Transportation, Freight & Distribution worked example

Freight Audit Savings at 50% share of overcharges actually recovered: a worked example

Suppose share of overcharges actually recovered falls to 50%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate recoverable freight audit dollars from invoice count, average overcharge, audit capture rate, and fixed recovery costs.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Freight invoices audited: 850 invoices (held at the documented default)
  • Average overcharge found per invoice: 9.5 $ / invoice (held at the documented default)
  • Share of overcharges actually recovered: 50 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 70)
  • Audit labor or service fee: 1,200 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Variable freight audit savings = freight invoices audited × average overcharge found × recovery capture rate.
  • Total freight audit savings works out to 5,238 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Recovered savings per invoice works out to 6.16 $ / unit at these inputs.
  • Variable freight audit savings works out to 4,038 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed charges works out to 1,200 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where share of overcharges actually recovered sits at 70% and the headline result is 6,853 $, this scenario comes in 23.57% below the baseline at 5,238 $.
  • It computes net freight audit savings by multiplying invoices audited, average overcharge, and recovery capture rate, then adding the audit labor or service fee line. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Total freight audit savings: 5,238 $ (headline result)
  • Recovered savings per invoice: 6.16 $ / unit
  • Variable freight audit savings: 4,038 $
  • Fixed charges: 1,200 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Freight Audit Savings calculator, set share of overcharges actually recovered to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.