3PL accessorial and value‑added charges — and where each one is recorded
Some warehouse charges follow directly from system records — receipts, picks, pallets in storage. Accessorial and value-added work can start as a client request by email, phone or through a supervisor, with the evidence somewhere else. Whether it's separately billable depends on the agreement and the records. Below are examples, with records worth checking; terminology and where records live vary by warehouse.
Charges and records to check
Receiving
- Floor-loaded container unload
- Unloading cartons or goods loaded without palletsRecords to check: Receipt record or dock log; the bill of lading or packing list may note it
- Palletizing and re‑palletizing
- Building or rebuilding pallets on receiptRecords to check: Receipt notes or a work order
- Inbound labeling
- Labeling cartons or units that arrived unlabeledRecords to check: Work order, labeling instructions and any client request
- Sorting and segregation
- Separating mixed SKUs or lots on receiptRecords to check: Receipt notes, supervisor note
Storage and inventory
- Special storage
- Long-term, oversized, or segregated storage outside the standard rateRecords to check: Location records; the contract defines what counts as special
- Hold, quarantine and inspection
- Holding a lot and inspecting it at the client's requestRecords to check: Inspection log, email request
- Client-requested counts
- Cycle counts or full counts beyond what the contract includesRecords to check: Count records, email request
Outbound and compliance
- Retail-compliance relabeling
- Re-ticketing or relabeling to a retailer's routing guideRecords to check: Work order, the applicable routing guide and any client request
- Kitting and assembly
- Building kits, bundles or sample packsRecords to check: Work order or kit build record
- Special packaging and inserts
- Gift wrap, inserts, custom packingRecords to check: Work order, packing instructions
- Pallet builds and stretch wrap
- Mixed or retailer-specific pallet buildsRecords to check: Work order, shipment record
- Rush or same-day handling
- Expedited handling the client asked forRecords to check: Client request, order timestamps and the agreed service terms — whether the service was delivered matters
Returns, rework and projects
- Returns processing
- Receiving, inspecting and restocking or disposing of returnsRecords to check: Returns log — the final count can differ from the first
- Rework
- Repacking, relabeling or fixing goods after a problemRecords to check: Supervisor note, labor sheet, photos
- Special projects and hourly labor
- Anything quoted by the hourRecords to check: Labor sheet or timesheet against the project; check the agreed billing basis and any missing hours before proposing a charge
- Disposal
- Destroying or recycling goods at the client's requestRecords to check: Disposal record, email request
Questions to check before a billing decision
- A request — who asked, when, and for what. Check email, phone notes and other request records alongside the billing records.
- Evidence the work was done — work-order details, counts, labor records or photos — and whether they establish the billable quantity.
- A basis — the rate card or contract clause that covers it. Some work is included in another rate, and that's not a missed charge.
- A decision — someone on your side decides whether to bill it, waive it as goodwill, or drop it.
The Unbilled Work Review compares this kind of work for one closed month — requests, work records, contracts and invoices, in the records you provide. A Miko reviewer checks every item; your controller decides every charge. See a sample review →
By Eric Yun, Miko Labs · October 2, 2026 · All guides
Twenty minutes. No records on the call.