TransmetriQ launches Freight Payables to automate rail invoice audits

TransmetriQ on September 9 launched Freight Payables, a new module designed to automate rail freight invoice audits for shippers. The tool is aimed at improving billing accuracy, reducing manual review work and helping customers manage Rule 11 shipments, where multiple railroads generate separate invoices for one move.

Why it matters: - Rail shippers are facing more pressure to control freight spend, prove audit compliance and cut waste. - Freight Payables is designed to reduce manual invoice work and catch billing errors before payment. - The module is especially relevant for Rule 11 moves, where multiple railroad invoices can slow payment and complicate audits.

What happened: - TransmetriQ, a Railinc brand, launched Freight Payables on September 9 in Cary, North Carolina. - The module automates rail freight invoice audits for carload shippers. - TransmetriQ says the product helps operations and accounting teams verify that invoices match negotiated rates.

The details: - Freight Payables checks incoming invoices against TransmetriQ’s Shipment Rating tool, which stores negotiated rates and public tariffs. - The module flags mismatches as invoices arrive and places them in one shared workflow for finance and operations. - Teams can review, approve or dispute charges without spreadsheets or long email threads. - TransmetriQ says its customers identified three recurring pain points: inconsistent audit processes, billing errors found only after payment, and manual reviews that consume staff time. - Danny Dever, senior product manager for shipments and visibility at TransmetriQ, said the company has caught more than 20 types of invoice errors, including fuel and tariff rate mismatches, missing origins and missing invoice numbers. - Dever said hand-processed audits miss freight bill and accessorial charge errors. - Rule 11 is an Association of American Railroads rule for interline moves that cross multiple railroads. - Under Rule 11, each carrier bills its own portion of the route, so one shipment can produce multiple invoices. - A shipment crossing three railroads can generate three separate invoices that each need a rate check. - Rule 11 gives shippers pricing transparency and negotiating leverage, but it adds reconciliation work. - Dever said some accounting teams require every invoice tied to a Rule 11 shipment before any payment is released. - Dever said Freight Payables audits each segment of a Rule 11 move instead of waiting to audit the full trip from origin to destination. - That approach is intended to prevent backlogs and make it clearer which invoice should be disputed.

Between the lines: - TransmetriQ is targeting a gap between transportation teams and accounting teams, since most tools serve only one side of the process. - The product appears built to move freight payables from a post-payment cleanup exercise to a continuous control process. - The launch fits a broader push among shippers to find and remove small billing leaks that add up across large rail networks.

What’s next: - Freight Payables will sit within TransmetriQ’s broader portfolio for reducing unnecessary spend and improving financial efficiency. - TransmetriQ is positioning the module for shippers that want tighter controls and faster exception handling as audit demands rise. - Railinc directs readers to more information about the company, and TransmetriQ says more details are available at the company's website.

The bottom line: - TransmetriQ is turning rail invoice auditing into a real-time workflow, with Rule 11 complexity as the clearest use case.