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Customer Portal Setting - Customer Staff

Use customer staff settings and permissions to control what each of your customer's users can book, see and pay in the Customer Portal.

What this does

Each customer staff profile has four sections: Staff Settings, Tariff Settings, Notification Settings and Permissions. Together they control which shipment types the user can book, how rates appear to them, which emails they get, and whether they see the whole company's shipments or only their own.

  • Offer each customer user only the shipment types they ship.
  • Decide how much pricing a customer user sees, from every rate down to no prices at all.
  • Send status, delivery, invoice and collections emails to the right person.
  • Give a customer's manager the whole account, and give everyone else only their own shipments.
User Guide

Before you start: who can edit customer staff

  • To open Customers > Staff in the Back Office, you need the User Allowed Org Access permission on your own LSP staff profile.
  • To create or edit a customer staff member, you need the Customer Add/Edit permission.
  • New customer staff created from Customers > Staff start with every setting and permission unchecked. Turn on at least one shipment type, or the user cannot book.
  • If you check any notification, the staff member must have an email address before you can save.

How to open a customer staff member's settings

Where to go: Customers > Staff > select the staff member > Edit (pencil).

  • Scroll down to Staff Settings, Tariff Settings, Notification Settings and Permissions.
  • Hover over the information icon next to any setting to see a short description.
  • Click Save. Ask the customer user to sign out of the Customer Portal and back in so the change takes effect.

What the Staff Settings do: shipment types

Where to set them: Customers > Staff > select the staff member > Edit > Staff Settings.

  • Hide LTL: removes the LTL option when the user starts a new shipment. Leave it unchecked to allow LTL.
  • Dom. Truckload: adds the Truckload option when the user starts a new shipment.
  • Dom. AirFreight: adds the Domestic Freight (air) option when the user starts a new shipment.
  • If Hide LTL is checked and neither Dom. Truckload nor Dom. AirFreight is, the user has no shipment types. They will see "Your login has not been configured for shipping. Please contact your provider for details."

What the Staff Settings do: carriers, references and payments

Where to set them: Customers > Staff > select the staff member > Edit > Staff Settings.

  • LTL Carriers: when checked, the carrier name and logo show in LTL rate results, and the Customer Report offers a carrier filter. When unchecked, the carrier is hidden, so the customer chooses by price and transit time only. Truckload rate results always show the carrier.
  • Pay Invoices: lets the user pay invoices by credit card in the Customer Portal, from the Payments link and from the credit-limit warning. Your company must have a card payment integration set up (Global Payments, Authorize.net or CardConnect). Without one, the dashboard payment link does not appear.

Deprecated Staff Settings: PO Reference Required, Shipper Reference Required, Int. AirFreight

Where you'll see them: Customers > Staff > select the staff member > Edit > Staff Settings.

  • PO Reference Required, Shipper Reference Required and Int. AirFreight are deprecated. They still appear in Staff Settings, but checking them has no effect. You can leave them unchecked.
  • To require a PO number or shipper reference, set it up on the customer's company instead. See the next section.

How to require a PO number or shipper reference for a customer

Where to go: Customers > Companies > select the company > Customer Tools > Reference Numbers.

  • Add a reference number and choose the Reference Number Type: Customer PO Number or Shipper Reference Number.
  • Set Display in Front Office to Yes, so customer users see the field when they book.
  • Set Require Selection to Yes. Customer users then can't book without entering the reference.
  • Optional: choose a Shipment Type to require the reference only for that type, such as Truckload. Leave it blank to require it for every type.
  • Save. The requirement applies to every staff member at that company, so you don't need to set anything on each staff profile.

What the Tariff Settings do: how rates appear

Where to set them: Customers > Staff > select the staff member > Edit > Tariff Settings.

  • No Rate: hides prices from the user. The user can still choose a rate and book it, without seeing the price. These are hidden:
    • the Rate, FSC, Accessorials and Total columns in rate results;
    • the Pricing section and the Quote Sheet on shipment details;
    • amounts in shipment and quote history, which show "Not Available";
    • rate quote sheet documents.
    For LTL rates, the user can book but cannot save the quote. Invoices still show amounts.
  • Show Tariff Name: shows the tariff name next to each rate. In LTL rate results, it only shows when LTL Carriers is also checked.
  • Show Guaranteed Rates: includes guaranteed service levels in the user's rate results. When unchecked, guaranteed rates are removed.
  • Only Show Least Cost Rate: shows only the single cheapest valid rate. For ocean shipments, the user sees the cheapest ocean rate plus its inland leg. Guaranteed rates are removed first, unless Show Guaranteed Rates is checked.
  • Show Multiple Rates: shows every rate from every tariff for each carrier.
  • If neither Show Multiple Rates nor Only Show Least Cost Rate is checked, the user sees the cheapest rate for each carrier and service level. A carrier can still appear twice, for example once as Standard and once as Guaranteed.
  • If both are checked, Only Show Least Cost Rate wins and the user sees one rate.

What the Notification Settings do

Where to set them: Customers > Staff > select the staff member > Edit > Notification Settings. Notifications go to the staff member's email address.

  • Picked Up Status: emails the user when their shipment moves to In Transit.
  • Out for Delivery Status: emails the user when their shipment moves to Out for Delivery.
  • Delivered Status: emails the user when their shipment is Delivered.
  • Additional Shipment Statuses: emails the user for the other status changes, such as Committed, Ready, Dispatched, Complete and Canceled. Shipments booked by the customer in the Customer Portal skip the Committed, Ready and Dispatched emails.
  • Proof of Deliveries: emails the Proof of Delivery to the user when it is attached to their shipment, while the shipment is In Transit, Out for Delivery or Delivered.
  • The five shipment notifications above go only to the staff member listed as the customer contact on the shipment, not to everyone at the company.
  • Invoices: sends the user a copy of each invoice for their company.
    • When you email invoices from the Back Office, the copy goes to every staff member with Invoices checked, plus the invoice email on the company profile.
    • Automated invoice emails go to the company invoice email first. Staff with Invoices checked receive them only when the company has no invoice email.
  • Collections: includes the user on collections notices and statements for overdue invoices, along with the company invoice email.

What the Permissions do

Where to set them: Customers > Staff > select the staff member > Edit > Permissions.

  • User Allowed Customer Access: when checked, the user sees all of their company's shipments and quotes, not only their own. This covers the dashboard, shipment and quote history, search and the Customer Report. The user can also open their company's Statement. When unchecked, the user sees only shipments where they are the customer contact, and only custom reports assigned to them personally.
  • Affiliate/Reports: gives the user the Customer Report and their custom reports on the Customer Portal dashboard. The status views, such as Delivered and Sent to Carrier, open the Customer Report and need this permission.

Tips & best practices

  • We recommend checking User Allowed Customer Access only for the customer's managers or accounting contacts. Everyone else then sees only their own shipments.
  • For a customer you price by hand, check No Rate so they can book without seeing your rates.
  • If you want the customer to pick a rate on price alone, uncheck LTL Carriers.
  • Use Only Show Least Cost Rate to keep booking simple for customers who always take the cheapest option.
  • Add an email address before checking any notification.

Frequently asked questions

Why can my customer only see some of their company's shipments?

Their staff profile does not have User Allowed Customer Access. Without it, they only see shipments where they are the customer contact. To change it, go to Customers > Staff > select the staff member > Edit > Permissions.

Why does my customer see "Your login has not been configured for shipping"?

No shipment type is turned on for that user. Uncheck Hide LTL, or check Dom. Truckload or Dom. AirFreight, in their Staff Settings, then ask them to sign back in.

Can a customer book a rate without seeing the price?

Yes. Check No Rate in their Tariff Settings. They can still pick a rate and book it, but prices are hidden on rates, shipment details and history. Invoices still show amounts.

Why does a carrier appear twice in my customer's rates?

By default the customer sees the cheapest rate for each carrier and service level. A carrier with both Standard and Guaranteed service shows twice. To show one rate in total, check Only Show Least Cost Rate. To hide guaranteed rates, uncheck Show Guaranteed Rates.

Why is my customer not getting shipment status emails?

Status and Proof of Delivery emails go only to the staff member listed as the customer contact on that shipment. Check that this person is the contact on the shipment, has an email address, and has the matching notification checked.

How do I make a PO number required for my customer?

Set it on the customer's company, not the staff profile. Go to Customers > Companies > select the company > Customer Tools > Reference Numbers. Add a Customer PO Number with Display in Front Office set to Yes and Require Selection set to Yes. The staff-level PO Reference Required setting is deprecated and has no effect.

Why can't my customer pay invoices online?

Check Pay Invoices in their Staff Settings. Your company also needs a card payment integration (Global Payments, Authorize.net or CardConnect). Contact Tai Support to set one up.

If something doesn't work
  • Ask the customer user to sign out of the Customer Portal and back in after any change.
  • Check that the user is Active and that their company is Active.
  • For missing emails, check the staff member's email address and the shipment's customer contact.
  • Still stuck? Contact Tai Support. Tell them the customer staff member's login, the shipment number if any, and what they expected to see.

To learn more, see Company Profile - Customer Portal Settings.

Applies to: Customer Portal (current) · Back Office Customers > Staff · Last updated: 2026-10-06