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Articles

Practical guides for logistics, transport and finance professionals — specific cases, not general marketing material. Articles are updated when regulations or deadlines change.

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D&D Freight audit Driver waiting time Sea and air CMR Customs Fuel Rail VAT and excise Methodology German toll Finance

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Methodology

Cost without a revenue line

Every cost line has either a matching revenue line or an explanation. The third option — revenue that was never invoiced — is usually invisible.

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The indexation nobody carried out

The annual indexation set out in the contract often never happens, because performing it is assigned to nobody. After two years the prices lag behind what was agreed.

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When not to issue the invoice

A late invoice can be legally possible and commercially wrong. How to set the limit, and why most of the value of leakage lies in fixing the process.

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The invoice dispute deadline in your contract

The dispute deadline decides not how many errors we find but whether the errors found are still usable. What it does to the audit scope, and what wording to ask for.

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The set-off exclusion in your contract

A set-off exclusion means a confirmed overcharge cannot be deducted from the next invoice. What that changes in practice, and why “not established” is not the same as “barred”.

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The invoice itemisation requirement

Without an itemised invoice thirty line-level checks cannot be performed — that is measured, not assumed. Why this clause decides the most, and what wording to ask for.

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What happens between the dollar and the euro on your invoice

A currency margin has no line of its own — it is built into the rate. The calculation takes a minute, but nobody does it, because there is nothing to see on the invoice.

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When the contract permits the carrier to set the rate

If the contract permits the other side to apply its own exchange rate, the margin is lawful. That is not a claim but a negotiating matter — and it can be calculated exactly.

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The customs value rate is monthly

The customs value is converted at that month's customs rate, not at that day's ECB rate. The error affects both the duty and the import VAT, and the refund window is three years.

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What a single audit will not solve

Some errors disappear for good after an audit, others come back with every new invoice. How to tell the two apart.

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Not paying or recovering — why these are not the same thing

An error found before payment and one found after payment are two different things. The second needs a claim, evidence and a limitation period to track.

5 min read Read Road tolls

A new truck in the road toll system: class one by default

A new vehicle is charged in CO2 class one until it is reclassified. Reclassification does not happen by itself and is done separately in each country.

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Six thousand or five: the air freight divisor

The volumetric divisor decides how many kilograms you are charged for a cubic metre. The difference between 6000 and 5000 is a fifth of the invoice.

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When 96 kilograms have to be charged as 100

Air freight rates have weight breaks. If charging a higher weight gives a lower amount, the lower amount applies. In practice almost nobody checks it.

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The Montreal Convention does not cover your invoice

The 14 and 21 day limits in the Montreal Convention apply to damage to the cargo, not to an invoice overcharge. The limit for an overcharge is set by your contract, and it is often shorter.

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A written claim suspends the limitation period — but only the first one

Article 32(2) of the CMR Convention lets you stop the clock. What the conditions are, and where it most often goes wrong.

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A time-barred claim cannot even be set off

Article 32(4) of the CMR Convention closes the set-off route as well. Why that matters more than it looks at first sight.

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30 September: the deadline nobody extends

A late claim is invalid regardless of its merits. What has to be done before September.

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400 or 50 euros: why a quarterly claim is rejected and an annual one is not

The threshold depends on the period. The same amount can be inadmissible for a quarter and admissible for a year.

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Not everything you paid comes back: deductibility depends on the country

Only the share that would be deductible in the Member State of refund is repaid. Why an over-broad claim is more dangerous than a narrow one.

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CMR Article 32: why a three-year archive may already be too late

One year, and the clock starts three months after the contract. What that means for invoice audits.

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Road tolls 2026: where the biggest changes are

Germany's exemption extended to 2031, Poland has no CO2 classes yet, the Netherlands switched systems. An overview with verified figures.

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Sorted your CO2 class in Germany? In Austria it is still class one

Proof of the emission class is filed separately in each country. Why registering in one country does not carry over to the next.

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Thresholds move every 1 July — why a classification goes stale

The CO2 class is not a property of the vehicle but a ratio to a reference value that keeps falling. And why both directions have to be checked.

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Which documents an invoice audit needs, and why

The invoices alone are not enough. What else is required, and what each document makes checkable.

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What to do if you do not have the carrier contract at hand

The rate schedule is often not available straight away. What can be checked without it, and how to obtain it.

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Why we publish no percentages until we have twenty cases

One hundred percent out of three cases is not an indicator. What sample a figure needs before it means anything, and what to judge a provider on until then.

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When a claim counts as successful

Claimed, accepted and paid are three different things. Why a set-off and “we decided not to pursue it” are separate states, and what each of them tells you.

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“That was not our tariff”: why it matters which version was in force

Tariffs change and the dispute comes months later. How to record what you relied on.

5 min read Read D&D

What a substantiated claim to the carrier looks like, and why most are rejected

A claim without a calculation and a reference to the contract clause is rejected almost automatically. What it has to contain.

5 min read Read VAT and excise

Commercial diesel excise refunds: which countries, and how much

Several EU states refund part of the diesel excise duty for commercial transport. The rates, the conditions, and where the gaps appear.

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Why your refund intermediary does not reclaim everything

An intermediary processes its own card transactions. What falls outside their field of view, and how to check it.

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Rates that change every quarter: how to track excise refund figures

Refund rates change often, and are sometimes suspended altogether. What that means for the calculation and for planning.

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Terminal storage tiers: where one day costs four

The storage rate escalates in tiers and the boundary is stated in the tariff as a number. Why a one-day error costs more than a whole day at the first rate.

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Working or calendar days: what the terminal tariff actually says

Common advice says free time is counted in working days. Two large published tariffs say otherwise — and that changes the order in which you check.

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THC: what it covers and when it gets billed twice

Terminal handling charge is a bundle that also covers temporary storage. Where the overlap arises, and why several THC lines are not in themselves an error.

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FuelEU Maritime and the EU ETS: two regulations, one invoice

One taxes the quantity of emissions, the other regulates energy intensity. Why both on one invoice is lawful, and what in them can be checked.

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Blended emissions surcharge: why one line means you can no longer check

Carriers merge ETS and FuelEU into one surcharge. What that loses, and why splitting the line by guesswork is not an option.

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Penalty or pool: why the FuelEU cost is not €2,400 per tonne

The penalty is the most expensive FuelEU compliance option and rare in practice. What that means for the size of the surcharge and for negotiations.

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What late payment really costs: interest, €40 and the cost of working capital

The cost of late payment has three parts, and two of them are rarely counted.

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Directive 2011/7: what rights you have and why almost nobody uses them

The rights have applied automatically since 2013. What they say, where member states differ, and why there will be no new regulation.

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DSO against the agreed term: how to measure it and what to do with it in negotiations

Overall DSO says nothing about a specific customer. How to measure the gap between the agreed and the actual term, and how to use it.

5 min read Read German toll

CO2 emissions class on the German toll: why the default is the most expensive

The German toll rate depends on the CO2 emissions class, and without submitted proof the most expensive one applies. The operator never upgrades you on its own.

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German toll refund: the three-year window and the BALM application process

The claim for an overpaid German toll expires at the end of the third calendar year. How the BALM portal works, and why most applications don't reach a result.

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Axles, weight class and empty runs: where the German toll invoice gap appears

The tandem and tridem axle count, weight class from documents, not cargo.

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ETS surcharge in ocean freight: what it's made of and what can be checked

From 2026, the EU ETS applies to shipping at full scope. What makes up the surcharge, what can be checked, and what is the carrier's commercial decision.

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50% or 100%: how the EU ETS scope rule changes your invoice

The scope rule is set by the loading and discharge ports. Where errors happen and how to check them from the B/L.

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Why ETS surcharges aren't uniform, and what that means at the negotiating table

There's no single standard for calculating the ETS surcharge. What can be compared, what can't be disputed, and how to use it in contract negotiations.

6 min read Read Rail

Wagon demurrage: how the hours are calculated and where errors arise

Demurrage is calculated hourly from the wagon's placement. Every hour begun is billed in full, and the rate can double.

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When the demurrage clock stops: weekends, holidays, and customs procedures

Wagon demurrage is typically not counted on weekends and holidays, and the clock stops during customs inspections.

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Surcharge codes in the CIM consignment note: how to identify what you're paying for

In the CIM consignment note, surcharges are marked with international codes. How they help separate demurrage from other charges.

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Chargeable weight in air freight: when 43 kg costs more than 45

How volumetric weight is calculated, when it's worth charging the higher weight, and why a forwarder's system often doesn't do it.

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Air terminal storage: a clock that runs in hours, not days

Free time at an air terminal is measured in hours, and counting can start from different moments. Where the dispute usually arises.

4 min read Read Driver waiting time

Driver waiting at the ramp: why it almost never gets paid

The truck sits, the driver waits, and none of it makes it onto an invoice. Why waiting hours vanish, and what needs to be documented for them to get paid.

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Carrier invoice and contract: why they almost never get compared

An invoice gets checked arithmetically, but never compared against the contracted rate. Seven categories of error, and why they recur month after month.

5 min read Read VAT and excise

Till receipt or invoice: why half your documents never come back as money

Half the documents a driver collects don't qualify for a VAT refund. Why this surfaces too late, and what to ask for right at the till.

4 min read Read Customs

Retroactive preferential origin: how to recover duty when the origin document was late

Did the origin document arrive after the declaration was filed? Duty is often refundable. How it works, the deadlines, and what your broker will need.

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The customs refund time limit: three years that end quietly

When customs must refund overpaid duty, when the three years start counting, and why the window closes unnoticed. A practical explanation.

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30 September: the one date after which foreign VAT stops coming back

An application to reclaim VAT paid in another EU country is filed by 30 September of the following year. How the €400.00 threshold works and what to sort out earlier.

4 min read Read D&D

Demurrage and detention: what's the difference, and why it matters in a dispute

Demurrage and detention are constantly confused, and in a dispute the difference determines which contract terms apply to which period. We explain it clearly, without the jargon.

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How to prepare for a D&D dispute: what data you'll need and where to get it

A practical checklist: what documents and data to gather before disputing a demurrage invoice, and where to actually find them in your company.

2 min read Read Freight audit

From B/L to detention invoice: where the days go missing

The container's path from B/L issuance to empty return — and the points where the days that later show up on a D&D invoice actually appear.

2 min read Read Driver waiting time

Detention isn't just for containers: why driver waiting time also goes unpaid

Why the driver-detention problem is structurally identical to container D&D, yet checked even less often — and what it costs the industry.

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Prevention or compensation: what a late response costs

A D&D audit recovers part of the money already lost. Real-time alerts prevent the loss in the first place. A fair comparison of both paths.

2 min read Read Freight audit

Terminal storage fee or demurrage? How to tell two invoices apart

Terminal storage and carrier demurrage often overlap for the same period. A practical explanation of how to spot when you're paying twice for the same thing.

2 min read Read Fuel

What CSRD/Scope 3 emissions are and why your customer is asking for them

Large companies are increasingly requiring Scope 3 fuel emissions data from their carriers as a condition of business, not a choice. What it is, why it's happening, and how to prepare without your own accounting team.

3 min read Read CMR

eFTI and e-CMR: what changes for your CMR data by 2027

The EU eFTI regulation takes effect on 9 July 2027 — exactly what changes for CMR data, why it matters to a forwarder already, and how to prepare without waiting for the final specification.

2 min read Read Methodology

Why most document-reading tools break when the format changes — and how to avoid it

Template-based OCR breaks the moment a document's format changes. Why our system reads CMR, rail and B/L documents by meaning, not position, and when it admits it doesn't know.

2 min read Read Rail

Rail Baltica and SMGS/CIM documentation: what's changing, when, and why it matters already

Rail Baltica — 870 km of new European-standard rail from Tallinn to Poland. Where construction actually stands, why it matters for SMGS/CIM documentation, and what it means for a forwarder now, not on paper.

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The invisible fee: why cargo owners overpay every year

Why D&D errors almost never get checked — and what it costs the industry.

2 min read Read CMR

How much time does a freight forwarder lose manually entering CMR data?

An illustrative calculation of how many work hours a month manual CMR data entry costs.

3 min read Read D&D

How to check whether your demurrage invoice is correct: a practical guide

A five-step check you can do yourself in 15 minutes.

2 min read Read Sea and air

Extracting B/L data without legal risk: what to automate, and what not to

Why a clear line between data extraction and legal document confirmation is a strength, not a limitation — and how it protects your business.

3 min read Read Fuel

Fuel theft in your fleet: how to detect it with data, not suspicion

Why manual fuel-consumption tracking in an Excel sheet almost never catches anomalies in time — and how automatic comparison against a norm changes that.

2 min read Read Rail

SMGS and CIM waybills: why Baltic forwarders need to understand both

The Baltic region is the only place in Europe where a rail forwarder has to manage two different gauge and documentation standards at once. Why it's costly, and how to work with it.

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