Transport Charges

Use Transport Charges on a Transport Order to manage freight cost and re-billing.

Transport charges can support:

  • carrier purchase charges,
  • sales re-billing charges,
  • self-billing purchase invoices or purchase orders,
  • sales invoices for transport charges,
  • allocation across requests, stops, and source document lines.

Transport Charges on a Transport Order

Where to work

  1. Open a Transport Order.
  2. Go to the Charges section.
  3. Add or review charge lines.
  4. Use Show Assignment when the amount must be distributed.

Expected result:

  • The Transport Order shows the carrier cost or customer re-billing amount.
  • Assigned amounts explain how the charge is distributed across requests, stops, or source document lines.
  • Posting is easier to validate because unassigned or unlinked charges are visible before execution is completed.

Charge line fields

Field Use
Type Purchase or Sales charge behavior
Charge No. Item charge or charge code used by your finance process
Customer/Vendor Name Account that receives or pays the charge
Quantity Charge quantity
Price Unit price
Amount Total line amount
Assigned Amount Amount already allocated inside Shipper TMS
Assigned Amount to Source Line Amount distributed on linked source document item-charge assignment

Allocate a charge

  1. Select the charge line.
  2. Choose Show Assignment.
  3. Choose a suggestion method:
    • Equally,
    • By Distance,
    • By Weight,
    • By Volume,
    • By Footage,
    • By Number of Logistic Units.
  4. Review Amount to Assign on each row.
  5. Adjust amounts manually if needed.
  6. Choose Apply if the allocation must be pushed to source document item-charge assignments.
  7. Confirm that the remaining amount is zero.

Example: allocate freight by gross weight

Use this example when one carrier freight cost must be spread across several Sales Order lines.

Sales Order line Gross weight Share Assigned amount
Line 10000 300 kg 60% 300.00
Line 20000 200 kg 40% 200.00
Total 500 kg 100% 500.00

Steps:

  1. Add a sales or purchase transport charge line for 500.00.
  2. Choose Show Assignment.
  3. Choose By Weight.
  4. Review the suggested amounts.
  5. Choose Apply when the assignment must update the linked source document item-charge assignment.

Choosing an allocation method

Method Use it when Watch for
Equally Each request or source line should carry the same cost share. Small and large shipments receive the same amount.
By Distance Cost should follow route distance or drop distance. Run Get Transport Time & Distance or Update Distances first.
By Weight Freight cost is mostly driven by gross weight. Item weights must be maintained.
By Volume Truck space is driven more by cube than by weight. Item volume must be maintained.
By Footage Floor space or linear loading is the key constraint. Footage data must be maintained consistently.
By Number of Logistic Units Pallets, crates, or other unit counts drive the cost split. Estimated or actual logistic unit quantities must be reliable.

Transport charge allocation lines

Why posting can be blocked

Transport Order posting can stop when charge lines do not have a complete financial path.

Blocker What to fix
Charge amount is not fully assigned Open Show Assignment and assign the remaining amount
Source document assignment is missing Choose Apply after reviewing the assignment
Linked sales or purchase charge line is not posted when required Post or correct the source document before posting the Transport Order
Carrier rate type has no item charge mapping Complete Carrier Rate Types Mapping in TMS Setup
Charge is only informational Confirm the process does not require source document assignment for that charge line

Purchase charge actions

Action Use it for
Add Carrier Invoice Lines Select purchase invoice item-charge lines for assignment by drop
Create Self-Billing Invoice Create a purchase invoice for the carrier or carrier agent
Create Self-Billing Purchase Order Create a purchase order for the carrier or carrier agent

Sales charge actions

Action Use it for
Suggest Sales Charges Lines Suggest customer re-billing based on transport cost
Add Charge to Linked Sales Add a charge line to the original sales order
Create Sales Invoice Create a sales invoice for transport charges

Good to know

  • Use Update Distances in the assignment page when distance-based allocation depends on current route data.
  • Use Clear Amount to Assign before rebuilding an allocation from another method.
  • Use Show Item Charge Assignment to inspect the Business Central item-charge distribution.
  • Posting the Transport Order can be blocked by unlinked, unassigned, or unposted charge lines.

Troubleshooting

Problem What to check
The assigned amount is not zero after allocation Reopen Show Assignment, review Amount to Assign, and apply or adjust the remaining amount.
Distance allocation looks wrong Run Get Transport Time & Distance or Update Distances before suggesting by distance.
Self-billing document is not created Check carrier vendor setup, charge type, source link, and required Business Central purchase setup.
Sales rebilling is not created Check customer, source sales document status, charge type, and item charge setup.
Transport Order posting is blocked Resolve charge lines where the source link is inactive or where linked sales, purchase, or transfer charge lines are still unposted.