Getting Started as a Shipper

This guide walks a shipper through the smallest path from sign-up to a live shipment. By the end you will have a shipper organization on chrt, a connected provider (a freight forwarder or courier you work with), and your first order placed and ready to track.

Before you start

You need:

• A work email address.
• The handle or profile link of the provider you plan to work with. If you don’t have one yet, you can still create the org and connect later.
• Owner or admin access if you’re joining an existing chrt organization rather than creating one.

Step 1: Create your shipper organization

The fastest path is to sign up from a provider’s public profile so your account lands already connected to them. If you don’t have a provider profile link, sign up from chrt.com/sign-up and connect later.

1. Open the provider’s public profile page (URL looks like https://chrt.com/@provider-handle) and click Sign Up and Connect, or go to chrt.com/sign-up.
2. Enter your name and work email, then create a password (or continue with Google).
3. Enter your company name and a public handle when chrt asks you to create or select an organization.
4. Choose Shipper when chrt asks how your organization uses chrt.

See Sign up and connect with a provider for the detailed flow with screenshots.

Step 2: Invite the rest of your team

Once your shipper organization exists, invite anyone else who will place orders or track shipments.

1. Open Members settings.
2. Click Invite user and enter their email.
3. Choose Admin for teammates who need to manage members or billing, Operator for dispatchers and coordinators, and Member for limited access (typically used for drivers, but valid for any role-restricted user).

See Add an organization member for role definitions and the full invite flow.

Step 3: Connect with the providers you work with

A connection is the link between your shipper org and a forwarder or courier that executes shipments for you. You can only assign orders to providers you are connected with.

1. Open chrt.com/connections.
2. Click Find New if the search panel isn’t already open.
3. Search by the provider’s handle and click Connect.

If your provider isn’t on chrt yet, you can record them as an off-platform provider so you can still build orders that reference them.

Step 4: Set up shipper info

Your shipper profile carries the contact, billing, and brand details providers see when they receive your orders. Open Settings and fill out the shipper profile section so providers and recipients see consistent information on every shipment.

Step 5: Place your first shipment

You build shipments in the draft builder. A draft becomes a live order once you submit it.

1. Open chrt.com/orders/drafts/new.
2. Pick the forwarder (or courier) on the Order setup tab. Direct courier assignment locks the order to a single ground segment.
3. Add cargo on the Cargo tab.
4. Add segments and stops on the Segments and Stops tabs.
5. Review on the Preview tab and click Submit.

See Creating shipments for the full draft builder reference, and AI order builder if you want to paste an email or quote and have chrt populate the draft for you.

Step 6: Track and share

Open the order page at /orders/<order-ref> to see the live map, task timeline, ETA, proof-of-delivery artifacts, and messages. Use the Share tracking action in the order’s actions menu to generate a public tracking link you can send to a customer or recipient — they can view the shipment without a chrt account.

Related guides

• Connecting with providers
• Creating shipments
• Tracking shipments
• Billing
• About chrt for shippers