Automated Customer Invoicing and Its Guardrails

This article explains how the Tai TMS can create and send customer invoices automatically — the invoicing options you can set per customer, the safety checks a shipment must pass before an invoice is generated without staff review, and what happens to the shipments that do not qualify.

Overview

The Tai TMS can invoice your customers for you instead of having staff build every invoice by hand. For each customer you choose how invoicing should happen: keep it fully manual, or let the system invoice automatically at a specific point in the shipment's life. When a shipment reaches that point, the system runs a set of automatic checks to confirm the shipment still matches what was originally booked and priced. If every check passes, the invoice is created and — when the customer is set up for it — emailed to the customer without anyone having to touch it. If any check fails, no automatic invoice goes out; the shipment is set aside for a person to review, so a wrong or changed shipment never invoices itself silently.

How it works

Automatic invoicing is controlled by the Invoicing Automation Method on each customer's billing profile (the same profile that holds the customer's credit status, credit limit, and payment terms). It can be one of four choices:

Manually Invoice — the system never auto-invoices this customer; staff create every invoice.
Auto Invoice at Billing — the system invoices the customer automatically once the carrier bills for that shipment have been created (the buy side is settled first, then the customer is billed). The system looks at the shipment each time a carrier bill is created, including when staff approve bills, and invoices only when every carrier charge on the shipment has been billed.
Auto Invoice at Delivery — the system invoices automatically when the shipment is delivered (or completed).
Auto Invoice at Committed — the system invoices automatically once the shipment is committed.

Four other settings on the same billing profile shape what happens next: Allow Zero Margin (lets a break-even shipment through), POD Required with Invoice and BOL Required with Invoice (paperwork that must accompany the emailed invoice), and Preferred Invoicing Method (automatic emailing only happens when this is Email or One Invoice Per Email).

When a shipment hits the trigger point set for that customer, the Tai TMS checks the shipment against the pricing and details captured when it was rated and booked. The purpose of these checks is to make sure nothing important has drifted between booking and billing. The system confirms all of the following before it will auto-invoice:

The shipment is actually profitable. The amount billed to the customer must be greater than zero, the amount owed to the carrier must be greater than zero, and there must be a positive margin (the customer charge is higher than the carrier cost). A customer can be set to allow a break-even (zero-margin) shipment through, but never a losing one.
The margin still matches the quote. The margin now must be within 50 cents of the margin calculated when the shipment was rated. If pricing has moved since the quote, the shipment does not auto-invoice.
The route is unchanged. The origin and destination ZIP codes must be the same as when the shipment was rated.
The tariff is unchanged. The rate program (tariff) used must be the same one the shipment was rated under.
The freight class is close. The average freight class must be within about 11 percent of what was rated, which allows one class step (for example, moving from class 50 to class 55 is allowed, but 50 to 60 is not).
The weight is close. The total weight must be within 20 pounds of the weight the shipment was rated at.
The shipment type supports automation. Only truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), and drayage shipments qualify for automatic invoicing. Other shipment types are always invoiced manually.

Every transit leg of the shipment that is billed to the customer must pass its checks. The comparisons against the rated details (checks 2 through 6) are made on the linehaul portion of the shipment, using the rating record saved for the shipment.

If every check passes, the invoice is created automatically and marked as an automated invoice. The shipment's activity history and automation history record that automation created it. When the customer's preferred invoicing method is email, the invoice is then emailed to the customer's invoice email address, with any required paperwork (such as a bill of lading or proof of delivery) attached when the customer requires those documents.

The email step has its own conditions. The customer must have an invoice email address (if none is set, the invoice is created but not sent, and a private note says so; for an end customer that is also the payer, the system falls back to staff who are set to receive invoice notifications). If the customer requires a proof of delivery or bill of lading, that document must be attached to the shipment and visible to the customer; a missing document, or one that is attached but marked private, holds the invoice back from emailing and a private note explains why. When the required paperwork is later retrieved and attached by the system's document retrieval, the held invoice is sent automatically.

If any check fails, the Tai TMS does not create an automatic invoice. It records a private note on the shipment listing each check that failed (for example, "the tariff has changed since the shipment was rated"), and the shipment waits in the normal invoicing list for a person to invoice it by hand. The note is only written when the customer really is set to auto-invoice at that trigger point; if the trigger simply does not match the customer's chosen method, nothing happens and no note is added. Staff can also deliberately force-create an invoice for a shipment that failed the checks.

Business rules & limits

Automatic invoicing is per customer, not global. Each customer's billing profile carries its own choice of manual, at-billing, at-delivery, or at-committed. Changing one customer does not change the others.
The guardrails are all-or-nothing. An invoice is auto-created only when every check passes. A single failed check (route, tariff, margin, freight class, weight, shipment type, or profitability) stops the automatic invoice, and the shipment falls back to manual handling.
Losing shipments never auto-invoice. A shipment with zero or negative margin will not auto-invoice unless the customer is explicitly set to allow break-even (zero-margin) shipments — and even then a negative-margin shipment is always blocked.
Only certain shipment types qualify. Automatic invoicing applies to truckload, LTL, and drayage. International air/ocean, small package, cartage, and other specialized types are always invoiced manually.
"Auto Invoice at Billing" waits for the carrier side. With this option, the customer is not invoiced until the carrier bills for the shipment have been created, so it is normal for the customer invoice to appear only after payables are handled. When staff approve carrier bills, the approval screen also offers a Create Invoice option that creates the customer's invoice at the same time.
Failed shipments are not sent to the variance list automatically. A shipment that fails the automatic checks stays in the normal invoicing list with a private note. The variance list is a separate view for shipments whose charges were flagged as a variance, for example when a carrier's bill did not match the agreed rate or when staff send a shipment to variance by hand. In the invoicing screen a variance-only view lets staff review those shipments and then resolve them, send them, or mark them do-not-bill.
Force-created invoices. Staff can force an invoice for a shipment that failed the checks, and a forced invoice also picks up charge lines flagged as a variance. A forced invoice is emailed automatically only if the shipment actually passes every check and the customer is set for automation; otherwise it is treated as a manual invoice and is not auto-emailed.
Automatic emailing depends on setup. An invoice is only emailed automatically when the customer's preferred invoicing method is email, the customer has an invoice email address, and any required, customer-visible attachments are present. Otherwise the invoice is created but not sent automatically.
The checks compare "now" against "as rated." The system judges drift against the details captured when the shipment was rated. If the shipment has no rating record, the rated comparisons are skipped and only the profitability and shipment-type checks apply. If a rating record exists but has no pricing details for the billing organization, the shipment fails the check.

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn on automatic invoicing for a customer in the Tai TMS?

In the Tai TMS, automatic invoicing is the Invoicing Automation Method setting on each customer's billing profile. You choose one of four options: Manually Invoice, Auto Invoice at Billing, Auto Invoice at Delivery, or Auto Invoice at Committed. The three "Auto" options tell the system to generate the customer's invoice automatically at that point in the shipment's life, provided the shipment passes the automatic validation checks.

What checks must a shipment pass before the Tai TMS auto-invoices it?

In the Tai TMS a shipment auto-invoices only when all of these are true: the shipment is profitable (positive margin, with break-even allowed only if the customer is set for it); the margin still matches the quote within 50 cents; the origin and destination ZIP codes are unchanged; the tariff is unchanged; the freight class is within about 11 percent (one class step) of what was rated; the total weight is within 20 pounds of what was rated; and the shipment type is truckload, LTL, or drayage. If any one of these fails, the invoice is not created automatically.

Why didn't a shipment invoice itself even though the customer is set to auto-invoice?

In the Tai TMS, automatic invoicing stops when the shipment no longer matches what was booked and rated. The most common reasons are that the margin changed, the tariff changed, an origin or destination ZIP code changed, the freight class or weight moved beyond the allowed tolerance, or the shipment is a type that does not support automation. With "Auto Invoice at Billing" the carrier bills must also all be created first. The system records a private note on the shipment stating exactly which checks failed, and the shipment then waits to be invoiced manually.

Does the Tai TMS email invoices to customers automatically?

Yes. In the Tai TMS, when a shipment passes the automatic checks and the customer's preferred invoicing method is email, the invoice is emailed automatically to the customer's invoice email address, with any required documents (such as a bill of lading or proof of delivery) attached when the customer requires them. If the customer has no invoice email, or a required document is missing or marked private, the invoice is created but not automatically emailed, and a private note on the shipment explains why. When the missing document is later retrieved and attached, the held invoice is sent automatically.

What is the variance list, and how does it relate to invoicing?

In the Tai TMS the variance list is where shipments go when their charges were flagged as a variance, such as a carrier bill that did not match the agreed rate or a shipment staff sent to variance by hand. The invoicing screen has a variance-only view that shows these flagged shipments so staff can review each one and then resolve it, send it, or mark it do-not-bill. It is separate from shipments that merely failed the automatic invoicing checks, which stay in the normal invoicing list with a private note.

Can staff still create an invoice when the automatic checks fail?

Yes. In the Tai TMS, staff can force-create an invoice for a shipment even if it did not pass the automatic validation, and a forced invoice includes charge lines that were flagged as a variance. A forced invoice for a shipment that failed the checks is treated as a manual invoice — it is generated on demand and is not sent through the automatic emailing process — so a person stays in control of shipments that fell outside the automatic guardrails.

What does "margin within tolerance" mean for auto-invoicing?

In the Tai TMS it means the profit on the shipment now must be within 50 cents of the profit calculated when the shipment was rated. This guardrail catches cases where the customer charge or the carrier cost was edited after the quote. If the margin has shifted beyond that small tolerance, the system treats the pricing as changed and does not auto-invoice.

Which shipment types can be invoiced automatically?

In the Tai TMS, automatic invoicing is limited to truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), and drayage shipments. Other shipment types — such as international air or ocean, small package, and cartage — are always invoiced manually, regardless of the customer's auto-invoice setting.

What happens if a shipment was never rated?

In the Tai TMS, the comparisons against the rated details (margin, route, tariff, freight class, and weight) can only be made when the shipment has a rating record. With no rating record, those comparisons are skipped and the shipment is judged on profitability and shipment type alone. If a rating record exists but has no pricing details for the billing organization, the shipment fails the check and is left for manual invoicing.