Checking concrete supplier invoices
A premix invoice is a few lines per pour: the concrete by the cubic metre, and the extras around it.
Who you buy from, and how it's billed
The mix is the easy part to check. The extras are harder, because each is priced its own way, and a price rise billed before its start date looks exactly like the right price.
- Premix suppliers
- Concrete by the cubic metre, priced by strength and mix (N20, N25, N32 and so on), with extra for additives, colour or a different slump.
- The extras on a premix invoice
- Waiting time past the allowance in your terms, short-load fees for a part load, after-hours and weekend deliveries, and cartage.
- Concrete pumping
- By the hour, per cubic metre pumped, or both, with set-up and travel charges.
- Reinforcement
- Bar by the tonne or the length, mesh by the sheet, and chairs, tie wire and accessories by the bag or each.
- Formwork and hire
- Formply by the sheet, and screeds, vibrators and other gear by the day or week.
What CostCode checks, and from when
Anything it can't check yet shows as Unverified, with the reason. It's never marked as fine. Why a line is unverified
From your first invoice
The same invoice twice, GST over ten per cent, or no ABN on a tax invoice.
One delivery docket on two invoices
Checked, for you onlyWhere the docket number is printed on the line, a docket already billed on an earlier invoice from the same supplier holds the invoice for you to look at. It's never put to the supplier: a credit and a re-issue carry the same docket too.
Once a supplier has billed you a few times
A price up on what you've paid before, once there are three earlier prices. Kept between you and CostCode.
Once your prices are in
Import each supplier's price list from a spreadsheet or a PDF, or let CostCode suggest one from invoices you've already uploaded, for you to confirm.
The mix billed above your agreed price
CheckedEach line is checked against the price list in force on the invoice date, and held when it's at least $25 and 3% over. Both floors are yours to change in Settings.A price rise billed before it starts
CheckedLoad the supplier's new price list with the date it starts. An invoice dated before then is still checked against the old prices, so the new ones can't arrive early.Waiting time, cartage and minimum-load charges above what you agreed
CheckedChecked against the charge you agreed: a flat amount, a share of the goods, or a rate per minute or hour. With no agreed charge on file, the line shows as Unverified, with the reason.Short-load, after-hours and additive charges
CheckedChecked when you've recorded an agreed price for them. Without one, the line shows as Unverified, with the reason, and never as fine.Reo billed per kilo against a price per tonne
Asks you firstCostCode doesn't turn one unit into another, even kilos into tonnes: the line shows as Unverified, asking how many of one make the other. Mesh billed per sheet against a price each is compared on price, and anything over is kept for you until you confirm it's the same item.Pump hours billed against a day rate
Asks you firstHours and days are both time, and CostCode won't guess how many hours your day rate covers, so the line shows as Unverified with the question. Billed by the hour against an hourly rate, it's checked.
A worked example, made up
Sample Premix Concrete (made up)
SAMPLE-3107
Held$96.00
| Item | Amount | Your prices |
|---|---|---|
| N32 20mm premix concrete6.4 M3 × $305.00 | $1,952.00 | Above the agreed rate$96.00 over |
| Above the agreed rate. Agreed $290.00 per m³ on the price list from 1 Jan 2026 | ||
6.4 m³ at $305.00 against an agreed $290.00 per m³ is $96.00 over (5.17%). That's at least $25 and 3%, the default floors, so the invoice is held.
The supplier's new price list, at $305.00 per m³, starts on 1 Aug 2026. This invoice is dated 29 Jul 2026.
Without the start date, the new price would look right. With it, the invoice is checked against the price that applied on the day it was raised.
What CostCode doesn't check
- The cubic metres billed against what arrived on site: CostCode doesn't read your delivery dockets or measure the pour.
- Whether the mix billed is the mix you ordered, or your test results.
Questions
Can CostCode check a concrete invoice against our supplier's price list?
Yes, once the price list is in: load it from a spreadsheet or a PDF, or let CostCode suggest one from invoices you've already paid, for you to tick. Each line is then checked against the prices in force on the invoice date. A price built from your invoices is checked against, but never quoted to the supplier until they've confirmed it.
What happens when the supplier puts their prices up?
Load the new price list with the date it starts. Invoices dated before then are checked against the old list, and invoices dated from then against the new one.
Does CostCode check the cubic metres we were charged for?
Not against what arrived on site: it doesn't read delivery dockets. It checks the price of what's billed, and holds an invoice for you when a docket number printed on it was already billed on an earlier invoice from the same supplier.
Read next
- Delivery docket template and register
- How to check a concrete invoice: dockets, m3, short loads and waiting time
- Checking freight, delivery and other charges on supplier invoices
- Getting an overcharge back: supplier credit notes
- What to do when a supplier puts its prices up
- Duplicate supplier invoices: how they happen and how to catch them
- Importing a price list
- Supplier invoice checking software
Other trades
Got a supplier invoice handy? Check it now.
About ten seconds. No account. We don't keep the file.
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