Shipments and Operations
The shipment starts from the accepted quote.
You open the file from the quote; Freightools copies its routing, goods and charges. Your team works its own steps and raises the invoice.
- Quote
- Shipment
- Steps
- Documents
- Invoice
Won in one system, retyped in another.
Someone retypes every charge, then rebuilds the margin on a spreadsheet when supplier invoices arrive. In Freightools the charges go from quote to shipment to invoice.
From Confirm & Book to a paid invoice.
Economics
| Routing point | Buying | Selling | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ningbo | $420 | $480 | $60 |
| Ningbo to Genoa | $3,300 | $3,700 | $400 |
| Genoa | $640 | $720 | $80 |
| Shipment | $4,360 | $4,900 | $540 |
Set QuantitiesCharges follow the goods only after you press it.
Illustration with sample data.Shipping Order: dates
| Stage | Estimated | Confirmed | Actual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickup | 29 Oct | 29 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Cut Off | 01 Nov | 01 Nov | 01 Nov |
| Departure | 02 Nov | 02 Nov | Not yet |
| Arrival | 30 Nov | Not yet | Not yet |
| Delivery | 03 Dec | Not yet | Not yet |
Confirm DatesAuto Update
Illustration with sample data.Selling invoice
| Charge line, from the shipment | Selling |
|---|---|
| Origin charges | $480 |
| Ocean freight | $3,700 |
| Destination charges | $720 |
| Invoice, before VAT | $4,900 |
- Operation ApprovedSet by operations.
- Finance ApprovedSet by finance. Fields lock.
- Paid (Closed)Set by finance.
Several houses under one master.
- Bind several Customer Shipments (HBL or HAWB) to one Shipping Order.
- The master shows cost and margin per house, so a losing house is visible.
- For LCL, CFS consolidation follows goods through the container freight station.
Shipping OrderMaster: booking, MBL, vessel, voyage, carrier
| Customer Shipment | Cost | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| House AHBL | $4,360 | $540 |
| House BHBL | $2,950 | $310 |
| House CHBL | $1,880 | Loses money−$120 |
| On the master | $9,190 | $730 |
Supplier invoices and demurrage
Supplier invoices
Type each invoice's number and total, then match the buying charge lines. A difference is a Delta.
Demurrage
Days are counted per container. Select containers, press Create Invoice, confirm.
What it does, and does not.
| It does | It does not |
|---|---|
| Copy the quote's routing, goods and charges. | Update charges when goods change. You press Set Quantities. |
| Let container tracking write Shipping Order dates. | Add events to individual goods. You enter those. |
| Open a customer invoice from the charge lines. | Read a supplier's invoice. You type it in. |
| Lock an invoice's financial fields at Finance Approved. | Undo Finance Approved. |
| Record who confirmed each step, and when. | Arrive with steps built. An administrator sets them up. |
| List open steps across shipments in one report. | Keep most reports current. You press Refresh Data. |
Shipment operations only? Use Freightools GPT.
A separate product for small teams: open a shipment in a chat, track it on a map, pay per shipment. No quoting or invoicing.
Open an import: 2 x 40' HC, Shanghai to Haifa.
Here is what I understood. Check it before I create anything.
Illustration with sample data.Questions.
What is freight forwarding operations software?
Software for the work after the quote is won: opening the shipment, consolidating, sending documents and invoicing. In Freightools the shipment starts from the quote, so the charges on the file start as the ones on the quote. A booking with no quote can be opened as a Customer Shipment from scratch.
Do we have to run shipments in Freightools to quote in it?
No. Freightools can sit on top of the ERP or TMS you already have, for rates and quoting. Or it can be your TMS and run the shipment and the invoice as well.
Which modes does it cover?
Ocean, with the HBL at house level and the MBL on the master, and air, with the HAWB at house level.
Does it track containers?
It can write tracking dates into a Shipping Order when a tracking provider is connected and you tick Auto Update on that order. It does not add events to individual goods. Separately, the Unlimited plan includes tracking on a map for 250 containers or air shipments a month; beyond that, $0.98 per container per month.
Does it connect to our accounting system?
Tell us which accounting system you use and we will tell you whether Freightools connects to it. Invoice numbering, VAT rules, payment terms and exchange rates are set inside Freightools, and the invoice list exports to Excel.
Is there a charge per shipment or per invoice?
No. The Unlimited plan has unlimited quotations and unlimited operations, with documents and invoicing included. It is $1,490 a month with up to 10 users. Each additional user is $149 a month up to 25 users, $119 from 26 and $98 from 51 to 100. The full table is on Pricing.
Run the shipment where you won it.
Bring one carrier rate sheet. We load it on the call and quote a lane from it.