Off-Platform Providers

Record forwarders and couriers that aren't on chrt so you can still build orders that reference them.

Not every provider you work with is on chrt. Off-platform providers are records you maintain inside your shipper org for forwarders and couriers that don’t have a chrt account. You can reference them on draft orders, attach addresses and contacts to them, and keep a clean directory — but they won’t see the order in the app, so you’ll continue dispatching and tracking through your existing channels with them.

Before you start

  • Off-platform providers don’t have chrt sign-in access. They cannot accept orders, see the map, or upload artifacts inside chrt. Use them as bookkeeping records, not as a dispatch path.
  • If the provider you’re recording later joins chrt, you can connect to them normally — see Connecting with providers.

1. Open the off-platform tab

Open chrt.com/connections. Switch to the Off-platform section.

If you haven’t added any off-platform providers yet, you’ll see an empty state with an Add New Connection button.

2. Create an off-platform provider record

  1. Click Add New Connection (or the equivalent Create action).
  2. Fill in the company information:
    • Company name (required).
    • Industry (optional).
    • Street address (optional; supports geocoding so saved addresses can be reused on stops).
  3. Add a primary point of contact:
    • First name and last name.
    • Job title.
    • Primary phone and optional secondary phone.
    • Primary email and optional secondary email.
  4. Add notes for anything the rest of your team should know about working with this provider (preferred lanes, equipment, special pricing notes).
  5. Save.

3. Reference an off-platform provider on an order

Off-platform providers show up alongside connected on-platform providers in the Order setup tab of the draft builder. Pick the off-platform record when you want the order to reference that provider — the order is still built, validated, and tracked inside chrt by you, but the provider field shows the off-platform name (instead of a clickable chrt org link).

You can also pick an off-platform provider’s saved contacts when adding addresses on stops — click the map pin on a contact card to fill the stop address from the contact’s saved location.

4. Edit or remove a record

From the off-platform list, click the provider’s card to open the edit form. You can update any of the fields you set during create. To remove the record, use the Delete action on the edit view.

Deleting an off-platform provider removes them from selection on new orders. Existing orders that referenced them keep the historical reference but you can’t pick that provider again unless you recreate the record.

How to know it worked

  • The provider appears in the off-platform list on Connections.
  • The provider is selectable in the Order setup tab of the draft builder.
  • Their saved contacts appear in the contact picker when adding addresses to stops.

If something looks different

  • You don’t see the Off-platform section — confirm you’re signed into a shipper org (off-platform providers are a shipper-side concept; providers see off-platform shippers instead).
  • Saved addresses don’t auto-fill stops — confirm the off-platform record has a street address with coordinates. Records created without geocoding still work, but won’t fill from a contact’s map pin.
  • You see the wrong fields — providers and shippers use the same form but with different labels. If labels say “Shipper” instead of “Provider,” you’re in a different org type than expected; double-check the active org.
  • Contact hi@chrt.com if you have issues.