Value Added Services (VAS) are a crucial part of a Third-Party Logistics (3PL) operation. Things like kitting, relabeling, custom packaging, and special projects keep customers happy—but they also create a mess when it comes to tracking and billing. On top of that, fulfillment exceptions—whether it’s an unexpected compliance issue, or a last-minute order change—often get communicated through customer success teams or account managers in the form of email chains or Slack messages rather than through structured operational workflows. These one-off situations frequently require diverging from standard customer contracts, issuing credits, or adjusting invoices manually. Without a clear, centralized way to track these changes, things slip through the cracks.
Sound familiar? Here are some real-world examples of how this plays out:
- A shipping team palletizes a retail order—Your shipping lead records ad-hoc activity in a Google Spreadsheet, leaving the Billing Administrator to track it down later. When the billing period ends, they have to manually sift through spreadsheets, cross-check charges, and ensure nothing gets missed before finalizing the invoice.
- An Account Executive (AE) gives a customer a credit—An Account Executive (AE) tells a customer they’ll be credited for a charge and fires off an email to notify the team. But with no central system to track it, the Billing Administrator is left digging through inboxes, trying to ensure the credit is applied correctly. When things get missed, customers push back, invoices get disputed, and the back-and-forth begins.
- The returns team processes damaged goods—The returns team sorts through damaged goods, logs the work in their own system, and moves on. But without a clear handoff to billing, those labor costs never make it onto an invoice. By the time anyone notices, the invoice is already out the door—and the 3PL is eating the cost.
The Big Question Every 3PL Asks (Too Late)
At the end of the billing cycle, the Billing Administrator is left scrambling to figure out:
“Did we bill our client for everything we did?”
“Did we provide the client with the credits promised to them?”
For most 3PLs, the answer is… probably not. And that leads to two big problems:
- Lost Revenue – Activity tracked on spreadsheets may not get added to a client’s bill in a timely manner
- Delayed Payments – Clients push back on charges, invoices get disputed, and your team wastes hours untangling the mess.
- Workflow Disruption and Increased Labor Costs: Uncertainty around billing forces multiple team members from Operations, Finance and Customer Success
Rails created an entirely new workflow for 3PLs to manage ad-hoc charges for clients that eliminates all reliance on spreadsheets and multiple communication channels. It works in three simple steps.
Simplify Data Entry for Non-Billing Administrators
Easily set up unit or hourly rates, or fixed charges per service or customer, and make them available for the non-Billing Administrators to choose from. Billing teams retain control over pricing while eliminating back-and-forth communication, making it easier to capture the right information without disrupting daily workflows for operations team members.
Capture All Charge Requests In One Place
Now, non-Billing Administrators can request charges or credits through a simple form that is made available to them on their own portal—without needing to the billing administrator view in Rails, or sensitive pricing agreement information. Whether it’s an Account Executive submitting a credit or a team member logging billable hours or completed tasks, this feature ensures all charge requests are tracked in one place, and captured at the time of the activity occurring.
Accelerate Approvals
The Billing Administrator gets notified of new charge requests immediately, and if approved, the charge gets added to the next customer invoice.
This workflow was developed in close collaboration with Deliverzen, one of the fastest growing 3PLs in Texas. We are grateful for the feedback and insights offered by their operations and IT team throughout the development process.
“At Deliverzen, we know that flexibility is key in e-commerce fulfillment. Getting to personally collaborate on building the new ad hoc charge functionality was an exciting experience, and I’m thrilled to see it live. This feature gives us more control over billing, ensuring clients only pay for the services they use. It streamlines invoicing, removes manual work, and makes cost management far more predictable—a huge win for both our team and our customers.” - Jordan Cox, Director of Operations
We are excited to make this functionality available to all Rails users today. Want to learn more about how you can streamline all aspects of billing, and make it more accurate and profitable for your 3PL? Book a meeting with our team here.
