Grace period discount rules in carrier agreements

The intent of this article is to guide you through the function and components of the Grace Period Discount rules in carrier agreements. This information is intended for any user with a PDF agreement that needs to be loaded into the Agreement Management System.

Organization of rules

Rules are ordered by class type as follows:

Data Transformer 300px icon pngData Transformer

Dim Divisor icon 300px pngDIM Divisors

Earned discount icon 300px pngEarner Discounts

FFuel surcharge discount icon 300px pnguel Surcharge Discounts

Service period discount by region icon 300px pngService Period Discount by Region

Grace period discount icon 300px pngGrace Period Discounts

Minimum net charge icon 300px pngMinimum Net Charge

Multipiece minimum weight qualifier icon 300px pngMultipiece Minimum Weight Qualifier

Service discount flight takeoff icon 300px pngService Discount

Service discount by region icon 300px pngService Discount by Region

Service net rate icon 300px pngService Net Rates

Surcharge net rate icon 300px pngSurcharge Net Rates

Surcharge discount icon 300px pngSurcharges Discounts


It’s important to note that rules are executed from top to bottom according to the position of the rule among all other agreement rules. In other words, rules at the bottom are executed after the rules above and can overwrite the rules where overlap exists.

Grace period discount rule

The Grace Period Discount rule calculates the amount of grace period discount applied for each shipment.

Effective Start Date

Relevant for expiration terms on earned discount incentives.

Default: Null

Format: mm/dd/yyyy

Common mistake: Effective Start Date is entered on a date that is after the analysis period date range within CAO View. Ensure that the Effective Start Date does not affect the service discount being applied to the date range of analysis.

Pro tip: These dates relate to the start and stop dates of Earned Discount Rules that are also in the agreement.

Effective Stop Date

Relevant for expiration terms on earned discount incentives.

Default: Null

Format: mm/dd/yyyy

Common mistake: Effective Start Date is entered on a date that is after the analysis period date range within CAO View. Ensure that the Effective Start Date does not affect the service discount being applied to the date range of analysis.

Pro tip: These dates relate to the start and stop dates of Earned Discount Rules that are also in the agreement.

Services

Create a row for each service type where the earned discount applies.

Skip Earned Discount

This option overwrites voids all Earned Discounts billed where a Grace Period Discount is observed.

Note: It’s common to enable this feature.

Packaging Type

Carrier-specific packaging (e.g. UPS Express Letter/Envelope) has a list rate and incentive specific to that package type. Discounts and incentives for such packaging types are managed as separate service type rules.

Default: All Packages

Options: Carrier-specific. Check the agreement page for a given carrier for a full list.  

Common mistake: Given the organization of rules within an agreement, the ideal order of rules is to put all packages first, then build secondary rules for each carrier-specific packaging type section. In other words, the general rule that targets All Packages is above the carrier-specific package type rule. This way, the discounts related to a given carrier-specific packaging type overwrites the general rule targeting All Packages.

Directions

Overview: Domestic service types are managed as a single rule on Service Discounts. Service Discounts on international shipments, in contrast, are managed as separate rules by direction. Export and Import.

Default: All enabled by default

Options:

  • Import
  • Export
  • Domestic

Common issue: Carriers commonly invoice customers for domestic service types for international ship from or ship to locations. This problem can be overcome by the selection of All enabled by default for domestic service types.

Discounts

  • Min Rolling Average. The lower bound on the revenue band.
  • Max Rolling Average. The upper bound on the revenue band.
  • Discount. Amount of the Earned Discount.

Next steps

Updated on October 10, 2025
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