Settlement and Invoicing in OTM

Transcription

1 Settlement and Invoicing in OTM Jai Shahpuri Consology Solutions

2 High Level Overview of Settlement in OTM Settlement is a very vast subject Carriers expect to be paid once the promised service has been conducted Usually the carrier contract dictates at what point in a Shipments lifecycle does the payment process start Commonly carriers are paid once a Shipment has been delivered Rail carriers tend to bill upon receiving the Shipment Tender with payment due according to negotiated terms OTM s processes do not allow for invoice to be created/matched until shipment has at least been tendered

3 Types of Settlement Processes Match Pay The Shipment is Rated based on Carrier rates The Carrier/Service Provider sends an Invoice The invoice is entered into OTM The Matching Shipment is found in OTM Approval Tolerance Levels are checked Invoice is Approved The Vouched is generated and send to the A/P system for payment Match Pay vs. Auto Pay Auto Pay The Shipment is Rated based on Carrier rates The Invoice is automatically created with the same cost Invoice is automatically Approved The Vouched is generated and send to the A/P system for payment

4 Match Process Carrier sends the Invoice to OTM o Invoice can be sent via Interface or manually entered OTM will Match the Invoice to its related Shipment Criteria is specified in the Match Rule Matching is done based on: o Carrier (Carrier ID or Carrier Alias(s)) o Reference Number(s) o Source and Destination Locations Additional Matching criterion can also be applied such as matching invoice to Shipment, Ship Unit or Ship Unit Line

5 Match Pay Process OTM waits for the carrier to send the Invoice Invoices sent to OTM Matching Shipments Note: Financial amounts are NOT CONSIDERED during the Match Process

6 Pay (Approval) Process Once the Invoices have been matched to their respective Shipments, OTM will check the amounts The Invoice amount is compared to the Shipment amount If the two amounts are within the specified Tolerance, OTM will approve the Invoice o Once Approved, a Voucher is created from the Invoice If the two amounts are not within the specified tolerance, the Invoice Approval will fail

7 Match Pay Process Tolerance check between Shipment and its Match Invoice Matched Invoices Approval Process Vouchers

8 Match Pay Challenges Pros: Very robust process Forces financial and accounting discipline on the carrier Cons: Entering Invoices into OTM Incorrect Matching reference numbers Repeated Matching reference numbers Incorrect Cost on Invoices o Wrong rates o Wrong or Missed Accessorial Costs o Incorrect dates causing Fuel and Rate discrepancies o Missed consolidation

9 Auto Pay process The Shipment is Rated based on Carrier rates OTM creates the Invoice automatically upon reaching a certain point in the Shipments Lifecycle (say Shipment Delivery) The Invoice created is attached to the Shipment, effectively is prematched The Invoice amounts are identical to the Shipment cost Based on policy, once the Invoice is approved, a Voucher is created and sent to A/P for payment Shipment Delivery Invoice Creation Voucher Creation

10 Auto Pay Challenges Pros: Simpler to setup Reduced need for extensive integrations Works well for smaller Carriers Cons: Much more rudimentary process Missed Carrier charges, e.g. Accessorials, Detention Charge etc Incorrect Rates are not caught immediately Constant need for Invoice adjustments

11 How to Run the Pay Process Match Carriers: o Auto Match Invoices agent action based on trigger (say Invoice creation) o Scheduled recurring process to run agent o Schedule Process All Invoices (Matches and Approves) Auto Pay Carriers: o Schedule Generate All Auto-Pay Invoices o Scheduled recurring process to run agent Approval of Invoices: o Auto Approve Invoices agent action based on trigger (say Auto Match) o Scheduled recurring process to run agent o Schedule Process All Invoices (Matches and Approves)

12 Payment Adjustments Once an Invoice has been approved and paid (Voucher transmitted to A/P), the Voucher cannot be changed Payment Adjustments can be done in a couple of ways: o Make changes to the Shipment Financials o Propagate Changes to the Invoice o Create new Adjustment Voucher OR o Make changes to the Shipment Financials o Create new Adjustment Invoice o Create new Adjustment Voucher

13 Invoice XML

14 Testing (Match Pay) Normal Scenarios: o Invoice with correct Carrier ID and matching RefNums matches successfully o Invoice with amounts within set Tolerance approves automatically Exception Scenarios: o Incorrect Matching criteria (ServProv ID, Alias, Refnum, Locations etc) o Invoice matching to multiple Shipments o Multiple Invoices matching to same Shipment o Out of Tolerance invoice amounts o Rounding errors, one penny above or below tolerance o Shipment amount/data adjustments o Invoice amount/data adjustments o Line level tolerances

15 Testing (Auto Pay) Normal Scenarios: o Create Invoice and approve successfully Exception Scenarios: o Shipment amount adjustments o Invoice amount adjustments

16 Testing (Integration) Normal Scenarios: o Receive Invoice from Carrier o Successfully send approved Voucher to A/P Exception Scenarios: o Invoice adjustments from Carriers (Update existing Invoice) o Multiple Invoices for the same Shipment received from Carriers o Send adjustment Vouchers to A/P (Multiple Vouchers for the same Shipment)

17 Match-Pay Setup

18 Other Use Cases Matching based on multiple Refnums Qualifiers Matching based on all Values of a Refnum Qualifier Line Level Approval Line Level Approval Parent Service Provider Invoicing for multiple OTM Service Providers Match and Approve by Accessorial Code

19 Questions? Jai Shahpuri Cell: (312)