Post-entry audit tools and duty recovery firms compared

What kinds of vendors do post-entry audit and duty recovery?

A US importer looking for help with past entries usually lands on three different kinds of vendor, and they are easy to confuse because they all use the words "audit" and "recovery".

1. Recovery services that file for you. They find money owed back to you (overpaid duty, drawback, IEEPA refunds) and file the claim through licensed customs brokers on their own team. You hand over data and approve; they do the paperwork.
2. Audit software that finds and documents. It reads your filed entries, checks each line, and tells you what is wrong and what the corrected value is. Your broker, or your own filer, makes the correction.
3. Pre-entry classification tools that add recovery through partners. Their core job is getting the code right before the entry is filed; refunds on past entries are handled by a partner.

The model matters more than the brand, because it decides three things: who signs the filing, how the vendor is paid, and whether you see underpayments as clearly as overpayments.

All of them work inside the same government routes. A post-summary correction (PSC) can be filed, per CBP, "within 300 days from the date of entry" and up to 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date, whichever is earlier (CBP, Post Summary Correction). After liquidation, CBP's page says the options are "a prior disclosure or a protest". A protest is filed within 180 days of liquidation for entries made on or after December 18, 2004 (19 CFR 174.12(e)). A drawback claim must be transmitted "not later than 5 years after the date on which the merchandise designated as the basis for the drawback claim was imported" (19 CFR 190.51(e)). IEEPA refunds run through CAPE, and CBP says "only the IOR or the licensed customs broker who filed the entries can file a CAPE Declaration" (CBP, IEEPA Duty Refunds). The route each finding needs is covered in how to recover overpaid import duty and the clock on each entry in how long you have to fix a past entry.

How do the shortlisted vendors compare?

Every vendor cell below comes from that vendor's own public pages, checked on October 27, 2026 and listed in the sources. Where a page says nothing, the cell says so. GingerControl is included because it is often shortlisted next to the others; it describes itself as working before the entry. Leyton is included as the Canadian example of a firm paid on recovery. [OWNER REVIEW: the editor re-fetched every vendor page on October 27, 2026 and corrected the rows that did not match. Approve the table as it now stands, or reread the sources yourself before release?]

What does each vendor say about itself?

Short summaries from each vendor's own pages, with nothing added. If you are one of these vendors and something here is out of date, the correction invite is at the end.

Pax

Pax's audits page describes three audits in one system: pre-entry validation, post-entry review that reconciles filed entries "against ACE and supporting documents" and routes them to PSC, reconciliation or protest, and post-export audit of the filed export declaration. It describes a tariff-stacking audit that recomputes each layer "against the rate and value actually declared, so over- and under-payments surface line by line", and lets you upload an internal audit procedure to run as your own rules. Its drawback page says every claim is reviewed by "in-house licensed customs brokers and filed directly to CBP through ACE", and offers a free eligibility check. Its IEEPA Refund Assist page says Pax files CAPE Declarations, files protective protests for entries near the 180-day limit, and answers "How is Pax priced?" with "Pax is not contingency-based." Its FTZ page describes foreign-trade zone software. Prices are not stated on its public pages. [OWNER REVIEW: Pax summary, from paxai.com/product/audits, /product/duty-drawback, /product/ieepa-refund-assist, /product/ftz and /integrations, re-checked by the editor on October 27, 2026. Approve?]

Caspian

Caspian's platform page lists audit rules run on entries before and after filing, a review queue showing filed value, calculated value and the difference, and filing of PSCs, protests, drawback claims and CAPE declarations. It names "Licensed customs brokers" and a "CBP-Approved ABI Vendor Platform" as credentials and says a licensed broker reviews each finding and nothing goes to CBP without your approval. It lists ACE reports it reads, including ES-003, along with ERP, broker and forwarder feeds. Its platform page says "Recovery work is success-based" and that it earns a share of what it gets back, and that your broker keeps filing your entries. Its FAQ says pricing "is contingency-based on duty drawback recoveries" and that "Trade Audit and Trade Compliance services are priced as platform subscriptions sized to your import volume"; its trade audit page answers "Yes" to whether the audit is free. Its audit pages describe overpayments; how underpayments are handled is not stated on its public pages. [OWNER REVIEW: Caspian summary, from meetcaspian.com/platform, /solutions/trade-audit and /resources/faqs, re-checked by the editor on October 27, 2026. Approve?]

Trava

Trava calls itself "the AI compliance platform for US importers". Its entry audits, marked early access like its classification tool, review past entries "to surface overpaid duties, uncover refunds, and flag underpaid duties before they trigger penalties", and monitor new entries. Its FAQ is direct about filing: "Trava is a software provider; not a broker. We don't file entries, corrections, or any paperwork with CBP." It connects to PLM or ERP systems or takes a manual upload or secure file transfer. Pricing is not stated on its public pages. [OWNER REVIEW: Trava summary, from usetrava.com, re-checked by the editor on October 27, 2026. Approve?]

KlearNow

KlearNow's managed trade page lists "Pre and post entry audits, Post summary corrections, CAPE filings, and refund recovery run for you" and says it "files on its own licences rather than handing you to a referral chain". Its post-entry audit case study describes software reviewing the full population of entries across the commercial invoice, Form 7501 data and the entry data on file with CBP, a licensed broker confirming each flag, and findings packaged so a PSC can be prepared, filed by KlearNow's brokers where it is the filer and by the importer's own filer otherwise. A news release datelined June 7, 2026 announces a Canada post-entry audit that checks Commercial Accounting Declarations against CBSA requirements. Pricing is not stated on its public pages. [OWNER REVIEW: KlearNow summary, from klearnow.ai/managed-trade, the Canada announcement and the post-entry case study, re-checked by the editor on October 27, 2026. Approve?]

GingerControl

GingerControl's key facts describe classification for the US, Canada and the EU (in beta) and "duty calculation for U.S. imports", and state that it "is not a customs broker, does not file entries" and that GingerOS is quoted per project. Its services page lists GingerLite at "$150 a month for 300 credits" and lists services: a 30-minute compliance review where "Nothing is filed", drawback through "A drawback filing partner" and IEEPA refunds filed by "Our licensed IEEPA refund partner". Its home page describes watching ERP, PLM and supplier records for changes. [OWNER REVIEW: GingerControl summary, from gingercontrol.com, /services (where /pricing now redirects) and /llms.txt, re-checked by the editor on October 27, 2026. Approve?]

Leyton (Canada)

Leyton's Canadian page says its analysts "review entries for classification, valuation, origin, and drawback opportunities", that it shares its findings for your approval before it submits any claim, that its fee is success-based, and that "if we don't recover a refund for you, you owe us nothing." It works from your CBSA FIRM report and import records from your broker. [OWNER REVIEW: Leyton summary, from leyton.com/ca customs duty recovery page, re-checked by the editor on October 27, 2026. Approve?]

Which one fits your situation?

Each of these is a genuine fit for someone. The honest version:

Pick Pax if you want drawback claims, IEEPA CAPE filings and protective protests filed for you by its in-house licensed brokers, you would rather not give up a percentage of an IEEPA refund, or you also need export-side and foreign-trade zone work in the same place.

Pick Caspian if you want a firm that finds and files recoveries (drawback, PSCs, protests, CAPE) with a fee tied to what it gets back, your broker keeps filing entries, and you have no internal team to work the findings yourself.

Pick Trava if you want software that audits past entries in both directions and monitors new ones, your broker keeps filing, and you do not need a filing service.

Pick KlearNow if you want a broker and a platform from the same company, with managed post-entry work filed on its own licences, or if it already clears your goods.

Pick GingerControl if your errors start before the entry: codes without written reasons, parts and suppliers changing faster than anyone rechecks them, and you want classification records ready before an audit.

Pick Leyton if your recovery need is Canadian and you want a firm that is paid only when a refund comes back.

Pick TariffSense if you want every line of every filed entry checked against the measures in force on its entry date, for US and Canadian entries, with overpayments and underpayments both reported and your broker filing from the corrected values.

Several of these can sit side by side: a pre-entry tool for future codes, an audit tool for the full history, and a filer for whatever the audit finds.

What should you ask any vendor before you share entry data?

Use the same questions for every vendor, including us. The answers are rarely on a public page.

1. Who signs the filing? Your broker, the vendor's licensed brokers, or a partner? For IEEPA refunds, how does that fit CBP's rule that only the importer of record or the broker who filed the entries can file a CAPE Declaration?
2. What is the fee based on? A share of refunds, a subscription, a per-project quote? Does the fee apply only to money recovered, or also to money found?
3. What happens to underpayments? Does the report show them, and is the fee the same? An audit that only looks for refunds leaves you exposed if CBP looks later. The prior-disclosure route in 19 CFR 162.74 only applies before, or without knowledge of, a formal investigation.
4. What data do they need, and what access? ACE reports, broker exports, invoices, ERP access? Read-only or more? Where is it stored, and is it used to train models?
5. Every entry or a sample? And every line on each entry, including the Chapter 99 lines?
6. Which date's rules? Is each entry checked against the measures in force on its own entry date, or today's?
7. Canada? If you also import into Canada, does the same vendor audit CAD/B3 lines and CBSA corrections, or do you need a second one?
8. What do you get to keep? A line-level report your broker and finance team can use, or only a refund cheque?

Where does TariffSense fit?

TariffSense is audit software, not a recovery firm or a broker. It reads Form 7501 entry summaries and CBSA Commercial Accounting Declarations (CAD/B3), commercial invoices, packing lists, broker entry exports and ERP billing exports in any layout, including scans and spreadsheets. It checks every line against the measures in force on that entry's date: classification, the base rate, Section 232, Section 301, IEEPA, Canadian surtaxes, quotas, trade-agreement claims, valuation, quantities and units, origin, and antidumping, countervailing and SIMA exposure. Each finding states what was declared, what the rules say and the corrected value, whether that means money back or money owed. Filing a PSC, protest, prior disclosure or CBSA correction stays with your broker or your own filer, using the numbers already worked out. Its approach to a full audit is laid out in the post-entry audit guide and on the audit page.

What should you do next on your own entries?

Before you talk to any vendor, pull one month of entry summaries and line them up against the invoices and what your finance team booked (reconciling broker exports, invoices and your ERP shows how). Note each entry's liquidation date, flag any line carrying IEEPA headings (which entries qualify for IEEPA refunds), and check one or two stacked lines in the duty calculator for their entry date. You will then know which vendor model you need and which questions to press on. Where a filing is involved, confirm the route with a licensed customs broker or trade counsel.

Every vendor claim on this page comes from that vendor's own public pages on the date shown. If you represent one of these vendors and something is wrong or out of date, email info@tariff-sense.com with the page that shows the correct information and we will update this page.