This manual uses real AutoCount screenshots to walk you through one complete shipment: Booking → Shipment Job → Container → Bill of Lading → Charges → billing (SO → DO → Invoice) → Reports, plus Smart Document Import. Every step is just three things: ① where to click ② what to type ③ what you'll see.
How to use this manual
Start at Step 1 and follow along. Each step has three colour-coded tags — that's all you need to watch:
Whenever the screen matches the "You'll see" description, this step is correct — move on with confidence. Document numbers (BKG, JOB, SO…) count upward automatically, so different numbers on your screen are perfectly normal.
Every screenshot below is from the same real shipment. When you do it yourself, just swap in your own customer and cargo.
Remember this line: book first, open the job, attach the container and issue the B/L, enter the charges, then bill in AutoCount, and review in the reports at month-end.
15 small steps, from booking all the way to raising the invoice and reading a report. Anything you Save is kept, so you can close and continue tomorrow at any point.
On AutoCount's top menu bar, click Shipping.
The Shipping menu drops down: Dashboard, Document Import, Booking, Shipment Jobs, Bill of Lading, Reports, Setup… This is the entry point for everything in the plugin.
In the Shipping menu click Booking, then click New at the top-left of the booking list.
First a list of existing bookings; after New, a blank booking form waiting for the customer and route.
Click Find Customer (or the … button next to the customer field).
In the customer list, pick PANDA LOGISTICS SDN BHD and double-click or press OK.
The customer name and code (300-P001) fill back into the booking. You pick the customer once — the job, B/L and reports carry it forward automatically.
Click into each field of the routing area on the booking.
POL = PORT KLANG; POD = JAKARTA; Vessel = EVER ACE; Voyage = V001; ETD = 12/10/2026; ETA = 15/10/2026.
It goes from "all blank" to "every field filled". Match the two pictures below, then you're done.
Click Save at the top.
The system gives this booking a number, e.g. BKG-2610-000002. Seeing a number = saved successfully.
Click Confirm Booking.
The booking status changes from Draft to Confirmed. Only a confirmed booking can create a job.
On the confirmed booking, click the create-job button (Create Job / transfer to job).
A job number is generated, e.g. JOB-2610-000002, and the Shipment Job Workspace opens. The customer, ports and schedule all carry over from the booking — no retyping.
In the workspace, click the Container tab and add a container row.
Container No = TCKU1234567; Type = 40HC; Seal = SEAL001.
The row appears in the container list. The weekly volume report counts containers from exactly here.
Click Create / Edit B/L to generate the B/L; click Preview to see it.
A B/L number is generated, e.g. BL-2610-000002. The preview carries a big DRAFT watermark — meaning it isn't officially issued yet, so you can check it safely.
Click the Charges tab and add a charge row with side SELL (charge the customer).
Charge code = OFRT (OCEAN FREIGHT); Amount = 2000; Tax = SR-0.
After saving, the system computes Revenue 2000, Cost 0, Gross Profit 2000. You can see what this shipment earns, on the spot.
Click the AutoCount Documents tab, then Create Sales Order. Click Yes on the confirmation.
AutoCount formally raises a sales order, e.g. SO-000005, MYR 2000. The row shows VERIFIED — the amount matches the job.
Select the SO row, click Transfer…. In the "Transfer to" dialog pick Delivery Order, click OK, then confirm with Yes.
The message Delivery Order DO-000005 — Created, verified and linked. A DO row is added to the list.
Select the DO row, click Transfer…. This time "Transfer to" defaults to Sales Invoice; click OK → Yes.
The message Sales Invoice I-000007 — Created, verified and linked. The whole SO → DO → Invoice chain is now complete, every row VERIFIED.
Click View Summary to see a document's origin; finally, click Save to save the job.
A summary: Invoice I-000007, MYR 2000, source Delivery Order DO-000005, VERIFIED. Which document came from where is crystal clear.
In the Shipping menu click Reports, pick one from the list, e.g. Weekly Export Volume. Set the year / weeks / basis, click Refresh, then Export Excel or Export PDF to export.
A "customer × week" volume matrix. The footer shows which containers were included/excluded, and double-clicking a cell reveals the containers behind the number.
A customer's PDF B/L or Excel no longer needs to be typed character by character. Upload → the system reads the fields → you review → generate documents in one click. The five steps are Upload ▸ Extract ▸ Match ▸ Review ▸ Post.
In the Shipping menu click Document Import.
The import window opens; the very top row is the five steps: 1 Upload ▸ 2 Extract ▸ 3 Match ▸ 4 Review ▸ 5 Post. No file yet, so it says "No document loaded".
Click Upload… and choose the customer's PDF or Excel (here: an ATS bill of lading PDF).
If the file was imported before, the system warns Already Imported and opens that existing record — it won't create a duplicate. That's the safeguard: the same file is never imported twice.
The right side lists the fields read from the file — here 26 fields: B/L No, Shipper, Consignee, POL/POD, Vessel/Voyage, container no/type, packages/weight, HS Code… The left shows the source text for easy comparison.
Usually nothing. The top shows the "Detected customer" and auto-matches it to an AutoCount debtor (here 300-P001). You only edit what was read wrong or missed — the system never guesses.
Click the Targets_Posting tab, tick the documents to generate, then click Post Selected.
The system lists the possible documents and validates them: here Shipment Job / Booking Confirmation / Bill of Lading (Orivia) are all ✓; but SO / DO / Invoice (AutoCount) are blocked ✗, with a clear reason: No charge lines to post.
Click the Import History tab.
Every import leaves a trail: file name, type, profile used, document number, stage (Ready / Posted), customer, date. You can always check who imported what, when, and whether it was posted.
No. BKG / JOB / SO / DO / Invoice numbers count upward automatically, so different numbers on your screen are completely normal as long as the flow matches.
Booking = reserve a slot (open it when the customer wants space/a container); Shipment Job = the master file for this shipment (where you actually operate cargo, record charges and issue documents); Bill of Lading = the transport document (for the carrier/customer), not a bill.
First record the "charge the customer" (SELL) lines in the job's Charges tab → create a Sales Order in AutoCount Documents → transfer to Delivery Order → transfer to Sales Invoice. With no charge lines, the system blocks it.
It's AutoCount's standard document flow — each document links, the audit trail is clean. The plugin uses AutoCount's own "transfer" feature: the amount carries over and is auto-verified (VERIFIED), not re-typed, so nothing is miscalculated.
No. It remembers imported files; re-uploading one shows "Already Imported" and opens the old record. To raise AutoCount's SO/DO/Invoice, the file must also have valid charge lines, otherwise it's held back.
You can stop, and you won't lose anything. Each Save writes to the database; close the window and reopen it tomorrow from the list to continue.
Usually a "basis" issue. The weekly volume report defaults to the Sailed basis, so cargo not yet sailed shows 0; switch to Booked, or check again after sailing.