This article covers delivery fees the charge you add for getting units to (and picked up from) a customer's site. PortaPro handles delivery fees in three layers that stack on top of each other, so you set your standard fee once and only make exceptions where you need to.
The three layers, from most general to most specific:
Each layer overrides the one above it. Set the company default once, override the handful of customers who are different, and only touch an individual job for true one-offs.
Delivery fee vs. surcharges: a delivery fee is the single flat "get it there and back" charge. If you also recover *fuel*, *disposal*, or *environmental* costs, those are surcharges a separate, reusable fee library.
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The Three Layers (How Precedence Works)
When you start a new job or quote for a customer, PortaPro figures out the delivery fee by walking the layers from most specific to least:
Whatever PortaPro lands on is only a starting point it's pre-filled into the job/quote, and you can still change it right there for that one document. That per-document edit is the final word.
Rule of thumb: the amount on the job/quote wins → then the customer's profile → then the company default.
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Set Your Company Default
This is the fee that applies to everyone unless a customer or a specific job says otherwise.
Where: Settings → Finance → Deposits & Delivery
- On → every new job and quote starts with the delivery fee already enabled and filled in at your default amount.
- Off → delivery starts off, so you're never toggling it off or zeroing it out on jobs that don't need one. (The default amount is still remembered, so flipping delivery on for one job fills it in instantly.)
Click Save Changes and it takes effect on the next job or quote you start.
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Override or Waive for a Specific Customer
Some customers negotiate a different delivery rate, and some don't pay delivery at all. Set that once on the customer's profile and it follows them onto every new job and quote.
Where: open a customer → Edit → the billing section (near "Exempt from late fees")
These are pre-fills, not locks: an operator can still add a one-off delivery charge on a single job for a waived customer if the situation calls for it.
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On a Job or Quote (the One-Off)
Where: New Job / New Quote wizard → Services & Fees step → the Delivery & Additional Fees card
By the time you reach this step, the delivery fee is already pre-filled from the two layers above. A short note under the toggle tells you where the pre-filled value came from:
To make a one-off change, just edit it right there:
Anything you change here applies to that job or quote only it doesn't change the customer's profile or your company default.
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How Delivery Fees Flow to Invoices
You don't re-enter the delivery fee when you invoice:
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What Delivery Fees Do *Not* Do
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Frequently Asked Questions
I set a company default but new jobs still start with delivery off.
Turn on Auto-Enable Delivery Fee in Settings → Finance → Deposits & Delivery. The default amount alone only pre-fills the value; auto-enable is what turns delivery on by default.
I want most customers to pay delivery, but a few don't.
Set your company default (with auto-enable on), then open the exception customers and turn on Waive delivery fees. Those customers start with delivery off; everyone else starts on.
I want most customers to *not* pay delivery, but a few do.
Leave auto-enable off (or the default at $0), then give the paying customers a Delivery fee override amount. A customer override applies even when the company default is off.
A customer negotiated $75 instead of my usual $50.
Open the customer → Edit → set Delivery fee override to 75. Their new jobs and quotes pre-fill at $75; everyone else stays at your default.
Can I still charge a waived customer for one delivery?
Yes. The waiver only sets the *default*. On that specific job or quote, toggle Include Delivery Fee on and type the amount it applies to that document only.
Why didn't my recurring delivery job show the delivery fee?
That's intentional. Auto-generated delivery jobs for recurring rentals are $0 because those customers bill through the Rate Card cycle, not the delivery job.
I changed the delivery fee on one quote. Did it change my default?
No. Editing the fee on a job or quote affects only that document. The company default and the customer's profile are unchanged.
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