Product Rates are different from Metric Rates insofar as the metric information passed into a Product Rate comes from the product lines added to a consignment, or the products stored in a warehouse (when dealing with Storage Rates).
Charges for a Product Rate are broken into 4 sections:
- General
- Product
- Accounting
- Charges
General section
The general section of a charge is where you set the things you're targeting the charge to.
If you are creating an Activity Rate, you must select an Activity Charge Type in order to categorise the charge. Depending on your subscription, this may work in with the Enterprise Accounting feature in Consignly.
Various fields are available here depending on whether you are creating an Activity Rate or a Freight Rate (Freight Rates have locality options available).
Examples of some fields available to help target the charge appropriately are as follows:
- Service Type
- Carrier
- Load Type (is the consignment containerised or not)
- Container Size / Type
Setting values in this section will ensure that charge is only evaluated if the consignment has properties matching what you've entered in the charge.
For example, if a consignment does not have a service type that has been set in the charge, then the charge will not be evaluated and the next charge (if any other charges are configured for the rate) will be assessed.
Remember, a rate may have many charges, and many rates can be configured for a Rate Card.
Metric
The Metric field is the most important field here, as it determines what metric the charge will be raised on.
Options for selection include:
- Quantity / Weight / Measure information;
- Pallet Quantity (not virtual pallets, but pallets configured using our inwards or outwards palletisation feature);
- Pallet Quantity, where the pallet contains only a single product; or
- Pallet Quantity, where the pallet contains a mixture of product
The value selected here is used when evaluating the charge, and is pulled from the appropriate area within the consignment product lines that is triggering the charge.
For example:
- The Tonne option will trigger a charge based on the tonnage of the products.
- The Pallet Quantity option will allow you to trigger a charge based on the pallets that have been created on the consignment.
- The Quantity option will assess the total quantity calculated on the product lines, and supports some advanced break/unit conversion options.
Product section
The Product section allows you to target the charge to specific product-related properties. For example, target the rate to apply to products in a particular group, or with a particular attribute/value.
Choose to target a specific product, or a hazard class, or a combination of any of the above.
The Product section information works in conjunction with the General section to match a charge based on the information being supplied into the rate.
A charge configured to target hazardous products in the Category 3, Oxidizing Solids class
Accounting section
The accounting section allows you to set the Tax Rate used for the charge, along with the Revenue Account and Cost Centre that is associated with the charge. Revenue Accounts and Cost Centres are an Enterprise Accounting function and are available on supported subscriptions only.
Learn more about the accounting functions in Consignly.
Charges section
The charges section allows you to configure a charge based on the metric being used in the charge.
The fields in the charges section will change depending on the metric you have selected in the General section. Learn about what the separate charges per product checkbox means.
A simple tonne rate with a minimum charge
The Quantity metric offers some additional functionality when building a charge. In this instance an option to use Metric Conversions in order to target a charge to a specific unit (such as Virtual Pallets, Items, or a Custom Unit) becomes possible.
A charge using the quantity metric, with a metric conversion configured to target virtual pallets at 3.80, and a minimum charge of 7.60
Rate Breaks
Selective or Progressive Rate Breaks can be configured to charge different Rates or Fees based on quantities of the metric being assessed. This enables more complex rating scenarios to be handled with ease.
Coupled with metric conversions, rates such as a pallet charge for full pallets with a charge for remaining loose items at a different rate can be configured, as illustrated below:
A charge based on the quantity metric, using Selective Breaks to achieve different charges depending on the target unit
Removing and copying a charge
Removing a charge
To remove a charge from a rate, find the charge and tap into it.
Using the action menu in the shoulder of the charge, choose the Remove Charge option. Consignly will prompt you to confirm removing the charge.
Copying a charge
To copy a charge, find the charge and tap into it.
Using the action menu in the shoulder of the charge, choose the Copy Charge option. Consignly will prepopulate the new charge view for you to review and confirm before saving the new charge.
The action menu on a charge