Table of Contents

Invoicing and Cost Control Overview

Introduction

Accurate and timely invoicing, along with effective cost control, are vital for the financial health of any freight forwarding business. FMS integrates operational data from shipments and consolidations with financial processes to facilitate billing, manage vendor costs, track profitability, and handle related financial tasks.

This section covers the key processes for generating sales invoices, processing purchase invoices, managing work in progress, and analyzing shipment profitability.

Key Invoicing and Finance Areas

  • Sales Invoicing: Generating invoices to customers based on the services recorded on Shipments or Consolidation Documents. This often involves pulling revenue lines from these operational documents into a Sales Invoice.
  • Purchase Invoicing: Processing invoices received from vendors (carriers, agents) for services rendered. This includes matching vendor invoices against planned costs recorded on Shipments or Transportation bookings.
    • IATA Cass Settlement: Specific processes for handling and reconciling invoices received through the IATA CASS system for air freight charges.
  • Work in Progress (WIP): Managing the recognition of revenue and costs for ongoing shipments that may span across accounting periods. FMS likely provides tools to calculate and post WIP accruals based on shipment status or completed milestones.
  • Purchase Reservations: Functionality related to reserving or earmarking expected costs against specific jobs or shipments, potentially impacting WIP calculations or cost reporting.
  • Margin Analysis: Tools and reports to analyze the profitability of individual shipments.
  • Currency and Exchange Rates: Managing multiple currencies and applying appropriate exchange rates, potentially including specific rates linked to Voyages.
  • Finance Integration: How FMS data integrates with the General Ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and other core financial modules of Business Central.

See Also

Forwarding Management System (FMS) Overview Shipments Purchase Orders Contracts (for rates) Standard Sales Invoicing Standard Purchase Invoicing

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