Australia Post, often referred to as AusPost, operates as a government-owned entity entrusted with the responsibility of delivering postal services throughout Australia. It stands as a prominent player in the Australian postal industry, boasting a rich history of over two centuries of serving the nation’s residents.
Manually keeping track of the product location and the associated fees can take time and effort, especially when it comes to dealing with numerous orders. Using automated software offers a solution to streamline your business operations, ensuring accuracy in processing. Opt for Cointab Reconciliation software to make the reconciliation process easier.
Cointab’s reconciliation software simplifies the process of verifying fees, ensuring that you haven’t been overcharged by the courier company. This software allows you to effortlessly compare ERP reports, shipping invoices, Pincode master data, SKU reports, and rate cards with the invoices issued by the Australian Post.
Reports Required for Australian Post Delivery Invoice Verification:
Pincode Zone Report:
Pincode zone reports consist of the zone according to the source location and destination location.
SKU Report:
This report consists of a unique number assigned to each product which helps in determining the weight and dimensions of the product.
Rate Card:
The rate card includes different shipping charges, that are charged based on the weight and zone of the order.
Australian Post Delivery Invoice:
Important columns like order ID, billing zone, product type, weight, RTO, billing pincode, applied weight slab and the amount charges are present in the Australian Post delivery invoice, to make further calculations.
Invoice Verification:
The following process shows how Cointab Reconciliation software calculates the expected weight, expected location and expected rate using the SKU report, Pincode master and the rate card.
SKU Report:
- Cointab Reconciliation software refers to the SKU code present in the ERP report, to get the weight and dimension of the product.
- The value present in the weight column of the invoice is taken into consideration, in case the weight is not present in the ERP report.
- If the dimension of the product is given, then the volumetric weight can be calculated using the formula i.e. “Length x Width x Height”. The dimensions of the volumetric weight have to be present in centimetres, to make the calculation work. The calculated value is later divided by the divisor provided in the divisor card and if the value is not present in the divisor card then it’s by default divided by 5000.
- Later the values are moved to the Australian Post invoice and ERP report after the calculation is made.
- At last, the final weight is rounded off to get the final slab.
Pincode Master:
- The report includes the origin location and delivery location and a zone is then assigned to that combination.
- The origin and delivery location are linked to the invoice in order to get the desired zone for each invoice.
- Each location is classified either into regional, international, global, etc. and is further classified in their respective indicator i.e. a,b,c, etc.
Rate Card:
- The rates in the rate card are mentioned according to the zone and weight of the product. The charges might differ if the weight of the product increases, the rates given above are given according to the acceptable limit.
- Columns like “courier”, “zone”, and “fwd_wt_fixed” ( refers to the additional weight on which the fixed rate increases) and the divisor are checked with the respective columns present in the Australian Post invoice, to verify the right items are put in the invoice.
- The dates of delivery are prescribed under certain rates, as the rates are applicable for a certain period.
Charges:
Expected Forward Charge:
After the final slab is calculated if it is seen to be lower or equal to the weight limit (“fwd_wt_fixed”) given in the rate card, that means it is equal to “fwd_wt_fixed”. Then the fees charged on it are “fwd_fixed” according to the zone. If the product is not equal to “fwd_wt_fixed” then it means that the product has more weight. The fee charged for extra weight is “fwd_add” according to the zone.
The formula for the expected rate is:
Expected_fwd_chg = fwd_fixed + (extra_weight) x fwd_add
Expected RTO Charge:
After the final slab is calculated if it is seen to be lesser or equal to the weight limit (rto_wt_fixed”) given in the rate card, that means that it is equal to the “rto_fixed” and the fee charged on it is “rto_fixed” according to the zone. If it is not equal to the “rto_wt_fixed” column then that means that the product has extra weight. The fee charged for the excess weight is “rto_add” as per the zone.
The formula for the expected charge is as seen below:
Expected_rto_chg = rto_fixed + (extra_weight) x rto_add
Expected Final Amount:
The expected final amount is calculated using Forward charge, RTO charge and GST%.
Result:
The expected amount is calculated based on the weight and zone of the product. Cointab Reconciliation software compares the ERP report, Pincode report, and the Rate card with the invoice provided by Australian Post.
ERP:
Found in ERP:
The number of products delivered for a particular order is present in the ERP report. In the above case, the orders present in the Australian Post invoice is also found in the ERP report, which helps to denote the weight of the product which can be later verified.
Not Found in ERP:
In the above case, the orders present in the Australian Post invoice are not present in the ERP report and hence the orders cannot be verified further.
Pincode Master:
Found in Pincode Master:
The data entries are present in the Australian Post invoice as well as in the Pincode master and hence the order can be verified further.
Not Found in Pincode Master:
The data entries are present in the Australian Post invoice but are not present in the Pincode Master and hence it cannot be verified further.
Fee Verification using ERP- Australian Post
Correctly Charged
Fees are calculated with the help of the rate card matches the fee present in the Australian Post invoice. The software compares the ERP report and the Australian Post invoice report and shows the order deliveries where the zone and the weight of the product are correct.
Zone Match, Weight Match- Overcharged
Here the ERP report and the Australian Post report are compared, which shows that the zone and weight of the product match but the fee charged is wrong. In this situation, the invoice charges are seen to be more compared to the calculated amount, hence it is seen to be overcharged.
Zone Match, Weight Match- Undercharged
Cointab Reconciliation software compares the ERP report and the Australian Post report, which shows that the zone and weight of the product match but the fee charged is wrong. In comparison to the calculated amount the invoice charges are seen to be less, hence it is said to be undercharged.
Zone Mismatch, Weight Match- Overercharged
When the software compares the ERP report and Australian Post report it’s seen that the zone of the product and fees are not match except for the weight. Since the zone of the product does not match, the amount is seen to be overcharged compared to the calculated amount.
Zone Mismatch, Weight Match- Undercharged
Here the software compares the ERP report and the Australian Post report and it’s seen that the zone and fees of the product do not match, but the weight matches. Since the fees and zone does not match it is seen to be undercharged compared to the calculated amount.
Zone Match, Weight Mismatch- Overcharged
Here, the software compares the ERP report and the Australian Post report and it is observed that the weight and the fees of the product do not match in both reports, only the zone matches. Hence the amount is overcharged in this case.
Zone Match, Weight Mismatch- Undercharged
Cointab Reconciliation compares the ERP report and the Australian Post report and it’s seen that the zone and fees of the product match, but the weight of the product does not match. Since the weight is seen to be mismatched it is seen to be undercharged compared to the calculated amount.
Zone Mismatch, Weight Mismatch- Overcharged
The software compares the ERP report and the Australian Post report showing that the zone, fee and weight do not match. The amount is seen to be more than the calculated amount.
Zone Mismatch, Weight Mismatch- Undercharged
Here the software compares the ERP report and the Australian Post report it shows that the zone, fee and weight of the product do not match. Hence the amount is seen to be less than the calculated amount.
Now with Cointab Reconciliation software you can effortlessly verify fees and avoid overcharges of any kind. Benefit from automated integration for seamless data uploads in your preferred format. Once the whole reconciliation process is completed, you can get a holistic view where all the miscalculations are highlighted in red. You can now bid goodbye to manual reconciliation and get started with automated reconciliation software.
