The MPIS capability in the tracking of milk and payment of the producers has been extended to include an application we call Handler Billing.  This system completes the settlement functionality for the co-ops and dairies.  Product settlement between the parties is facilitated through documenting source weights and tests, and destination weights and tests.  Financial settlement is facilitated through billing customers and paying vendors for bulk loads of product associated with collaborative agreements made between the parties (those transactions that are beyond the farm-payment bounds of MPIS).

These collaborative agreements have certain complexities that generally fall into three categories of product billing, service charges, and allowances.  Product billing is typically related to the grade and classification of the product during the billing period.  Service Charges are defined premiums and discounts applied to the invoice based on attributes of the bulk loads (day of shipment, hundredweight, per load).  Finally, allowances are values determined for the current period, but not necessarily relating to particular loads  (examples include allowances for “school milk” and “military sales”).