Shipping systems. Accounting systems. Bill payment systems.
None of them were built to catch a 150-pound error on a pair of jeans.
RateRunners sits between your store and your 3PL — watching every shipment against every agreed rule, so the number on the invoice is never a surprise.
How It Works
Here's exactly what happened with Popflex.
They had an agreement. Nobody was enforcing it. Until now.
They connected Shopify and their 3PL's WMS.
Within hours, a flag.
Expected Weight
1.5 lbs
Shopify order data
WMS Weight
150 lbs
Invoice Pending
+$369.79
Projected overcharge
Flagged before invoice received
100x weight mismatch — dispute with 3PL now, before the bill arrives.
One message to their 3PL. Credit issued same day.
This was not a one-time error.
The same weight entry issue was happening across their catalog. Without RateRunners, every one of those charges would have landed on an invoice and been paid without question.
Orders Flagged
78
in one month
Missed Billings
$15,000+
would have gone unnoticed
Same error. Hundreds of shipments. Caught automatically.
What Else Did We Catch?
The $377 error was one flag.
This bigger flag was $300,000
Not every flag is a billing mistake. Sometimes the charges are correct — but the costs are completely different from what you expected. RateRunners surfaces both so you can make real decisions.
What is a DIM Divisor?
Carriers don't always charge based on what your package weighs. If a package is large but light, they calculate a “dimensional weight” using the package's volume — and charge whichever is higher: actual weight or dimensional weight.
(Length × Width × Height) ÷ DIM Divisor = Dimensional Weight
A divisor of 139 produces a higher dimensional weight. A divisor of 200 produces a lower one. The difference between the two — applied to hundreds of shipments — can be tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.
What Popflex expected to pay
Billed at actual weight — correct per contract
What Popflex got billed at
Billed at DIM weight — 75% higher than actual
The Reality
Popflex’s 3PL has a DIM divisor of 139 — set by the carrier. That’s not a mistake or a billing error. It’s the rate. But over 30% of Popflex’s orders exceed the DIM threshold, which means they’re being billed on dimensional weight, not actual weight. The rate card estimate Popflex was using to forecast costs didn’t account for this — so what they thought they’d pay and what they actually paid were completely different numbers.
The Flag
RateRunners surfaced the gap across 20,270 shipments in a single month. Total difference: over $300,000. This isn’t a dispute. The 3PL can’t issue a credit — 139 is their DIM divisor, and there’s nothing they can change about it. But now Popflex knows exactly where the cost is coming from and how much it’s costing them.
The Decision
With the data in hand, Popflex now has three real options: work with their 3PL on a higher DIM divisor like 200, re-engineer packaging to ship in smaller boxes that stay under the DIM threshold, or accept the true cost and plan around it. No more surprises. No more guessing. Just the numbers they need to make the right call.
You can't fix what you can't see. RateRunners shows you the real cost — so you can decide what to do about it.
One shipment. Full financial truth.
From order → invoice → payment, RateRunners shows exactly what happened to every shipment.
Estimate from rate cards
RateRunners calculates the expected cost of every shipment using your negotiated rates and shipment details.
Compare to billed amounts
When 3PL or carrier invoices arrive, RateRunners matches them to shipments and compares expected vs. actual charges.
Flag discrepancies
Overcharges and billing errors are surfaced automatically—giving your team the data to dispute with confidence.
Shipment Journey
Order #2041 · UPS Ground
Order Placed
Shopify order synced to RateRunners
Estimated Cost
Based on negotiated rate card
$7.21
Invoice Received
Carrier billed a different amount
$9.21
Needs Review
Label Correction Surcharge
+$2.00
Reconciled by Vendor
Label Correction Surcharge removed
−$2.00
Ready for Payment
Final verified amount
$7.21
$7.21
Payment method
Billing & Reconciliation
Invoices matched. Charges explained. Every line item.
Stop chasing spreadsheets. RateRunners matches every 3PL or carrier charge to the shipment it belongs to—so your team sees what was billed, why, and whether it's right.
- Ingest 3PL or carrier invoices automatically
- Match charges to individual shipments
- Surface accessorials and adjustments
- Track what’s pending, reconciled, or disputed
- Unified financial workflows for every stakeholder
Invoice #INV-4820
ReconciledReview the charges. Move the money.
Billing and payments in one flow. See what you owe, verify the charges, and pay—all from one place.
Credit Card
Pay invoices instantly with card on file.
ACH
Lower fees, direct bank transfers.
Wire
Enterprise-grade wire transfers.
AP / AR Snapshot
Pending
$4,218
Paid
$28,442
Due
$1,860
Data Continuity
Your data stays. Even if vendors change.
Switch 3PLs. Add carriers. Change systems. Your financial record of every shipment stays intact—because RateRunners is your system of record, not theirs.
Connect multiple vendors
Manage billing across any number of 3PLs and carriers from one account.
No lock-in
Your data belongs to you. Export anytime. No long-term contracts.
Long-term source of truth
Historical cost data persists across vendor transitions and system changes.
3PL A
Vendor
3PL B
New vendor
RateRunners
Your financial record stays intact
For The Record
Good 3PLs aren't your enemy.
The opacity is.
Most billing errors aren't fraud. They're weight entry mistakes, misconfigured divisors, and surcharges nobody caught. The problem isn't your 3PL. It's that no one in the chain was watching.
A flag is a conversation, not a fight.
A weight entry error caught by RateRunners is a five-minute conversation. The same error caught by your client six months later — after twelve invoices — is a crisis. Good 3PLs would rather fix it early.
The best 3PLs see flags first.
When 3PLs connect to the same platform, they see discrepancies before their clients do. That’s not exposure — that’s accountability. The kind that builds long-term relationships instead of ending them.
Clean data means faster payments.
Invoices that have already been reconciled don’t generate disputes. Billing questions become data conversations. Payments move faster. Everyone wins when the numbers agree.
Good 3PLs don't fear transparency. They use it.
No contracts. No minimums. No nonsense.
Old logistics software locks you in. RateRunners earns your trust every month.
Brands
Shipment visibility, reconciliation, and disputes for growing brands.
- Real-time shipment cost estimates
- Carrier invoice reconciliation
- Dispute management
- Up to 1,500 shipments/mo
Vendors
Multi-brand billing, reconciliation, and payments for fulfillment providers.
- Multi-brand billing management
- Automated reconciliation
- Payments & AP/AR visibility
- Up to 100,000 shipments/mo
No credit card required. Cancel anytime.
