Outgoing Terminal Expense Invoice

When port container expenses (such as storage or cargo handling fees) have been recorded in the system — either by using the Parse Port Container Expense action or by manual entry — the next step is to re-invoice these costs to the final payer (e.g., the forwarder) using predefined rates. This process is carried out by generating outgoing terminal expense invoices.

NB!

Service rates are configured in the Service Price List. For ‘Storage’ type services, rates are defined per forwarder under the M&R tab of the contact card and are set per storage period.

Step 1: Identify Storage Expenses

Clicking the button launches a three-step invoicing workflow. In Step 1, storage-related expenses are automatically detected and presented in the ‘Free Storage Containers Found’ table.

Voyage, Port, and Terminal must be selected from dropdown lists. These fields are mandatory and validated before proceeding. Once selected, press to fetch expense data.

Container Identification Logic

  • The system loads all containers discharged at the selected voyage, port, and terminal.

  • Containers with existing ‘Storage’ expenses are excluded.

  • For remaining containers, the system attempts to identify linked bills of lading (B/L) for the selected voyage.

  • Based on B/L—container relations, storage expenses are calculated.

  • If multiple bills of lading are linked to one container, previously created expenses are highlighted in red.

Additional Features:

  1. Skip Free Storage Expenses — Optional checkbox to exclude automatically calculated storage entries.

  2. Assign Forwarder and Date End — Required for each entry. Use the button after selecting rows.

  3. Import End Dates — File must contain two columns: Container Number and End Date.

  4. Inline Edit End Date — Directly modify End Date in the table.

  5. Export to Excel — Download the current list of detected containers.

  6. Edit Forwarder Storage Rates — Opens rate settings for a selected forwarder.

  7. Delete Expense — Available via context menu to remove specific entries.

After entering End Dates, the ‘Quantity’ column is auto-calculated (number of storage days, inclusive).

  • If End Date is not set, the system blocks transition to Step 2 and displays:
    "Each expense must have an end date".

  • If the selected period exceeds 30 days, ‘Quantity’ is capped at 31, and ‘End Date’ is limited to Start Date + 30 days.

Forwarder is typically identified from the associated bill of lading but can also be manually assigned using the ‘Forwarder’ field.

Step 2: Review Container-Level Grouping

In Step 2, the system displays all containers and associated expenses relevant to the selected voyage, port, and terminal.

Table Columns

  • Container: Container number.

  • Forwarder: Payer.

  • B/L Number: Bill of Lading number.

  • Amount: Total amount to be invoiced.

  • Start Date: Date of first service.

  • End Date: Date of last service.

Expenses are grouped into three categories:

  • Cross-docking — Includes both ‘Cargo unloading/loading from container’ and ‘Moving a loaded container’ expense types.

  • Storage — For container storage services.

  • Other — Any remaining expenses not related to storage or cross-docking.

Cross-docking Service Formation

  • Related expenses are grouped by container, owner, B/L, and start date.

  • If a group includes both Cargo unloading/loading and Moving a loaded container, a cross-docking service is created.

  • The service rate is selected as follows:

    • If only Boxes rate exists, use Boxes rate.

    • If only Plts rate exists, use Plts rate.

    • If both or neither, use None rate.

Storage Service Formation

  • Storage expenses are grouped by container, forwarder, and BL.

  • Forwarder-specific storage periods are retrieved from their contact card.

  • The system creates one or more storage services per period.

The storage start date can be adjusted for individual containers using the option in the context menu. The new date must be within the container’s expense date range.

Other Services

  • All other expenses are converted to services using a one-to-one mapping.

  • Each service receives:

Step 3: Generate Terminal Invoices

In Step 3, terminal invoices are prepared based on the processed service data.

Invoice Generation Logic

Services are grouped by Forwarder and Bill of Lading. For each group, a Terminal Invoice is created with the following fields:

  • Payer: Container owner.

  • Amount: Total of all services.

  • Currency: Invoice currency.

  • B/L: Bill of Lading.

  • Invoice From: Issuing organization.

  • Invoice Date: Current date.

  • Payment Date: Invoice Date + 14 days (default).

  • Services: List of all related services.

Invoices are only created for services with a non-zero total amount (Amount > 0). If the total is 0, related expenses are marked as Free.

After clicking , terminal invoices are created and the statuses of port container expenses are updated:

  • Expenses included in invoices receive the status: Invoiced.