Bill every load at the rate you agreed.
Rate management automation applies the right rate card, fuel levy and surcharges to every job, and records how each charge was calculated. Built for South African transport and logistics pricing.
- Setup
- From R15,000
- Single workflow live
- 7–14 days
- Full suite
- 3–4 weeks
Manual rates leak margin
Operators manage dozens of customer rate cards, each with its own base rates, levies, surcharges and discounts. Kept in spreadsheets, WhatsApp messages and memory, billing errors are inevitable, and each one costs revenue or a customer.
- Wrong rate applied
- Staff apply the wrong card, an outdated rate or miss a customer’s discount. On a busy route, one wrong rate repeats on every load.
- Fuel levy errors
- The diesel price moves often. Manual levy updates across many rate cards are late, inconsistent or forgotten, and you absorb the difference.
- Missed surcharges
- Overtime, weekends, hazardous goods and abnormal loads go unbilled because they depend on someone flagging the job.
- Rate card chaos
- Rates live in spreadsheets, emails and filing cabinets. Finding the agreed rate for a disputed charge takes hours.
- Slow quoting
- A new route needs distance, fuel, tolls and vehicle type worked out by hand. A quote that should take minutes takes days, and the customer moves on.
- No audit trail
- When a charge is disputed, nobody can show which rate was applied, when or why, and credit notes follow.
Fuel levies that follow the diesel price
The system tracks the South African diesel price and recalculates levies across every active rate card using your formula: a percentage of the base rate, per kilometre or tiered by distance band.
Before
The diesel price changes, someone has to update every customer’s rate card by hand, and until they do you absorb the difference on every load.
With Tapnet
Levies update across all active rate cards when the price changes, and each job is charged the levy in force on its delivery date.
Every surcharge billed
Overtime, weekends, public holidays, hazardous goods, abnormal loads, waiting time, multi-drop and CBD access are defined once and applied from the job data, so every billable event reaches the invoice.
Before
Surcharges depend on someone remembering to flag the job, so many are never billed.
With Tapnet
The job data triggers the surcharge, and the invoice shows the rule that produced it.
Rate cards, routes, agreements and reporting
- Digital rate cards
- One source of truth for every customer’s rates, with version control and effective dates. Old cards are archived with a full history for disputes.
- Route-based pricing
- Rates by origin and destination, distance band or zone, with tolls included. New routes are quoted from your base structure plus levies and surcharges.
- Customer agreements
- Volume discounts, contracted rates and minimum charges applied automatically. A 5% discount above 200 deliveries a month applies without anyone checking, and expiry dates trigger renewal reminders.
- Rate reporting
- Margin by customer, route and vehicle type, quoted against actual rates, and the surcharges most often missed, ready for your next rate negotiation.
How each charge is calculated
The same sequence runs on every job, and each step is recorded.
- 1Job data comes inCustomer, route, vehicle, cargo and times arrive from dispatch and the signed POD.
- 2The rate card is selectedThe customer’s card is applied, in the version in force on the delivery date.
- 3The route is pricedOrigin and destination, distance band or zone set the base rate, with tolls added.
- 4Levies and surcharges are addedThe current fuel levy and any surcharges triggered by the job data are applied.
- 5Agreement terms are checkedVolume discounts, minimum charges and special terms in the customer’s agreement are applied.
- 6The invoice is raisedThe charge posts to Sage or Xero, matching the rate card exactly, with a record of how it was built.
Rate management pricing
All prices in ZAR, excluding VAT.
- One rate workflow, such as fuel levies or surcharges
- SetupR15,000
- MonthlyR5,000
- Live in7–14 days
- Full suite: rate cards, levies, surcharges, route pricing and reporting
- SetupR45,000 – R95,000
- MonthlyR15,000 – R25,000
- Live in3–4 weeks
Month-to-month with 30 days’ notice. Full package detail is on the pricing page.
Rate management questions
How much does rate management automation cost?
It starts at R15,000 setup and R5,000 a month for a single workflow. A complete suite covering rate cards, fuel levies, surcharges, route pricing and reporting runs from R45,000 to R95,000 setup. Prices exclude VAT.
How does it prevent billing errors?
The correct rate card is applied from the customer, route, vehicle and cargo on the job. Fuel levies use the current diesel price, surcharges come from the job data, and every charge has an audit trail showing how it was calculated.
Can it handle many customer rate cards?
Yes. Each customer can have its own base rates, discounts, surcharge rules and billing terms. Cards are versioned with effective dates, and the right version is applied by delivery date.
How does the fuel levy calculation work?
The system tracks the South African diesel price and calculates levies with your formula: a percentage of the base rate, per kilometre or tiered. When the price changes, levies update across all active rate cards.
Does it connect to our accounting software?
Yes. Calculated charges flow into Sage Accounting or Xero, so the invoice matches the rate card exactly. Other accounting and ERP systems with an API or CSV/Excel import can be connected; we confirm yours on the diagnostic.
How long does implementation take?
A single rate workflow can be live in 7–14 days. A complete suite with multiple customer cards, levies, surcharges and reporting typically takes 3–4 weeks.
Related
- Invoice automationAutomate invoicing from signed POD to paid invoice. Posts to Sage or Xero, matches payments and chases overdue accounts. Setup from R15,000, month-to-month.
- Logistics automationAutomate POD capture, dispatch, stock and invoicing for South African logistics operators. Connects to Sage, Xero, WhatsApp and Cartrack. Live in 7–14 days.
Find out where your rates are leaking.
On a free 30-minute diagnostic we look at how your rates are applied today, show where revenue is being missed, and give you a clear timeline and quote.