Disbursement accounts: proforma DA to final DA

A disbursement account (DA) is the breakdown of what a port agent spends on the owner’s behalf for one port call: tugs, pilotage, port dues, document fees and similar items, gathered into one account. This article, part of what ship agency software covers, walks through tracking every line, from the proforma DA to the final one, without losing a receipt along the way.

The difference between proforma and final

A proforma DA is an estimate, prepared before the vessel arrives, based on past calls and that port’s known tariffs — it lets the owner set a budget in advance. The final DA is the settled account, prepared after the call closes, with every actual cost backed by its receipt. When the gap between the two is large — an unexpected waiting charge, an extra tug — it needs its own explanation to the owner; otherwise the gap quietly erodes trust between agent and owner.

Why a receipt goes missing

A single call usually brings costs from five to ten different suppliers — the pilotage authority, the tug operator, the port administration, the courier who prepares documents — each billing on its own date, sometimes in its own currency. Squeeze these into one spreadsheet row or one “general expense” line, and finding which receipt belonged to which call becomes hard by month end. Keeping every cost line attached to its call file and its own receipt image is what prevents that loss.

Currency and the agency fee

Most of a port agent’s own cost lines come in EUR or USD, and the account billed to the owner is usually in the same currency. Each line should carry that day’s exchange rate, and the total balance should show both the foreign-currency amount and its TRY equivalent — a system that only totals in TRY loses the exchange difference quietly. The agent’s own service fee should appear as its own line, separate from the costs disbursed on the owner’s behalf; mixing the two invites the owner to question the whole account.

Cost groups

Lines on a DA should not sit in one undifferentiated pile: official charges paid to the port administration, third-party services such as tugs and pilotage, and the agent’s own service fee are three separate groups. That separation lets an owner see, at a glance, how much of a total goes to a third party and how much goes to the agent. It also makes clear how a change in a port due flows through to the proforma DA: only that one line updates, the other groups stay untouched.

Where the proforma draws its numbers from

Rather than estimating a proforma DA from scratch, it is more reliable to draw on the lines from past calls at the same port: the tug and pilotage cost from the last vessel of a similar size becomes the starting point for the new estimate. When port dues change, those reference lines need updating too — otherwise the first estimate given to the owner runs systematically low, and the same gap repeats on every call.

Closing and reconciliation

Once the call closes, the final DA should come out as one document holding every line and every receipt for that call. Once it goes to the owner, the call file locks; a correction, if one is needed, is added as a new entry rather than changing the original figure. Your accountant should be able to export these records on their own retention schedule — how long they must be kept depends on the applicable rules and your accountant’s own practice, so we recommend confirming the exact period with them rather than assuming one. A periodic export should be built by period rather than by call, while still keeping each line traceable back to its own call and receipt.

Example

An agent prepares a proforma DA for a tanker calling at Aliağa: tugs EUR 1,100, pilotage EUR 480, port dues EUR 750, document fees EUR 90 — an estimated total of EUR 2,420. The vessel ends up waiting three extra days, adding a EUR 180 anchorage charge. The final DA holds six lines and six receipts; the total comes to EUR 2,600, and the EUR 180 difference is reported to the owner with the line it came from.

How it works in Rotenta

1. When the call file is nominated, a proforma DA opens in the Disbursement Account module, using estimated lines drawn from past calls.
2. Each actual cost is added as its own line with its own supplier and currency; the receipt image attaches to that line as a file.
3. Lines post to the ledger; the balance shows in both the foreign currency and its TRY equivalent on the Accounting screen.
4. When the call closes, the final DA comes out as one document with every line and its attached receipt through PDF output.
5. Once the document is sent to the owner, the call file locks; a periodic export for the accountant can be produced separately.

See how the owner views this account in principal accounts and the owner portal, and how the account stays attached to its call in the port call file.

Frequently asked questions

How is the gap between the proforma and final DA explained to the owner?

The gap is shown on the final DA itself, broken down by the line it came from, so the owner sees an explained difference rather than an unexplained total.

How are costs in different currencies totalled?

Each line is recorded in its own currency at that day’s rate; the total balance is calculated on its TRY equivalent, so the exchange difference is never lost quietly.

How is the agent’s own fee shown to the owner?

The agency fee appears as its own line, separate from the costs disbursed on the owner’s behalf, so the two never blur together in one document.

How is an error in a closed DA corrected?

The original line is never changed; a correction is added as a new entry showing which line it applies to and why.

Which records go to the accountant?

All of a period’s DA lines and their linked ledger entries can be exported; since the retention period depends on the applicable rules and your accountant’s own practice, we recommend confirming the exact period with them. To talk about setup, get in touch.