Application Settings¶
The Settings page holds the company-wide values UTX Freight uses on invoices, PODs and outgoing emails: tax and NIR numbers, invoice terms and message, date limits for orders and invoicing, how email is delivered, and the sender addresses.
Overview¶
- There are two screens: a read-only Settings page (a table of every value with a short description) and an Edit Setting form where you change them. See The two screens.
- There is one set of settings for the whole system. It is not per office or per customer.
- The settings are grouped as Order, Invoice, POD, Email Delivery Method, the SMTP mailer sections, and Administrative Email Addresses.
- Emails leave the system through one of two delivery methods: SMTP (your own mail server) or Postmark (an email service set up by UTX).
- With SMTP, two mail accounts are used: the Invoice Mailer account sends invoices and statements, and the Notification Mailer account sends order emails, PODs, invoicing reminders, alert digests and feedback. See Which account sends which email.
- If you leave the email settings blank, UTX's email configuration for your system is used.
- If you have container tracking, the Settings page also has an Alert Email Subscriptions box.
- Every change to the settings is recorded with who made it and what changed.
Quick Start¶
- Click your name at the top of the screen Settings.
- Click Edit settings (top right).
- Change the values you need, for example GST Number, QST Number and NIR Number.
- Click Save Changes. You are returned to the Settings page with the message Settings were successfully updated.
Access & Permissions¶
| Role | Access |
|---|---|
| Admin | Full access: view the Settings page, edit settings, manage alert subscriptions. |
| Manager | No access. Ask an Admin to make the change. |
| Dispatch / Accountant / Customer Service | No menu item and no access. |
| Garage | No access. Garage has its own settings page (see Garage Settings & Taxes). |
| Customer / Driver | No access. |
To navigate: click your name at the top of the screen to open the user menu Settings. See Navigation & Account.
The Manage … items (cities, zones, terminals and so on), Charge Types, Expense Types and Manage Taxes are in the same user menu but are not on the Settings page. See User Roles for how roles work.
The Two Screens¶
Settings page (read-only)¶
The page titled Settings (Application global settings) shows, from top to bottom:
- Alert Email Subscriptions: only if your system has a container tracking add-on. See Alert Email Subscriptions.
- A table with the columns Group, Setting, Value and Description.
What the table shows for email:
- The Delivery Method row shows the active method as a badge: SMTP or POSTMARK.
- With SMTP, the General SMTP, Invoice Mailer and Notification Mailer rows are shown. Passwords are always shown as
********. - With Postmark, those SMTP rows are not shown.
- The SMTP and Administrative Emails rows show the value actually in use. If a field is blank in the form, you see the value from UTX's email configuration for your system instead of an empty cell.
The Description column gives a short summary of each value. The sections below explain each one in more detail.
Edit Setting form¶
Click Edit settings on the Settings page to open the Edit Setting form. It is split into sections: Order Settings, Invoice Settings, POD Settings, Email Delivery Method, General SMTP Settings, Invoice Mailer Settings, Notification Mailer Settings and Administrative Email Addresses.
- Click Save Changes to save (the button reads Please wait... while saving), or Cancel to go back without saving.
- When Postmark is selected, the three SMTP sections are hidden.
- Date fields open a date picker.
Label differences between the two screens¶
Several fields have a different name on each screen:
| Settings page (Group / Setting) | Edit Setting form (Section / Field) |
|---|---|
| Order / Order Archive Cutoff Date | Order Settings / Order archived at |
| Invoice / Default Terms | Invoice Settings / Default Terms for all companies |
| Invoice / Order Start Date | Invoice Settings / Invoice order start date |
| Invoice / Message | Invoice Settings / Invoice Message |
| POD / POD Footer | POD Settings / POD Message |
| Invoice Mailer / Domain, Username, Password | Invoice Mailer Settings / Invoice Domain, Invoice Username, Invoice Password |
| Notification Mailer / Domain, Username, Password | Notification Mailer Settings / Notification Domain, Notification Username, Notification Password |
| Administrative Emails / Invoice 'From' Override | Administrative Email Addresses / Invoice 'From' Address Override |
| Administrative Emails / Invoice Default CC | Administrative Email Addresses / Invoice Default CC Address |
The other labels (GST Number, QST Number, NIR Number, Email Delivery Method, SMTP Address, SMTP Port, SMTP Authentication, Admin Email, Accountant Email) are the same on both.
Order Settings¶
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Order Archive Cutoff Date (form: Order archived at) | Only orders created on or after this date appear on the Orders page: every tab (All, In Progress, New, App. Made, Dispatched, Completed, Not Invoiced, Late Invoicing) and order searches. Older orders are not deleted, they are just left out of these lists. It also limits the orders counted in the invoicing reminder email. It does not affect the Dispatch board, invoices or reports. New systems start at 2010-01-01. |
Use it for speed
If your Orders page is slow because of years of history, move the archive cutoff forward (for example to the start of last year). You can move it back at any time to see older orders again.
Invoice Settings¶
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| GST Number | Your GST registration number. Printed in the totals area of the invoice, on the line G.S.T / T.P.S followed by the number. Depending on the invoice layout UTX set up for your system, the line is printed on every invoice or only on invoices that have a tax. Suggested format: #00000000RT0001. |
| QST Number | Your QST registration number. Printed on the invoice on the line Q.S.T / T.V.Q. followed by the number, under the same rule as GST Number. Suggested format: #0000000000TQ0001. |
| Default Terms (form: Default Terms for all companies) | The terms pre-selected when you create a new invoice. The dropdown is grouped: Most Common (Due on Receipt, 30 Days, 10 Days, 45 Days) and Other (15 Days, 21 Days, 60 Days, 90 Days). New systems start at 15 Days. You can still change the terms on each invoice. Changing this setting does not change existing invoices. |
| Order Start Date (form: Invoice order start date) | Only completed orders with a delivery date on or after this date are offered when you create or edit an invoice. The same limit applies to the Not Invoiced and Late Invoicing tabs on the Orders page, the invoicing reminder email, and the Standard aged receivables report (invoices dated before it are left out, see Aged Receivables). Use it if you invoiced outside UTX Freight before. New systems start at 2010-01-01. |
| Message (form: Invoice Message) | Free text printed near the top of every invoice. Depending on your invoice layout it appears in red bold next to TERMS, or in small text under the BILL TO customer address. Use it for payment instructions or other accounting information. Line breaks are kept. |
POD Settings¶
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| NIR Number | Your NIR (CTQ) number. Printed on the POD as NIR - CTQ#: followed by the number, and also on every invoice as N.I.R followed by the number. Suggested format: R-000000-0. |
| POD Footer (form: POD Message) | Free text printed at the bottom of every POD document. Line breaks are kept. |
See Order Documents & POD for the POD itself.
Setup checklist
The Setup Checklist step Add your GST, QST and NIR numbers is done once GST Number, QST Number and NIR Number are all filled in. Its Open Settings button opens the Edit Setting form. These are your own registration numbers, not tax rates; tax rates are under Manage Taxes (see Charge Types & Taxes).
Email Delivery Method¶
In the Email Delivery Method section, choose one:
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SMTP — Use your own SMTP server credentials | Emails are sent through the SMTP server and accounts in the three SMTP sections below. This is the default. |
| Postmark — Use the Postmark email API | Emails are sent through Postmark, an email service set up by UTX. The SMTP sections are hidden and ignored. |
How Postmark works¶
- There is nothing to enter for Postmark in Settings. If Postmark is not set up for your system, emails cannot be sent: contact UTX support before switching.
- The From address of each email is rewritten to a UTX sending address for your system. The display name (for example your company name) is kept.
- The original From address (for example your Accountant Email) is put in Reply-To, so when a customer clicks Reply, the answer goes to your real mailbox.
Talk to UTX before switching
Switch to Postmark only when UTX support has confirmed it is set up for your system. You can switch back to SMTP at any time; your saved SMTP values are kept.
SMTP Settings (SMTP only)¶
These three sections only apply when Email Delivery Method is SMTP.
General SMTP Settings¶
Shared by both mail accounts.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| SMTP Address | Your mail server's host name, for example smtp.example.com. |
| SMTP Port | The server port, for example 587. Port 465 uses an encrypted (SSL/TLS) connection from the start. Any other port (such as 587) starts unencrypted and upgrades with STARTTLS when the server offers it. |
| SMTP Authentication | How the account logs in: plain, login or cram_md5. |
Invoice Mailer Settings¶
The account used to send invoice emails and statement of account emails (manual and automatic).
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Invoice Domain | The domain announced to the mail server, usually your email domain (for example example.com). |
| Invoice Username | The login of the mail account, usually a full email address. |
| Invoice Password | The password of that account. |
Notification Mailer Settings¶
The account used for every other email from UTX Freight.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Notification Domain | The domain announced to the mail server. |
| Notification Username | The login of the mail account. |
| Notification Password | The password of that account. |
Password handling¶
- The password fields are always empty when you open the form (placeholder Leave blank to keep current). Leave them blank to keep the saved password.
- Type a new value only when you want to change it. Saving a blank field never erases the saved password.
- Passwords are never shown: the Settings page always displays
********.
Administrative Email Addresses¶
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Admin Email | The From address (with your company name as display name) of notification emails: new order, order dispatched, order completed, invoicing reminders, the container tracking alert digest, and feedback sent to UTX. It is also the contact address printed in invitation emails (Have questions? Contact … at …) and receives a BCC copy of every Garage statement of account. It does not set the sender of password-reset or invitation emails; those come from the UTX configuration of your system. |
| Accountant Email | The From address of all invoice, statement of account and POD emails, and of Garage invoices, statements and work summaries. |
| Invoice 'From' Override (form: Invoice 'From' Address Override) | Used when you send invoices and statements (from the Send invoice to customer and Send statement to customer windows, and for automatic statements). Enter a single valid address, for example accounting@example.com or Accounting Dept <accounting@example.com>. |
| Invoice Default CC (form: Invoice Default CC Address) | Pre-fills the CC field when you email an invoice or a statement. You can edit or remove it in the window before sending. For automatic statements it is added to the customer's own statement CC. |
Which account sends which email (SMTP)
| Mail account | From address | |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice (with PODs and documents) | Invoice Mailer | Accountant Email |
| Statement of account (manual or automatic) | Invoice Mailer | Accountant Email |
| POD email to customer | Notification Mailer | Accountant Email |
| New order, order dispatched, order completed | Notification Mailer | Admin Email |
| Invoicing reminder | Notification Mailer | Admin Email |
| Container tracking alert digest | Notification Mailer | Admin Email |
| Feedback sent to UTX | Notification Mailer | Admin Email |
| Garage invoice, statement of account, work summary | Set by UTX | Accountant Email |
| Password reset, invitation | Set by UTX | Sender set by UTX for your system |
With Postmark, all of them go through Postmark, and the From is rewritten as described above.
POD emails mix the two
PODs are sent through the Notification Mailer account but from the Accountant Email. If your mail server only lets an account send as its own address, POD emails can be rejected ("sender not allowed"). Either use the same mailbox for both, or allow the notification account to send as the accountant address.
See Notifications & Emails for who receives each email, and Invoice Email & Payments for the send window.
Blank Email Fields¶
If you leave the email settings blank, UTX's email configuration for your system is used. This applies to SMTP Address, SMTP Port, SMTP Authentication, the Invoice and Notification Domain, Username and Password, Admin Email, Accountant Email, Invoice 'From' Override and Invoice Default CC.
- The Settings page shows the value actually in use.
- To go back to UTX's email configuration for a field, clear it and save (this does not work for passwords, which can only be replaced).
- The non-email fields (dates, GST, QST, NIR, messages) are not filled in for you.
Setup checklist
The Setup Checklist step Your email is configured is always marked done, because sending was set up by UTX when your system was built. Its Open Settings button lets you check the sender addresses customer replies go to.
Alert Email Subscriptions¶
This box only appears if your system has a container tracking add-on. Under Container Tracking Alerts you choose which users receive the daily container tracking alert digest email.
- Pick a user in — Select a user —. Only active users of your own company are listed, and users already subscribed are left out.
- Click Add Subscriber.
- To stop the emails for someone, click Remove on their row and confirm.
The list shows Name, Email and Role of each subscriber. The digest is sent from Admin Email through the Notification Mailer. See Container Alerts for what the digest contains.
Change History¶
Every save of the settings is recorded: who made the change, when, and the old and new values. The history is not shown on the Settings page; UTX support can look it up for you (for example to find out who changed the Accountant Email).
FAQ / Troubleshooting¶
I changed Admin Email but password-reset emails still come from another address¶
Solution
Password-reset and invitation emails do not use Admin Email. Their sender is part of the UTX configuration of your system. Contact UTX support to change it.
I want invoices to come from a different address¶
Solution
Invoices, statements and PODs are sent from Accountant Email. Change Accountant Email and save.
Sending an invoice or statement fails with "Please correct the email address and try again"¶
Solution
Check the To, CC and BCC addresses in the window. Each must be a complete email address; separate several addresses with a comma or semicolon.
POD emails are rejected with a sender error¶
Solution
PODs are sent through the Notification Mailer account from Accountant Email. See POD emails mix the two.
Orders are missing from the Orders page¶
Solution
Check Order Archive Cutoff Date. Orders created before it do not appear on the Orders page or in searches. Move the date back and save.
A completed order does not appear when I create an invoice¶
Solution
Check the order's delivery date against Order Start Date. Orders delivered before that date are not offered on invoices and do not appear in Not Invoiced or Late Invoicing. Also check that the order is Completed and not already on another invoice.
Emails are not sent after changing the SMTP settings¶
Solution
Check SMTP Address and SMTP Port. Use 465 only if your server expects SSL from the start; use 587 for STARTTLS. If the error is about authentication, re-type the password in the right mailer section (blank keeps the old one) and check SMTP Authentication. Invoices and statements use Invoice Mailer Settings; every other email uses Notification Mailer Settings. If emails still do not arrive, contact UTX support.
Best Practices¶
Best Practices
- Fill in GST Number, QST Number and NIR Number before sending your first invoice.
- After any email change, check that the next emails you send arrive, and contact UTX support if they do not.
- Use a mailbox you actually read for Accountant Email and Admin Email: with Postmark, customer replies go there.
- Fill in Invoice Default CC with a mailbox you keep, so you have a copy of every invoice and statement you send.
- Keep a date in Order Start Date and Order Archive Cutoff Date; move them forward or back as needed (for example to 2010-01-01 to include everything).