line? Yes Hold the invoice and request proof of delivery. No Go straight to the line audit.
- 04 Action · Outlook Ask receiving to verify the ghost invoice
- 05 · Human review · LaunchAI Portal Approve the proof-of-delivery evidence
- 06 Action · Epicor Prophet 21 Create the retroactive shipment record
- 07 Action · Excel Audit each line against shipment and contract rate
- 08 Decision · Excel / Epicor Prophet 21 Are all lines clean? Yes Approve the vouchers for payment. No Approve clean vouchers; raise debit memos and a claim for the flagged lines.
- 09 Action · Epicor Prophet 21 / Outlook Raise debit memos and send the claim
- 10 Action · Excel Publish the recovery report
- 11 Action · Outlook / Excel Compare the carrier's reply with your records
- 12 · Human review · LaunchAI Portal Logistics decides whether the carrier's proof is valid
- 13 Action · Epicor Prophet 21 Post the GL entry for verified freight
- 14 Action · Epicor Prophet 21 / Excel / Outlook Pay the audited amounts and report trends
Step-by-step: how to do it
-
Action · ShipDesk TMS / Epicor Prophet 21 · 1:24 in the video
Pull shipped-but-unaudited dispatches
On the TMS dispatch board filter to shipped, not yet audited, and export bill of lading, PRO, pallets scanned, scan weight and rated freight. Look each one up in Prophet 21 Shipping by pick ticket to confirm a shipment record exists.
In the video5 dispatches handed off; shipment records looked up in P21.
- BOL 0048246 · Buckeye Freight Lines
- PRO
- 4471-21017
- Customer
- Tri-County Irrigation
- Pallets
- 1
- Weight
- 640 lb
- Rated
- 298.40
- Pick ticket
- 118231
-
-
Action · Outlook / Epicor Prophet 21 · 2:12 in the video
Read the carrier invoice and enter it as a voucher
Open each carrier invoice, list every PRO line with its weight, charge and accessorials, and check the total. In Voucher Entry enter vendor, invoice number, date and amount, distribute each line to the freight clearing account, and leave it Not approved for payment until audited.
In the videoCarrier invoices saved pending audit.
- Buckeye BFL-208814 Pending audit
- Date
- 10/02/2026
- Shipments
- 4
- Amount
- $1,786.75
- Terms
- Net 30
- Voucher
- 30089 (4 lines to 2155-10 Freight Clearing)
- Great Plains GPX-77120 Pending audit
- Amount
- $1,088.35
- Voucher
- 30088
- Ridgeway RT-5531 Pending audit
- Amount
- $640.00
- Voucher
- 30090
-
-
Decision · Epicor Prophet 21 · 2:48 in the video
Is there a shipment or BOL for every invoice line?
Search Shipping for each billed PRO or tracking number. A line with no shipment record, BOL or dock scan is a ghost invoice and goes on hold until someone proves the delivery happened.
- If yes Hold the invoice and request proof of delivery.
- If no Go straight to the line audit.
In the videoRidgeway PRO 7715502 lookup.
- Message
- No shipment found for tracking number 7715502
- Missing
- no pick ticket, BOL or dock scan at 10 - Columbus DC
-
Action · Outlook · 3:00 in the video
Ask receiving to verify the ghost invoice
Email receiving with the carrier, PRO, route, shipper and pallets/weight on the invoice and ask whether they took the delivery. Ask for the signed proof of delivery and the PO it belongs to.
In the videoPlease verify: Ridgeway Transport invoice RT-5531 has no shipment record
- Amount
- $640.00
- Lane
- Rockford IL to Columbus DC
- Delivered
- 09/30/2026
- Shipper
- Summit Valve & Fitting
- Load
- 2 pallets, 1,150 lb
- Terms
- freight collect
- Reply
- signed POD for PO 40231, receipt 1102893
-
Human review · LaunchAI Portal · 3:36 in the video
Approve the proof-of-delivery evidence
An AP reviewer checks the evidence against Prophet 21: the PO and its freight terms, the receipt, the POD signature and the amount against the quoted rate. Approve to create the shipment record; reject and the invoice stays on hold.
In the videoReview 'Ridgeway RT-5531'.
- PO
- 40231 found (freight terms collect)
- Receipt
- 1102893 (2 pallets of ball valves, 09/30/2026)
- POD
- signed by receiving
- Rate
- $640.00 matches the quoted rate
- Result
- approved by the AP specialist
-
Action · Epicor Prophet 21 · 3:48 in the video
Create the retroactive shipment record
In Shipping create a new shipment record for the carrier with the PRO, ship date, packages, weight, ship-from/ship-to, freight terms and proof-of-delivery reference so the invoice can be audited like any other.
In the videoNew shipment record (became record R-118260).
- Carrier
- Ridgeway Transport
- PRO
- 7715502
- Date
- 09/30/2026
- Packages
- 2
- Weight
- 1150 lb
- Route
- Summit Valve & Fitting Rockford IL to 10 - Columbus DC
- Terms
- Collect
- POD
- signed 09/30/2026 2:14 PM
-
Action · Excel · 4:30 in the video
Audit each line against shipment and contract rate
For every billed line record the matching shipment, scan weight vs billed weight, the contract charge recalculated from the rate sheet, and the variance. Flag duplicates, weight differences and accessorials that were not requested.
In the videoFreight_Audit_2026-10-05.xlsx
- Lines
- 7
- Contract
- 2,945.55
- Billed
- 3,515.10
- Variance
- 569.55
- Result
- 4 clean / 3 flagged
- PRO 4471-20958 Already billed
- Variance
- 388.15
- PRO 4471-21004 Weight variance
- Billed
- 1,840 lb
- Scan
- 1,420 lb
- Variance
- 96.40
- PRO 4471-21017 Unauthorized accessorial
- Variance
- 85.00
-
Decision · Excel / Epicor Prophet 21 · 5:00 in the video
Are all lines clean?
If every line is clean, approve the whole voucher. If any line fails, approve the clean vouchers and split the disputed amounts out as debit memos so only the audited amount is paid.
- If yes Approve the vouchers for payment.
- If no Approve clean vouchers; raise debit memos and a claim for the flagged lines.
In the video- Great Plains (30088) All clean
- Ridgeway (30090) All clean
- Buckeye BFL-208814 Three flagged lines
-
Action · Epicor Prophet 21 / Outlook · 5:42 in the video
Raise debit memos and send the claim
Enter a debit memo per disputed line referencing the claim number and PRO, then email the carrier a short-pay notice listing each claim, reason, evidence, billed and disputed amount, the amount you will pay and a reply-by date.
In the videoDebit memos and claim email to Buckeye billing.
- Disputed
- $569.55
- To be paid
- $1,217.20
- Reply by
- Thursday 10/08/2026
- DM-4117
- Claim
- FC-1041
- Amount
- 388.15
- DM-4118
- Claim
- FC-1042
- Amount
- 96.40
- DM-4119
- Claim
- FC-1043
- Amount
- 85.00
-
Action · Excel · 6:00 in the video
Publish the recovery report
Summarize invoices and lines audited, billed vs approved vs disputed, claims raised and their status, and any ghost invoices cleared. Save it where management, logistics and AP can see it.
In the videoFreight recovery report, week of 10/05/2026.
- Invoices
- 3
- Lines
- 7
- Billed
- 3,515.10
- Approved
- 2,945.55
- Disputed and held
- 569.55
- Claims
- 3 (reply due 10/08)
- Ghost invoice
- Ridgeway 7715502 audited clean
-
Action · Outlook / Excel · 6:36 in the video
Compare the carrier's reply with your records
Read the carrier's answer to each claim and line it up against your own dock scans, pick tickets and rate sheet. Note which claims the carrier conceded, which it disputes with evidence and which it answered without proof.
In the videoBuckeye reply 10/08.
- FC-1041 Conceded
- Credit memo
- BFL-CM-3381
- Amount
- $388.15
- FC-1042 Disputed
certified scale certificate (1,840 lb on 4 pallets; P21 pick ticket 118231 shipped 4 pallets, dock scan missed one)
- FC-1043 Driver's statement only
no signed delivery receipt
-
-
Human review · LaunchAI Portal · 6:48 in the video
Logistics decides whether the carrier's proof is valid
A logistics manager reviews the evidence comparison. If the carrier's proof is valid, withdraw the claim and pay the line; if not, keep the short-pay and escalate.
In the video- FC-1042 Approved by logistics manager · claim withdrawn
- Amount
- $96.40 of $602.60
- Credit memo
- CM-4120
- FC-1043 Escalated to carrier's account manager
- Amount
- $85.00 liftgate
- Reply due
- Monday 10/12/2026
-
-
Action · Epicor Prophet 21 · 8:12 in the video
Post the GL entry for verified freight
In Journal Entry reverse the estimated freight accruals for the audited shipments and distribute the verified freight to the right expense or landed-cost accounts, with the audit date in the description.
In the videoJournal 'Freight audit 10/05 - accrual reversal and cost allocation' (10/2026).
- Reversed
- 2,305.55 accrued freight on 5 shipments
- Verified total
- 3,041.95
- Ohio Valley lanes (Buckeye)
- Verified freight
- 1,313.60
- Midwest lanes (Great Plains)
- Verified freight
- 1,088.35
- Ridgeway PO 40231
- Inventory freight-in
- 640.00
-
Action · Epicor Prophet 21 / Excel / Outlook · 8:30 in the video
Pay the audited amounts and report trends
Run the payment batch for approved vouchers only, with memos applied so short-paid claims are excluded. Then update the audit trends workbook by carrier and error type and email it to logistics, AP and sourcing.
In the videoACH 10/09/2026 from 01 - Operating: 3 payments 3,041.95 (ACH_20261009.txt).
- Trends (13 weeks)
- $48,912 audited, $2,146 recovered
- Buckeye error rate
- 11.4%
- Great Plains error rate
- 1.9%
- Buckeye Paid
- Amount
- 1,786.75 less memos 473.15 = 1,313.60
- Great Plains Paid
- Amount
- 1,088.35
- Ridgeway Paid
- Amount
- 640.00
Rules, exceptions and controls
Rules to follow
- Every billed line needs a matching shipment record, BOL or dock scan; a line without one is held as a ghost invoice.
- Contract charge is recalculated from the rate sheet (e.g. 567.60 + 35.00 re-weigh fee at 1,840 lb) and compared with the billed amount.
- Accessorials (such as a liftgate) are payable only when requested on the bill of lading.
- Disputed lines are short-paid with a debit memo per claim; clean lines are approved for payment.
- Short-paid claims are not included in the payment run.
- A shipper has 180 days from receipt to contest a carrier's freight bill (49 U.S.C. 13710(a)(3)), so audit before paying.
When something doesn't match
- Ghost invoice with no shipment record: receiving is asked for POD; on approval a retroactive shipment record is created, otherwise the invoice stays on hold.
- Duplicate billing: claim raised; the carrier conceded with a credit memo.
- Re-weigh discrepancy: the carrier's certified scale certificate was valid, so the claim was withdrawn and the line paid.
- Unauthorized accessorial answered without a signed delivery receipt: escalated to the carrier's account manager and kept short-paid.
- Carrier does not reply by the deadline: the claim is escalated (shown as the 'carrier response incomplete' path).
Controls and audit trail
- Vouchers saved as 'Not approved for payment' until the line audit is complete.
- AP specialist approval before a retroactive shipment record is created from receiving evidence.
- Logistics manager approval before a carrier claim is withdrawn.
- Every claim has its own claim number, debit memo and evidence trail; recovery report shared with management, logistics and AP.
Practitioner tips
- Export dispatch data from the TMS before entering invoices so you audit against what actually shipped, not what was billed.
- Keep the pick ticket pallet count next to the dock scan; scanners miss pallets, and the pick ticket settled the re-weigh dispute here.
- Put the reply-by date in the claim email subject or body so follow-up and escalation are mechanical.
- Track error rate by carrier; it is the strongest evidence at contract renewal.
About this recording
In the recording, the agent ran the whole audit: dispatch export, invoice entry, ghost-invoice check, line audit, debit memos and claim email, carrier reply evaluation, GL entry, payment batch and trends report. People approved the proof-of-delivery evidence and the carrier's re-weigh proof, and one escalation went to the logistics manager.
Documented the way you'd train a new hire — and the same way an agent learns it.
Frequently asked questions
How do you audit a freight invoice in Epicor Prophet 21?
Enter the carrier invoice in Voucher Entry but leave it unapproved, then match each line to a P21 shipment record and recalculate the charge from your contract rates. Approve clean lines, and split disputed amounts into debit memos tied to a claim.
What is a ghost freight invoice?
It is a carrier bill for a shipment you have no record of: no shipment, bill of lading or dock scan. Hold it, ask receiving for signed proof of delivery and the PO, and only create a shipment record once someone approves the evidence.
What are common freight billing errors?
The recording shows the three classic ones: a PRO that was already billed on an earlier invoice, a billed weight higher than the dock scan, and an accessorial fee such as a liftgate that the bill of lading did not request.
How do you short-pay a carrier invoice?
Approve the voucher for the audited amount and enter a debit memo for each disputed line, then send the carrier a notice listing each claim, its evidence and the amount you will pay. In the recording Buckeye's $1,786.75 invoice was short-paid by $569.55.
How long do I have to dispute a freight bill?
Under 49 U.S.C. 13710(a)(3), a shipper has 180 days from receiving a carrier's bill to contest it. Auditing before payment is still the easiest way to recover overcharges.
Can an AI agent do freight audit in Epicor Prophet 21?
Yes. As shown in the recording, the agent works the same TMS, Prophet 21, Outlook and Excel screens a person does. People approved the proof-of-delivery evidence and the carrier's re-weigh proof, and an escalation was routed to the logistics manager.