Workspace
New load
Book one container, or a whole booking of them, with its stops, charges, rates, dates and advances.
New load is where a sales agent or dispatcher books freight. One form creates one load per container. If a booking has several containers, the form creates them all at once, with the same customer, lane, rates, stops and charges, and the next free load references.
- Where
- Workspace › New load (/loads/new), or the New load button on the Load board
- Who
- Loads · create
- Creates
- One load per container, with reference AR-0001, AR-0002…
- Starting status
- Needs Carrier (no carrier chosen) or Needs Driver (carrier chosen)
- Checks
- Customer credit (R2), sales agent (R9), container number format
Before you start
- The customer must already exist. Add it on Customers.
- A carrier is optional. You can cover the load later from the Rate board or the load record.
- If you book the same lane often, start from a load template.
The form
Fields marked with an asterisk are required. Every date is optional.
Parties
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Customer | Required. Pick from the list. |
| Carrier | Optional. Choosing one now puts the load straight into Needs Driver. A carrier that has not passed compliance can be chosen, but the load cannot be dispatched until it does (R1). |
| Sales agent | Required. The person who owns the load. Must hold the sales, manager or owner role. A sales agent can only pick themselves (R9). |
Container
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Container number | Four letters then seven digits, like MSCU1234567. Spaces and dashes are removed and letters made capital. |
| Booking reference | Required when there is more than one container. It is what holds them together afterwards. |
| Equipment | One of 13 types, such as Container/Drayage, Dry Van, Reefer, Flatbed. |
| Containers on this booking | 1 to 40. More than 1 creates one load per container. |
| Commodity | Required. What is in the box. |
| Pallets, Weight (lb) | Optional. |
Route
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Origin, Destination | Required. Search for a place or type it. |
| Origin ZIP, Destination ZIP | Optional US ZIP codes. |
| Miles | Estimated from the two ZIPs when both are known. You can change it, or recalculate. |
Stops
Add a stop adds a row: stop type (Pickup, Delivery, Warehouse, Rail Yard, Port, Cross Dock, Other), reason (for example Drayage, Cross Dock, Customer Request), name, ZIP, appointment date and time, and instructions.
Charges
Add a charge adds a row: charge type (one of the 13 on Charge types), billed to (Customer, Carrier, Warehouse, Sales Agent, Other), amount and note. A running total by party is shown.
Rates
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Customer rate | Required. Follows the total of charges billed to the customer until you type over it. |
| Carrier rate | Optional. |
| Margin | Worked out for you as customer rate minus carrier rate. |
Dates
ETA, Last free day, Pickup date and Pickup time. A pickup date with a time also creates a pickup appointment on the load.
Clearance
| Switch | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Steamship line advance | You front SSL charges for the customer. |
| Customs advance | You front duty. |
Turn either on and you must name the line or broker. The form shows that it creates one advance record per switch, plus your company's advance fee (set on Company profile, $75 by default). Finance sets the expected amount later.
Remarks
Free text up to 500 characters, such as "Chassis flip at the terminal".
Book a load
Open New load
From the sidebar, the command palette, or the Load board.Optional: start from a template
Pick one in Start from a template and press Use template. Then add the container and dates.Fill in the parties, container, route and rate
The customer, sales agent, commodity, origin, destination and customer rate are required.Add stops and charges
As needed.Press Create load
With more than one container, the button says Create 3 loads (for example).Open the new load
A green message lists the new load references as links. Book another clears the form.
When the customer's credit blocks the load
The server checks credit before it creates anything. It adds the new load's rate (times the number of containers) to what the customer already owes on open loads and unpaid invoices.
| The customer is | What happens |
|---|---|
| Not approved (pending or rejected) | Blocked: the customer is not approved for credit yet. |
| Approved, and the booking would go over the limit | Blocked: the message says by how much, and how much is already open. |
| Approved with no limit set | Allowed. |
When a load is blocked, a red Credit blocked message appears with Raise a credit request.
Press Raise a credit request
A dialog opens with a suggested new limit.Set the new limit and say why
The new limit must be more than the current one.Send
Managers and finance are notified. The request waits on Credit limits and Approvals.Book again once it is approved
Nothing is saved until you book again.
Only one open request per customer is allowed at a time.
What happens when you save
- Each load gets the next free reference (
AR-and four digits), even when two people book at once. - Status is Needs Carrier, or Needs Driver if you chose a carrier.
- The customer's payment terms are copied onto the load. The carrier's terms are copied if a carrier was chosen (otherwise 30 days).
- An activity entry says where the load came from, and that an advance was opened if so.
- One audit entry per load (
load.create). - If you booked it to another agent, that agent is notified.
Errors you may see
| Message | Why |
|---|---|
| A container number is four letters then seven digits | The number is not in the ISO format. |
| …containers booked together need a booking reference | More than one container and no booking reference. |
| A container number belongs to one box… | You typed a container number on a multi-container booking. |
| Name the line or broker the advance is going to | An advance switch is on and the line or broker is empty. |
| You can book loads only to yourself | A sales agent picked another agent. |
| Choose a sales agent from the list | The agent is inactive or has no sales, manager or owner role. |
Related
- Load templates
- Load board
- Load record
- Arrival notices (another way to create loads)
- Credit limits
- Advances