How to read a 3PL rate card

A rate card is part of a document stack

Do not assume the newest filename is the governing version. A signed amendment may override one charge family while leaving the rest of an older schedule intact. The agreement may also define precedence when documents conflict. Record the actual precedence and source citation instead of choosing whichever number appears most favorable.

The anatomy of a billable rule

A normalized rule needs enough information to answer “when does this number apply?” Capture these fields together:

• Service and code. The source description, provider code if present, and a normalized charge family such as receiving, pick-and-pack, storage, postage, returns, or account management.
• Unit and recurrence. Per order, item, additional item, carton, pallet, bin, cubic foot, hour, shipment, return, month, or another explicit measure.
• Quantity basis. The count, weight, zone, dimensional measure, storage age, percentage base, or period volume used by the formula.
• Rate and currency. The exact decimal value, whether tax is included, and the rounding rule if stated.
• Scope and condition. Facility, channel, service level, SKU type, zone, weight break, packaging, time band, or other qualification.
• Effective dates and source citation. When the rule starts and ends, document version, page or cell, and any amendment that changes it.

Flat, unit, and first/additional rates

Flat fee

A flat fee applies once when its defined event occurs. The contract must identify that event and any frequency, such as per receipt or per month. Repeated flat fees may be legitimate when multiple distinct events occurred.

Unit rate

A unit rate multiplies a supported quantity by a rate. Confirm that the invoice quantity uses the same unit as the contract. A value labeled “quantity” may sometimes be a percentage or financial base, so plausible unit semantics matter.

First and additional

Some pick-and-pack schedules price the first item or unit differently from later units within the same order or shipment. Define the event grain before calculating; otherwise, the first-item fee may be applied too many times.

Matrices, volume tiers, and storage-age bands

A matrix selects a rate from intersecting conditions such as weight and zone. Store the full table and boundary behavior, not only the selected cell. A rate at exactly 2 lb may belong to either side of a boundary depending on the contract’s inclusive and exclusive terms.

A volume tier needs a named metric, measurement period, scope, and tier semantics. Under bracket-select pricing, one selected rate applies to the full eligible quantity. Under graduated or marginal pricing, slices of quantity receive different rates. Do not infer one from the other. The current local Auditario rule model supports bracket-select ladders, not graduated tiers.

Storage age bands add receipt-lot identity and age as required inputs. An isolated invoice often cannot prove when inventory entered storage or whether the complete period is represented. Read the detailed guides to volume-tier pricing and storage fee review.

Minimums, caps, and included allowances

A minimum can apply per order, invoice, week, month, facility, or charge family. Determine whether the minimum replaces itemized charges, tops them up, or sits beside them. The same caution applies to caps, free allowances, and bundled units.

This formula is only illustrative; the contract may define a different composition. When complete period or sibling-invoice state is missing, minimum conclusions remain review-only.

Effective dates and amendment precedence

Price the service date using the rule active for that event, not automatically the invoice date or the date the review is performed. The contract may also distinguish when a notice becomes effective from when it was sent.

1. Identify the event or service date on the invoice line.
2. Find every rate version that could cover that date.
3. Apply the contract’s document-precedence language.
4. Record gaps and overlaps instead of resolving them silently.
5. Preserve the governing page, row, or cell with the normalized rule.

Percentage, cost-plus, and index-linked charges

These mechanics need an external base: a stated percentage base, carrier invoice, published index, fuel table, or other source. A percentage value without its base is not independently priceable. Cost-plus and index-linked charges remain review-only until the external reference and allowed markup are source-bound.

Map the rule to the invoice line

A strong match uses a provider charge code or an unambiguous description plus compatible scope, unit, condition, and date. A broad category match—such as mapping every line containing “storage” to one storage rule—is not enough when several mechanics exist.

• Is the invoice code explicitly covered by the rule?
• Are the units compatible and plausible?
• Do facility, channel, service level, and period match?
• Is the event quantity supported, or merely displayed?
• Could another active rule or amendment govern the same line?

Build a normalized rate table

Use the audit checklist and copyable spreadsheet schema to capture these fields, then follow the full invoice audit workflow.