IMPORTERS & EXPORTERS
Outsourced freight accounts payable for importers and exporters
You pay freight invoices from carriers, forwarders, terminals and customs brokers. ClearLane audits every one before it is paid. Charges get reconciled against contracts and tariffs, and passthroughs get captured rather than absorbed. An outsourced freight accounts payable desk, so your logistics spend stays clean without adding headcount.
THE IMPORTER/EXPORTER BACK OFFICE
Built for freight payment complexity
Importers and exporters receive invoices from multiple providers: ocean carriers, drayage companies, freight forwarders, customs brokers, warehouses, and domestic carriers. Each invoice has its own rate structure, surcharges, and documentation requirements. Without someone reconciling each charge against the contract or tariff, overpayments and unauthorized charges slip through.
We handle the freight accounts payable (AP) workflow: auditing every carrier and vendor invoice, reconciling charges against contracts, flagging discrepancies before payment, and maintaining organized records for duty drawback claims and financial reporting.
Freight AP for importers is also a compliance asset. Organized invoice records by shipment support duty drawback claims, customs audits, and landed-cost accounting, and they surface the overcharges that multi-provider billing hides: free time miscalculated, demurrage billed against the wrong clock, accessorials duplicated between forwarder and drayage invoices. Paying freight bills without auditing them is a standing tax on every container you move.
- Carrier and vendor invoice audit across all freight providers
- Freight charge reconciliation against contracts and tariffs
- Terminal, storage, and handling fee verification
- Freight payment processing and AP management
- Document organization for duty drawback and audit readiness
- Freight cost reporting by trade lane and provider
99%
Invoice Accuracy
100%
Invoices Audited
Weekly
Reporting
Where do importers and exporters lose money on freight?
Carrier invoices paid without audit
When freight invoices come in from multiple providers across time zones, they get paid to avoid late fees. Without audit, duplicate charges, rate discrepancies, and unauthorized surcharges go unnoticed.
Terminal and storage fees unverified
Demurrage, detention, and terminal handling fees are often accepted as billed. Demurrage at major U.S. ports runs on tiered daily rates that escalate the longer a container sits, detention accrues per day once free time on the equipment runs out, and terminal handling is a flat per-container charge. Many are disputable when free time is miscalculated or the wrong rate tier applied.
Contract rates not enforced
Negotiated contract rates only save money when every invoice is checked against the contract. Rate discrepancies between the contract and the invoice are common, especially on accessorials and surcharges.
Duty drawback documentation missing
Importers eligible for duty drawback need organized freight records matched to customs entries. When freight documentation is scattered across providers, drawback claims are incomplete or abandoned.
Related reading: carrier invoice audit and accounts payable (AP), shipper billing, and the accessorial charge reference covering 24 charge types.
How we run your freight back office
- 1
Discovery
We review your freight provider contracts, trade lane economics, invoice routing, and the current state of your freight AP workflow from receipt through payment.
- 2
Onboarding
The team learns your carrier and vendor contracts, freight charge structures, trade lane details, and documentation standards for drawback and reporting. About 2 to 3 weeks.
- 3
Ongoing operations
Every freight invoice audited against the contract, discrepancies flagged before payment, and records organized for reporting and compliance.
- 4
You scale
More trade lanes and more freight providers do not require more AP staff on your side.
Freight back-office services for importers and exporters
Freight is a cost center you can audit. A dedicated team checks, pays, and reports your international freight spend line by line.
Freight invoice audit and accounts payable (AP)
Learn more →Ocean, air, drayage, and forwarder invoices verified against quotes and contracts before payment: detention and demurrage against free time, pass-throughs against source invoices, duplicates and double-billed legs caught. Approved spend coded to your GL.
Document processing
Learn more →Bills of lading, arrival notices, and delivery paperwork collected and indexed to every shipment, so freight files stand up to customer audits, claims, and your own accounting.
Vendor and carrier compliance
Learn more →The carriers and forwarders you tender to, onboarded with documentation on file: authority where it applies, certificate of insurance (COI), W-9. Expirations tracked so coverage never quietly lapses.
Bookkeeping
Learn more →Freight spend recorded where it belongs: a dedicated bookkeeper reconciles accounts, categorizes landed freight costs, records accounts payable, and closes the month. Tax remains with your CPA.
Ownership and transaction reporting
Learn more →Freight spend and accrual reporting owners and lenders can read, weekly, monthly, or quarterly, per your SOP.
Fractional CFO support
Learn more →Landed costs, product and lane margins, projections a bank will accept: senior finance judgment without the salary. Engagements are scoped with defined deliverables and led by a CFO who has run finance inside freight operations.
What importers and exporters get back
The result is a back office that handles the complexity your freight demands:
- Every freight invoice audited against contracts and tariffs
- Duplicate charges and rate discrepancies caught before payment
- Terminal and storage fees verified and disputed when wrong
- Organized records for duty drawback and financial reporting
- Freight cost visibility by trade lane, provider, and charge type
- AP processing without adding headcount
We work inside your systems, not ours
ClearLane logs into the TMS and accounting systems you already run. We do not bring in our own platform or move your data somewhere else. Our team learns your setup and works right inside it, so your information stays where it belongs and nothing about your workflow has to change.
Frequently asked questions
Can ClearLane audit freight invoices from multiple providers?
Yes. We audit invoices from ocean carriers, drayage companies, freight forwarders, customs brokers, warehouses, and domestic carriers. Each invoice is checked against the contract or tariff for that provider. Discrepancies are flagged before payment.
Do you handle duty drawback documentation?
We organize the freight records needed for duty drawback claims: matching freight invoices to customs entries, maintaining provider records, and keeping the documentation audit-ready. The drawback filing itself is handled by your customs broker or trade compliance team.
What does freight AP support for importers include?
Freight AP support covers auditing every carrier and vendor invoice, reconciling charges against contracts, flagging discrepancies, processing payments, organizing records, and providing freight cost reporting by trade lane and provider.
How much does freight AP support for importers cost?
Pricing is scoped to the functions you hand off and the team that work needs, and resized as invoice volume changes rather than metered per invoice. A 20-minute call is enough to review your provider mix and put together a quote.
Will this work with our existing freight management or ERP system?
Yes. Descartes, CargoWise, Magaya, and standard ERPs are all systems we work inside. Invoice audit, payment processing, and freight documentation management run through your existing platforms.
Can you help with demurrage and detention disputes?
Yes. We verify free time calculations, check container event timestamps against the terminal records, and flag charges that are disputable. When a demurrage or detention charge does not match the actual free time or was caused by another party, we assemble the documentation for the dispute.
Related services
Carrier Invoice Audit
Learn more →Multi-provider invoice verification.
Carrier Compliance
Learn more →Vet and monitor the carriers and providers you pay.
Bookkeeping
Learn more →Freight cost recording and reconciliation.
AR Management
Learn more →Customer invoicing and collections for export shipments.
Get Started
See how we can help your freight operations
Most import/export clients start with freight invoice reconciliation and document management, then grow into full back-office support.