If you want to charge the customer for the special freight either from the freight or fees, you will have to checkmark the setup here and you’ll have to checkmark on all the customers that you would like this to apply to, and then in the special freight and fees setup from the sales container set up, you can define different types in here for freight and for fees. So for instance here, I’ve made two blank lines with no item category, no item number and no country code.
If you want to charge customers for special freight or fees in Business Central, you set this up through the Sales Setup. The system uses a most-specific-match logic, so it picks the most detailed freight rule that fits the order. Freight is calculated once per order as a percentage of the sales lines, while fees are calculated per item and summed up.
You enable the feature with a checkmark in the setup and then mark each customer it should apply to. Without the customer checkmark, the special freight and fees will not be calculated for that customer.
In the freight setup you can attach freight rules to an item category code and to a specific country code. The fee setup lets you attach a fixed fee amount to a specific item number, so different items can carry different fees.
How to enable special freight and fees
The starting point is the Sales Setup, where you checkmark the option to charge customers for special freight and fees. After that, you need to checkmark each customer you want this to apply to. The setting works on a per-customer basis, so only the customers you select will have freight and fees calculated.
Setting up freight by item category and country code
The special freight and fees setup is found from the Sales Setup. Here you define different types of lines for freight and for fees.
For freight, you can keep a line completely blank with no item category, no item number and no country code, which acts as a general rule. You can also attach freight to an item category code if you use item categories, and you can attach it to a specific country code.
This gives you the flexibility to define different rules for different country codes or item categories. For example, you can have one rule for shipments to Angola, and a more specific rule that combines an item category with the same country code.
How the most-specific match works
When the system calculates freight, it finds the most specific matching rule first. If you are shipping to Angola and there is no item category on the order, it uses the line that matches only the country code. If you have created a more specific line with both an item category and the same country code, it uses that line instead.
This way, the more detail a rule contains, the higher its priority. The general blank line acts as a fallback when nothing more specific applies.
Setting up fees per item number
For fees, you can attach a specific item number in the setup. This means you can say that when you sell a particular item, it carries a fixed fee amount. If you sell another item on a different sales order line, that item can carry its own fixed fee amount.
In this way, you can add a fee per item. Each item can have one extra fee, and the system sums up all those fees across the order.
How freight and fees are calculated on an order
Freight and fees behave differently when the order is calculated.
Freight produces a single line. The system adds up all the sales lines and applies the freight percentage you defined in the setup to those lines, resulting in one freight line for the order.
Fees are calculated per item. Each item that has a fee carries its own fixed amount, and the system sums all of those fees together.
Q&A
How do you enable special freight and fees for a customer in Business Central?
Checkmark the special freight and fees option in the Sales Setup, then checkmark each customer you want it to apply to. The calculation only runs for customers you have selected.
What criteria can you use to define a freight rule?
You can attach a freight rule to an item category code and to a specific country code. You can also leave a line blank with no item category, item number or country code to act as a general fallback rule.
How does the system choose which freight rule to apply?
It uses the most-specific match first. A rule combining an item category and a country code takes priority over a rule that only matches the country code, and the blank line is used when nothing more specific applies.
How is freight calculated compared to fees?
Freight is calculated once per order as a percentage applied to the total of the sales lines, producing a single freight line. Fees are calculated per item, where each item can carry a fixed fee amount, and all fees are summed up.
Can different items have different fees?
Yes. You attach a fixed fee amount to a specific item number in the setup, so each item can carry its own fee. The system adds up the fees for all items on the order.