Summary
Rate Card Management shows every carrier rate card your organization has on file, which version is live, how each card is set up and which carrier reference it applies to. When a carrier sends updated rates, you upload the new version yourself, it is validated against the existing card, and it starts calculating shipping costs only once you activate it.Who it’s for
Logistics operations managers who maintain carrier rate cards through annual or contractual rate changes, and finance and procurement teams who need to see which rates applied to a shipment on a given date. It removes the support ticket for routine rate updates while keeping a new file from affecting live cost calculation until it has been checked.Key benefits
- Routine rate updates without a ticket. A newer version of a rate card Perform.AI has already integrated is uploaded directly in the portal.
- Clear version history. Every card carries a version, a validity period and a status, so it is obvious which card is live, which is scheduled and which is historical.
- Safe by default. Each upload is validated in two steps, and a new version only affects cost calculation after you activate it.
- Auditable. The read-only details show the carrier, shipping service, currency, weight configuration, fuel surcharges and source files behind each card, with the original files available for download.
- Rates resolve per carrier reference. Each carrier reference is linked to the rate card for its shipping service, and the card used for a shipment is shown in its Shipping Cost section.
How it works
What you can upload yourself
Self-service upload covers a newer version of a rate card that is already set up: same carrier, same file format and structure, same calculation logic, no new surcharge types, only the rate values differ. A new carrier, a new file format, a new charge type, a new destination or anything needing new calculation logic is set up by Perform.AI; use Contact support in the upload dialog to request it. Rate cards are processed from Excel (XLSX) files. Each carrier’s rate card structure is unique, so every new rate card is reviewed by Perform.AI before it is integrated.Rate Card Overview table
Go to Shipping Cost Audit > Rate Card Overview. The header shows the total count, for example All Rate Cards (15 rate cards), and an Upload Rate Card button. The table lists one row per carrier and shipping service. A rate card that covers several shipping services appears as several rows, because each service has its own calculation set-up.
Default sort is Last Updated descending; all columns are sortable and resizable. Page size can be 10, 20 or 50 rows. Missing values show
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Rate Card ID is {carrierID}_{shipping-service-slug}_{version}, for example UPS_international-express_V1, or {carrierID}_{version} for a card without a shipping service. Each card also has an immutable Rate Card UUID. Versions you upload increment the major version (1.0, 2.0, 3.0); minor versions (1.1, 1.2) are reserved for changes made by Perform.AI.
Search and filters
Search matches Rate Card ID and Rate Card UUID, partial and case-insensitive. Filters are Date Added, Carrier, Status, Shipping Service, Validity Period and Carrier Reference, all multi-select; search and filters combine with AND, and Clear all resets them. The Validity Period filter matches any card whose validity range overlaps the selected range, inclusive of the boundary days. A card with no end date matches whenever its start date is on or before the end of the selected range. The filter ignores status, so Scheduled and Expired cards appear if their dates fall in the window.Uploading a new version
Upload Rate Card opens a dialog for a new version of a rate card already set up for your carrier.
The Upload button stays disabled until the required fields are filled. If a card for the same carrier and shipping service is still Processing, the upload is blocked with an error. Selecting two shipping services creates two rate card records; updating only one of them creates a new version for that service only.
Validation
On submit the card enters Processing and runs two checks in order:- Structure. The file is compared with the layout saved for that carrier and shipping service at first set-up: number and type of files, number of sheets, column labels and order, and overall layout. Any structural change fails the upload. Keep the same sheets as the previous version, including a fuel surcharge sheet, even if the surcharge is sourced from the carrier’s website.
- Calculation match. Runs only if the structure passes. The new file is used to recalculate a set of sample shipments created for the rate card at set-up, and the result is compared with the current version: the same cost components must be present with the same names, and the total cost must stay within a tolerance. Any sample shipment that fails, fails the upload.
- The number of files or the file type wasn’t what we expected for this carrier.
- This file doesn’t have the expected number of sheets for this carrier’s rate card.
- Some columns are missing, in a different order, or labelled differently from the expected template.
- The overall layout of this rate card doesn’t match the expected template for this carrier.
Status lifecycle
Activating a Draft card
A Draft card is visible and auditable but not used for cost calculation. Activate appears in the footer of the details panel for Draft cards only. A confirmation explains that the card will be used to calculate shipping costs for all future shipments matching its carrier reference and validity period, that existing shipments keep their current values, and that the card cannot return to Draft. On confirmation the card becomes Active or Scheduled and a banner confirms it.Which card applies to a shipment
Overlapping validity periods are allowed. When more than one card could apply, the card with the latest effective start date and version at the shipment’s event time is used. An Expired card is still used for shipments whose event time falls inside its historical validity window, including late-arriving events, so past shipments keep the rate that applied to them. Rate cards and fuel surcharges store date, time and timezone. When a shipment event occurs, the event time, the card’s validity and the surcharge periods are all converted to UTC before comparison.Rate card details
Click a row to open the read-only details panel. It shows the carrier, Rate Card Name, Rate Card ID, Rate Card UUID, Version, Currency, Validity Period and Shipping Service (UUID, version, currency and ID are hidden for Processing and Failed cards), an error banner for Failed cards and an information banner for Expired cards, then:- Linked Carrier References. The carrier reference the card resolves for, linking to the carrier’s settings. Draft cards state that references are linked automatically or set up after activation; Processing and Failed cards show no references.
- Weight Configuration. Weight Type (Shipment Weight, Volumetric Weight, or Higher of Shipment or Volumetric) and the volumetric divisor used to convert dimensions into volumetric weight where the carrier bills by volume.
- Calculation Settings. The cost calculation trigger, which is First Shipping Milestone.
- Fuel Surcharges. Per shipping service: the Fuel Surcharge Discount percentage, the source (the carrier’s published page, linked, or Manual Input) and a table of Period, Carrier Rate, Applied Rate (the carrier rate after your discount) and Last Updated. Rows are ordered by period, the current period is highlighted, and periods with no published rate yet are shown empty rather than omitted. Twelve periods of history are kept, six per page.
- Documents. The source files, each downloadable.
Linking rate cards to carrier references
Each carrier reference maps to exactly one shipping service; a brand that needs several shipping services for one carrier maintains several carrier references. The Linked Rate Card section under Settings > Carriers > carrier reference > Carrier Details shows which card resolves for that reference, and warns when no Active card exists or only an Expired one. Linking is automatic when the carrier has no shipping service, or exactly one; when a card covers several shipping services you select the service on the carrier reference. Only cards that have been or will be live can be linked: Active, Scheduled and Expired. Draft, Processing and Failed cards cannot. The shipping service comes from the carrier reference, not from the shipment, so shipments do not need to carry a shipping service for cost calculation. A mapping from your own service codes (for exampleP1) to the carrier’s service names is set up during onboarding.
Where rate-card rates appear
The card used for a shipment is shown in the Shipping Cost section of Shipment and Booking Details, with the Rate-Card Rate column. A shipment needs a weight or dimensions for a rate to be calculated; with both, the higher of the shipment weight and the volumetric weight is used, as set in the card’s Weight Configuration. When calculation is skipped, an issue icon next to Rate-Card Rate gives the reason: missing weight and dimensions, no rate card for the carrier, destination not covered, or service not covered. Rate card and invoice must be in the same currency; domestic shipments are not processed.Languages
The interface and tooltips are available in German, Spanish and French, set under My Profile > Portal language, with English as the fallback.Set up in the portal
- Go to Shipping Cost Audit > Rate Card Overview and select Upload Rate Card.
- Choose the carrier and, if offered, the shipping services the new version covers.
- Enter a rate card name, the validity start and end dates (or No end date) and the timezone.
- Add the file or files from the carrier and select Upload. The card shows as Processing.
- When the email arrives, open the card. A Draft card has passed validation: review its details and select Activate. A Failed card shows the error banner; correct the file structure or contact support if the carrier changed its format.
- Under Settings > Carriers, open the carrier reference and check Linked Rate Card. If the card covers several shipping services, select the service for that reference.