How to Create or Edit Buying Agreements in Freightools

Buying Agreements store your supplier buying rates so Freightools can automatically pull correct costs into transactions like Fast Quotation and Sales Proposals.

Updated 9/15/2026

How to Create or Edit a Buying Agreement (Buying Agreement Activity) in Freightools

Buying Agreements (also called Buying Agreement Activities) store your supplier buying rates so Freightools can automatically pull correct costs into transactions like Fast Quotation and Sales Proposals.

1) Open the Buying Agreements list (grid)

From the main menu, go to:
Business Processes → Agreements → Buying Agreements (BA)
You will see the Buying Agreement Activities grid.

What you can do from the grid

Search using the search box (top-left).
Use filters (top row) to narrow results (examples you’ll commonly use):
- Supplier
- Carrier
- Type (Freight / Address)
- Address Type From / Address Type To
- Created / Validity / Expiration dates
- Is Template
Use:
- Import (upload agreements from Excel)
- Export (download agreements to Excel)
Click + New to create a new Buying Agreement Activity.
Click the Edit (pencil) icon on a row to edit an existing one.
Optional actions you may see in the grid:
- Clone (duplicate an agreement)
- Engagements / Log (track activity, depending on your setup)

2) Create a new agreement or open one for editing

Click + New (for a new agreement), or
Click Edit on an existing row.

An “Edit Buying Agreement Activity” window opens with tabs such as:

Basic Information
Activity Details
Files and Emails

3) Basic Information tab (the main setup)

This tab is where you define what the agreement is, who it’s with, where it applies, and extra commercial flags.

A) Classification (what kind of agreement this is)

Type
- Freight = a service between two locations (From → To)
  Example: Ocean freight between seaports.
- Address = a service at a single location (At)
  Example: Local charges at a port/terminal/address.
Based on your Type, you will select the relevant subtype:
- If Type = Freight, choose Freight Type (example: Ocean).
- If Type = Address, you will work with Address Type (example: Sea Port, Airport, Terminal, etc., depending on your system setup).

B) Details (who this agreement belongs to + validity)

Fill the commercial header fields that define ownership and dates:

Supplier (mandatory for buying)
Carrier (if relevant to this agreement)
Validity Date (start date)
Expiration Date (end date)

These dates control whether the agreement is considered valid when Freightools searches rates (Fast Quotation / Sales Proposal / other entities).

C) Locations (where the agreement applies)

If Type = Freight (From → To)

You will define:

Address Type From and Address Type To (example: Sea Port → Sea Port)
Address From and Address To, using one of the supported location levels:
- Country
- State
- Geo Area
- Address (specific ports/airports/terminals/physical addresses)

You may also see extra freight-only fields (depending on your freight type and configuration), such as:

Transshipment Addresses (if applicable)
Transit Time (days)
Taxable Weight
Opposite Direction (if this agreement should also work in reverse lanes)

Tip: You can mix levels (for example: “Specific Port” → “All Ports in Country”) if your configuration supports it.

If Type = Address (At)

You will define:

Address At Type (Country / State / Geo Area / Address)
Address At (the actual country/state/geo/address list, depending on what you selected)

This is commonly used for local charges that occur at one location.

D) Commercial & Administrative Details (behavior flags + classification)

You’ll typically find fields like:

Dangerous (applies to DG cargo)
Special (NAC) Rate
Exclude From Quotation (keeps this agreement from being returned in quotation results)
Template (mark as a reusable template agreement)
Payment Term
Reference
Tariff Loader Error (if applicable in your setup)
Agreement Category (used for grouping/filtering agreements)
Comment (internal)
Note (External) (can be used as external-facing note depending on usage)

Tip: Use Agreement Category consistently. It becomes very powerful when users filter Fast Quotation results by agreement groups.

4) Activity Details tab (the pricing lines)

This tab is where you build the rate structure (price details) that Freightools will later calculate.

A) Load the base activity

Select the Activity (the service you’re pricing).
Click Load Activity
This loads the default pricing structure (if your system has defaults for that activity).

B) Add pricing lines (conditions)

A Buying Agreement is built from one or more price detail lines (also called conditions).
Each line usually includes:

Price Detail (what you’re charging for, e.g., “Ocean Freight - Containers”, “BAF”, “ISPS”, etc.)
Evaluation (how the system counts quantity, e.g., per 20’, per 40’, per TEU, per kg, per shipment, etc.)
Currency
Price
Optional controls (if enabled):
- Minimum Value
- Maximum Value
- Tier Type (for tiered pricing)
- Comment
Remove icon (delete a line)

To add another line:

Choose the next Price Detail
Click Add Condition
Fill Evaluation + Currency + Price (and any other fields)

Example: For Ocean FCL you typically add lines for 20’, 40’, 40HC, plus surcharges like BAF/ISPS/War Risk, etc., depending on your setup.

C) Save your pricing

When your lines are complete:

Click Update (top-right)

5) Files and Emails tab (attachments + documentation)

Use this tab to keep supporting documents inside the agreement:

Upload carrier tariffs, supplier emails, PDF rate sheets, special approvals, etc.
Click Browse to upload files.
Use Mails Log if your system tracks emails for this record.

This is especially useful for auditability (“why was this rate entered?”).

6) Best practice workflow (recommended)

Create the agreement with correct Supplier + Validity/Expiration.
Define Locations carefully (broad only when needed).
Build the pricing structure in Activity Details.
Attach supporting proof in Files and Emails.
Test the agreement by running a Fast Quotation on the same lane/dates and confirming it returns as expected.

Tip:
Tier Logic in Buying Agreements

Tiered pricing in Freightools is controlled by two different evaluation settings — one on the price detail level and one on the individual tier level — and each serves a different purpose.

On the price detail level, the Tier Evaluation Type determines how the amount of the tier is calculated. For example, selecting All-In means that once a shipment falls within a specific tier range, the full tier amount is applied. If a ratio such as 1:6 is used here, the amount is calculated proportionally based on the chargeable quantity.

On the tier level, the Evaluation Type determines how the shipment’s goods details (such as weight and volume) are evaluated in order to compare them to the tariff. This defines how the system calculates the chargeable quantity — for example, using a 1:6 ratio (1 CBM = 167 kg).

Example 1 – All-In price

Price Detail: Road Freight
Price Detail Evaluation Type: All-In

Tier 1:
• Range: 0–500 kg
• Tier Evaluation Type: 1:6
• Amount: 1,000

Shipment:
• 400 kg
• 1 CBM (1:6 converts to 167 kg chargeable weight)

The system compares actual weight (400 kg) to volumetric weight (167 kg).
The chargeable weight is 400 kg.

Since 400 kg falls within the 0–500 kg tier and the price detail is set to All-In, the applied price for Road Freight is 1,000.

Example 2 – Ratio-based price

Price Detail: Road Freight
Price Detail Evaluation Type: 1:6

Tier 1:
• Range: 0–500 kg
• Tier Evaluation Type: 1:6
• Amount: 0.5