👥 Primary Audience: Admins , Partner Admins,Office Admins, Operation Managers , Dispatchers, Sales Agents, Data Entry
A contracted lane is a pre-negotiated rate agreement between your company and a specific customer for a defined route. For example, you might have an agreement with Customer ABC specifying that any load from Dallas, TX to Houston, TX will be billed at $850. Storing contracted lanes in Alvys eliminates the need for dispatchers to look up or remember rate agreements manually. When a new load is created on a lane with a contracted rate, Alvys can automatically reference and populate that rate. Lane rate contracts are a fundamental pricing tool in freight brokerage. Instead of negotiating rates for each load individually, companies establish standing agreements for frequently used lanes. These contracts specify the rate, fuel surcharge structure, and terms for each customer and route. Proper access control is critical when managing these contracts, as they directly impact pricing, revenue, and customer relationships.
The Contracted Lanes Permissions category in Alvys TMS controls access to lane rate contracts, With four (4) permissions, this category governs who can view contracted lane rates, create and update contracts, and delete contracts.
Where to Manage Contracted Lanes Permissions
⚠️ To modify these permissions, the logged-in user, preferably an administrator, must possess the “Set Permission” permission located within the Management category. Without “Set Permission”, a user can view the user profile or form but cannot adjust any permissions. For additional information regarding the “Set Permission”, please refer to the Management & Privacy Permissions article.
Contracted Lanes Permissions are configured at the individual user level within the User Management interface. To adjust these settings:
Select your username located in the bottom left corner.
Navigate to the Company Profile and select the Users tab.
Choose an existing user to Edit or select the Add User button to create a new profile.
Scroll to the Permissions section and locate the Contracted Lanes category.
Identify the four (4) individual checkboxes corresponding to the Contracted Lanes permissions detailed in this article:
View Contracted Lanes,Update/Create Contracted Lanes,Delete Contracted LanesandApply Contracted Lanes On New Load
Contracted Lanes Permissions Breakdown
View Contracted Lanes
The View Contracted Lanes permission determines whether a user can access lane rate agreements, which are pre-negotiated contracts between the company and its customers or brokers for specific routes, on a customer or broker profile in Alvys. It serves as a read-only access control for contracted lane data. Without this permission, the contracted lanes information and related interface elements remain hidden from the user.
Access a customer or broker profile in Alvys. Users granted the View Contracted Lanes permission will have the Contracted Lanes and Fuel Surcharges section visible in the top right corner above the contacts heading. Selecting this section presents a complete list of all rate agreements associated with that customer.
By default, this specific permission is granted exclusively to the Support and Partner Admin roles.
✅ Best Practice: Assign the View Contracted Lanes permission to users responsible for managing customer relationships, negotiating rates, or requiring visibility into lane pricing for informed decision-making. Because Admin and Operation Manager roles do not receive this permission by default, ensure it is explicitly granted to any admin-level users involved in managing contracted lanes.
Update/Create Contracted Lanes
The Update/Create Contracted Lanes permission enables a user to create new contracted lane rate agreements and modify existing ones on a customer or company profile. This permission governs the building and maintenance of the rate library in Alvys, including setting rates, defining lanes, configuring fuel surcharge terms, and updating contract details. Because these modifications directly affect pricing commitments, this permission ensures that only authorized users can create or adjust financial agreements.
💡 A user who creates or edits contracts will generally also require the View Contracted Lanes permission to access and review the contracts they are managing.
The Edit Action controls a user’s ability to modify existing lane rate contracts, including updating rates, terms, and effective dates.
By default, this permission is granted to the Support and Partner Admin roles only.
✅ Best Practice: Assign the Update/Create Contracted Lanes permission only to users who are authorized to make pricing commitments. Always pair it with the View Contracted Lanes permission so users can access and review the contracts they manage. Consider implementing a review workflow in which all contract changes are verified by a second authorized user.
Delete Contracted Lanes
The Delete Contracted Lanes permission determines whether a user can remove lane rate contracts. Deleting a contract permanently eliminates the pre-negotiated rate agreement, requiring manual rate entry for any subsequent loads on that lane. This is the most critical and potentially disruptive action within the Contracted Lanes category.
⚠️ Deletion is completely blocked if any loads currently reference the contract.
Navigate to the customer / broker profile.
Locate the Contracted Lanes & Fuel Surcharges section in the top right corner.
In the contracted lanes table, click the three-dot menu for the lane you want to remove.
Select Delete and confirm the action to remove the contract.
By default, this permission is granted to the Support and Partner Admin roles only.
✅ Best Practice: Grant Delete Contracted Lanes very sparingly. Most users who manage contracts need View and Update/Create but not Delete. Consider restricting Delete to senior pricing staff or managers.
Apply Contracted Lanes On New Load
During the manual load creation process, this permission governs whether a user can select and apply a contract from an existing agreement associated with the selected load customer or broker. For a contract to populate automatically, the specific origin and destination of the load must match a pre-negotiated lane stored in that customer’s profile. The system cross-references the load's customer and lane details; if a matching contract is found, it automatically populates the agreed-upon rate in the stop details step of the load creation process.
Follow these steps to ensure a pre-negotiated contract is correctly applied to a new load:
Select the Customer or Broker: Choose the specific Customer or Broker associated with the existing lane agreement. The contract is specifically linked to this entity.
Leave Billing Rates Blank: Do not manually enter a billing rate at this stage. Once the matching contract is selected in a later step, the system will automatically populate the rate for you.
Verify the Subsidiary: Ensure the Invoice As field matches the specific subsidiary that was selected when the lane contract was created. If these do not align, the system will not recognize the contract.
Match the Lane Addresses: Confirm that the pickup and delivery addresses (Origin and Destination) exactly match the lanes defined in the contract.
Select the Contract: Once the lane details match the agreement, the system will return the relevant contract. You can then select it from the dropdown to automatically populate the pre-negotiated rates and terms. Only Active contracts are populated.
Load Creation (Choose Contract dropdown)
By default, this permission is granted to the Support and Partner Admin roles only.
✅ Best Practice: Grant Apply Contracted Lanes on New Load to dispatchers and load creators who work with customers that have active contracted lanes. This improves pricing accuracy and reduces manual data entry. Pair it with View Contracted Lanes so users can verify the rates being applied. Also, before enabling this permission, audit your contracted lane records. Make sure every agreement on file reflects your current negotiated rates.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is a contracted lane in Alvys? A: A contracted lane is a pre-negotiated rate agreement between your company and a specific customer for a defined route. Storing these in Alvys allows the system to automatically populate rates during load creation, eliminating the need for manual lookups.
Q: Can I allow a user to see contracted rates without letting them change them? A: Yes. You can grant the View Contracted Lanes permission independently. This provides read-only access, allowing users to reference rates for customer service or planning without the ability to create, update, or delete contracts.
Q: Why should the Update/Create and View permissions be paired? A: A user who creates or edits contracts needs the View Contracted Lanes permission to access and review the data they are managing. Without it, the user may be able to save a contract but won't be able to see the library to verify their work.
Q: Is there a restriction on deleting a contracted lane? A: Yes. Deletion is completely blocked by the system if any active loads currently reference that specific contract. This safeguard prevents the accidental removal of financial data tied to live operations.
Q: Does a contracted rate lock in the price of a load? A: No. While the system automatically populates the contracted rate when a matching lane is detected, authorized users can still manually override the amount on the load if a specific situation requires a price adjustment.
Q: Where is the contracted lanes section located in the interface? A: Once the permission is granted, users can find the Contracted Lanes and Fuel Surcharges section in the top right corner of a customer or broker profile, located above the contacts heading.
Q: What is the recommended best practice for managing contract changes? A: Assign update permissions only to staff authorized to make pricing commitments. It is also recommended to implement an internal review workflow where a second authorized user verifies all contract changes before they are finalized.
Q: Why is the "Choose Contract" dropdown empty even though I have the permission enabled?
A: The dropdown only populates if the load details match a valid lane contract. Ensure that the Customer/Broker, the "Invoice As" subsidiary, and the Pickup/Delivery lane exactly match the the existing customer lane contract.
Next Steps
⏭️ You’ve now covered all the permissions and how they work within Alvys. With that foundation in place, it’s time to understand how roles structure access across your team. Proceed to the User Roles article to explore every built-in role, learn their intended purposes, and see how roles interact with permissions to shape each user’s experience in the platform.