Overview

Partners in Fr8Labs are the organizations you do business with. They typically fall into two roles:

• Customers (you invoice them)

• Suppliers (you receive bills from them) Some partners can be both.

Operationally, it's useful to group partners by how they interact with your workflows:

• Shipment partners: carriers, co-loaders, agents, brokers, trucking/warehouse vendors—used within Jobs (FMS).

• Non-shipment partners: office vendors like legal, marketing, utilities—managed directly in Accounting.

Partner Landing Page on Accounting Module (Customer)

Partner Landing Page on FR8Labs Platform

Where to manage partners

• Shipment partners Managed in FMS (Core) so they're available during quotation, booking, and job execution. They sync to Accounting when invoicing is needed.

• Non-shipment partners Managed directly in Accounting for AP/AR only (no job linkage).

Navigate to Customer/Supplier on Accounting Module

Navigate to Partner Management on Fr8Labs Platform

Prerequisites

• You have access to Accounting and/or FMS based on your role.

• You can create or edit Customer and Supplier records.

Create a new (non-shipment) Supplier (Accounting)

1. Go to Accounting → Partners → Suppliers.

2. Click + Add Supplier.

3. Fill in the supplier details (see "Key fields" below).

4. Save.

5. (Optional) Add Bank Accounts, Payment Terms, Tax IDs, and set Default Expense/Payable accounts if your company requires strict mappings.

Supplier list and Add Supplier button

New Supplier Form

Create a new Customer (Accounting)

1. Go to Accounting → Partners → Customers.

2. Click + Add Customer.

3. Fill in the customer details (see "Key fields" below).

4. Save.

5. (Optional) Add Credit Limit, Price List, Tax ID/Tax Category, Billing Contact, and set Default Income/Receivable accounts if applicable.

Customer list and Add Customer button

New Customer Form

Key fields

Identity & classification

• Partner Name (required): Legal or trading name used on invoices.

• Role: Customer / Supplier / Both.

• Category: Shipment / Non-shipment (for reporting and routing).

Contacts & addresses

• Primary Contact: Name, email, phone (used on invoices/statements).

• Registered/Billing Address; Shipping/Operational Address (used on documents, tax, and dispatch).

Finance & compliance

• Tax ID / GST/VAT No.: Appears on invoices and tax reports.

• Default Currency: If partner transacts in a non-base currency.

• Payment Terms (dropdown):

  • Due on Receipt

  • Net 7 / Net 14 / Net 30 / Net 45 / Net 60

  • Custom (enter days)

• Credit Limit (customers): For credit control and dunning.

• Bank Details (suppliers): Bank name, account no., SWIFT/IBAN (for payments).

• Default Ledger Accounts (advanced):

  • Customers → Receivable / Income (default revenue account)

  • Suppliers → Payable / Expense (default cost account)

• Tax Category / Tax Withholding (if applicable)

Operational (shipment partners)

• Partner Type (dropdown): Carrier, Co-loader, Overseas Agent, Broker, Trucking, Warehouse, Airline, NVOCC, Port/Terminal, Other.

• Service Modes (multi-select): Ocean / Air / Truck / Rail.

• Coverage: Countries, ports, lanes (informational—supports routing selections).

• Docs & Notes: Rate agreements, SOPs, compliance files.

Partner Details: Print Preview for Operational & Accounting Docs.

Best practices

• One record per legal entity - avoid duplicates like "ABC Logistics" and "ABC Logistics Pte Ltd". (exception for multi currency partners)

• One record per currency per legal entity, If you deal with a partner in multiple currencies. (eg. "ABC Logistics Pte Ltd - USD", "ABC Logistics Pte Ltd - SGD")

• Use a naming convention (e.g., "Legal Name – Country" for global groups).

• Always set a Primary Contact & Billing Address before first invoice.

• Deactivate (don't delete) partners that should no longer be used, to preserve accounting history.

• For shipment partners, maintain Service Modes/Lanes so operators can filter the right vendors quickly.

Partner List: Highligted Active/Inactive Status

Editing & deactivation

• Open the partner record → Edit to update fields.

• To retire a partner: set Status = Inactive (existing invoices/jobs remain intact; partner won't appear in new lookups).

Partner status toggle (Active → Inactive)

FMS partner shipment tracking

For shipment partners, open the Partner Detail page in FMS and select Shipment Tracking. Authorized users can use Enable Auto Shipment Tracking to turn automatic tracking on or off for that partner. Check the success or error message to confirm the outcome. The dedicated switch updates the tracking setting without requiring changes to other partner details.

Merge duplicate FMS partners

From the FMS Partner List, select 2–10 duplicate records and choose Merge in the bulk-action bar. In the dialog, choose the surviving partner and review the selection before confirming.

The merge moves document references, including shipments, invoices and quotations, to the surviving partner and permanently deletes the duplicate records. Check the legal entity and currency of each selected record first: intentionally separate currency partners are not necessarily duplicates. If you only want to retire a valid partner, use deactivation instead.

How partners flow into operations & finance

• FMS (shipment partners) → selectable during quotation/booking/job; charges and documents can reference the partner; when invoicing, the partner syncs to Accounting.

• Accounting (non-shipment partners) → used exclusively for AP/AR and reporting; not shown in shipment partner pickers.

Partner Selection on Job Details

Partner Selection on Invoice (Auto-populated from field "Bill To")

Documentation owner: Fr8Labs Customer Success. Text reviewed: 21 September 2026.