Dossiers

Dossiers allow you to group related declarations, transits, and financial data into a single project or shipment. This provides complete visibility into costs, revenue, and profitability per customer job.

What are Dossiers?

A dossier represents a complete customs project, typically corresponding to:

• A single shipment with multiple declarations (import + export)
• A transit movement with related import/export clearances
• A project with multiple related shipments
• A customer order requiring customs clearance

Each dossier tracks:

• Declarations: Import, export, or emergency declarations
• Transits: NCTS5 departure and arrival declarations
• Costs: Duties, taxes, freight, storage, handling fees
• Revenue: Service fees based on rate cards or manual entry
• Status: Draft → In Progress → Completed → Invoiced

Creating a Dossier

Starting a New Dossier

1. Navigate to Dossiers in the main menu
2. Click New Dossier
3. Fill in the dossier details

Dossier Header

Basic Information

• Dossier Number: Auto-generated unique reference (e.g., DOS-2024-00123)
• Customer: Select from customer master data
• Customer Reference: Their PO number, shipment ID, or project code
• Internal Reference: Your internal job or file number
• Description: Brief description of the shipment/project

Transport Details

• Transport Mode: Road, Sea, Air, Rail
• Origin: Country or location of shipment origin
• Destination: Final destination country or location
• Carrier: Transport company name
• Expected Arrival Date: Estimated arrival at customs
• Actual Arrival Date: Actual arrival (updated when known)

Financial Details

• Currency: Dossier currency (EUR, USD, GBP, etc.)
• Exchange Rate: For non-EUR dossiers
• Payment Terms: Net 30, Net 60, etc.
• Credit Limit Check: Warn if customer over credit limit

Linking Declarations and Transits

Adding Declarations

Link existing or new declarations to the dossier:

Link Existing Declaration

1. Open the dossier
2. Go to the Declarations tab
3. Click Link Declaration
4. Search by MRN, LRN, or customer
5. Select the declaration(s) to link
6. Click Link Selected

The declaration now appears in the dossier with its status and values.

Create New Declaration in Dossier

1. Open the dossier
2. Click New Declaration
3. Select declaration type (import or export)
4. Customer and references are pre-filled from dossier
5. Complete the declaration as normal
6. Declaration is automatically linked to the dossier

Adding Transits

Similar process for transit declarations:

1. Open the dossier
2. Go to the Transits tab
3. Click Link Transit or New Transit
4. Link existing or create new transit
5. Transit appears in the dossier with MRN and status

Unlinking Items

Remove declarations or transits from a dossier:

1. Click the Unlink icon next to the item
2. Confirm the unlinking
3. The item remains in the system but is no longer part of this dossier

Purchase Lines - Costs

Track all costs associated with the dossier:

Cost Categories

Adding Purchase Lines

1. Open the dossier
2. Go to the Costs tab
3. Click Add Purchase Line
4. Fill in:
   • Category: Select from the list above
   • Description: Detailed description (e.g., “Sea freight Rotterdam-Shanghai”)
   • Quantity: Number of units (containers, hours, documents)
   • Unit: Unit of measure (e.g., container, kg, hour)
   • Unit Price: Cost per unit
   • Currency: Cost currency (if different from dossier)
   • Supplier: The vendor or service provider
   • Invoice Number: Supplier invoice reference
   • Date: Cost date or invoice date
5. Click Save

Auto-Import from Declarations

Borderbolt can auto-populate duties and taxes:

1. Ensure declarations are linked to the dossier
2. Click Import Declaration Costs
3. Select which declarations to import from
4. Purchase lines are created for:
   • Customs duty (from declaration line duty amounts)
   • VAT (from declaration line VAT amounts)
   • Excise (if applicable)
   • Anti-dumping duties
5. Review and adjust if needed

Invoice Lines - Revenue

Track revenue generated from this dossier:

Revenue Sources

Revenue comes from two sources:

1. Rate Card Items: Auto-calculated fees based on customer rate cards
2. Manual Entry: Ad-hoc fees or services

Adding Invoice Lines from Rate Card

1. Open the dossier
2. Go to the Revenue tab
3. Click Add from Rate Card
4. Select the customer’s active rate card
5. Choose billable items to apply:
   • Import declaration handling fee
   • Export declaration handling fee
   • Transit handling fee
   • Document preparation
   • Customer service hours
   • Other rate card services
6. Quantities and prices are auto-filled from the rate card
7. Adjust quantities if needed (e.g., 2 declarations = 2x handling fee)
8. Click Save

Manual Invoice Lines

For ad-hoc services not on the rate card:

1. Click Add Manual Line
2. Fill in:
   • Description: Service description
   • Quantity: Number of units
   • Unit Price: Price per unit
   • VAT Rate: 21%, 9%, 0%, or exempt
   • Discount: Percentage discount (if applicable)
3. Click Save

Recalculating Revenue

When declarations or services change:

1. Click Recalculate Revenue
2. Borderbolt reviews:
   • Number of declarations linked
   • Rate card rules (e.g., fee per declaration)
   • Weight-based fees (if configured)
   • Value-based fees (percentage of goods value)
3. Invoice lines are updated or added
4. Review changes and confirm

Billable Items from Rate Card

What are Billable Items?

Billable items are the master list of services you offer. Each rate card references these items and sets customer-specific pricing.

Common billable items:

• Import declaration (per declaration)
• Export declaration (per declaration)
• Transit departure (per movement)
• Transit arrival (per movement)
• Document preparation (per document)
• Customer service (per hour)
• Consultation (per hour)
• Expedited processing (flat fee)
• After-hours service (flat fee or multiplier)

Configuring Rate Card Items

1. Go to Settings → Rate Cards
2. Select or create a rate card
3. Click Add Item
4. Select the billable item
5. Set the pricing:
   • Fixed Price: Flat fee per item (e.g., €50 per declaration)
   • Percentage: Percentage of invoice value (e.g., 1.5% of goods value)
   • Tiered: Price varies by quantity or value range
6. Set effective dates (optional)
7. Save the rate card

When you add a dossier for this customer, the rate card items are available for quick invoicing.

Dossier Status Tracking

Status Lifecycle

Draft → In Progress → Completed → Invoiced

• Draft: Dossier created but not yet active
• In Progress: Customs clearance underway
• Completed: All declarations released, services completed
• Invoiced: Customer has been invoiced

Updating Status

Status can be updated manually or automatically:

Manual Update

1. Open the dossier
2. Click Change Status in the header
3. Select the new status
4. Add notes about the status change (optional)
5. Click Save

Automatic Updates

Borderbolt automatically updates status based on:

• Draft → In Progress: When first declaration is submitted
• In Progress → Completed: When all declarations are released
• Completed → Invoiced: When invoice is created from the dossier

Status Filters

Filter dossiers by status:

• View all active dossiers (In Progress)
• Find completed but uninvoiced dossiers
• Review draft dossiers awaiting action
• Check invoiced dossiers for accounting

Dossier Financial Summary

Cost Breakdown

The Costs tab shows:

• Total costs by category (duties, taxes, freight, etc.)
• Per-supplier breakdown
• Foreign currency costs with exchange rates
• Pending vs. paid costs

Revenue Breakdown

The Revenue tab shows:

• Total revenue from rate card items
• Manual invoice lines
• Discounts applied
• VAT breakdown
• Total billable amount

Profitability

The Summary tab calculates:

• Total Costs: Sum of all purchase lines
• Total Revenue: Sum of all invoice lines
• Gross Profit: Revenue - Costs
• Margin %: (Profit / Revenue) × 100

Example:

Total Costs:    €1,250.00 (duties, freight, handling)
Total Revenue:  €1,500.00 (service fees)
Gross Profit:     €250.00
Margin:              16.7%

Using Dossiers for Invoicing

Creating an Invoice from Dossier

1. Open a completed dossier
2. Click Create Invoice
3. Borderbolt generates an invoice with:
   • Customer details from dossier
   • All invoice lines from the Revenue tab
   • Dossier reference number
   • Payment terms
4. Review and adjust the invoice
5. Finalize and send to customer

Partial Invoicing

Invoice a dossier in stages:

1. Click Create Partial Invoice
2. Select which invoice lines to include
3. Generate the invoice
4. Remaining lines stay on the dossier for future invoicing

Useful for:

• Progress billing (invoice for services as delivered)
• Splitting invoice between multiple departments
• Invoicing duties separately from service fees

Invoice Line Deduplication

Prevent duplicate charges when creating multiple invoices:

Settings → Invoicing → Deduplication Mode:

• Allow Duplicates: No deduplication, same line can be invoiced multiple times
• Update Quantity: If line already invoiced, increase quantity (e.g., 1x becomes 2x)
• Skip: If line already invoiced, exclude it from new invoice

Recommended: Update Quantity for most use cases.

Best Practices

Dossier Organization

• One Dossier per Shipment: Keep it simple - one shipment = one dossier
• Consistent Naming: Use customer references for easy searching
• Link All Items: Ensure all related declarations and transits are linked
• Timely Updates: Update status as soon as declarations are released

Cost Tracking

• Immediate Entry: Add costs as soon as received (supplier invoices, UTBs)
• Categorize Accurately: Use correct cost categories for reporting
• Include All Costs: Don’t forget small fees - they add up
• Currency Precision: Always enter costs in original currency with exchange rates

Revenue Management

• Use Rate Cards: Minimize manual entry by maintaining accurate rate cards
• Recalculate Regularly: If dossier scope changes, recalculate revenue
• Review Discounts: Ensure discounts are approved and documented
• Check Margins: Monitor profitability before finalizing dossiers

Invoicing Workflow

1. Mark dossier Completed when all services delivered
2. Review costs and revenue for accuracy
3. Check gross margin is acceptable
4. Create invoice from dossier
5. Mark dossier Invoiced
6. Archive supporting documents

Reporting

Dossier Reports

Generate reports on dossiers:

1. Go to Reports → Custom Reports
2. Create a new report
3. Select Dossier as the data source
4. Add columns:
   • Dossier number, customer, status
   • Total costs, total revenue, margin
   • Number of declarations, transits
   • Created date, completed date
5. Apply filters:
   • Date range
   • Customer
   • Status
   • Profitability (e.g., margin < 10%)
6. Run the report and export to CSV

Profitability Analysis

Analyze customer profitability:

• Group dossiers by customer
• Calculate average margin per customer
• Identify high-cost, low-revenue customers
• Adjust rate cards or pricing strategies

Service Performance

Track service efficiency:

• Average time from creation to completion
• Number of declarations per dossier
• Cost per declaration (total costs / number of declarations)
• Revenue per declaration (total revenue / number of declarations)

Troubleshooting

Invoice Lines Not Appearing

“Rate card items not showing up”

• Check customer has an active rate card assigned
• Verify rate card effective dates include the dossier date
• Ensure billable items are added to the rate card
• Try Recalculate Revenue

“Declaration costs not importing”

• Ensure declarations are linked to the dossier
• Check declarations have duty/VAT amounts calculated
• Verify declarations are not already imported (prevents duplicates)
• Manually add if auto-import fails

Status Issues

“Can’t mark as Completed”

• Check all declarations are released (not draft or submitted)
• Verify no pending customs responses
• Ensure all costs are entered
• Check if validation rules require minimum margin

“Dossier already invoiced, can’t edit”

• Invoiced dossiers are locked for data integrity
• If changes needed, void the invoice first
• Alternatively, create a credit note for adjustments

Financial Discrepancies

“Margin calculation seems wrong”

• Verify all costs are in the same currency
• Check exchange rates are correct
• Ensure revenue includes all billable items
• Look for duplicate cost entries

“Rate card price different than expected”

• Check effective dates on the rate card
• Verify customer is assigned to the correct rate card
• Look for customer-specific overrides
• Review rate card history for recent changes

Related Topics

• Declarations - Create and link import/export declarations
• Transit - Link NCTS5 transit movements
• Invoicing - Generate invoices from dossiers
• Customers - Customer master data and rate card assignment
• Reports - Dossier profitability and performance reports