Find out whether your 3PL bills what your contract says
Ratecard Audit takes your 3PL contract, your invoices and your order and inventory data, and recalculates every charge line by line: storage, receiving, picks, packaging, returns, special projects and the monthly minimum. You get a list of each difference with its evidence and a ready-to-send dispute file. One-time audit, with an optional monthly check afterwards.
Updated
- Storage recalculated from your own received and shipped dates and on-hand counts, at the contract rate and unit (per pallet, bin, shelf or cubic foot), including long-term storage tiers.
- Pick and pack recounted from your order export: first pick, additional picks, inserts and packaging, so a line billed twice or at the wrong tier shows up.
- Receiving, returns, special project and minimum charges matched to an actual event or a contract clause; anything without one is flagged for a question to your 3PL.
ShipBob's pricing page lists separate fees for implementation, receiving, storage, pick and pack per order, returns per return, custom packaging storage and extra B2B or kitting work, and says all quotes are customized for each customer (checked 7 November 2026).
Source: shipbob.comEightx, a fractional CFO firm, compiled US 3PL rate guides in July 2026: storage of $8 to $40 per pallet per month, first-item picks of $1.50 to $3.00, and monthly minimums from $337 to over $2,000, with long-term storage penalties at 1.5 to 3 times the standard rate.
Source: eightx.coImplentio, which reconciles 3PL and parcel invoices for e-commerce brands, lists its platform from $1,000 a month, with the fee set per agreement (checked 7 November 2026).
Source: implentio.comA 3PL invoice is hundreds of small charges nobody recalculates
A fulfillment warehouse bills by activity. Every pallet received, every bin stored for a month, every pick, every insert, every return and every hour of special project work becomes a line. The rates sit in a contract or rate card signed months ago, often with tiers, minimums and exceptions. Most brands check the total against last month and pay.
Errors are rarely dramatic. Storage keeps being billed on a pallet that shipped out. A second pick is charged on a single-item order. A minimum fee is applied in a month when activity already passed it. Long-term storage is charged at a higher tier before the agreed number of days. Each one is small; across a year of invoices they add up, and nobody notices because no one recomputes the bill from the source data.
There is also no standard bill to compare against. 3PL rates are quoted per customer, so your invoice can only be checked against your own contract, and the check needs your order and inventory data next to it.
Without it
- Checking it yourself: Free if someone has the time. It needs the contract, every invoice line and your own order and inventory data side by…
- Warp warehouse invoice audit: A free self-serve tool: it recomputes pallet storage days from received and shipped dates, flags storage billed above…
- Implentio: A margin platform with 3PL and parcel invoice reconciliation, managed credit claims and dashboards, from $1,000 a…
With Ratecard Audit
- Storage recalculated from your own received and shipped dates and on-hand counts, at the contract rate and unit (per pallet, bin, shelf or cubic foot), including long-term storage tiers.
- Pick and pack recounted from your order export: first pick, additional picks, inserts and packaging, so a line billed twice or at the wrong tier shows up.
- Receiving, returns, special project and minimum charges matched to an actual event or a contract clause; anything without one is flagged for a question to your 3PL.
- Storage recalculation
- Pick, pack and packaging
How it works
- 1
Scope check by email
Send one recent 3PL invoice and the rate card or contract pages with the prices. Within 2 business days we confirm by email which lines we can verify, which audit fits and what data it needs, before you pay.
- 2
You share the data
Invoices (PDF or CSV) for the period, the contract and any rate amendments, an order export from your store or WMS, and inventory receipts and on-hand reports. We send a checklist.
- 3
Line-by-line recalculation
Within 5 business days we recompute each charge from your data at your contracted rate and unit, and mark every difference as dispute, question, or note.
- 4
Findings and dispute file
You get a findings report, a spreadsheet with every line and its evidence, and a dispute letter you can send to your 3PL account manager. A 30-minute call walks you through it.
Features
Storage recalculation
Days or months stored rebuilt from receipts, shipments and on-hand snapshots, at the contract unit and rate, including long-term storage thresholds and peak-season surcharges your contract allows.
Pick, pack and packaging
Picks per order and per unit counted from your order export; packaging and insert charges checked against what the order needed and what the contract lists.
Receiving and returns
Receiving fees matched to actual inbound shipments by pallet, carton or container; return fees matched to returns actually processed.
Accessorial and special projects
Labelling, kitting, relabelling, hourly labor and other accessorial lines checked for a contract clause and a request or event behind them.
Minimums and account fees
Monthly minimum applied only where activity fell short of it; technology, account management and other recurring fees compared with the contract.
Shipping pass-through
Where your 3PL bills postage on its own carrier account, the shipping line is checked against the markup or rate table in your contract, and duplicate labels are flagged.
Recurring causes
The report ends with the causes that repeat, such as a stale pallet count or a SKU always picked as two lines, so they can be fixed at the warehouse, not just credited.
A look inside
What you get: the working view and the delivery report.
Illustration of the layout, built from this page's own feature list. It shows no real results.
Who it's for
Brands at their first or second 3PL
Shipping a few hundred to tens of thousands of orders a month through an outsourced warehouse, with no one assigned to recompute the invoice.
Brands before a renewal or a switch
Wanting a factual record of what the current 3PL billed against the contract, to use in a renegotiation or to compare a new quote.
Finance teams and fractional CFOs
Closing the books and needing a reconciled fulfillment cost per order, with the questionable lines separated.
Works with
- 3PL invoices in PDF, CSV or Excel
- Contracts, rate cards and amendments (PDF)
- Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce order exports
- WMS exports from ShipBob, ShipHero, Extensiv and others
- Inventory receipts and on-hand reports
- Carrier invoices where your 3PL passes postage through
- Excel and Google Sheets findings
- QuickBooks and Xero bill exports
Pricing
One-time prices, paid after we confirm by email that we have the data to do the audit. Fixed fee, with no percentage of what you recover. The monthly check is optional and can be cancelled any time. For comparison, Implentio lists 3PL and parcel invoice reconciliation from $1,000 a month (checked 7 November 2026). Founding customer pricing applies to early-access orders. Audits are delivered within 5 business days of receiving the data.
Orders are subject to the Ratecard Audit terms.
Quarter audit
$290 one-time
Last 3 months of invoices from one 3PL
- Up to 3 monthly invoices from one warehouse
- Storage, picks, packaging, receiving and returns recalculated
- Accessorial and minimum fees checked against the contract
- Findings spreadsheet with evidence per line
- Dispute letter ready to send
- 30-minute walkthrough call
Full-year audit
$590 one-time
Last 12 months, up to 2 warehouses
- Up to 12 monthly invoices per warehouse, up to 2 warehouses or 3PLs
- Everything in Quarter audit
- Shipping pass-through checked against the contract markup
- Cost per order rebuilt month by month
- Recurring causes and fixes for the warehouse
- Notes for your renewal or re-quote
Monthly check
$99 per month
Each new invoice checked as it arrives
- One 3PL, each monthly invoice checked within 3 business days
- Same line-by-line recalculation as the audits
- Dispute list for that month
- Running cost per order trend
- Cancel any time
Compared with the alternatives
- Checking it yourself
- Free if someone has the time. It needs the contract, every invoice line and your own order and inventory data side by side, recomputed each month. Most teams check the total, not the lines.
- Warp warehouse invoice audit
- A free self-serve tool: it recomputes pallet storage days from received and shipped dates, flags storage billed above the contract rate you enter, handling lines with no matching event, pick and pack above the order count, duplicate pallet or SKU IDs and platform or minimum fees, and gives you a letter to copy (checked 7 November 2026). A good free start; you enter the rates, run it and interpret it yourself, and it does not list receiving units, returns, accessorial clauses or shipping pass-through among its checks.
- Implentio
- A margin platform with 3PL and parcel invoice reconciliation, managed credit claims and dashboards, from $1,000 a month with a free audit to start. It suits brands that want ongoing reconciliation across carriers and warehouses.
What changed
- ShipBob's pricing page lists separate fees for implementation, receiving, storage, pick and pack per order, returns per return, custom packaging storage and extra B2B or kitting work, and says all quotes are customized for each customer (checked 7 November 2026). Source: shipbob.com
- Eightx, a fractional CFO firm, compiled US 3PL rate guides in July 2026: storage of $8 to $40 per pallet per month, first-item picks of $1.50 to $3.00, and monthly minimums from $337 to over $2,000, with long-term storage penalties at 1.5 to 3 times the standard rate. Source: eightx.co
- Implentio, which reconciles 3PL and parcel invoices for e-commerce brands, lists its platform from $1,000 a month, with the fee set per agreement (checked 7 November 2026). Source: implentio.com
From first file to findings
The scope reply comes back within 2 business days; the full audit is delivered within 5 business days of receiving the complete data.
- Day 1: You send one invoice and the rate card pages.
- Day 2: Scope reply by email and data checklist.
- Day 3–4: You send invoices, contract and exports for the period.
- Day 5–9: Recalculation, findings report, dispute letter and walkthrough call.
Security and data
- Contracts, invoices and exports are encrypted in transit and at rest.
- Your files are used only for your audit and never shared with other customers or with your 3PL.
- Only the people working on your audit can open the files, and access is logged.
- One-time audit files are deleted 60 days after delivery, or sooner on request; monthly check files are deleted within 30 days of cancelling.
Questions
Do you need access to my 3PL portal?
No. Invoice files, the contract and exports from your store and inventory reports are enough. If your 3PL portal has a read-only user option, it can save you exporting files, but we never need your own login.
Will my 3PL know you audited the invoices?
Only if you tell them. The dispute letter comes from you. We do not contact your 3PL unless you ask us to join a call.
What if my contract is vague?
Common. Lines that the contract does not clearly price are marked as questions, not errors, with the wording to ask your 3PL for the basis of the charge. Those answers often become amendments that prevent the same doubt next month.
Do you take a share of the credits?
No. The audit is a fixed price. Credits are issued by your 3PL to you, and we never handle the money.
How far back should I go?
Your contract usually sets how long you have to dispute an invoice. We read that clause first, and we recommend the period that is still disputable plus enough history to see the pattern.
Is this legal or accounting advice?
No. Ratecard Audit is an invoice reconciliation service. For contract interpretation or a formal dispute, confirm with your lawyer or accountant.
Pay the rate you signed, not the rate you were billed
Scope confirmed by email before you pay, then a fixed-price audit from $290, with no share of what comes back.
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