Managing Shipments¶

A shipment is a customer's load -- the cargo that needs to move from one place to another. Every time a customer books freight with you, you create a shipment to track it. The shipment holds everything about the order: who the customer is, what is being moved, how much it pays, and where it stands in the process.

Overview¶

Shipments are the customer-facing side of your work. While legs track the actual truck movements, shipments track what your customer booked and what you are billing them for. A single shipment can be linked to one or more legs, depending on whether the freight moves direct or through relay stops with multiple carriers.

Getting There¶

Click Loads in the top navigation bar.
Click Shipments in the sub-menu.

This opens the shipment list view, showing all active shipments. From here, you can search, filter, and click any row to open a shipment's detail page.

List View Columns¶

The shipment list view displays the following columns, most of which use custom widgets for compact, at-a-glance information:

ID & Refs -- The shipment ID along with Ref.# 1 and Ref.# 2 in a combined display.
Customer -- The customer name.
Status -- A color-coded status badge showing the current lifecycle stage.
Commodity -- The commodity description, with a visual urgency indicator for non-standard urgency levels.
Route -- The origin and destination cities and states derived from the shipment's linked legs. For example, "Miami, FL -> Louisville, KY."
Weight / Pieces -- Combined weight and piece count in a single column.
Rate -- The customer rate.
Legs -- Summary badges showing how many legs are linked and their statuses at a glance.
Docs -- Readiness indicators for rate confirmation and proof of delivery (POD) documents. Shows whether a rate con has been uploaded and whether all delivery stops have PODs.
Invoice -- The invoice status (e.g., draft, posted, sent) with visual indicators.

Additional columns for Freight Class, Created date, and Dimensions are available but hidden by default. Click the optional columns button in the list header to toggle them on.

How It Works¶

Shipment Lifecycle¶

Every shipment moves through these stages, shown in the status bar at the top of the form:

Status	What It Means
Created	The shipment has been entered but no leg has started moving it yet.
In Progress	At least one linked leg is on the road. The freight is being transported.
Delivered	The freight has arrived at its destination. Waiting for paperwork or final checks.
Completed	Fully finished. The shipment is locked and ready for invoicing. No further edits allowed.

The status updates automatically based on what happens on the linked legs. You do not need to change it by hand.

Creating a Shipment¶

To create a new shipment, click the New Shipment button at the top of the Shipments list. This opens the New Shipment wizard, where you fill in the essential details up front:

Left column -- Shipment Details:

Customer (required) -- The company paying for this load. Pick from your customer list.
Ref #1 -- Primary reference number. If you leave this blank, the system generates one automatically. Typically used for the customer's PO or BOL number.
Ref #2 -- A secondary reference for cross-referencing with other systems.
Commodity -- What is being shipped (e.g., "dry grocery," "auto parts").
Weight -- Total weight in pounds.
Pieces -- Number of handling units (pallets, crates, boxes). Defaults to 1.

Right column:

Customer Rate (required) -- The total dollar amount the customer is paying for this shipment.
Currency -- Defaults to USD.
Sales Person 1 (required) -- The primary salesperson who booked this load. Defaults to the current user.
Sales Person 2 -- Optional. Use this if the account is co-managed or the commission is split between two reps.
Rate Confirmation -- Optionally upload a rate confirmation document. It will be attached to the shipment automatically.

At the bottom of the wizard, you have two options:

Create & Add Leg (primary button) -- Creates the shipment and immediately opens the New Leg wizard with the new shipment pre-linked. Use this when you are ready to set up the first truck movement right away.
Create Shipment -- Creates the shipment and opens its form view so you can fill in additional details (dimensions, freight class, special instructions, etc.) before adding legs later.

Shipment Form Details¶

Once a shipment exists, you can open it from the Shipments list or from the Linked Shipments tab on a leg to fill in additional details.

The top section of the form shows:

Customer (required) -- The company paying for this load.
Ref.# 1 / Ref.# 2 -- Reference numbers.
Urgency -- The priority level for this shipment. Options are Standard (default), Expedite, Hotshot, and Critical. Non-standard urgency levels trigger visual indicators in the list view so dispatchers can quickly spot high-priority loads.
Customer Rate (required) -- The total dollar amount the customer is paying. Includes a payment split widget (see Payment Splits below).
Currency -- Defaults to USD.
Status -- The current lifecycle stage.

Click the Physical Details tab to enter cargo information:

Commodity Description -- What is being shipped (e.g., "dry grocery," "auto parts").
Freight Class -- The NMFC classification (e.g., 50, 70, 100). Higher class means higher LTL rate.
Weight (lbs) -- Total weight in pounds.
Pieces/Quantity -- Number of handling units (pallets, crates, boxes).
Length, Width, Height (inches) -- Dimensions of the freight.
Total Volume -- Calculated automatically from the dimensions.
Special Instructions -- Anything the driver needs to know, like "call 30 minutes before arrival" or "dock delivery only."

Sales Team¶

Click the Sales & Team tab to assign salespeople:

Sales Person 1 (required) -- The primary salesperson who booked this load. Defaults to the person who created the shipment.
Sales Person 2 -- Optional. Use this if the account is co-managed or the commission is split between two reps.

Rate Confirmation Documents¶

Click the Documentation tab to upload rate confirmation documents. These are the signed agreements between you and your customer that confirm the rate and terms for this load. Click the upload area to attach files. All documents uploaded here are automatically tagged as rate confirmations.

Linking Shipments to Legs¶

A shipment can be linked to one or more legs. This is how the system knows which trucks are moving this customer's freight.

Single-leg shipment -- The most common case. One truck picks up the freight and delivers it directly.
Multi-leg shipment -- For relay moves or multi-stop routes, the same shipment is linked to multiple legs. Each leg covers one segment of the trip with a different carrier or truck.

To see which legs are carrying this shipment, click the Linked Legs tab. It shows each leg's reference number, status, truck, driver, service provider, and dispatch date.

Adding and Reverting Legs¶

Two header buttons on the shipment form help manage legs:

Add Leg -- Visible when the shipment is in Created or In Progress status. Clicking it opens the New Leg wizard with this shipment already pre-linked, so you can quickly set up an additional leg for the same freight.
Revert Leg (admin only) -- Visible when the shipment has at least one completed leg. Opens a wizard where an administrator can select a completed leg and revert it back to Delivered status. This is useful when a leg was marked complete prematurely and needs corrections before final close-out.

Accessorial Charges¶

Accessorial charges are extra fees beyond the base rate -- things like detention, lumper fees, re-delivery charges, or fuel surcharges.

To add a charge:

Click the Accessorial Charges tab.
Click the Add Charge button.
In the pop-up window, fill in:
Charge Type -- Pick from the list (e.g., Detention, Lumper, TONU). This will auto-suggest who should pay.
Date -- When the charge was incurred. Defaults to today.
Responsible Party -- Who pays for this charge:
- Customer -- Added to the customer's invoice on top of the base rate.
- Carrier -- Charged to the carrier who hauled the freight. This option is only meaningful on legs. If you select Carrier when adding a charge from a shipment, the system will automatically reset it to Company with a warning.
- Company -- Your company absorbs the cost.
Amount -- The dollar amount. Use a negative number for credits or refunds.
Description (required) -- Explain why this charge exists.
Click Submit Charge.

The bottom of the tab shows running totals for Customer Charges (added to the invoice) and Company Charges (absorbed by your company).

Payment Splits¶

If a customer is paying via multiple payment methods (for example, part by ACH and part by check), you can split the customer rate across different payment types.

The Customer Rate field on the shipment form includes a payment split widget. Click it to set up the split. The system starts with a single ACH line for the full amount. You can then adjust the amounts and add additional payment types (ACH, Cash, Check, etc.). The Remaining field shows how much of the customer rate still needs to be assigned. Each split line must have a positive amount, and the total across all splits should equal the customer rate.

Viewing Invoice Status¶

Once a shipment is completed and invoiced, an Invoice button appears in the top-right corner of the shipment form. Click it to jump directly to the linked invoice. If the button is not visible, the shipment has not been invoiced yet.

Cash Receipt¶

If the shipment has a rate split with a Cash payment type, a Cash Receipt tab appears on the form. This tab is used to confirm that cash payment has been received.

To confirm a cash receipt:

Open the shipment and click the Cash Receipt tab.
In the Cash Receipt Confirmed By field, select the user who is confirming receipt of the cash payment.
The Cash Confirmed Date field fills in automatically with the current date and time when you select a confirming user. If you clear the confirming user, the date is also cleared.

This confirmation step provides an audit trail showing who verified the cash payment and when.

Communication¶

The Communication tab provides a single place for notes and instructions related to the shipment:

Sales Person (read-only) -- Shows the assigned salesperson(s) for quick reference.
Special Instructions -- The same handling/delivery instructions from the Physical Details tab, duplicated here for convenience so dispatchers do not have to switch tabs.
General Notes -- Free-form notes about the shipment that do not fit elsewhere.

History & Admin¶

The History & Admin tab shows read-only system information:

Active -- Whether the shipment is active or archived. Uncheck to archive a shipment.
Display Name -- The system-generated display name for the shipment.
Audit Summary -- The combined ID and reference number string used for internal tracking.

Searching and Filtering¶

The shipment list has a powerful search bar with built-in filters. Click the search bar to see all available options:

Search by:

Ref.# 1 or Customer Ref (Ref.# 2)
Customer name
Commodity
Origin State or Destination State
Sales Person 1 or Sales Person 2
Freight Class

Status filters:

Created, In Progress, Delivered, or Completed

Urgency filters:

Expedite, Hotshot, or Critical -- Quickly isolate high-priority loads. Standard urgency shipments are shown by default with all other results.

Document filters:

Missing Rate Con -- Shipments that do not have a rate confirmation document uploaded.
Missing POD -- Delivered or completed shipments that are still missing proof of delivery documents.

Billing filters:

Uninvoiced -- Completed shipments that do not have an invoice yet.
High Value -- Shipments with a customer rate of $5,000 or more.

Legs filters:

Has Linked Legs / No Linked Legs -- Find shipments that are or are not connected to any legs.

Archive filters:

Active / Inactive -- Toggle between current and archived shipments. Active shipments are shown by default.

Group by:

Status, Customer, Urgency, Invoice Status
Origin State, Destination State, Lane
Sales Person 1, Sales Person 2, Commodity, Freight Class
Active Status

Uninvoiced Shipments¶

To see which completed shipments still need to be billed:

Click Invoices in the top navigation bar.
Click Uninvoiced Shipments.

This view shows only completed shipments that do not have an invoice yet, grouped by customer. To create invoices:

Select one or more shipments using the checkboxes on the left.
Click the Create Invoice button at the top of the list.

The system will create one invoice per shipment. If you select a single shipment, you are taken directly to the new invoice. If you select multiple, you see a list of all the invoices that were created.

A shipment must be in Completed status before you can create an invoice for it.

Tips & Common Questions¶

Can I edit a completed shipment? Mostly no. Once a shipment reaches Completed status, most fields are locked to protect the billing record. If you need to correct something like the customer rate or commodity, contact your admin. However, a few things can still be changed on a completed shipment: invoice links (when the shipment is invoiced), cash receipt confirmation fields, linked legs, and the archive/restore toggle. Internal messaging and activity fields also remain open.

What is the difference between a shipment and a leg? A shipment is the customer's order -- what they booked and what you bill them for. A leg is the actual truck movement -- which carrier is hauling, which truck, from where to where. One shipment can have multiple legs if the freight needs relay moves or different carriers for different segments.

I added an accessorial charge but chose the wrong responsible party. How do I fix it? Charges are read-only on the shipment form after creation. If you need to correct a charge, your admin can update it directly or you can add a new offsetting charge (a credit for the same amount) and then add the corrected one.

What happens if I do not see the Cash Receipt tab? The Cash Receipt tab only appears when the shipment has a rate split with a Cash payment type. If all of the shipment's rate splits are ACH, check, or other non-cash payment types, this tab is hidden.

First Login -- Find the Shipments menu and learn basic navigation