How to Evaluate NVOCC Agency Software: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Buy
BlueLogis Consulting ·
NVOCC agency software must keep each principal's rates, documents, containers and money separate, stop cargo release until charges are paid, and produce a clean statement of account for every principal. These ten questions help you test that in a demo, whether your agency is in India, Oman, the UAE or elsewhere.
An agency earns its fee by representing principals well and settling their money accurately. Software that treats the agency like a forwarder, with one set of rates and one ledger, fails as soon as a second principal arrives. Bring your own data to the demo and ask these ten questions.
1. Can each principal have its own rates, BL format and inventory?
Set up two principals in the demo. Each should have its own tariff and local charges, its own Bill of Lading format and its own container inventory, without copying screens or keeping a spreadsheet on the side. BlueLogis AX supports multiple principal configuration with principal-wise rates, bookings, BL formats, inventory, accounting and disbursement. More in managing multiple principals.
2. Does finance post to separate principal and agent ledgers?
The agency's own income must never mix with money it holds for a principal. Ask to see the postings from one invoice: what goes to the principal's account and what stays with the agency. In BlueLogis AX, postings go to the agents' and principals' ledgers.
3. Can you produce each principal's statement of account without spreadsheets?
The SOA is where agencies lose time and trust. Ask for import, export and transhipment statements for one principal, and check that every line traces back to a document. BlueLogis AX provides agent-wise SOA, collection by voyage, voyage-wise P&L, and import, export and transhipment statements of account by principal. See our principal SOA guide.
4. Is the delivery order blocked until charges are paid?
Releasing cargo before to-collect charges are cleared is a direct loss. The system should check finance before a DO can be issued, including detention and demurrage. In BlueLogis AX, the delivery order is issued only after finance has checked the to-collect charges, including detention and demurrage.
5. Is prepaid freight collected before the BL is released?
On exports, the same principle applies to the Bill of Lading. Ask how the system stops a BL being released before prepaid freight is collected. BlueLogis AX collects prepaid freight through the export invoice before BL release.
6. How are detention and demurrage calculated?
Free days differ by port, container type, customer and BL. Ask the vendor to change the free days on one container and show the recalculated charge, including after the DO has been issued. BlueLogis AX sets free days by port, container type, customer, BL and container, recalculates after DO issue, and posts the charge to the liner's account.
7. Which port EDI formats work today?
List the ports and message types you file and ask which are supported now, not on a roadmap. BlueLogis AX supports port EDI formats; confirm the formats for your ports in the demo.
8. Does it handle your tax and e-invoicing?
An agency in India needs GST and e-invoice registration; an agency in the GCC needs VAT, local currencies and, increasingly, e-invoicing. BlueLogis AX supports VAT and GST, multi-currency invoicing and, in India, e-invoice registration on the government portal with a QR code. In the GCC it invoices in OMR, AED, SAR and QAR, with Arabic invoice formats available.
9. Can operations and finance work from the same booking?
Ask the vendor to follow one import from discharge and manifest to DO and invoice, and one export from booking and slot allocation to BL and collection. Every step should use the same record, so finance never re-keys what operations already entered. BlueLogis AX covers export booking, slot allocation and BLs in the liner's format, and import manifest transfer, free days and delivery orders.
10. What does it cost, and can you try it first?
Ask for the full first-year cost: subscription, setup, servers, training and any integration fees. BlueLogis AX costs INR 2,500 (Business plan) or INR 4,000 (Customised plan) a month in India, or USD 35 and USD 60 a month elsewhere, with zero setup fee and a 7-day free trial. See what freight software costs.
Agency or principal software?
If your company also runs its own line or boxes, you need principal software as well. Read NVOCC principal vs agency software to decide. BlueLogis AX and BlueLogis NX run on the same platform.
Demo scorecard
- Two principals set up with separate rates, BL formats and inventory.
- One invoice shown posting to principal and agent ledgers.
- Import, export and transhipment SOA produced for one principal.
- DO blocked until to-collect charges, including detention, are cleared.
- BL blocked until prepaid freight is collected.
- Detention recalculated after changing free days.
- Port EDI formats for your ports confirmed.
- Tax, e-invoicing and currencies match your country.
- Full first-year cost written down; trial run on your own data.
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
- NVOCC Agency & Shipping Agency Software for Multiple Principals
- BlueLogis AX – NVOCC Agency & Shipping Agency Software
- NVOCC agency software: managing multiple principals
- Principal Statement of Account: A Practical Guide for NVOCC Agencies
- Shipping agency software in Oman: VAT, multiple principals and e-invoicing
See BlueLogis in action. Book a 30-minute demo or send an enquiry.
Products: BlueLogis FX (freight forwarding) · BlueLogis AX (NVOCC agency) · BlueLogis NX (NVOCC principal).