Magaya Bookkeeping

Storage Invoicing: are you billing correctly?

Andrés Díaz H

August 20, 2026

Storage Invoicing: are you billing correctly? - Innobo

4:07

How to simplify storage billing in Magaya

Storage invoicing is one of the most common headaches logistics companies face. Between free days, rates, pieces, partial exits, and commercial rules, automating this process can feel impossible, but it does not always have to be.

What will you learn in this article?

What makes storage billing more complex and how to simplify it from the sales side
Which variables are most commonly used when calculating storage
How to create a more automated workflow in Magaya using rates and recurrent invoices

Before software: simplify the commercial logic

Before discussing Magaya or accounting, it is worth reviewing how the service is being sold. In many cases, the biggest problem is not the system itself, but an offer that is too complex to automate effectively.

If you want to simplify billing, you first need to understand what your software can handle well and design an offer that works within those limits. The more standard the commercial logic is, the easier it becomes to automate.

Common challenges

Some of the main factors that complicate storage billing are free days, daily rates, per-piece rates, additional client-specific variables, and situations where commodities leave the warehouse in the middle of a month or week.

How to simplify it from the sale

It helps to define a clear billing logic: for example, bill by pallet or by piece, not both at the same time; avoid excessive variables such as seasonal rules or weekend-specific rates; and define a simple billing frequency such as weekly or monthly.

Most common billing variables

When calculating storage, the variables usually fall into two groups:

Product-related: piece count, volume, weight, or package type.
Time-related: date in, date out, and billing periodicity.

If the calculation depends on too many mixed variables for the same client, you will most likely need programming in order to automate the process correctly.

How to structure it in Magaya

From an accounting and operational perspective, a good practice is to first define the rates per service and per client. Then, in the client’s profile, add the storage fee charge that will be used for billing.

One of the most practical ways to automate this process in Magaya is to create a recurrent invoice using the previously defined charge, without manually entering the price each time, allowing the rate setup to drive the calculation.

Suggested setup

Create the recurrent invoice, define the start date and, if applicable, an end date. Then define how often the invoice should be generated, such as daily, weekly, or monthly, apply it to on-hand cargo in the warehouse, and define the number of free days for each warehouse receipt.

What this automation achieves

The system can automatically calculate storage for the pieces that have passed the defined day and register the charges as Posted on each warehouse receipt with on-hand pieces. When cargo leaves the warehouse, the system can also create the missing charges automatically in the outgoing operation, helping prevent underbilling.

More efficiency for accounting and operations

When this process is structured properly, it does more than save operational time. It also improves billing quality, reduces manual errors, and allows the final invoice to correctly summarize all related warehouse receipts with their piece count.

That kind of adjustment makes a big difference. In a single call, using standard Magaya functionality, we have helped clients replace hours of manual work with a much clearer and more repeatable process.

If you want to go deeper into the setup, you can also review the Magaya Knowledge Base article on Recurrent Accounting.