Accounting Best Practices, Fifth Edition

4–13. Track Exceptions between the Shipping Log and Invoice Register

If a company relies on the manual transfer of shipping information from the shipping dock to the accounting department, it is likely that some shipments are never billed, resulting in a permanent loss of revenue. This situation arises because information can be lost on its way from the shipping dock; it can be mixed with other paperwork, put into the wrong bin, given to the wrong person, or any number of other variations. In even the best-run companies, there is a strong chance that, from time to time, a shipment will not be invoiced. If the shipment in question is a high-dollar one, the cost of the missing transaction can be considerable and may make it worthwhile to take steps to remedy the situation.

Fortunately, the solution is not a very expensive one. To avoid any missing invoices, one must continually compare the shipping log maintained by the shipping department with the invoice register maintained by the accounting department. Any shipment listed on the shipping log that has not been invoiced must be investigated at once. There may be good reasons for a shipment that is not invoiced, such as the delivery of a free sample, but the investigation must still be completed to ensure that there are no problems. If a problem is uncovered, it is not enough to just issue the missing invoice. One must also determine the reason why the paperwork for the shipment never reached the accounting department and fix the ...