Guide
Reconciling weighbridge, gate and invoice data at a terminal
Author: Outturn · Published: · Last reviewed:
Match every truck's gate visit, weighbridge ticket, transport document and invoice line, and the tonnes you bill will equal the tonnes you weighed. Every shortage is then caught while it can still be reserved. This guide gives the matching method, the six mismatches that cost money, and a routine you can run in a spreadsheet or automate.
The four records
| Record | System | Key fields |
|---|---|---|
| Gate visit | Gate or booking system | Plate, trailer, gate-in, gate-out, booking reference |
| Weighbridge ticket | Scale software | Ticket number, plate, gross, tare (measured or preset), net, times, instrument |
| Transport document | CMR (paper or e-CMR), waybill | Sender's weight, consignor, consignee, goods |
| Invoice line | ERP/1C, billing | Tonnes billed, service, lot, period |
Step-by-step matching
- Normalise identifiers: plates without spaces and in one letter case; one time zone.
- Gate to ticket: match by plate and time window (gate-in ≤ gross time ≤ tare time ≤ gate-out).
- Ticket arithmetic: check gross − tare = net on every ticket.
- Ticket to document: match by plate and delivery date to the CMR; compare net with the declared weight against your tolerance.
- Tickets to invoice: sum net per lot, service and period and compare with billed tonnes.
- Deadlines: for each shortage above tolerance, note the CMR Article 30 window (seven days for loss that is not apparent, Sundays and public holidays excepted).
The six mismatches that cost money
| Mismatch | What it usually means | Who loses |
|---|---|---|
| Gate visit, no ticket | Truck not weighed, or ticket under another plate | Terminal (unbilled tonnes) or cargo owner |
| Ticket, no gate visit | Manual ticket, wrong plate, duplicate | Data integrity, possibly billing |
| Gross − tare ≠ net | Manual edit, unit error | Whoever is billed |
| Preset tare above real tare | Old stored tare | Terminal (billed net too low) |
| Net vs CMR beyond tolerance | Real shortage, moisture or instrument error | Cargo owner or insurer, if reserved in time |
| Sum of net ≠ billed tonnes | Missing or extra invoice lines | Terminal or client |
Tolerance: use your own instruments' verified accuracy and the contract allowance. For context, Britannia P&I loss-prevention guidance notes that weighbridge accuracy typically ranges from 0.5 % to 1.0 % depending on the port.
Spreadsheet version (one month)
Export gate visits, tickets and invoice lines to one workbook; add a normalised plate column; use lookups on plate and date for steps 2 and 4, and a pivot by lot for step 5. It works until formats change, someone is on holiday, or a claim asks which row produced which figure.
Automated version, and its limits
Outturn runs this routine as deterministic checks: GATE-08 and GATE-09 (visit to ticket), WGH-01 (arithmetic), WGH-02 (preset tare), WGH-04 (implausible interval), WGH-08 (net vs CMR or eFTI weight), GATE-12 (CMR reservation window after a shortage) and BIL-01 and BIL-04 for billing. Every finding keeps the file and row it came from. See Revenue Leakage and Claims Recovery.
Honest limits: without a configured tolerance, weight findings are reported as "not computable" rather than guessed, and Outturn reads your exports; it does not correct the weighbridge or billing system for you.
Related
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Frequently asked questions
- Why do weighbridge, gate and invoice data disagree?
- Because different systems record them at different moments: the gate records the visit, the weighbridge the gross and tare, the transport document the sender's weight, and billing the tonnes someone keyed in or imported. Missing pairs, stored tares, unit errors and timing produce the differences.
- What tolerance should I use between weighbridge and CMR weight?
- Use the verified accuracy of your own weighing instruments and any allowance in the contract. For context, Britannia P&I notes that weighbridge accuracy typically ranges from 0.5 % to 1.0 % depending on the port; your own verified figure is better.
- How quickly must a road shortage be reserved?
- Under CMR Article 30, reservations for loss or damage that is not apparent have to be sent within seven days of delivery, Sundays and public holidays excepted.
- What is a preset tare and why is it risky?
- A stored empty weight reused instead of weighing the empty vehicle. If the stored tare is higher than the real one, the computed net, and with it the billed tonnes, is too low.
Sources
- Britannia P&I, 'Loss prevention guidance: preventing bulk shortage claims' (2025-03-28, updated 2025-09-29): https://britanniapandi.com/2025/03/loss-prevention-guidance-preventing-bulk-shortage-claims/ (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR), Article 30: https://www.unidroit.org/english/conventions/1956cmr/cmr_e.pdf (accessed 2026-10-06)