Core Workflow

Overview

Fr8Labs is designed around the natural flow of a freight forwarding business: Quotation → Booking (export only, when required) → Shipment (Job) → Invoice/Accounting.

flowchart LR
    A[Quotation] --> |Export| B[Booking]
    B --> C
    A --> C["Shipment (Job)"]
    C --> D[Invoice/Accounting]

Quotations – created in the Sales in Fr8Labs Freight Management System, capturing customer rates and routing.
Bookings – used to confirm space with carriers before creating a shipment. Not all shipments require a booking — for example, many imports or trucking/customs jobs skip this step and go straight from quotation (or manual entry) to job.
Shipments (Jobs) – the operational record where routing, partners, documents, and charges are managed.
Invoices / Accounting – financial documents (customer invoices, vendor bills, payments, and reports) linked back to jobs for profitability tracking.

Each document in the workflow builds on the previous one, ensuring consistency of data and reducing duplicate entry.

Quotations

The sales process begins with preparing and sending quotations to customers.

Creating a Quotation

Navigate to Sales → Quotations & Jobsheets → + New Quotation.
Fill in customer details, shipment mode (Air/Ocean), and routing information.

Add charges manually or load a saved Quotation Template to prefill rates.

Quotation Status Flow

Draft – still being prepared.
Quote Ready to Review – waiting for manager approval (if applicable).
Quote Sent – issued to the customer.
Accepted – customer confirmed; quotation can be converted.
Declined / Withdrawn – lost or cancelled.

flowchart LR
    A([Draft]):::draft --> B([Quote Ready to Review]):::review
    B --> C([Quote Sent]):::sent
    C --> D([Accepted]):::accepted
    C --> E([Declined / Withdrawn]):::declined

    classDef draft fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#facc15,stroke-width:2px,color:#92400e;
    classDef review fill:#e0f2fe,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e3a8a;
    classDef sent fill:#f3e8ff,stroke:#a855f7,stroke-width:2px,color:#6b21a8;
    classDef accepted fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px,color:#14532d;
    classDef declined fill:#fee2e2,stroke:#ef4444,stroke-width:2px,color:#7f1d1d;

Converting Quotations

Accepted quotations can be converted directly into Bookings or Shipments (Jobs).

Quotation Details Page

Quotation Status Flow

Bookings

Once a quotation is accepted, or if a customer books directly, create a Booking to confirm space with carriers.

Creating a Booking

Go to Bookings → All Bookings → + New Booking.
Enter customer, carrier, routing, ETD/ETA, and container/flight details.
Save and mark the booking as Confirmed once space is secured.

Booking Status Flow

Draft – created but not yet confirmed with carrier.
Confirmed – carrier space secured.
Converted – booking converted into a shipment/job.
Cancelled – booking cancelled before conversion.

flowchart LR
    A(["**Draft**"]):::draft --> 
    B(["**Confirmed**"]):::confirmed --> 
    C(["**Converted**"]):::converted
    B --> D(["**Cancelled**"]):::cancelled

    classDef draft fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#facc15,stroke-width:2px,color:#92400e;
    classDef confirmed fill:#e0f2fe,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e3a8a;
    classDef converted fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px,color:#14532d;
    classDef cancelled fill:#fee2e2,stroke:#ef4444,stroke-width:2px,color:#7f1d1d;

Converting a Booking

Open the booking → click Convert to Shipment.

Either create a new shipment or link to an existing one.

Booking Details Page

Shipments (Jobs)

A Shipment (Job) is the core operational record. It contains all details for execution, documentation, and invoicing.

Creating a Job

There are several ways to create a Job:

Convert from Quotation (recommended)
Convert from Booking (recommended)
Manual Job Creation – for imports, trucking/customs, or ad-hoc cases.
Duplicate from Previous Job – for recurring shipments.
AI Job Creation via AI Autofill – parse documents into jobs automatically.

You can read more about how to create a job on the Jobs (Shipments page).

Job Tabs

Basic Info – job type, MBL/MAWB, sales info, customer.

Shipment Administration (HBL/HAWB) – house bills, partner details, routing.

Cargo & Container Details – weight, volume, pieces, container numbers.

Job Estimation – projected sales, costs, profit margin.

Accounting – invoices, accruals, vendor costs.

Customs – HS codes, broker, clearance details.

Job Details Page

Job Status Flow

Draft – just created; all fields editable.

In Progress – operational work ongoing.

Ops Closed – operations complete, finance still working on invoices.

Completed – fully closed (ops + finance).

Cancelled – job voided.

flowchart LR
    A(["**Draft**"]):::draft --> 
    B(["**In Progress**"]):::progress --> 
    C(["**Ops Closed**"]):::opsclosed --> 
    D(["**Completed**"]):::completed
    B --> E(["**Cancelled**"]):::cancelled
    A --> E

    classDef draft fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#facc15,stroke-width:2px,color:#92400e;
    classDef progress fill:#e0f2fe,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e3a8a;
    classDef opsclosed fill:#f3e8ff,stroke:#a855f7,stroke-width:2px,color:#6b21a8;
    classDef completed fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px,color:#14532d;
    classDef cancelled fill:#fee2e2,stroke:#ef4444,stroke-width:2px,color:#7f1d1d;