Pricing approvals and margins for the freight desk
Discounts past your limit and contracts over a set value go to the pricing lead first, with cost and margin visible to your team and never to the customer.
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QuoteCloud's approval workflow, on the Business plan, routes a quote or rate schedule to approvers when a discount percentage or total value passes your limit; it stays In Review until approved. Price tables can carry a hidden cost column so your team sees margin, and roles control who edits the price list.
Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team
Two overlapping documents from a fictional carrier. Behind: a draft spot quote for Coldwater Fresh Co., four chilled pallets from Lakeview to Port Ellery: chilled linehaul $702.00, fuel surcharge 18.5% $129.87, delivery before 6 am $45.00 and a 6% returning-customer discount of minus $52.56, with a temperature logger report as an option. In front: the approval panel, In Review because the discount is greater than 5%, waiting for Callan Mercer, the pricing desk lead.
Rates below the card wait for the pricing desk
Account managers negotiate every day; the pricing desk protects the margin. Set approval rules in QuoteCloud on a discount percentage or on total value, and any quote or rate schedule past your limit goes In Review instead of to the customer.
Bramblewood's 2027 schedule is 6% below Wexmoor's standard rate card, over the 5% limit. Callan Mercer has approved it from the pricing desk; it can't be sent until Helen Ashdown, the general manager, approves too.
- Rules on discount % or total value
- Approvers by role; every approver must agree
- Approve or decline from the document, with a log
Approval workflow: Business plan
How the approval workflow worksZone rates, 2027
Rates per chargeable kg ex tax · cubic conversion 250 kg per m³
| Zone | Lanes from Northgate | Per kg | Minimum | Full pallet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro | Riverside | $75 | $58 | |
| Regional | Lakeview | $110 | $92 | |
| Long-haul | Port Ellery | $160 | $128 | |
| Remote | Ashcombe | $240 | $196 |
Fuel surcharge applies to linehaul at Wexmoor's published rate for the month of dispatch (18.5% in November 2026).
Document workflow
In ReviewTriggered when Discount percentage greater than 5%
- Callan MercerPricing desk leadApproved
- Helen AshdownGeneral managerWaiting
Must be approved by all approvers before it can be sent.
- Approval request sent by Ines Okoye
- Approved by Callan Mercer
Approval workflow · Business plan
Cost and margin your team sees, and the customer never does
Price tables can carry a cost for each line, hidden from the customer, so your team sees the margin on every quote. For a fuller picture, a costing sheet can sit in a section hidden from the recipient: subcontract linehaul, fuel and the driver's early start against the sell price.
The quote's total comes back into the sheet from the price table, so the margin updates with the quote. Coldwater's 6% discount takes this spot run from 23.5% to 18.7%. That's what Callan weighs when he approves; the rule itself triggers on the discount, not the margin.
- Costs and margins hidden from the customer
- A price table total brought back into a cell
- Roles decide who can change your price list
Spreadsheet block, product library: Essentials and up
Rate calculators in the quotePricing desk costing · hidden from recipient
=(B7-C7)/B7
Costing tab
| Row | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Line | Sell | Cost | Margin |
| 2 | Chilled linehaul | $702.00 | $540.00 | 23.1% |
| 3 | Fuel surcharge | $129.87 | $112.00 | 13.8% |
| 4 | Before 6 am | $45.00 | $27.00 | 40.0% |
| 5 | Logger report | $18.00 | $6.00 | 66.7% |
| 6 | Before discount | $894.87 | $685.00 | 23.5% |
| 7 | Quote, ex tax | Price table$842.31 | $685.00 | 18.7% |
Your quote
| Item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freight | $824 | ||
Chilled linehaul Lakeview → Port Ellery · 4 pallets1,800 kg chargeable · your chilled rate card
|
1 | $702 | $702.00 |
Fuel surcharge 18.5% of linehaulThis month's rate
|
1 | $129.87 | $129.87 |
Delivery before 6 amRates tab · per consignment
|
1 | $45 | $45.00 |
Returning-customer discount 6%Suggested in the draft · needs approval
|
1 | -$52.56 | -$52.56 |
| Options Tick to add | |||
Temperature logger reportPDF after delivery
|
1 | $18 | $18.00 |
- Subtotal
- $842.31
- Tax (10%)
- $84.23
- Total
- $926.54
- Plus, monthly
- $0.00/mo
A price book with cost and margin your customers never see
Accessorials, warehousing charges and fixed services live in the Product Library with a price and a cost, so the desk sees the margin on each item before it goes into a quote. A tail-lift sells at $68 against a $41 cost; a temperature logger report at $18 against $6.
Linehaul and fuel aren't price-book items: they come from the lane calculator's cells. Roles decide who can change the price book, so a discount is a decision in the quote, not a quiet edit to the list.
- Price, cost and margin per item, team only
- Active, draft or inactive status on every item
- Updated each year from a CSV import
Product Library: Essentials and up
Loading the price book in a rolloutCSV import price-book-2027.csv · 14 items updated, 1 marked inactive
| Product | Price | Unit | Cost | Margin | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tail-lift deliveryACC-TAIL · Accessorials | $68 | per consignment | $41 | 40% | Active |
| Booked delivery timeACC-SLOT · Accessorials | $22 | per consignment | $9 | 59% | Active |
| Hand unloadACC-HAND · Accessorials | $14 | per pallet | $8 | 39% | Active |
| Waiting time after 30 minACC-WAIT · Accessorials | $28 | per 15 min | $19 | 32% | Active |
| Delivery before 6 amACC-6AM · Accessorials | $45 | per consignment | $27 | 40% | Active |
| Temperature logger reportACC-LOGR · Accessorials | $18 | per consignment | $6 | 67% | Active |
| Pallet storageWH-STORE · Warehousing | $4 | per pallet per week | $3 | 35% | Active |
| ReceivingWH-RECV · Warehousing | $9 | per pallet | $6 | 35% | Active |
| Pick & pack, up to 3 linesWH-PICK · Warehousing | $2 | per order | $1 | 31% | Active |
| PackagingWH-PACK · Warehousing | $0 | per order | $0 | 37% | Active |
| Dedicated account coordinatorSVC-COORD · Services | $1,200 | per month | $860 | 28% | Draft |
| Pallet exchangeACC-XCHG · Accessorials | $9 | per pallet | $7 | 17% | Inactive |
Cost and margin are for your team only: they never appear in the client's document
Rules a freight pricing desk can set
Set once in Settings, applied to every quote, schedule and proposal your team prepares.
Discount limit
Anything more than 5% below the card goes to the pricing desk lead before it can be sent.
Contract value
Schedules and tenders over a set total value also need the general manager's approval.
Who changes prices
Roles control who edits the product library and rate templates; locked terms stay as approved (Business).
AI drafts, same rules
Quotes your AI assistant drafts through QuoteCloud's MCP service go through the same approvals.
Put your pricing rules into QuoteCloud
Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Approval workflow is on the Business plan; trial it with your own discount limits.
The approval log
Who approved what, kept with the quote
The document workflow panel logs the request and each decision, so the next person to open the quote can see why the discount stands.
Document workflow
In ReviewTriggered when Discount percentage greater than 5%
- Callan MercerPricing desk leadApproved
- Helen AshdownGeneral managerWaiting
Must be approved by all approvers before it can be sent.
- Approval request sent by Ines Okoye
- Approved by Callan Mercer
Approval workflow · Business plan
What happens when a quote passes your limit
Quotes inside your limits go straight out. The rest take one extra step.
The account manager prices it
From the rate calculator and price list, adding the discount they've negotiated.
The rule checks it
A discount over 5% or a total over your limit sends it In Review.
Approvers decide
The pricing desk lead, then the general manager if needed, approve or decline it.
It's sent
Once approved, the account manager sends the quote or schedule.
The customer accepts
They accept and sign online; your margin went out as approved.
Approval and margin questions
What can trigger an approval in QuoteCloud?
On the Business plan, approval rules trigger on a discount percentage or on a total value, for example a discount over 5% or a contract over a set amount. The document stays In Review until the approvers agree, and only then can it be sent to the customer.
Can approvals trigger on margin?
No. The rules trigger on discount percentage or total value. Your team can still see cost and margin while deciding: costs on price lines are hidden from the customer, and a costing sheet can sit in a section hidden from the recipient.
Do customers ever see our cost or margin?
No. Costs and margins on price lines are hidden from the customer, and sections marked hidden from the recipient don't appear in the document they open. Your team sees them in the editor. Roles also decide who on your team can change prices in the product library.
Do quotes drafted by our AI assistant need approval too?
Yes. With QuoteCloud's MCP service your AI assistant can be set up to create draft quotes from your templates for review. Those drafts follow the same approval rules as any other document, and nothing is sent until a person sends it.
Which plan includes approvals?
The approval workflow is on the Business plan (US$59 per user a month) and Enterprise. Price tables, the product library and the Spreadsheet block are on Essentials and up. Business and Essentials both start with a 14-day free trial, no card needed.
More for freight & 3PL teams
Every page of the logistics guide, from the first lane quote to the quarterly review.
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Contract rate schedulesA customer's lanes, zones, minimums and accessorials in one schedule, approved, signed and dated to expire.Explore
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AI-drafted quotes & reports with MCPAn AI assistant connected through QuoteCloud's MCP service drafts quotes and reports from your data for your team to review.Explore
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QuoteCloud implementation for freight & 3PLYour rate tables rebuilt as a calculator, your templates converted, approvals set and the pricing desk trained.Explore
- Lane & spot freight quotesA priced lane quote back the same hour: chargeable weight, linehaul, fuel and accessorials, accepted online.
- Chargeable weight & rate calculatorsYour cubic conversion, zone rates and fuel surcharge in a Spreadsheet block whose cells price the quote lines.
- Freight tenders & RFQ responsesA shipper's lane list answered lane by lane, with your service, insurances and terms as locked library blocks.
- 3PL & warehousing proposalsPallets × weeks × rate, handling, pick and pack in a calculator, an onboarding plan and a set-up fee paid on signing.
- Quarterly service reportsShipments, on-time delivery and claims for each contract customer, with next quarter's options priced inside.
- Rate reviews & contract renewalsExpiring schedules found early, the new rates sent to every contract customer, and each one signed before expiry.
- TMS, CRM & accounting integrationsYour transport management system, CRM and accounts, connected the way each one really connects.
- Logistics templatesReal QuoteCloud templates for transport agreements, storage, service levels and quotes.
- FAQAnswers to the questions carriers, forwarders, 3PLs and couriers ask most.
Fast quotes, with the margin protected
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