Creating Surcharge Rules

Creating Surcharge Rules

The ability to quickly create customised surcharges is now a standard feature of MachShip! The new Surcharge Rules feature allows customers to not only create their own, but to also manage whenthey are activated, amended or deactivated.  Users are now in full control of their Surcharge Rules.


Info For users to access this feature, make sure the permission set is enabled for the user role. For this, the permissions are called Manage Surcharges  within the Brokers permission set.



Creating a Surcharge

Go to 'Admin' tab at top of screen. Select "Surcharge Rules" from dropdown list.



Use the 'Include Disabled' toggle button at the top left-hand corner to list all Surcharge Rules and include or exclude the disabled rules.



Editing an existing Surcharge Rule

To amend an existing Surcharge Rule (whether Enabled or Disabled), go to the cog wheel at the far-right hand side of the line, and click on Edit Surcharge Rule. Editing allows you to go into an existing Surcharge Rule and make as many or as little changes as you want: 



The surcharge rule logic is now available to edit. 



In this example, we have added a carrier to the rule.
  



Ensure to name the edited rule appropriately, so that the name reflects its properties.

Once you've made the changes as needed, click on the Update Surcharge Rule button. This will create the new rulealongside the original Surcharge Rule that was used as a template. You can choose to disable the previous rule if it is no longer required. 



You can also delete the Surcharge Rule altogether from this page by selecting 'Delete Surcharge Rule' button at the bottom left hand side pf the page. 

Cloning a Surcharge Rule

You can quickly create a copy of an existing surcharge rule by using the Clone action. This is useful when you need to create a similar rule with minor modifications.

  1. Go to Admin → Surcharge Rules
  2. Find the surcharge rule you want to clone
  3. Click the cog icon (⚙) on the right side of the rule
  4. Select 'Clone Surcharge Rule' from the dropdown menu
  5. A new surcharge rule will be created as a copy of the original

Important: Cloned surcharges are created in a DISABLED state

When you clone a surcharge rule, the new copy is automatically created with the 'This Surcharge is enabled' checkbox unchecked. This is by design — it prevents the cloned rule from accidentally applying duplicate charges to consignments while you configure it.

Before the cloned surcharge will apply to consignments, you must:
  1. Review and modify the rule settings as needed
  2. Check the 'This Surcharge is enabled' checkbox
  3. Click 'Update Surcharge Rule' to save

This safety feature ensures you have full control over when the cloned surcharge becomes active.

Creating a New Surcharge Rule

Click on the Create Surcharge Rule button from the top right corner of the page or next to the Create Surcharge Rule button next to the Actions button on the left. 



When creating a Surcharge Rule you will be presented with three options:
  1. Use the AI tool in plain language to describe a rule
  2. Select from a list of commonly used templates
  3. Manually create the rule.


 Once the new Surcharge Rule is configured, you will be presented with an itemised list of the fields being considered. 



The new Surcharge Rule is configured in an itemised way using an If/Then table, allowing for simple and quick selection of key variables to structure the Surcharge Rule.

Be sure to name it correctly and check the Surcharge Price to be applied to consignment meeting this rule.

Understanding Surcharge Rule Weight Evaluation

Surcharge rules evaluate charge weight independently from pricing calculations. This is an important distinction that affects how you configure weight-based surcharge conditions.

Weight Condition Types: When configuring surcharge weight conditions, you can choose between two options:

  • Total Dead Weight: Evaluates only the physical weight declared on the consignment, without considering cubic weight.
  • Total Charge Weight: Evaluates the greater of dead weight and cubic weight—this is the weight used for pricing calculations.

Critical Recommendation: For handling, tailgate, and delivery surcharges, ALWAYS use Total Charge Weight, not Total Dead Weight. Using dead weight will cause surcharges to fail on large, light items (high cubic weight, low dead weight) that actually require the surcharge.

Key Difference: While pricing rounds up cubic weight to determine the base charge, surcharge rule conditions evaluate the actual calculated charge weight without rounding.

Example: A 1kg item with 3.888m³ volume has 972kg charge weight (at 0.004 conversion). A surcharge rule using Total Dead Weight > 100kg will NOT apply, but Total Charge Weight > 100kg will correctly apply. Similarly, a consignment with 29.799kg cubic weight will be charged at 30kg for pricing purposes, but a surcharge rule condition of "Total Charge Weight >= 30" will NOT trigger on 29.799kg. To capture this weight, use "Total Charge Weight > 29" or "Total Charge Weight >= 29.8".

Common Mistake: Assuming surcharge thresholds work the same as pricing weight breaks, or using Total Dead Weight for surcharges that should apply based on charge weight. They do not. Adjust your surcharge rule conditions to account for the actual calculated weight values, not the rounded pricing weight, and select the appropriate weight type for your surcharge.

Testing Your Surcharge Rules: Before enabling a surcharge rule, test it using test consignments with various weight values. This allows you to verify that your weight conditions trigger correctly before the rule applies to live shipments.

Troubleshooting: If a surcharge isn't applying to items that should qualify, check whether the weight condition is set to Total Dead Weight instead of Total Charge Weight.

Showing Advanced Options

To access additional configuration — including linking the rule to specific companies and the full set of surcharge flags - please select Show Advanced. The Show Advanced button sits at the top right of the page. If it isn't visible, scroll up - it's easy to miss if you're already working further down the form.



Show Advanced reveals:

  • Price Type and Markup Type fields
  • The Company field
  • The full set of surcharge flags: Automatic, Is Fuel Levy Exempt, Per Matching Item, Per Leg, and Only Apply Surcharge To DG
  • Special Instructions

Combining Multiple Item-Level Conditions with AND/OR Logic

When combining multiple conditions of the same type (e.g., multiple ItemType conditions), use OR logic, not AND logic.

Example: If you want a surcharge to apply to items that are either Pallets OR Skids, you must set the operator between these two conditions to OR. Using AND would require an item to be both a Pallet AND a Skid simultaneously, which is impossible—the surcharge would never match.

Common mistake: Setting ItemType = Pallet AND ItemType = Skid. This creates an impossible condition.

Correct approach: Set ItemType = Pallet OR ItemType = Skid.

This applies to any multi-condition surcharge rule where you want the surcharge to trigger if ANY of the conditions match (OR logic) rather than ALL conditions matching (AND logic).

Enabling Your Surcharge Rule

Once Configured, select "This Surcharge is enabled" and "Create Surcharge Rule".

Important: The Enabled Checkbox

The "This Surcharge is enabled" checkbox controls whether the surcharge will apply to consignments. Even if a surcharge is perfectly configured with correct conditions, carrier links, and pricing, it will not apply if this checkbox is unchecked.

If a surcharge isn't applying:
  1. Go to Admin → Surcharge Rules
  2. Find the surcharge in the list (both enabled and disabled surcharges appear in the list)
  3. Click the cog icon and select Edit Surcharge Rule
  4. Check if the "This Surcharge is enabled" checkbox is ticked
  5. If unchecked, tick it and save

This is a common reason why surcharges don't apply despite being correctly configured.