Barbara Agnello
It takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work to provide seamless less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping. One of the critical processes that isn’t well understood is billing — entering and matching details from the bill of lading into a billing system to ensure safe movement and accurate invoices.
To learn more about billing, I e-mailed with Barbara Agnello, a biller for Con-way Freight who works out of our Akron/Canton, Ohio, service center. In 1999, while out for a drive, Barbara passed by the center and stopped in to ask about a job. Little did she know that the visit would lead to a successful career in billing with Con-way Freight that would last for the next 10 years … and counting.
During our e-mail exchange, she told me about achieving invoice accuracy, challenges and tips for success, and even the role of the customer in the billing process.
Maybe we can all learn a little something new when it comes to the business of LTL freight billing. I know I did! Here’s what I found out:
How and when did you start your career in freight billing?
In 1975, I began my first job as a billing clerk at Pilot Freight Carriers in Ohio. After pursuing jobs in other fields, I returned to trucking in 1986, working for a trucking company in Florida. There, I spent the first five years doing billing and other administrative work, before spending the next five in charge of the 28-door outbound operation after 6:00 each night.
I loved the challenge and learned so much about dock operations during that time. So when I moved back to Ohio to be with my father, I found Con-way Freight. The rest is history.
Since you started your career, what’s the biggest change in the billing process?
The biggest difference in the billing process today, as opposed to the mid-‘70s, is the technology. Back then, I actually billed on a machine that fed the bill sets up through the machine from a box under my desk. The advances in technology between then and now are mind-boggling, and they’ve really allowed us to improve everything we do.
What are the most important characteristics of a good biller?
Successful billers stay focused. They also enjoy what they do and can prioritize their work based on levels of difficulty or time of day. Knowing when you’re most efficient is helpful for me and I think it’s important to recognize that, especially in an industry with multiple shifts. I like second shift, but everyone’s different. I’ve been lucky to work at a time that works for me.
Other qualities that separate good billers from the best, in my opinion, are attention to detail and strong spelling skills. While most of the billing process is automated, we still have to enter information manually. It’s important to enter new accounts into the system carefully so that information is accurate moving forward. Also, paying attention to spelling is a must. It conveys a message of quality and professionalism to our customers.
Any tips on how to ensure invoice accuracy and efficiency?
Everyone has their own unique way of approaching their work to avoid errors and maintain efficiency. I’ve created check systems for myself that help me catch the most common error — the proper use of freight terms. For instance, I keep the bill on my screen and, before I hit enter, I cross-check it with the bill of lading to make sure the freight terms match. The way I look at it, I’m probably saving anywhere from an extra 100-150 corrections a year just by that one simple split-second glance at my screen on every single bill entry. I also group my bills so that I get all of the most difficult ones billed first, while saving the easier ones for the end of the day when I’m tired.
Another very useful tool is Wikipedia, which can be used to look up a class or NMFC number for a shipper’s freight if it’s not apparent. Whitepages.com is similarly helpful, particularly when you can’t read the handwriting of a consignee name or street address, or need to contact them and can’t quickly find their contact information.
What are the biggest opportunities to improve Con-way Freight’s billing effectiveness that you can’t directly implement?
I see errors in the spelling of company names and street addresses that print out on the customer’s invoices. Those types of errors don’t look good.
The other problem I encounter on a daily basis is in the way e-bills are entered by shippers, consignees and third parties. While many of our customers are very computer-savvy and enter their e-bills perfectly, there are still many e-bills that require creative techniques on the part of the billers. There’s a lot of time involved in reviewing and correcting the errors that appear on e-bills because of the way they were submitted.
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