How to choose ship agency software

Choosing software as a port agent starts with the difference between a general accounting package and ship agency software actually written for the job. The right question is not “which modules does it have” but “when a port call file is opened, which records attach to it automatically”. This article lists five points worth checking before you decide.

Why a general accounting package falls short

A general commercial package can issue invoices and keep a customer ledger, but it does not know what a “call” is. A port agent’s work revolves around one event — from the ship’s name and IMO number, through nomination, to departure — and everything attaches to that one event. When the call closes, the account sent to the owner should close with it, not quietly change afterward. Otherwise an argument over “when was this line added” runs on with no record to settle it.

1. Is the call file one record, or scattered

The first question: from the moment you are nominated to the vessel’s departure, does every document, every cost, every notification attach to the same file, or does it spread across separate spreadsheets? If the call file does not become unchangeable once it is closed, the software will not hold up in an audit or in a dispute with the owner.

2. Does it work in your currency

A port agent’s own costs mostly come in EUR or USD — tugs, pilotage, port dues are usually billed in foreign currency — and the account sent to the owner is billed the same way. The software’s ledger should stamp every movement with its exchange rate and show the balance in both the foreign currency and its TRY equivalent; a system that only totals in TRY gets the balance quietly wrong.

3. Do documents come out bilingual

Most of what goes to the port authority, customs and the owner is expected in both Turkish and English. If the software cannot produce both from the same record with one click, you end up preparing a separate document by hand for each language — which means errors and delay.

4. Is there a statutory notification adaptor

Vessels entering the port authority’s administrative area must give written advance notice; Turkey’s Ports Regulation (Limanlar Yönetmeliği), Article 9, requires this notice at least twenty-four hours before entering the port area, with a further written notice if the ETA slips beyond the stated threshold (Limanlar Yönetmeliği, Art. 9). If the agent also arranges road transport for crew or passengers, that leg counts as non-scheduled (“tarifesiz”) passenger transport and must be reported to U-ETDS up to one hour before travel starts. Software that logs these deadlines against the file is far safer than tracking them by hand in a spreadsheet.

5. Can the owner see their own account

Forever’s own experience shows owners expect to follow their jobs, statements and invoice PDFs from a portal, daily. An owner who does not have to email for every question asks the agent fewer questions and pays faster. In a portal, an owner should only ever see their own vessel’s calls — another owner’s file should never surface, no matter how the search is phrased.

6. How do past records come across

Re-entering years of past calls and ledger balances by hand can take weeks when you switch software. A system that supports a bulk import from Excel lets you bring in past owner accounts and open balances instead of writing them in from scratch.

Example

An agent is nominated for an 8,500 GT bulk carrier calling at İzmit Bay. The agent gives the port authority 24 hours’ advance notice before the vessel enters the port area; the same day, a proforma disbursement account is prepared — tugs EUR 950, pilotage EUR 420, port dues EUR 680, EUR 150 in document fees for the arrival clearance — a total of EUR 2,200. The vessel sails three days later; the final DA shows a difference of just EUR 60 in waiting charges, which the owner sees the same day through the portal.

How it works in Rotenta

1. A new call file opens in the Ship Call module: ship name, IMO number, flag, nomination date and ETA are entered.
2. The advance notice to the port authority is logged with a timestamp on the file’s Official Notifications tab; if the agent also arranges road transport for crew, the same tab flags the U-ETDS report.
3. In the Disbursement Account module, a proforma DA opens, each line (tugs, pilotage, port dues) attaches to the ledger as its own entry, stamped with that day’s exchange rate.
4. The Documents module produces a bilingual TR/EN output from the letterhead template and attaches it to the file.
5. Once the call closes, the file locks; the final DA goes out to the owner through the Customer Portal, where the owner also sees the statement and the document PDFs.

Your team can bring in past call records with data import from Excel rather than starting a new call from scratch.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ship agency software and a general accounting package?

A general accounting package handles invoices and a customer ledger but has no concept of a “call” — it does not tie together the documents, notifications and costs a port agent’s job actually produces. Ship agency software builds that flow around the call file.

If we serve several owners at once, do the records mix?

No; each call keeps its own file, and every owner’s foreign-currency ledger runs separately. The portal also only shows an owner their own vessel’s records.

Is U-ETDS reporting handled by this software?

If the agent also arranges road transport for crew or passengers, this report is required; Rotenta logs those deadlines on the call file and tracks them through the U-ETDS module.

Can a closed call file be corrected afterward?

A closed file cannot be changed; a correction is added as a new, traceable entry, so the account sent to the owner and the agent’s own copy always show the same number.

How does pricing work?

The plan depends on your call volume and how many owners you serve; see the pricing page for details or get in touch directly.