Weight bands and DIM weight
Every shipment falls in its own band, and the billed weight can differ from what you expect.
Logistics and shipping
How much are you paying outside contract without knowing it?
Weight bands, zones, fuel surcharges, DIM weight. Checking every shipment on the invoice or the shipping statement against the agreed rates takes hours, so usually only a sample gets checked. We build the software that checks them all before you pay.
Real case From 2 to 3 hours of manual checking to a 2-minute upload.
- Real case: over 1% paid outside the contract
- Every line, not a sample
- You update the rates yourself
- PX48210 Zone 2 · 4.2 kg · standard € 6.14 rate ok
- PX48211 Zone 1 billed as Zone 3 € 9.80 + € 3.35
- PX48212 Zone 4 · 1.1 kg · express € 11.02 rate ok
- PX48213 Fuel surcharge above contract € 4.61 + € 1.12
- PX48214 Zone 2 · 8.7 kg · standard € 8.45 rate ok
- PX48215 Duplicate of PX47903 € 7.20 + € 7.20
Billed outside contract on 6 lines € 11.67
2 minutes, full cycle
Configurable for invoices from DHLUPSFedExDPDGLS and any courier with a rate card
Over 1% of a month’s shipping spend paid outside the contract: with those volumes, between €1,500 and €2,500 a year
Over 70% the highest overcharge, on a single shipment. The lowest one found was over 25%
2 minutes to check every line, instead of 2 to 3 hours on a sample
Numbers from the real project, generalised for confidentiality: the orders of magnitude are the real ones.
Free check
Send us one invoice and your contract rates. We will tell you what does not add up.
Before you decide anything, see the result on your own data.
- You write to us through the form below. We reply by email, and you send one courier invoice with the shipping statement for the same period and your agreed rates.
- We recalculate up to 20 shipments with your rates: weight bands, zones, surcharges, duplicates.
- You get a written answer: how many do not match, on which items, and whether an automated check pays off at your volumes.
One check per company, on a single invoice. It does not include checking every line, the following months or disputes with the courier.
Ask for the check Free, with no commitment.
Not the one who decides? Tell us anyway: we reply in writing, and you can forward the answer to whoever decides.
What it costs today
Put your own numbers in. See how many hours they are worth.
This is not an industry estimate. The comparison uses times measured on a real invoice verification project, where the manual check took 2 to 3 hours per cycle and the final report now takes about 2 minutes.
If your process is different the result changes, but the order of magnitude holds. It is there to show whether this is worth a conversation, not to promise a saving.
Try it with your numbers
An estimate: set your own, including taxes and overheads
Where the numbers come from
The reference times come from a Levixflow project running in production on courier invoice verification. Your own result depends on the process, the data format and the controls you already have.
For industry context, Ardent Partners reports that on average 22% of invoices require manual intervention, compared with 9% in the most efficient organisations. Source: Ardent Partners, Accounts Payable Metrics That Matter in 2025
The problem
Courier invoices are hard to check by hand.
Not because anyone acts in bad faith. They are simply complex, and one wrong setting repeats across hundreds of shipments.
Zones and services
The rate changes by zone and service type. One wrong zone repeats across every similar shipment.
Surcharges and extra fees
Fuel, storage, special deliveries, cash on delivery. Small items that add up.
Too many lines for the time you have
A full check takes hours every cycle, so a sample gets verified and the rest gets paid.
22%* of invoices need manual intervention on average, compared with 9% in the most efficient organisations. Industry context. Source: Ardent Partners, Accounts Payable Metrics That Matter in 2025
Where errors come from
Eight items on a courier invoice to check line by line.
These are the places where a wrong rate goes unnoticed. Once in a while it does not matter. Repeated across hundreds of shipments, it does.
DIM weight
The courier bills the higher of actual weight and DIM weight: length times width times height, divided by a factor written in the contract.
For exampleA 60 × 40 × 40 cm parcel weighs 19.2 kg divided by 5,000 and 24 kg divided by 4,000. With the wrong factor you pay for 4.8 kg more on every parcel that size.
Weight bands
Rates go by band. A 10.2 kg shipment can land in the next band, depending on how the weight is rounded.
For exampleIf the band above 10 kg costs €1.60 more and the rounding is not the one in the contract, 300 parcels a month cost €480 more.
Zones and postcodes
Islands, remote areas and historic centres carry their own surcharges. One postcode classified wrongly brings the surcharge to every shipment to that area.
For exampleA €3.50 surcharge applied by mistake to 40 shipments a month is €140 a month, €1,680 a year.
Fuel surcharge
It is a percentage the courier updates every month. If the invoice keeps last month’s figure, the error hits the whole taxable amount.
For exampleOn €8,000 of shipments a month, a 14% surcharge instead of 12% is €160 more.
Cash on delivery and extras
Cash on delivery, insurance, floor delivery or booked slots should only appear on the shipments that asked for them.
For exampleA €2 cash on delivery fee charged to 60 shipments that did not have it is €120 in a single cycle.
Storage and returns
A parcel held in storage or returned to sender can be billed as a new shipment, instead of with the item the contract provides.
For exampleA return billed at €7.90 instead of the agreed €4.50 costs €3.40 more: 50 returns a month make €170.
Shipments billed twice
The same shipment appears on two invoices, or twice on the same one. You only see it by comparing shipment numbers.
For exampleOut of 2,000 shipments a month, even 0.5% of duplicates means 10 shipments paid twice.
Rates out of date
When the contract is renewed, the new rates apply from a precise date. Every shipment after that date has to use the new rate card.
For exampleAn old rate card costing €0.30 more per parcel, applied for two months to 1,500 parcels a month, is worth €900.
How the check works
The shipping statement checked against the contract, shipment by shipment.
The software reads invoice and shipping statement, recalculates every shipment with the rates in your contract and gives every line a status. Only the lines to look at reach a person.
| Shipment | Destination | Weight | Billed | Per contract | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0001234 | Milan 20121 | 4 kg | €6.20 | €6.20 | Matches |
| 0001235 | Naples 80133 | 12 kg | €12.20 | €9.30 | Overcharge +31% |
| 0001236 | Bolzano 39100 | 2 kg | €5.40 | €5.40 | Matches |
| 0001237 | Lipari 98055 | 8 kg | €23.70 | €14.00 | Overcharge +69% |
| 0001238 | Florence 50122 | 6 kg | €8.90 | €6.90 | To verify: historic centre surcharge |
| 0001234 | Milan 20121 | 4 kg | €6.20 | already billed | Duplicate shipment |
Example with data that is not real. In the real project the overcharges on single shipments ranged from over 25% to over 70%, and over a whole month they came to over 1% of the spend.
Real case in production
The shipping statements project.
A business with a high volume of shipments checked courier invoices and shipping statements in a spreadsheet, and could only ever verify a sample.
Before
2 to 3 hours
of manual checking every cycle, and only on a sample
After
About 2 minutes
to upload the files and get a report on every line
Over 1% of a month’s spend paid outside the contract
Over 70% the highest overcharge, on a single shipment
100% of lines checked every cycle
25 days from proposal to delivery
The program reads the courier PDFs according to each courier’s layout, recalculates the cost of every shipment to the cent with the contract rates and gives every line a status. The contract has its own page: the client updates the rates alone, without going through us. Results export to CSV or Excel, and the program runs on the client’s own server.
External service or custom check
Outsource the check, or keep it in house?
Both can check the rates in your contract. What changes is where the data lives, how you pay and who handles disputes.
External service
- Invoices and rates usually on third party servers
- Often a fee or a share of what is recovered
- The provider’s rules, adapted to your case
- Every change goes through the provider
Check built for you
- Invoices and rates stay on your network
- You pay for development, no revenue share
- Rules written on your contract
- You update the rates when they change
An external service can be the right choice if you want someone to handle the disputes with the courier as well. With the custom check, the lines to dispute come with the numbers ready, but the dispute stays with you.
The data stays in the company
Negotiated rates are confidential information.
The terms you agreed with your courier are a competitive advantage. The program runs on your server, so they never pass through external services.
- On your serverInvoices, shipping statements and rates stay in the company and never pass through external services.
- One login per departmentWhoever uploads the invoices, whoever checks and whoever pays each see their own part.
- You update the contractWhen rates or surcharges change, you edit them on the contract page, without calling anyone.
Before you write to us
If you ship little, you do not need this.
It makes sense if
- You ship hundreds or thousands of parcels a month
- You have negotiated rates by weight, zone or service
- Invoices are too long to check in full
- You want to know what you pay before you pay it
You do not need it if
- You ship a few dozen parcels a month
- You only use standard public rates
- You want somebody to handle disputes for you
What clients say
He understood the assignment, he asked good relevant questions and delivered excellent work that did not need correcting.
Verified review, anonymised for privacy.
Frequently asked
Questions on this topic.
What is a shipping statement and why check it against the invoice?
It is the list of shipments for a period, with weight, destination, services and cost of each one. The invoice often shows totals only: the shipping statement is where you see which shipment was overcharged.
Does it work with any courier?
Yes, as long as invoice and shipping statement arrive in a readable format, such as text PDF, CSV, Excel or XML. The program reads the files according to each courier’s layout, and the rules are written on your contract.
How is DIM weight calculated?
Length times width times height in centimetres, divided by a factor written in the contract, usually 4,000 or 5,000. The courier bills the higher of actual and DIM weight, which is why the right factor matters.
The fuel surcharge changes every month: how is it checked?
Each month’s percentage is recorded and the program applies it to the shipments of that period. If the invoice shows a different one, the line goes to verification.
What happens when a line does not match?
It gets a status, such as to verify or overcharge, with the difference already calculated. From the report you export the lines to clarify with the courier.
Do you handle disputes with the courier?
No. The program gives you the lines and differences to dispute, with the numbers ready. The dispute stays yours.
Who updates the rates when the contract changes?
You do, or whoever looks after it in the company. In the project running in production the client updates the rates alone, without going through us.
Do I need to change courier or process?
No. The check adds to what you already do. You upload the files and get the report.
Is the check tested on real invoices?
Yes. It is built on the rates in your contract and tested on a real invoice cycle, before delivery.
Start with the problem
Send us one invoice and your contract rates.
We will tell you whether an automatic check makes sense for your volumes. No commitment.
- The first check is free and commits you to nothing
- Every message gets read, there is no call centre
- Fixed price and payment by milestone
- Italian and English, VAT invoices
- No phone call unless you want one
- If nothing should be built, we will say so
Prefer to write directly? [email protected]
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