Pre-rating an order

You can pre-rate an order in TMW Operations to see the expected line haul and accessorial charges. However, the system will not finalize charges until you actually invoice the order.

Orders are pre-rated in the Invoice Charges section of the Profit and Loss tab. This tab is available in both Order Maintenance and the Trip Folder.

You can use one or both of the following methods to pre-rate invoice charges:

  • Manual entry of charges

  • Automatic calculation of charges based on rates previously set up in TMW’s Rate Schedules application

    You can use either the Rate by Total mode or the Rate by Detail mode to pre-rate an order. You specify the rating mode by selecting the appropriate radio button. When you select:

    • Rate by Total
      The system bases the charge on the order’s total quantity, such as total weight or mileage.

    • Rate by Detail
      The charge for each freight detail on an order is determined separately. In other words, each commodity on an order can have its own unique billing rate. When you compute charges, the system applies the appropriate rate for each commodity.

    Note: You use the [Order] DefaultRateMode INI setting to specify which radio button is selected by default. Regardless of the setting, you can select either rating mode on an order-by-order basis.

In some cases, you may need to use both rating options for the same order. For example, you could use the Compute Charges command to assign the line haul charge and some accessorial charges automatically, and then use the Add Charge command to add other accessorials to the order manually.

image1 See it in action

  1. The Profit and Loss tab turns blue when any invoice or pay details exist.

  2. On the Profit and Loss tab, you can enter invoice details and pay details in one location. This allows you to see a trip’s estimated profitability at a glance.

  3. You can create invoice details for a single order, or for multiple orders consolidated onto a single move.

The Invoice Charges section of the Profit and Loss tab is shown here.

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Header section

The following buttons and fields appear at the top of the Profit and Loss tab.

Add Charge

Adds a blank invoice detail to the end of the list of invoice details

Delete Charge

Removes a selected invoice detail

Compute Charges

Rates an order automatically by applying line haul and accessorial billing rates that were set up in TMW’s Rate Schedules application

Fix All

Forces the system to retain all pre-rated charges during the invoicing process

Invoice details

Invoice details are listed in the middle of the Invoice Charges section. Some of the most important columns are defined below.

You can use the Field Chooser to add or remove columns as needed.

Frequently, the default column names in the application’s data grids are the same as the column names in the database table. However, sometimes they differ when the database names are long or difficult to understand.

This list shows the default column names as they appear in the user interface. When the user interface name is different from the database name, the database name is shown in parentheses below the user interface name.

You can view a column’s default name and database name by right-clicking on the name in the column header. For more information, see Renaming columns in a grid layout.

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Field Definition

Item Code
(cht_itemcode)

Description of the charge type on which the invoice detail is based

Notes:

  1. Because Item Codes can be cryptic, the system shows the charge type’s description in this field by default.

    First available in version 2020.1

    You can use the ItemCodeDisplayValue General Info Table setting to show the unique Item Code value in this field instead.

  2. This field displays a list of all active charge types.

Description
(ivd_description)

Description of the charge type selected in the Item Code field

Quantity
(ivd_quantity)

Rating quantity, i.e., the number by which the rate is multiplied to determine the charge

Rate
(ivd_rate)

Per-unit billing amount

Charge
(ivd_charge)

Read-only field. The amount charged. The system automatically multiplies the Quantity times the Rate and displays the total in this field.

Basis

Charge type’s basis:

  • Shipment
    A primary charge type used for line haul charges

  • Accessorial
    A secondary charge type used for add-on charges

Basis Unit
(cht_basisunit)

Type of measurement on which the rate is based, for example, Flat, Distance, or Weight

Rate # (tar_number)

Unique ID assigned to the rate used to calculate this charge

Bill To
(ivd_billto)

Identification code assigned to the company to be billed for shipment

Rate UoM
(ivd_rateunit)

Calculation method, for example, Flat, $/Mile, or $/Piece

Note: Rate UoM is equivalent to the Rate Unit in the Rate Schedules application.

Fix
(ivd_quantity_type)

Freezes (fixes) the quantity. The options are:

  • Not Fixed (default)
    The quantity is not fixed. As a result, the actual quantity recorded for the trip will be used when the order is invoiced.

  • Inv Only
    The quantity is fixed and will be retained when the order is invoiced.

  • Inv & Stl
    The quantity is fixed and will be retained both when the order is invoiced and when the resource is paid for the trip.

    Note: This option is applicable when both the billing rate and the pay rate have the same basis. For example, both rates are based on weight, or on volume, or on miles, and so on.

Fix Rt
(ivd_rate_type)

When selected, the rate entered here is frozen (fixed) and will not be changed in invoicing.

Charge Summary

The Charge Summary section displays total charges for the order in the Order column, and total charges for the entire move in the Move column.

  • If a move has a single order, the dollar amounts in the Order and Move columns are identical.

  • If a move contains multiple consolidated orders, the Move column displays the summed charges for all orders.

Field Definition

Line Haul

Total line haul charge(s)

Accessorials

Total accessorial charge(s)

Total Charges

Sum of the line haul charge(s) plus the accessorial charge(s)

Invoice Numbers

Invoice numbers associated with the order

Note: This includes line haul invoices, supplemental invoices, credit memos, and rebills.

Cur

Currency that applies for the order

Order numbers

The order number appears in a sub tab along the left side of the Invoice Charges section. If you consolidated multiple orders onto a single move, a sub tab appears for each order. Select a sub tab to add, view, edit, or delete invoice details for that order.

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Creating invoice details

To create invoice details for an order, follow these steps.

  1. In the Trip Folder or Order Maintenance, look up the order for which you want to create invoice details.

  2. Select the Profit and Loss tab.

  3. If you want to pre-rate the order automatically, select a mode by which to calculate charges.

    Field Definition

    By Total

    Calculate charges based on a sum total, such as weight or mileage, for all stops.

    By Detail

    Calculate charges based on the appropriate rate for each commodity.

  4. If the trip has more than one order, click the sub tab for the appropriate order.

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  5. Create an invoice detail:

    • To calculate charges automatically, click Compute Charges.
      The system calculates line haul and accessorial charges based on rates that match the trip.

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    • To enter charges manually:

      1. Click Add Charge.
        The system adds a blank detail line at the bottom of the Invoice Charges grid.

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      2. Select the charge type’s Item Code.

      3. Enter the Quantity and Rate.

        Note: If the Rate UoM for the charge type is Flat, enter a quantity of 1.

  6. Repeat Steps 3-4 for each order on the trip.

    Note: The system calculates each order on a move individually.

  7. If you want to freeze all the charges on an order so that the system will not update them in invoicing, select the Fix All checkbox.

    Note: The Fix All checkbox affects all charges associated with the order.

  8. Click image8 Save.

To remove an invoice detail, select the row. Then click Delete Charge.