Checking structural steel supplier invoices
A steel invoice can bill the same beam three ways: by the metre, by the length or by the tonne.
Who you buy from, and how it's billed
A stockist can quote in one unit and invoice in another, cutting and drilling come on as lines of their own, and a price rise can arrive partway through a job. Each of those is easy to pay without seeing it.
- Steel stockists and distributors
- Universal beams, columns and channels by the metre, the length or the tonne; hollow sections and flat bar by the length; plate by the tonne, the kilo or the sheet.
- Processing
- Saw cuts, drilled holes and plate cut to size on the stockist's processing line, priced per cut, per hole or by weight.
- Galvanisers
- Hot dip galvanising by the tonne, sometimes with a minimum charge per batch.
- Bolts and fixings
- Structural bolt sets by the box, hold-down bolts each, and chemical anchors by the cartridge.
- Cranes and cartage
- Cranes by the hour, sometimes with a minimum hire, and cartage by the load or the tonne.
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.
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.
Beams agreed per metre, invoiced per tonne, or the reverse
CheckedHeld as billed in a different unit, with the agreed unit beside the billed one. CostCode doesn't convert, even where a section's name gives its mass per metre: the sum is yours.Hollow sections billed per metre when you agreed per length
CheckedHeld as billed in a different unit. A price per metre and a price per 8 m length are eight times apart, and CostCode doesn't turn one into the other.Plate billed per kilo against a price per tonne
Asks you firstKilos and tonnes are both weight, and CostCode doesn't turn one unit into another, so the line shows as Unverified, asking how many of one make the other.Sections above your agreed price
CheckedEach line against the price list in force on the invoice date, and held when it's at least $25 and 3% over. A quote for one job's steel can be loaded as that job's own prices, and is used on that job's invoices ahead of the stockist's prices for every job.A price rise billed before it starts
CheckedLoad the stockist'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.Cutting, drilling and galvanising above the agreed rate
CheckedPut them on the price list as items, per cut, per hole or per tonne, and they're checked like any line. With nothing agreed for them, the line shows as Unverified, with the reason.Cartage and fuel levies above what you agreed
CheckedChecked against the charge you agreed: flat, per unit, or a share of the goods. With nothing agreed, the line shows as Unverified, with the reason.
A worked example, made up
Sample Steel Supplies (made up)
SAMPLE-2716
Held| Item | Amount | Your prices |
|---|---|---|
| 310UB40.4 grade 300 universal beam2.424 T × $3,150.00 | $7,635.60 | Billed in a different unitHeld |
| Billed in a different unit. Invoiced per tonne. Agreed $118.00 per metre on the price list from 1 Jul 2026 | ||
Billed per tonne against a price agreed per metre: held as billed in a different unit, with no dollar figure.
A section's name gives its mass per metre, so the sum from tonnes to metres can be done. CostCode doesn't do it for you: it shows the agreed unit beside the billed one and leaves the question to you. The lasting fix is asking the stockist for the price in the unit they invoice in.
What CostCode doesn't check
- Tonnes billed against what was weighed or delivered. CostCode doesn't read weighbridge tickets, mill certificates or delivery dockets, so the weight billed is yours to check.
- Whether the section, grade or finish billed is the one you ordered.
- Which weight galvanising was billed on: the steel as it went in, or as it came out with its zinc.
- Steel market prices. Sections are checked against the price list you load, not a mill or market price.
Questions
Our stockist quotes beams per metre and invoices them per tonne. What does CostCode do?
It holds the line as billed in a different unit, with the agreed unit and the billed one side by side. It doesn't convert, even though the section's name gives its mass per metre, so you decide whether the money is right, and nothing goes to the stockist unless someone in your team sends it.
Can we load a quote for one job's steel?
Yes. Load the quote for that job, with the date it's valid until, and its prices are used on that job's invoices ahead of the stockist's prices for every job. A line is checked against the quote when it carries the same item code or wording.
What happens when the stockist puts its 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. CostCode doesn't track steel prices itself.
Got a supplier invoice handy? Check it now.
About ten seconds. No account. We don't keep the file.
Or start free: 20 invoices a month, no card