TransmetriQ Launches Freight Payables to Automate Rail Invoice Audits

TransmetriQ, a Railinc brand specializing in rail shipment visibility, has launched Freight Payables to automate freight bill audits for carload rail shippers. The software module establishes real-time visibility across the freight payment lifecycle, connecting accounting and logistics operations through a shared auditing platform to detect billing discrepancies, lower administrative costs, and fulfill rigorous freight audit compliance mandates.

Invoice Verification and Shared Workflows
At the operational core of the platform is the Shipment Rating tool, which maintains a centralized, dynamically updated database of shipper-negotiated contract rates and public rail carrier tariffs. When rail freight bills arrive, Freight Payables validates line-item charges against these baseline tariff tables, flagging rate deviations and non-compliant accessorial fees as they occur rather than post-payment.

Identified discrepancies are automatically routed to a unified workflow where corporate transportation and accounting teams can review, validate, approve, or formally dispute billing charges without relying on external spreadsheets or decentralized email communications.

Rule 11 Interline Audit Management
The software specifically targets administrative friction associated with Association of American Railroads (AAR) Rule 11 billing protocols for interline shipments. Under Rule 11 arrangements, multiple operating railroads independently rate and invoice their respective legs of a transit corridor under a single bill of lading. Traditional enterprise practices frequently delay payment processing until all carrier bills are gathered to evaluate total transit spend, generating operational backlogs and late-payment penalties if carrier submission timelines diverge.

To eliminate these processing delays, the Freight Payables platform evaluates each rail route segment independently, pinpointing individual erroneous charges and streamlining targeted dispute filings across multi-carrier moves.

"Rule 11 invoices pose additional audit challenges. Many shippers' accounting teams require that every invoice for a Rule 11 shipment be received before any payment can be made. This enables shippers to audit the full cost of a shipment, but it leads to backlogs and late payments if one railroad invoices before another," stated Danny Dever, Sr. Product Manager, Shipments & Visibility at TransmetriQ. "TransmetriQ prevents that backlog by auditing each segment of the Rule 11 move instead of the overall move from origin to destination. This also provides clarity on which invoice should be disputed when multiple invoices are associated with a Rule 11 move."

Edited by Romila DSilva, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.