Carrier cost calculator

Compare two carrier offers for the same workload. Calculate total costs and the point at which their cost ranking changes.

Cost comparison / two offers

Enter comparable costs

Enter a known cost subtotal for the same workload and period, then add remaining costs or an explicit scenario for unresolved items. Count each charge only once. Zero must be a deliberate assumption, never a substitute for missing data.

Currency for all four amounts

Carrier A

Known cost subtotal — AAdditional cost scenario — AI have checked that A meets our required service conditions.

Carrier B

Known cost subtotal — BAdditional cost scenario — BI have checked that B meets our required service conditions.

Add comparable costs to begin.

A cost result is not a supplier recommendation. Confirm service requirements and inspect the source of each input.

Calculation record

To compare manually: total A = base A + additional A; total B = base B + additional B. The difference A − B is B’s cost advantage when positive. Check service conditions separately.

Your working copy

Decision notes

Fill in the fields you can answer and mark missing information as unknown. The prepared working copy includes these notes and the current calculation. Save a TXT copy for work you want to keep. Entries are not sent to B&F.

Basket and comparison basisWhich closed period, shipment IDs, currency, tax basis and horizon are being compared?Essential service conditionsWhich conditions must both options satisfy? Mark failures and unresolved requirements.Contracts and price rulesRecord offer versions and the source of rates, bands, surcharge bases and relevant service fees.Cost tableFor each line, record quantity × rate, evidence and whether it is invoiced, modelled, estimated or unknown.Handling, exceptions and switchingWhat work changes, who confirms it, and is it cash cost, allocated time or an unresolved effect?Threshold and missing factsWhich additional net cost or mix change reverses the ranking? What should be checked first?Recommendation and follow-upWhich action is justified now? Who resolves open questions and checks the actual result?

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Instructions

Fix the basket and period
Use a closed period and a shipment list that reconciles to the invoice. Keep IDs, destination zones, weights, dimensions and service flags. State currency, tax basis and horizon. Using historical mix for future needs is an assumption.
Record: One versioned basket and comparison basis.
Check that both services qualify
Compare coverage, parcel limits, pickup and cutoff times, delivery requirements, cash-on-delivery terms and returns. Mark important conditions that are not equivalent. An unusable service cannot be the cheapest valid choice.
Record: Pass, fail or unresolved for every essential condition.
Reprice the same work
Apply both offers to the same basket. Map bands, chargeable weight, fuel and other surcharges, cash-on-delivery and returns to the actual rules. Check the base of every percentage. Link invoice discrepancies to a shipment and contract clause.
Record: A reproducible calculation with a source for each price rule.
Include relevant work around transport
Add measured or explicitly estimated handling, packaging, exceptions and switching costs where they differ. Use the same horizon and avoid double counting. Separate cash outlay from allocated staff time. A long timestamp gap alone proves neither avoidable work nor its cause.
Record: Cost lines with units, evidence and unresolved amounts.
Test the reversal point
Change uncertain inputs such as heavy-parcel share, destination mix or unconfirmed charges. Show when the price ranking changes. Keep an essential service failure visible even if it cannot be priced. Unknown does not mean zero.
Record: A break-even calculation and decisive questions.
Record the decision and follow-up
State the justified next action, assumptions and open questions. After a change, compare actual invoices and operating work using the same definitions before calling a saving achieved.
Record: A conditional recommendation, review owner and follow-up check.

Worked example

Worked example / Fictional

Fictional worked example. All businesses, documents and amounts are invented for learning; no client result is claimed.

A lower rate with CZK 6,000 left for unresolved differences

Comparison basis: One month; the same 1,000 fictional parcels; CZK excluding VAT. For this exercise both services are assumed to qualify. The listed charges do not overlap.
Transport charges: A: CZK 85,000. B: CZK 78,000. The same fictional basket is repriced under each offer.
Known surcharges: A: CZK 7,000. B: CZK 7,000. These additional charges are not included in transport above.
Return charges: A: CZK 3,000. B: CZK 4,000, for the same assumed number of returns.
Internal handling: A and B: CZK 5,000 each, calculated as 10 hours × CZK 500. This is an allocated resource cost, not an automatic cash saving.
Known subtotals: A: 85,000 + 7,000 + 3,000 + 5,000 = CZK 100,000. B: 78,000 + 7,000 + 4,000 + 5,000 = CZK 94,000.
Unknown net difference: Let X be the unresolved cost of B minus A over this same month, including any additional handling or switching cost not counted already. Total cost difference B − A = −6,000 + X.
Sensitivity: If X = 0, B is lower by CZK 6,000. If X = 6,000, the costs tie. If X = 9,000, B is higher by CZK 3,000. Zero is only a scenario, not a default for missing data.
Next evidence: Obtain written clarification of unresolved charges and have the operations owner verify changed work. Include a one-off cost once in the chosen horizon and show the recurring comparison separately.
Completed recommendation: B has a lower known subtotal. Do not recommend a switch yet. If the net unresolved difference is below CZK 6,000 and the service conditions hold, B remains lower in this one-month model; otherwise the conclusion changes.

The threshold identifies the next question. It does not establish the probability of a saving, an annual saving or permission to ignore service quality.

Sources and limits

Original B&F application. These sources inform the method; they do not validate this tool or establish results for your business.

Our illustrative comparison method, not a universal tariff calculator. Contract rules and service eligibility require case-specific interpretation.
Do not annualise a single month without testing the future mix and separating one-off costs. Do not price lost sales or reputation without a defensible basis.
Invoice corrections, modelled alternatives and observed savings are different results. Do not add them when they refer to the same cost.
Routine tariff matching may be covered by your platform, carrier support or an existing tool. Check that option before commissioning bespoke work.

Analytical quality guidance
The AQuA Book
Check the arithmetic and the suitability of the model; assess data validity, record assumptions and examine uncertainty. The carrier categories and numbers are our own application.
Passages examined and limitations
Sections 6.1–6.4, 8.2.1–8.2.2 and 8.3–8.4.
A quality framework, not a trial of these guides. Checks should match the intended use and consequences of error.
Supplier documentation, in Slovak
Dopravio: carrier selection and invoice-to-contract comparison
An example of existing software advertising tariff and invoice comparison using contracts and shipment parameters. Check whether an existing tool meets the task before commissioning bespoke work.
Passages examined and limitations
Sections “Objednávka → dopravca” and “Faktúra vs zmluva”; FAQ “Čo potrebuje môj e-shop, aby to fungovalo?” and “Čo ak AI prečíta zmluvu alebo faktúru zle?”.
Evidence of an advertised alternative, not independent proof of accuracy, savings or suitability. We have not tested the product. No price or performance claim is adopted here.

Linked publications keep their own terms. Free access does not grant permission to republish them. Reuse the original B&F worksheet.

Enter comparable costs

Carrier A

Carrier B

Decision notes

Instructions

Fix the basket and period

Check that both services qualify

Reprice the same work

Include relevant work around transport

Test the reversal point

Record the decision and follow-up

Worked example

Sources and limits

The AQuA Book

Dopravio: carrier selection and invoice-to-contract comparison