How to Create and Manage Partners in Freightools (Master Data)
A Partner in Freightools is any business entity your freight forwarding company interacts with, including customers, shippers, consignees, suppliers, carriers, agents, terminals, customs brokers, and more. Partners are used across the system (Fast Quotation, Sales Proposals, Shipments, Invoicing, Portals, Reporting).
1) Where to find Partners
- Open the main menu: Master Data → Partners Management → Partners
- From the Partners list you can:
- Click New Partner to create
- Click Edit (pencil) on an existing row to update
- Use the search bar to filter by name, email, VAT, etc.
- Use quick filters (role, customer/supplier flags, sales user, active, creation date, etc.)
- Reorder columns via drag & drop and use the column picker
- Use advanced multi-filters (AND/OR conditions) and save filter templates
Import / Export (bulk partners)
From the Partners grid you can:
- Download an Excel template with required/optional columns
- Import partners from Excel
- Export partners to Excel
2) Creating a new Partner (quick steps)
- Click New Partner
- Fill the Partner fields (see details below)
- Click Update (or Update Partner with Address, depending on your workflow)
3) Partner screen structure
Inside a Partner you typically have these top-level tabs:
- General
- Contacts
- Related Addresses
- Accounting Partners
- Products
- Engagements
The General tab contains sub-sections:
- Header
- Basic Info
- Sales
- Operations
- Accounting
- Credit
4) General tab (main Partner data)
4.1 Header section
Active
- Active checkbox enables/disables the partner across the system.
Automatically update by company
- If both companies use Freightools and this is enabled, partner details may update automatically between companies (useful for shared/linked business networks).
- Disable it if you want to manage this partner independently.
Roles
Partners can have one or multiple Roles (multi-select), such as:
- Customer
- Supplier
- Carrier
- Agent / Forwarder
- Customs operator / Terminal operator
- Personal / Government
(Available roles depend on your system configuration.)
Carrier-specific fields
If the partner role includes Carrier, additional fields appear:
- Carrier Types (multi-select): Air / Ocean / Road / Rail / River
- Registered Carrier (System Carrier)
This connects your local partner (e.g., “Maersk Genoa”) to the global Freightools System Carriers table (e.g., “Maersk”).
This is critical when you have multiple offices/vendors for the same carrier brand.
For Air carriers, you may also see options such as GSA relationships (if enabled).
Logo
Upload partner logo (used on documents/printouts where relevant).
4.2 Basic Info section (core fields)
Typical fields include:
- Name (display name)
- Legal Entity (full registered name)
- VAT / ID / Registration number
- Currency
- Country / State / City
- Address / ZIP code
- Telephone / Email
- Parent Partner (for corporate groups / parent-child structures)
- Tags (for reporting & segmentation)
- Optional: Fax, URL, Introduction, Comments, Internal Identity, Google Map link
Customer / Supplier flags
Partners can be marked as:
- Customer (checkbox)
- You may be required to set Customer Classification / Customer Type
- Optionally enable Customer Portal (if the customer should access the portal)
- Supplier (checkbox)
- You may be required to set Supplier Type
Tip: Even if a partner has roles, the system may still use the Customer/Supplier flags for specific flows and filters.
4.3 Sales section
Used to assign commercial ownership and context:
- Sales User (salesperson responsible)
- Sales Branch
- Agent Partner (if customer is managed via an external agent)
- Sales Comment
4.4 Operations section
Used to control operational ownership and alerts:
- Operations User
- IATA Code (if relevant)
- Operations Comment
- Alert Operations Comment
When enabled, the operations comment can pop up as a warning when users work on shipments for this customer (helps prevent mistakes, e.g., “Do not release cargo before payment”).
4.5 Accounting section
Accounting configuration for billing and invoicing:
- Accounting User
- Accounting Contact (from partner contacts)
- Supplier Billing Address / Customer Billing Address (selected from related physical addresses)
- Company Bank (which bank account to use for this partner)
- IBAN / SWIFT / Bank Name
- Accounting Email / Accounting Comment
- ROE Margin (%) (exchange-rate markup if applicable)
- Accounting Header (custom header content for invoices if needed)
- Default Invoice Printout
- Invoice Structure (e.g., split invoices by currency)
Example: If invoice structure is set to split by currency and you bill in EUR + USD, Freightools can generate two invoices (one per currency).
4.6 Credit section
Credit and payment terms management:
- Customer Credit / Supplier Credit
- Credit Validity dates
- Customer Payment Terms / Supplier Payment Terms
- Optional fields such as charging interest (if configured)
- Optional: customer customs credit amounts (market-specific flows)
5) Contacts tab (Partner Contacts)
Use this tab to create and manage the people working at the partner.
What you can do here
- Click New Partner Contact
- Edit existing contacts
- Use grid search, column picker, and filters (same grid behavior as elsewhere)
Contact fields (typical)
- First/Last name, Role, Email, Phone numbers
- Image (optional)
- Checkboxes such as: Sales / Operation / Accounting / Manager
- Service Mixes / Service Trades (multi-select)
- Helps target the right person for messages (e.g., import-only contact, accounting-only contact).
6) Related Addresses tab (Physical Addresses)
Use this tab if a partner has multiple locations (factories, warehouses, terminals, etc.).
Common fields
- Address type (airport, seaport, factory, customs office, etc.)
- UN/LOCODE (if relevant)
- Country/State/City/ZIP
- Contact details per location
- Business hours
- Geo-coordinates (if used)
Stock / CFS note (if enabled)
Some setups include “available for stock” behavior for warehouse/CFS processes (explained in separate warehouse/CFS articles).
7) Accounting Partners tab (for external accounting integrations)
This is used when your accounting system requires separate customer/vendor records per currency (for example, certain QuickBooks setups).
You can create multiple accounting-partner records for the same partner:
- One per currency
- With separate accounting numbers and bank details if required
8) Products tab
Use this to link products/commodities to a partner:
- What the partner manufactures/imports/exports
- Commodity/HS-code related setups (based on your configuration)
9) Engagements tab (Tasks & relationship history)
Engagements are CRM-style activity logs tied to the partner, for example:
- “Signed credit agreement for 12 months”
- Attach the signed contract as a file
- Create a reminder to renegotiate before expiration
This helps manage follow-ups and internal accountability.
Tips and best practices
- Carriers: Always connect carrier partners to a Registered (System) Carrier to avoid quotation/rating confusion.
- Customers: If the customer should use the portal, make sure Customer Portal is enabled.
- Accounting: Set invoice structure early (especially if you invoice in multiple currencies).
- Contacts: Maintain at least one Accounting contact to avoid billing delays.
- Tags & classifications: Use them consistently—they become powerful in reporting and segmentation.