How automatic invoicing in fireTMS will help you save time and money

Employees of transport and freight forwarding companies waste valuable time every day manually issuing invoices, copying data from transport orders and checking that all information is correct. With a large number of orders to process, these laborious tasks take hours every week. By automating this area alone, employees could spend more time on other tasks, often much more important to the company. How can you make your work easier and automate invoicing?

Invoicing in transport and freight forwarding is one of the most time-consuming administrative tasks that companies face. Fortunately, modern technological solutions are bringing about a major change. A TMS system with automatic invoicing, such as fireTMS, completely eliminates the need to manually re-enter data and export information to an external invoicing programme.

Daily challenges in transport invoicing

Anyone who works in a transport company knows how tedious invoicing can be. First of all, the traditional invoicing method is extremely time-consuming. Every day, data from transport orders must be manually transferred to external programmes. For a medium-sized transport company, this can mean dozens of invoices per day, each of which requires the customer’s details, service details and amounts to be accurately re-entered.

Invoicing orders not only takes time, but also creates a high risk of errors. One wrong click is enough to enter an incorrect amount, address or VAT number. If such an invoice is issued, it must be corrected with a separate document, which further complicates the situation. Invoice corrections, when a customer comments on the data on the issued document, mean that the whole process has to be repeated from the beginning – search for the order, find the invoice, make changes and check everything again.

Another challenge is tracking payment status. Without an integrated system, checking whether an invoice has been paid requires switching between different programmes or files. As a result, it is easy to overlook overdue payments or make mistakes in settlements. Invoicing in transport and freight forwarding becomes even more complicated when different currencies, different VAT rates or special payment terms for individual customers come into play. Maintaining consistency with manual invoicing is a very demanding task.

In addition, many transport and freight forwarding companies struggle with document archiving. Physical copies of invoices take up space and searching through them is time-consuming. Even with electronic archiving, finding a specific invoice can be a challenge if there is no appropriate system in place. Finally, the lack of automation in transport invoicing is not only a waste of time but also money. Delays in issuing invoices translate into delays in payments, which can negatively affect the company’s cash flow.

Transformation with fireTMS: from manual to automatic invoicing

The transition from manual to automatic invoicing is a major convenience for companies. Over the years, employees of many transport and freight forwarding companies have become accustomed to a tedious process: first entering order data, then exporting it to an external accounting programme, then creating invoices and verifying all data. The whole process was time-consuming and energy-intensive.

fireTMS works in a completely different way. Instead of manually copying information from the order to the accounting programme, it takes just a few clicks to generate an invoice directly from the transport order. The process is lightning fast and eliminates the need for external invoicing programmes, which can also be seen as a cost saving.

How do you generate an invoice from an order in fireTMS?

How exactly does this feature work? fireTMS collects all the necessary data about the order – prices, rates, customer details, service details. When a specific order is marked as completed, all the necessary data is already in the system. Based on this, a draft invoice is automatically generated. After making sure that all the information is correct, you can approve it and send the invoice to the email address directly from the system.

What’s more, the automatic invoicing feature in fireTMS also includes additional options. First of all, you can create collective invoices for a single customer for a specific period, which further streamlines your work. In addition, the system allows you to set different currencies, VAT rates and payment terms – all without having to enter this information manually each time.

As a result, the transport management system with automatic invoicing not only saves time but also significantly reduces the risk of errors. Each invoice is generated based on the exact same data that was entered when creating the order, eliminating mistakes resulting from manual re-entry.

7 real benefits of automatic invoicing in fireTMS

Automatic invoicing in fireTMS brings concrete, measurable benefits to system users. Here are eight real gains you can experience by implementing our system.

1. Time savings – instead of spending several hours a week on administrative tasks, you can use this time to acquire new customers and grow your business.
2. Elimination of human error – the system automatically transfers data from the order to the invoice, avoiding mistakes when rewriting amounts, dates or contractor details.
3. Faster invoicing – just a few clicks are all it takes to create an invoice directly from a transport order.
4. Batch invoicing – combine multiple orders into a single invoice for the same customer, saving time and simplifying billing.
5. Immediate dispatch – generated invoices can be sent to the customer right away, which speeds up payments and improves cash flow.
6. Easy access to history – all invoices are stored in one place, making it easy to search and analyse previous settlements.
7. Simplified corrections – if changes need to be made, the system allows you to quickly generate corrections without having to create a new document from scratch.

What’s more, the TMS system with automatic invoicing allows you to personalise invoice templates in line with your company’s visual identity. You can also set different currencies, VAT rates and payment terms for individual customers – all of which will be automatically taken into account when generating invoices. In addition, invoicing in fireTMS allows you to attach transport documents directly to the invoice, which increases transparency and professionalism in the eyes of your customers. As a result, you not only save time, but also build stronger business relationships.

While traditional invoicing requires constantly switching between different programmes, fireTMS integrates all processes in one place, creating a seamless workflow from order to transport monitoring, invoicing and payment tracking.

Why implement fireTMS?

In summary, automatic invoicing in fireTMS is a practical and, in today’s world, essential solution for transport and freight forwarding companies struggling with time-consuming invoicing processes. The hours saved each week translate into more time for strategic business activities.

It is also worth noting that fireTMS is not just about easy invoice generation based on orders. It is a comprehensive transport and freight forwarding management system that combines all processes in one place. From transport planning, route planning, order management and transport monitoring to analytics and service billing. As a TMS 360 system, fireTMS° simplifies everyday tasks, speeds up work and generates real savings.

If you are struggling with time-consuming invoicing in your company or are looking for a proven transport and freight management system, create a free account with fireTMS and start a 14-day trial period. See for yourself how process automation can unlock your business potential and allow you to focus on growing your company.