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Multi-Currency Quoting

What is Multi-Currency Quoting?

Multi-currency quoting lets you generate customer quotes in different currencies for cross-border shipments while maintaining your internal cost tracking in your base currency. When quoting freight from the U.S. to Canada or Mexico, you can present rates to the customer in CAD or MXN while your internal carrier costs and margin calculations remain in USD. The system handles currency conversion automatically using current exchange rates, displays the quoted amount in the customer's preferred currency, and converts everything back to your base currency for margin analysis and accounting.

This capability matters for operations with cross-border freight because customers expect quotes in their local currency. A Canadian customer wants to see pricing in CAD, not USD with a note that they need to convert it themselves. Presenting rates in the customer's currency looks more professional, eliminates confusion about exchange rates, and makes it easier for customers to approve the quote through their systems that operate in local currency.

How Multi-Currency Quoting works:

  1. Ensure multi-currency support is enabled in your account. Navigate to Settings and verify that multi-currency functionality is turned on. This is typically available on all TMS.ai plans and just needs to be activated if you haven't used it yet.
  2. Configure the currencies you work with. In the currency settings, add the currencies you need for quoting: USD, CAD, MXN, or others relevant to your operations. Set your base currency (typically USD for U.S.-based operations) which is what all internal reporting and accounting will use.
  3. The system pulls current exchange rates automatically. TMS.ai connects to currency exchange rate feeds and updates rates regularly (typically daily). You'll see the current exchange rate displayed when working with multi-currency quotes.
  4. Create a quote for a cross-border shipment. Start a new quote as normal, selecting the customer and entering the shipment details including cross-border origin or destination (e.g., pickup in Detroit, delivery in Toronto).
  5. Select the currency for the customer-facing quote. In the quote builder, choose which currency to display to the customer. For a Canadian customer, select CAD. The quote will show all pricing in Canadian dollars when sent to them.
  6. Enter your rate in your base currency or the quote currency. You can input the rate either in your base currency (USD) and the system converts it to the quote currency (CAD), or you can directly enter the amount in the quote currency (CAD) and the system converts back to your base currency for internal tracking.
  7. View the dual currency display. The quote interface shows both the quoted amount in the customer's currency and the equivalent amount in your base currency. For example, you might see "Customer Rate: $2,600 CAD ($1,950 USD)" so you understand both what the customer sees and what it means in your accounting currency.
  8. Add accessorials and they convert automatically. When you add accessorial charges like fuel surcharge or liftgate, enter them in either currency and the system converts them appropriately. All line items display in the customer's currency on the quote document.
  9. Calculate margin using base currency values. While the customer sees their quote in CAD, your margin calculation uses USD values. The system shows: customer rate converted to USD minus carrier cost in USD equals margin. This ensures you're analyzing profitability in consistent currency terms.
  10. The quote document displays in the customer's currency. When you generate and send the quote, the customer sees all rates, accessorials, and totals in their local currency (CAD). They don't see USD amounts or conversion notes, just clean pricing in the currency they work with.

What it means for you:

Cross-border quoting becomes as simple as domestic quoting. Your sales team doesn't need to manually calculate exchange rates or present quotes with confusing currency disclaimers. They select CAD as the quote currency, enter rates, and send professional quotes that look locally appropriate to Canadian customers.

The back-office simplification matters too. While customer quotes go out in CAD, your accounting and margin reporting all happens in USD. You don't have multiple currency streams flowing through your financial reports. Everything converts back to your base currency automatically so your P&L, margin analysis, and accounting integration all work in one consistent currency.