We now have an address book. Users will be able to enter addresses ahead of time and simply choose them from a list at the beginning of the rating process. The zip code will be filled in and when saving the BOL, the name and address will be filled in, too. Our users can also pre-select some accessorials for their contacts. If a customer always needs a lift gate, they can add that to the contact in the address book, and it will be selected automatically when that contact is used. If it's an accessorial that requires user input, then when they click Rate Shipment they'll be directed to that page to enter the extra information. We're hoping that the address book saves time and cuts down on errors.

Using the address book couldn't be much simpler. There's a blue book icon next to the origin and destination zip code inputs on the rating page. Just click one and the address book appears. Click on a name and you'll ship to (or from) it.

There are a few ways to add names to the address book. The first is to use the Add to Address Book checkboxes under the shipper and consignee on the Create BOL page. This won't add any accessorials, but it's a quick way to add a contact.

You can also go to the Settings tab, then click on Address Book. Enter the name and address of your contact, select any accessorials you need and Save. If you enter a zipcode before doing the city and state, the city and state will be filled out for you as soon as you move away from the zipcode field.

On the left you'll see a list of existing contacts. You can delete or edit them using the icons in the left column. Another way to get to the Address Book management page is to use the link in the window that pops up from the rating page.

If a customer has their contacts in a spreadsheet or some other type of file and they want to import them all at once, they can send the file to us and we'll import it for them.