Handling charges: receiving, shipping and cross-dock

Overview

Handling is what you bill for moving the goods in and out. It is created on its own: when a receipt is confirmed (receiving handling) and when a shipment is marked as shipped (shipping or cross-dock handling). The quantity depends on the rate’s basis: pallets, cartons, pieces or pounds on the document.

Before you start

Handling must be on the client’s rate card (Pricing tab of their record). Without the row, it is not billed. To bill it at the base price it is enough for the row to exist (pick an Auto charge option and save).
The right rate basis in the catalog or on the client’s row.
Product packaging (pieces per carton and per pallet) if you bill per pallet or carton, and weight if you bill by weight. See Products and units.
Billing module enabled in the warehouse.

The three handlings

Handling	When it is created	On what quantity
Receiving handling	When the receipt is confirmed	What was received
Shipping handling	When the shipment is marked as shipped	What was loaded (picked)
Cross-dock handling	When a cross-dock’s outbound leg ships	What was loaded; replaces the other two

All three are “engine” services: they cannot be captured as an accessorial or added by hand on an invoice, so they are never billed twice.

What quantity is billed by basis

Rate basis	Quantity
Per Pallet	Pallets on the document, calculated per product with its packaging (see below)
Per Carton	Cartons on the document, calculated per product with its packaging
Per Piece	Pieces on the document (in the product’s base unit)
Per Weight (lb)	Pounds on the document
Per Shipment or Flat Rate	Pieces on the document (see warning)

Important: on receiving and shipping handling, the Per Shipment and Flat Rate bases are not billed once per document: they are multiplied by the pieces. A 50.00 “per shipment” handling on a 200-piece receipt would come out at 10,000.00. Until this changes, use per pallet, carton, piece or weight for handling; if you need a fixed charge per receipt or shipment, create a separate service with the per-shipment basis and set it to bill at receipt or at shipment (those do count one per document). See Services charged automatically.

How pallets and cartons are counted

Each line is converted to pieces (the product’s base unit). On the receipt, what was received as already converted; on the shipment, what was picked.
Pieces are added up per product.
Per product, they are divided by the pieces its pallet (or carton) level holds and rounded up: a half pallet takes up the whole slot.
The results for all products are added up.

Example: a receipt with 130 pieces of product A (60 per pallet) and 20 of product B (100 per pallet) bills 3 + 1 = 4 pallets.

The level is found by its role in the product’s packaging (the pallet level or the carton level), not by the name you gave it. If the product doesn’t have that level, its pieces are billed as they are —each piece as a pallet— and the system only notes it in its internal log, with no warning on screen.

Billing by weight

Always in pounds: if the product is in kilograms, it is converted.
Receipt: the weight entered on each line (taken as the line’s total weight) or, if missing, the pieces times the product’s catalog weight.
Shipment: what was picked times the product’s catalog weight (or the weight entered when it was received).
With no weight anywhere, the charge stays at 0 and the minimum charge sets the floor.

Date and rate applied

Receiving handling carries the receipt’s Actual arrival date (it can be backdated when confirming).
Shipping handling carries the Actual ship-out date entered when closing the shipment.
The rate is the one in effect on that date: if you scheduled an increase with Effective From, a receipt backdated before the increase is billed at the old price.
The rate’s minimum and maximum are stored with the charge and applied when building the invoice, on that service’s total in that invoice.

Shipments with goods from several clients

If a shipment carries lines from several clients, shipping handling is calculated per client: each pays for what was picked from their lines, at their own rate. The same goes for storage at shipment and at-shipment services. Each client gets their own invoice.

When one truck takes several shipments, each shipment gets its own invoice: the document wins over the truck.

Cross-docks

A cross-dock has two documents (a receipt and a shipment) for a single move, so it is billed once:

The inbound receipt bills no handling.
When the outbound ships, Cross-dock handling is billed if the client has it on their rate card; otherwise, normal shipping handling.
The cross-dock staging location generates no storage.
The charges of the receipt and shipment of the same cross-dock go out on the same invoice.

If the cross-dock is cancelled, its surviving documents are billed as a normal receipt and shipment. See How a cross-dock is done and Dock, yard and cross-dock.

Corrections

Editing the quantities of a confirmed receipt recalculates its handling while not invoiced. If it is already invoiced, fix the line on the invoice.
Changing the client of a confirmed receipt moves the pending charge; with invoiced charges it is blocked.
Cancelling a receipt deletes its uninvoiced charges; with invoiced charges it is blocked.
Removing shipping handling from an invoice by returning it to pending makes the shipment stop showing as settled.

See Cancel or correct a receipt and Close a shipment.

Example

Pacific Brands has receiving handling per pallet at 14.00 and shipping handling by weight at 0.04 per pound with a 25.00 minimum.

A receipt of 450 pieces of a product holding 100 per pallet: 5 pallets × 14.00 = 70.00.
A shipment of 300 pieces at 1.5 pounds each: 450 pounds × 0.04 = 18.00; the invoice adds 7.00 of minimum charge and bills 25.00.

Best practices

Set up each product’s pallet and carton packaging before its first receipt.
Use per pallet, carton, piece or weight for handling.
Enter the actual arrival date and ship-out date: they decide the month and the rate.
Set a cross-dock handling rate if you bill that move differently.

Troubleshooting

Handling billed pieces instead of pallets.

The product has no pallet level in its packaging. Add it and edit the receipt (if not invoiced) so it is recalculated.

Handling by weight came out at 0.

Neither the line nor the product has a weight. The minimum sets the floor; enter the product’s weight.

A “per shipment” handling came out very expensive.

It was multiplied by the pieces. Change the handling basis and fix the line on the invoice.

“Handling and storage are billed automatically when the client has them contracted — they cannot be added by hand.”

You tried to add handling on an invoice. Add it to the client’s rate card and, for the past document, edit it so it is recalculated.

FAQ

Can I add handling by hand on an invoice?

No. The system rejects it so it is never billed twice. What you can do is edit the quantity and rate of the handling line already on the invoice.

If the shipment leaves short, is what was ordered or what was loaded billed?

What was loaded: when closing the shipment the loaded quantities are entered, and handling is calculated on them.