Marine transportation / Managed BPO
Port disbursement account audit for shipowners and operators
Actigy BPO compares an agent’s pro forma disbursement account (PDA) and final disbursement account (FDA) with the vessel’s call record, agreed rates and supporting vouchers. Your ship manager receives a line-by-line reconciliation of charges and advances, with unsupported items marked for review. Your authorized finance team approves settlement.
Agree the scope, access and reviewer before a paid pilot.
- Estimate
- Two tug movements
- Final account
- Three tug movements billed
- Evidence
- Third voucher has no matching movement log
- Query
- Request the service record from the appointed agent
A worked example of the record and decision flow. Not a client case or promised result.
The work. The handoff. Your decision.
A defined workflow in your systems
For shipowners, vessel operators, ship managers and principals reviewing port charges from nominated agents against agreed port-call terms.
You provide
Proforma or final disbursement account, vouchers and service records.
Actigy BPO prepares
Line-item comparison and supported questions for the appointed agent.
You retain
Cost allocation, settlement and challenge decisions.
Decision owner: Ship operator or appointed finance owner. Confirm this role and the escalation contact in the written scope.
Service detail / 01
Which checks happen before and after the port call?
Before arrival, compare the estimate for the nominated vessel and port with agreed agency fees, dated tariffs, quantities and operating assumptions. After departure, match each actual charge to the approved estimate and the port-call record. An estimate can change legitimately when the vessel uses a different berth, stays longer or needs an additional service.
- Identify the port, vessel, call reference, purpose, arrival and departure dates and agent. Record the tariff or agreement version and the currency or conversion basis used.
- Match receipts and vendor vouchers to itemized charges such as pilotage, towage, mooring and husbandry. Identify duplicate references, unsupported charges and missing service records.
- Reconcile the advance and any approved supplemental funding to the final account. Separate a proposed adjustment from an accepted adjustment, refund or payment.
Worked example
What if the final account bills for an extra tug?
Suppose the estimate allows for two tug movements and the final account bills three. There is a voucher for the third movement, but the supplied movement log has no matching event. The reviewer links the voucher and asks the appointed agent for the relevant service record. The operator can approve the extra charge or challenge it once the evidence is complete.
Service detail / 03
Who decides which party bears a cost?
The reviewer applies your written allocation instructions and records the relevant source for each line. Your authorized owner interprets charter-party terms, approves agent queries and decides contested allocations. Finance retains vendor onboarding, release of funds and recovery of any credit.
Service detail / 04
What should we include in a first port-account review?
Choose calls from one port with an estimate, final account, port activity record and proof of advances. Include a routine call and one with added services or missing vouchers. Agree the tariff date, exchange-rate basis and tolerance for investigation. Report queries raised, adjustments accepted and refunds received as separate outcomes.
Before the first live queue
Bring the inputs that shape your scope
The proposal should identify what can be assigned, who can decide, and how you will accept the work. Start with one representative queue; agree any expansion after reviewing the pilot.
Define the workload
Ports, currencies, account stage and owner/charterer cost rules.
Agree the controls
Tariffs, agency agreement, vouchers and movement records available.
Review the right measures
Queries raised, accepted adjustments and refunds received separately.
Before you decide
Buyer questions
Clarify the work, access and approval boundaries before assigning a team.
Can our port agent stay in place while someone else checks the account?
Yes. Actigy BPO can compare the agent’s estimate, final account and vouchers and prepare a discrepancy list. The owner or manager approves the account and funds. Your appointed agent remains the local representative.
Can we use the review for PDAs only?
Yes. An estimate review can check stated assumptions, the tariff basis, agreed agency fees and supporting quotations before your team decides whether to approve an advance. A later FDA review reconciles actual charges and funds supplied.
How is this different from accounts payable invoice review?
The working unit is a vessel’s port call. The evidence spans the agent’s estimate, final disbursement account, port events, tariffs, vouchers and advances. Your AP team can retain invoice posting and payment release.
What information should we provide for a quote?
Share monthly calls, typical ports, agents, currencies, average charge lines and the stage that needs support. Describe how you store port-event records and vouchers. Agree a secure route for redacted sample accounts after the initial discussion.
How do you avoid counting revised port accounts twice?
Match the proforma, final and any supplementary account to the same port-call identifier. Retain version and credit references, flag repeated charge lines and identify what each revision replaces or adds. The operator decides the accepted amount; adding every version together would misstate the review population.
Request a port account review
Share ports, estimated and final account volumes, common cost exceptions and who authorizes funding. Do not attach account details or bank instructions.
Your inquiry
Port disbursement account review
Describe the workload and the decision owner. Keep confidential records out of the form; agree a suitable channel for any later sample.
- Review the fitWe review the workflow and the inputs you provide.
- Define the scopeDiscuss access, coverage, review and the proposed fee.
- Agree a paid pilotApprove the written scope before work begins.