The purpose of this guide is to provide instruction for configuring and using the Freight Management features. 

Freight Management Terms & Definitions

Freight Management FAQ's

Planning Checklist

This section identifies the areas to consider and configure before assigning costs for the first time. 

1. Determine how Freight Purchase Orders will be managed going forward.

   1. Will they be used for all Sales Orders, Sales Returns, and Inventory Transfers or only some?

   2. Will they be used for all Carriers or only some?

   3. For the transactions they will be used for, do you have processes in place to ensure no applicable transactions are posted without estimated freight?

   4. Are there any other transactions that post to a freight accrual account? If so, do you need to setup a new Freight Accrual account(s) to keep the manual entries separate from those linked to a Freight Purchase Order?

2. Ensure all applicable “freight” related GL Accounts are created in the General Ledger.

   1. Sales Freight Expense: One or more accounts to record delivered freight expenses from Sales transactions.

      1. One "Delivered Freight Expense" account can be used for both Sales and Inventory

      2. Two "Delivered Freight Expense" accounts can be created to separate Sales and Inventory

      3. Multi "Delivered Freight Expense" accounts can be created to separate as needed (Fresh vs Frozen or Salmon vs Crab) 

   2. Transfer Freight Expense: One or more accounts to record delivered freight expenses from Sales transactions.

      1. The same comments from above apply

   3. Freight Accrual Control Account(s) - Used for delivered freight accruals on transactions that create Freight Purchase Orders. One or more accounts to record delivered freight accruals from posted Sales and Inventory transactions that auto create Freight Purchase Orders. The balance in this account(s) should match the balance of open Freight Purchase Orders.

      1. This account(s) should have the Control Account Type of "Freight" assigned to signify the details of the account are maintained in a subsidiary ledger.

      2. One "Freight Accrual" liability account can be used for both Sales and Inventory

      3. Two "Freight Accrual" liability accounts can be created to separate accrued sales freight from accrued transfer freight 

   4. Freight Accrual non Control Accounts - Used for delivered freight accruals on transactions that DO NOT create Freight Purchase Orders. One or more accounts to record delivered freight accruals from other transactions (e.g., manual journal entries, manual AP invoices) .

      1. This account(s) should NOT have the Control Account Type assigned, as the balance will not tie out to a subsidiary ledger.

   5. Freight Variance: One or more accounts to post freight variances to.

      1. This account(s) should be included in the Cost of Goods section of the Income Statement.

         1. This account will be Debited anytime the paid invoice exceeds the accrued freight amount  

         2. This account will be Credited anytime the paid invoice is less than the accrued amount 

      2. One "Freight Variance" account can be used for both Sales and Inventory

      3. Two "Freight Variance" accounts can be created to separate freight variance between Sales and Inventory

3. Assign the Freight Accounts to each 'Inventory' Item on the GL Accounts tab of the Item Record View.

   1. Sales Freight Expense (Debit): 

   2. Sales Freight Accrual (Credit): 

       

      1.  This should be the non Control Account for freight that is used to record 'accrued freight' on Sales Order Shipments that DO NOT auto-create Freight Purchase Orders. The account used for Freight Purchase Orders is set on the Sales Transaction Class.

   3. Transfer Freight Expense (Debit): 

   4. Transfer Freight Accrual (Credit): 

      1.  This should be the non Control Account for freight to record 'accrued freight' on Transfer Shipments that DO NOT auto-create Freight Purchase Orders. The account used for Freight Purchase Orders is set on the Transfer Transaction Class.

4. Ensure all applicable non-inventory "Freight” related Item Codes are created in the Item Master.

   1. When Freight Purchase Orders are created, line items are added based on which Delivered Freight Rate Types contain expected freight amount(s). Each Delivered Freight Rate Type charge must be mapped to a non-Inventory Item. The same Item can be assigned to each Delivered Freight Rate Type for both Sales and Transfers or they each can have unique item codes assigned.

   2. Add one or more non-inventory Item Codes to be used for Freight + Surcharge Amounts

   3. Add one or more non-inventory Item Codes to be used for Handling Amounts

   4. Add one or more non-inventory Item Codes to be used for Other Charge Amounts

5. Ensure there is a Purchase Order Class configured for Freight Purchase Orders. 

   1. It is recommended, but not required, to use a distinct Purchase Order Class for Freight Purchase Orders. Purchasing → Configuration → Transaction Class

6. Sales Order & Sales Return Transaction Classes. Configure the 'Freight Matching' section on the Transaction Class Record View for each Sales Order and Sales Return Transaction Class you will be managing with Freight Purchase Orders. Sales → Configuration → Transaction Class 

   1.  Auto-Create Purchase Orders for Delivered Freight: Set to "No" until you are ready for the cutover but configure the remaining items now for the Transaction Class(es) that will participate in Freight Purchase Orders.

   2. Sales Freight Accrual GL Account: Assign the Freight Accrual Control Account that will be used for automated Freight Purchase Orders.

   3. Freight Variance GL Account: Assign the GL Account that will be used to manage variances between expected and actual freight amounts.

   4. Purchase Order Class: Assign the Purchase Order Class used for Freight Purchase Orders

   5. Purchase Order Item ID for Freight + Surcharge Amounts: Assign the Item ID to be used 

   6. Purchase Order Item ID for Handling Amounts: Assign the Item ID to be used 

   7. Purchase Order Item ID for Other Charge Amounts: Assign the Item ID to be used   

7. Inventory Transfer Transaction Classes. Configure the 'Freight Matching' section on the Transaction Class Record View for each Transfer Transaction Class you will be managing with Freight Purchase Orders. Inventory → Configuration → Transaction Class 

   1.  Auto-Create Purchase Orders for Delivered Freight: Set to "No" until you are ready for the cutover but configure the remaining items now for the Transfer Class(es) that will participate in Freight Purchase Orders.

   2. Transfer Freight Accrual GL Account: Assign the Freight Accrual Control Account that will be used for automated Freight Purchase Orders.

   3. Freight Variance GL Account: Assign the GL Account that will be used to manage variances between expected and actual freight amounts.

   4. Purchase Order Class: Assign the Purchase Order Class used for Freight Purchase Orders

   5. Purchase Order Item ID for Freight + Surcharge Amounts: Assign the Item ID to be used 

   6. Purchase Order Item ID for Handling Amounts: Assign the Item ID to be used 

   7. Purchase Order Item ID for Other Charge Amounts: Assign the Item ID to be used 

8. Carriers. Configure the 'Freight Matching' properties for the Carrier(s) that participate in Freight Purchase Orders. Sales or Inventory → Setup → Carriers

   1. AP Vendor Name: Assigns the Vendor to be used on the associated Purchase Order record.

   2. Enable for Sales Freight Purchase Orders: Set to "Yes" to make the Carrier eligible for participation in Freight Purchase Orders for Sales Orders and Returns 

   3. Enable for Transfer Freight Purchase Orders: Set to "Yes" to make the Carrier eligible for participation in Freight Purchase Orders for Transfers 

Cutover Plan

This section identifies the steps necessary to begin using the Freight Management features once all the items in the Planning Checklist have been completed

1. Ensure the Freight Accrual Control Account(s) have no balance.

2. Set the "Auto-Create Purchase Orders for Delivered Freight" Property to "Yes" for all the Sales, Returns, and Transfers that will auto create Freight Purchase Orders

Ongoing Freight Management (after the cutover)

These steps should be followed prior to closing each Fiscal Period or as needed 

1. Ensure the total balance in the accrued freight Control Accounts matches the total value of the open Freight Purchase Orders ← We do not have an easy way (report) to do this 

   1. Balance in the freight Control Account(s) as of a Period End

   2. Balance in open Freight Purchase Orders

      1. 'AP Amt. Remaining' column in the Purchase Order Line List View, when the Purchase Order Line List View is filtered to only include freight purchase order lines with a Purchase Order Date <= period end date.  

      2. Getting this out of the Purchase Order Line List View may be a challenge. Users will need to add the new "Source Transaction" and then open the Column Filter Tool for that column and set it to either "Is not null", "Is not empty", or "Has value" 

      3. This is where a new Freight Control Account Subledger inquiry or report should be added 

Auto-Creating Freight Purchase Orders

This section provides details on how Purchase Orders are auto-created from the Freight Management feature. Freight Purchase Orders can be created from:

• Posted Sales Orders and/or Returns

• Posted 1-part Transfers

• Posted Transfer Receipts from 2-part Transfers 

Purchase Orders that are automatically created when posting Sales and/or Inventory transactions containing delivered freight (Freight PO's), and their associated line items, have different edit rules from manually created Purchase Orders and/or manually added line items. This section identifies the values, where they came from and the edit rules for each field of an "Open" Freight Purchase Order.

Click here to see help on Manually created Purchase Orders. 

Header Toolbar

The Toolbar Icons shown have different functionality for Freight Purchase Orders vs. manually entered Purchase Orders. The functionality of the toolbar Icons not specified in this section work the same across all Purchase Order types. 

Home Tab

The title row for a Freight Purchase Order is constructed differently. It is Formatted as:

PO #: [PO #]    Created from [SourceTransactionType]: [SourceTransactionID]    Shipped from: [Load Header Site Name]

Properties Tab

Attributes Tab

Attribute Values are not auto assigned on Freight Purchase Orders.

Item Grid: Toolbar

The Toolbar Icons shown below have different functionality for Freight Purchase Orders. Toolbar Icons not specified in this section maintain the default behavior. 

Item Grid: Columns