Calculate storage and transport rates so you never miss a charge

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CartonCloud

Revenue leak can add up quickly, costing you a large amount in lost income — but it doesn’t have to be the way. With thorough rate cards and pricing structures, you can capture different rates for specific services. This might include storage options, handling, priority dispatch and much more. Not to mention warehouse locations, temperature zones, transport zones and fuel levies.

However, calculating complex rate cards can become time-consuming in itself, causing your admin overheads to rise and countering your additional revenue. Having the resources on hand to calculate complex rates with accuracy and ease is a game-changer, especially for SME logistics companies.

‍‍‍Never miss another charge

The good news is, you don’t have to choose a complex pricing structure or low admin overheads. You can have both, saving time on admin and ensuring all of your charges are captured and accurate.

Capturing variable rates and charges

Adhoc Changes

Adhoc charges in CartonCloud make it possible to load in customised charges for things like waiting time, hand unload services, pallet or product labelling, and other work that is performed which is not charged automatically through the system.

To further simplify your charges, while capturing all services and work — you can assign handling charges per unit of measure, regardless of if the unit is being picked or put away.

You can also group a number of adhoc charges (such as grouping wrapping and labelling as a group under ‘packaging’) to simplify common adhoc charge groups.

Surcharges

Easily capture work outside of your general services with surcharges. These are commonly applied for weekend rates or express/ priority services, allowing you to offer additional customer services, and charge accordingly. You can also add a fuel levy as a surcharge, to include fuel expenses within your transport charges. This can allow you to compensate for fluctuations in fuel pricing over time, and ensure your rates are accurate to the economic climate.

Storage Charges

Capture accurate charges for inventory storage, with automatically calculated storage charges based on warehouse location, environment (indoors/ outdoors, etc), wet/dry storage, temperature and more — and ensure you can optimise your warehouse space and catch all relevant charges. In CartonCloud, you can set specific storage charges by the pallet or location, which will automatically be calculated based on the length of time in storage.

Not only will CartonCloud automate your rate cards and generate invoices in moments, it will also alert you to any storage charge errors, or missing rates — to ensure your charges are correct every time. There is even a checklist here, to troubleshoot any charge errors and ensure complete accuracy in your charges.

Temperature zones

Temperature zones can be set by product or unit of measure for both transport and warehouse storage charges — and similarly, can be applied for storage or transport of dangerous goods.

Not only can you set rates in your warehouse and transport management system for product types, once you do, the system will alert you to any problems — such as if an inbound product is assigned to the wrong temperature zone or warehouse location, the system will show an error message to let you know that item requires specific storage.

Transport weight v space

Transportation rates can rely on a number of changing factors, which is why it’s important to have flexible and complex rate cards in place.

Generally, transport rates will be based on either the space a consignment takes in the vehicle, or the weight. As trucks have a max volume and max weight, whichever is reached first will mean the load is full. If you’re transporting something very light, that takes up a lot of space (like foam), you will want to charge based on a full truck rate for space. However if you have something very heavy that doesn't take up much space at all, your truckload will be filled with very little space taken up, and you’ll want to charge by weight.

With CartonCloud, you can select if you want to charge for space or weight, depending on the consignment — so that your rates accurately reflect the transportation required.

You can also set up Rate Card Cascades which allow you to provide backup rate cards for specific services or zones services that are not already assigned a rate, meaning you never miss a charge, and invoicing can be completed quickly and accurately.

Automated invoicing

To complete the full circle of rates and accurate charging is automated invoicing. With your rates allocated automatically and charges added for adhoc or surcharge services, you can automatically generate an accurate invoice, with each charge listed, for full transparency — in seconds.

With automated invoicing, you can slash your admin overheads, while growing your business. Hear from Emily, owner of Motus Transport about how they transformed their business auth automation.