How to check a concrete invoice: dockets, m3, short loads and waiting time
A concrete invoice is really a list of deliveries. Each truck has a docket, each docket records a volume and a mix, and most of the charges beyond the concrete itself (short loads, waiting time, after-hours work) are about how those deliveries went. Check the invoice against the dockets and most problems show up.
In short
- Lay the invoice beside the signed dockets: every docket billed once, and nothing billed without one.
- Check the volume and the mix on each docket against the line that bills it, at the rate agreed for that mix.
- Check short-load, waiting-time, after-hours, pump and levy charges against your agreement and the times on the dockets.
Match every line to a docket
Each delivery should appear on the invoice with its docket number, the date and the volume in cubic metres. Lay the invoice beside the dockets your site signed: every docket billed once, and nothing billed without a docket.
Check the volume billed against the docket for each truck. Your order says what you asked for; the signed docket says what arrived. If a truck was turned away or only partly discharged, a note on the docket at the time is what settles it later.
The right mix at the agreed rate
The docket also records the mix: usually the strength grade (N32, say), the aggregate size, the slump and any admixtures. Check the invoice bills the mix on the docket at the rate agreed for that mix. A dearer mix billed where a standard one was delivered, or an admixture charged that nobody ordered, is worth a question.
The charges beyond the concrete
Concrete suppliers usually have a list of standard extra charges. Check each against your agreement or the supplier's price list:
- Short load: a charge when a truck carries less than the supplier's minimum load. It should apply only to trucks that were under that minimum.
- Waiting time: a charge when a truck waits on site past a free allowance. Check the time charged against the times recorded on the docket, less the allowance in your agreement.
- After-hours, weekend and public holiday surcharges: check the delivery time on the docket falls in the period the surcharge covers.
- Pump hire: often billed separately, sometimes by a different business. Check the hours or the minimum charge, any set-up or line charges, and that the pump was booked for that pour.
- Fuel and environmental levies: check they're agreed, and whether each is a percentage, a charge per delivery or a charge per cubic metre.
- Returned concrete: if a load or part of one went back, check how your agreement treats it (credited, charged, or charged with a disposal fee) and that the invoice follows what the docket records.
One pour, several invoices
The concrete, the waiting time and the pump for one pour can arrive on separate invoices, sometimes weeks apart. That's normal. The same docket's concrete appearing on two invoices isn't, so check each new invoice's dockets against what you've already paid.
Keep the dockets
Keep the signed dockets with the invoice they were billed on. They're your record of what arrived, when and in what mix. The ATO generally asks businesses to keep their records for five years, and some records for longer.(ATO: Overview of record-keeping rules for business)
What CostCode checks on a concrete invoice
CostCode checks each concrete line against the rate you agreed for that item, and each charge (delivery, fuel levies, minimum-load and waiting-time charges among them) against the charge you agreed with that supplier. A line or charge with nothing agreed on file shows as unverified with the reason, never as passed.
When a docket number on a line already appeared on an earlier invoice from the same supplier, CostCode holds the invoice for a person to look at. That stays with your team and isn't put to the supplier, because a docket can fairly appear twice: the concrete on one invoice and the waiting time for the same pour on another.
CostCode reads the invoice, not your signed dockets, so checking volumes and times against the dockets themselves is still a job for whoever has them.
Questions
What is a short-load charge?
A charge some concrete suppliers add when a truck carries less than their minimum load. Check it's in your agreement or their price list, and that it applies only to the loads that were under the minimum.
How do I check waiting time on a concrete invoice?
Compare the time charged with the times recorded on the docket, less the free allowance in your agreement. If the docket doesn't show the times, ask the supplier how they measured it.
Should a concrete invoice match what we ordered or what was delivered?
What was delivered, as recorded on the signed docket. If that differs from what you ordered, note it on the docket at the time so there is a record.