Carriers, and the factoring companies that bill on their behalf, used to email freight invoices to the accounts payable inbox one attachment at a time, and the inbox filled faster than anyone could match the paperwork. Harrowgate 3PL Home Supply, the Mississauga 3PL and the company we use to show ALK at work, now gives every carrier one Portal link instead. This week 10 invoice packets came in through it, from three carriers and one factoring company.
Step 1 of 8
One link instead of an inbox
Every carrier, and every factoring company billing for one, gets the same Harrowgate Portal link. Here Larkspan Freight Funding uploads its packet for a Maple Line Transport load: invoice, rate confirmation, proof of delivery and its notice of assignment in one PDF.
Step 2 of 8
Checked as they arrive
Each packet lands as its own row and ALK starts reading it straight away. Nobody forwards an email, renames a file or hunts for the missing page.
Step 3 of 8
The rules, set once
Harrowgate's AP team wrote down what a payable packet looks like: complete, at or under the agreed rate, and not already on file. ALK checks every packet against those three rules.
Step 4 of 8
10 packets, sorted
All 10 packets are read and sorted. 7 are ready to pay, worth $19,989.47. 3 wait for an AP approval, worth $6,470.38.
Step 5 of 8
Every flag explains itself
Great Lakes Haulage billed a $1,925.00 linehaul on invoice GLH-21021. The rate confirmation agreed $1,650.00. ALK writes out both numbers and holds the invoice.
Step 6 of 8
See the page it came from
TransNorth Freight sent a bill of lading where the proof of delivery should be. The consignee box is blank, so ALK reads it as not signed and holds the $1,674.66 invoice.
Step 7 of 8
The same invoice, twice
Larkspan Freight Funding billed MLT-5624, an invoice Maple Line Transport had already sent. Same load, same $1,924.39, a different party to pay. ALK flags it before anyone pays twice.
Step 8 of 8
The decision: approve or send back
The 3 held packets wait in Needs AP approval, each with its reason. A person approves or rejects every one before anything is paid.
What ALK checks in each invoice packet
- That the packet has a freight invoice, the Harrowgate rate confirmation and a proof of delivery signed by the consignee
- Linehaul billed against the agreed linehaul on the rate confirmation
- Invoice and load numbers against the invoices already on file
- Who should be paid, including a factoring company's notice of assignment
- Where each packet goes next: ready to pay, or held for AP approval
Try it on your own carrier invoices
Send one real carrier invoice packet, or a redacted one, and see what ALK finds.