These are the building blocks quotations are assembled from. They are set up once and changed rarely, and getting them right is what makes day-to-day quoting fast and consistent.
Quotation types
A quotation type is a template governing what a quotation looks like:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name | What operators pick from — Sea Import FCL, Air Export. |
| Description | What it is for. |
| Status | Active or Disabled. Disabled types stay on historic quotations but are no longer offered. |
| Fields | Extra fields this type collects, each typed as string or number. |
The custom fields are the useful part. Where a class of business needs information the standard quotation does not hold — a booking reference, a tender number, a project code — add it to the type rather than burying it in the terms and conditions.
Name types the way your operators speak. A list of twenty near-identical names is worse than five clear ones.
Quotation roles
Quotation roles define the parts people play on a quotation — who is selling it, who approves it, who is notified. They control routing and responsibility within the quotation itself, and are distinct from the system-wide roles that control permissions (Building roles).
A user can hold only one quotation role — "This user already has a quotation role. Update that role." Unlike system roles, which stack, this is one per person. To change what someone does on quotations, edit their existing entry rather than adding a second.
Charge codes and billing codes
Two code sets, easily confused, doing different jobs:
| Used on | Faces | |
|---|---|---|
| Charge code | Charge lines | The customer — what appears on their quotation and invoice |
| Billing code | Cost lines | You — how the cost is classified internally and posted to the ledger |
A single movement therefore carries both: an ocean freight charge code on what you bill, and an ocean freight billing code on what you pay. They are deliberately separate so that customer-facing wording and internal accounting classification can differ.
Charge code groups and billing code groups
Both code sets have groups. Groups do two things:
- Presentation — related lines print together on the quotation instead of scattered.
- Analysis — reporting rolls up by group, so you can see freight versus origin charges versus destination charges without listing every code.
Put every code in a group when you create it. Retrofitting groups across a live code set is tedious and nobody ever gets round to it.
Cost line groups
Cost line groups bundle cost lines that always travel together — a standard set of origin charges, a customs clearance package — so an operator adds the bundle rather than remembering six individual lines.
This is the single highest-value piece of configuration for quoting speed and accuracy. Most quoting errors are omissions, not wrong numbers, and a bundle cannot forget a line.
Naming and hygiene
- Name codes as operators speak, not as accountants write. The person picking from the list under time pressure is an operator.
- Disable rather than delete. Historic quotations and invoices refer to these codes; removing one makes old documents harder to interpret.
- Review before adding. A near-duplicate code splits reporting in two and neither half is right.
- Keep charge and billing codes aligned. Where a charge code has an obvious cost counterpart, name them so the pairing is visible; matching cost against revenue later depends on someone being able to see it.
Last updated 15 September 2026