Notes for owners · Industry-Specific Software Guides
How to Set Up Storage and Handling Billing in a 3PL Warehouse
Set up 3PL billing by writing each client’s rate card first, then recording every inward, putaway, dispatch and extra service as it happens. The monthly invoice is drawn from those movements instead of from memory. GullySystem would build this for a warehouse as part of a custom system. A godown with two clients may manage with a register.
Ganesh HS, Strategy and Technology, GullySystem · · 4 min read
Write each client’s rate card before anything else
Every 3PL contract prices the same work differently. One client pays per pallet position, another per square foot, a third per CBM or per carton. Handling may be charged per pallet, per case or per unit, inward and outward separately.
Put each contract into a rate card the billing desk can read. List the storage basis, the handling rates, any minimum space commitment and the extra services the client agreed to pay for. A rate kept only in an email is easily missed.
- Storage basis: pallet, square foot, CBM or carton
- Inward and outward handling, priced separately
- Minimum space or minimum bill, where agreed
- Extra services such as labelling, kitting or relabelling
- Billing cycle and the date the statement goes out
Decide how storage will be counted
Storage can be billed on stock held at month end, on the peak during the month or on a daily count. Each method gives a different figure for the same client. Pick one per contract and write it down.
A daily count of pallets follows the stock most closely, but it needs stock by location every day. A register cannot give that. Software that records putaway and dispatch by location can total pallet days without a separate count.
Agree with the client how part pallets and mixed pallets are counted. Disputes usually start there.
Record handling at the dock, not at month end
Inward handling is earned when the truck is unloaded and the GRN is signed. Outward handling is earned when the pick list is packed and the gate pass is issued. Both belong on the record at that moment, against the client.
Unplanned work needs the same habit. Unloading a loose-loaded container, sorting mixed cartons or relabelling for a marketplace all take labour. If the supervisor does not note it during the shift, it never reaches the bill.
- GRN signed with cartons, pallets and damage noted
- Putaway location entered for every pallet
- Pick list closed with what was actually packed
- Extra labour noted against the client on the same shift
Send a stock statement with every invoice
A bill is easier to accept when it matches the client’s own figures. A statement listing opening stock, inwards, dispatches and closing stock by item and batch lets the client check the invoice against its books.
Where the client runs an ERP, compare balances before the invoice goes out. Differences usually trace to a short dispatch, an unrecorded return or a damaged carton set aside. Settle them first.
When a register is enough, and when it is not
A godown with two or three clients, full pallets and few dispatches can bill correctly from a register and a spreadsheet. The work is small enough to check by eye.
Software starts to matter when many clients share racks, when pickers work by batch or expiry, or when extra services make up a real part of the bill. Counting by hand then misses charges.
Before choosing anything, list your rate cards, your locations and the reports each client asks for. That list shapes the system.
3PL rate card and billing checklist
A one-page sheet with a row per client. Columns hold the storage basis, handling rates, minimum commitment, extra services and statement date. Empty cells show which contracts cannot yet be billed from records.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Should storage be billed by pallet or by square foot?
It depends on the contract and on how goods are stored. Racked pallets suit a per-pallet rate, while floor-stacked or bulky goods often suit square feet or CBM. Many warehouses run both, one basis per client.
Can a client’s ERP send dispatch orders directly?
Often, yes, over an API or a file the client already produces. What is possible is confirmed with the client’s IT team before the build.
Will storage invoices go straight into Tally?
Not on its own. An export of storage and handling invoices for your accountant can be scoped during implementation, and it is priced separately.
Do we need barcode scanners to bill correctly?
No. Correct billing needs movements recorded against the right client and location. Scanners help on a busy floor, but careful entry on a phone also works.