Keep the discipline of your spreadsheet. Lose the retyping.

Your spreadsheet columns, on a shipment

Each function below sits on the shipment page. The left side is what a typical workbook does; the right side is what the shipment does instead.

1. 1

   Every consignment gets its own record

   In the spreadsheet

   One row per consignment: PO number, route, mode, terms, notes.

   On the shipment

   A shipment holds the reference, transport mode, origin, destination, Incoterm and your role (exporter, forwarder, customs broker or importer). Everything below hangs off it. Start one from an invoice and the route and Incoterm are filled in from the invoice.

2. 2

   Invoice lines read, not retyped

   In the spreadsheet

   Invoice lines retyped into columns, HS codes looked up in another tab.

   On the shipment

   Upload the invoice as PDF, JPG or PNG. Parties, lines, quantities, values, currency and Incoterm are read out and each line gets a proposed HS code with a confidence score. Figures read from the invoice are locked; anything shown in red you can correct.

3. 3

   Duty and VAT from live tariff data

   In the spreadsheet

   A tariff table pasted in months ago, with a VLOOKUP over it.

   On the shipment

   Duty and VAT are worked out from tariff data held for 161 destinations, with a preferential rate where a trade agreement applies (109 destinations). National tariff-line rates are held for 23 of them; for the rest the rate is at the 6-digit HS base. The result is labelled an estimate, with its source and date.

4. 4

   A customs value built the right way

   In the spreadsheet

   One cell adding freight and insurance to the goods value, and a hope that the Incoterm was handled.

   On the shipment

   The customs value is the goods value plus freight and insurance when the Incoterm leaves them out. They come from the invoice or from the charges recorded on the shipment. If one is missing it is left out, marked in red, and the value is shown as "at least" that figure.

5. 5

   A checklist that knows the destination

   In the spreadsheet

   A column of ticks: invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, permits.

   On the shipment

   Ready to file lists what blocks filing (red), what you must confirm (amber) and what we cannot check (grey). Where the destination lists its own documents, that list is used (178 destinations); where we hold none, it says so. A requirements checklist adds the permits, licences and inspections on file for the route.

6. 6

   Documents compared with each other

   In the spreadsheet

   Eyeballing the packing list against the bill of lading: weights, packages, container numbers.

   On the shipment

   Cross-checks compare party names, invoice number, gross weight, packages, containers and country of origin across every document. Weights match within 2% or 1 kg, and container and air waybill numbers are checked against their check digit. Advisory only: they never block approval.

7. 7

   A price check on every line

   In the spreadsheet

   A hunch that a unit price looks too low.

   On the shipment

   An advisory valuation-risk line compares each weight-priced invoice line with the world median FOB unit value for the same 6-digit product (CEPII BACI, 2024) and flags anything under 25% of it. It is our own rule of thumb, not a customs rule.

8. 8

   Costs per shipment, per currency

   In the spreadsheet

   Freight, handling, storage, agency fee and disbursement columns, totalled by hand across mixed currencies.

   On the shipment

   Record each cost line with an amount and a currency. Totals are shown per currency and never converted. A mistake is voided, not deleted, so the record stays complete, and a printable statement lists the active charges.

9. 9

   Duty assessed and duty paid

   In the spreadsheet

   A "paid?" column and a note about who advanced what.

   On the shipment

   Record what customs assessed (with the notice number and date) and what was paid (with the receipt, and whether the importer or the forwarder paid). You see assessed, paid, advanced and outstanding per currency. You type it from your documents; it is not linked to any customs system.

10. 10

    Customs queries with a reply date

    In the spreadsheet

    An email flagged red and a cell note: "customs asked for X, reply by Friday".

    On the shipment

    Record each query, hold or inspection with the customs office, reference and reply-due date, then your response. An open case past its date shows Overdue. One list shows every case across your shipments, overdue first.

11. 11

    Progress your client can see

    In the spreadsheet

    A status column, dates for loaded, departed and arrived, and a weekly "where is it?" email.

    On the shipment

    Record milestones as the cargo moves and keep the status current. Share a read-only tracking link with your customer: it shows only the reference, route, status and milestone dates. Colleagues can opt in to email updates. Vessels and flights are not tracked automatically.

12. 12

    The carrier booking in one place

    In the spreadsheet

    Carrier, vessel, ETD, ETA and cut-offs in spare columns.

    On the shipment

    One booking per shipment: carrier, booking reference, vessel or flight and voyage, ports, ETD and ETA, and the cargo and documents cut-off times, shown in your own timezone. You type it in; it is not checked with the carrier and there are no cut-off reminders.

13. 13

    One importer list, matched automatically

    In the spreadsheet

    A tab of importers and tax IDs, spelled three different ways.

    On the shipment

    Keep each importer once, with country, tax or registration number and aliases. Invoices are matched by tax ID when both have one, otherwise by name or alias plus country, and a shipment only accepts invoices whose buyer matches.

14. 14

    A trail for every change

    In the spreadsheet

    A cell overwritten, and nobody remembers by whom.

    On the shipment

    A correction to a stated figure keeps the old value, the new value and your reason. A person approves every declaration, and reopening an approved invoice is recorded. The shipment's activity log shows who did what and when.

15. 15

    The declaration itself

    In the spreadsheet

    Copying values into the layout of each country's form, then into its language.

    On the shipment

    An Import declaration PDF in the destination's language and form, and an Export PDF in your own, from the approved data, in any of 75 languages. Packing list, shipping instruction and a watermarked certificate-of-origin application draft can be generated too.