Invoice disputes and how to prevent them

By Harriet Sloane · 2026-10-13 · Operations

An invoice query often starts with an accessorial charge that nobody remembers approving. In the Hull desk's recent review of invoice disputes, the useful question was which decision the next shift could make with the information already available. We started with a small group of routine journeys rather than changing the entire weekly plan.

Attach the dispatch reference, signed arrival record and agreed surcharge to a single invoice line before the bill is issued. The duty planner owns the initial entry, while the receiving shift confirms the handover. Any correction stays beside the original reference so that the office and the yard can work from the same account of the journey.

Sample disputed lines at month end and distinguish missing evidence from a genuinely incorrect rate. We keep a short exception note for each sampled job, with a clear date and an owner. This makes the review a practical conversation about tomorrow's work instead of an argument over whose spreadsheet was most recently updated.

The change is ready to keep only after two full handovers work without extra explanation. Harriet Sloane recommends reviewing the routine after a quiet week as well as a busy one: a process that depends on one experienced dispatcher being present will not survive an ordinary holiday rota.

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