Articles
Articles on reading invoices and contracts
Practical, dated articles on the four lines OpEx Agent audits. Each one answers a question buyers ask, cites its sources, and links to a tool you can use on your own documents.
Waste contracts
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How to read a commercial waste hauling invoice, line by line
Every line on a hauling invoice is either a service you agreed to or a charge you should be able to trace to a clause. Here is how to tell which.
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Evergreen clauses in waste contracts: how to find your notice window
If you don’t send notice inside the window, the contract renews itself. Finding the window is a reading exercise, and it’s worth doing now.
Freight invoice hygiene
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Freight accessorials explained: liftgate, reweigh, re-class and detention
Accessorials are charges for anything beyond moving freight dock to dock. Most are legitimate when the service was needed; each should be traceable.
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Fuel surcharge tables: checking yours against the DOE diesel index
A fuel surcharge should be a lookup: the week’s published diesel price, read against a table. If you can’t reproduce the number, ask why.
Packaging and pallet cost
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Right-sizing boxes to cut dimensional-weight charges
Parcel carriers bill the greater of actual and dimensional weight. The box decides the second number.
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Pallet returns programs: when buying recycled and selling back pays
A pallet program has two sides: what you pay to bring pallets in, and what it costs to get rid of them. Count both before deciding.
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Gaylords and IBC totes: reuse economics vs new
Bulk containers are expensive enough that reuse, resale and disposal all deserve a line on the spreadsheet.
OpEx method
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Opex reduction plan for a plant: the four lines nobody owns
Big opex programs start with labor and energy. The four lines between the dock and the dumpster are smaller, faster and usually unowned.
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Contingency-fee cost consultants: how the fee math really works
“No savings, no fee” is a real model with real trade-offs. The definition of savings decides what you pay.
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What an AI expense audit can and can’t read on an invoice
Software is good at reading every line consistently. It is not good at knowing what your dock needed last Tuesday.