How to upload your rate sheet

This guide walks you through uploading your rate data to Integrated Rate Management (IRM).

Prerequisites

You must have IRM upload access for your company (your system administrator can request this through Xeneta)
Your rate data can be in any format — either your own rate sheet or the Xeneta rate sheet template

Getting started

Navigate to Manage rates > Upload rates in the top navigation bar. You'll see two options:

Upload rates to Integrated Rate Management — upload your rate sheet directly to IRM. You can use your own rate sheet format or the Xeneta template. Your rates are available instantly across the platform.
Upload rates to Xeneta's My account — send your rate sheet to Xeneta's Rate Management Team for manual processing. Rates uploaded via this method take longer to appear and are not available in Integrated Rate Management.

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Click Learn about IRM in the top right of the Upload Rates page to see an overview of what Integrated Rate Management offers.

If you choose to upload to IRM, continue reading below.

Uploading your own rate sheet

If you have an existing rate sheet in your own format, you can upload it directly. The system uses AI to automatically transform your data into the correct structure for IRM.

Step 1. Upload your rate sheet

Click Upload rates to IRM and select or drag and drop your file. Only .xls and .xlsx formats are accepted.

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Your data is processed securely using AI-assisted transformation in the following steps.

Step 2. Resolve issues

After uploading, the system analyses your file using AI-assisted transformation and presents a summary of what it has done — for example:

Rates unpivoted so each container type has its own row
Contract dates split into separate start and end columns
Column names mapped to their Xeneta equivalents
Irrelevant columns ignored during the mapping process

Review the summary and provide input where needed before proceeding.

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If your rate sheet contains multiple container types in a single row, the system will split these into separate rows during transformation. Lane volume is carried across to all generated rows unchanged. Allocated volume is divided evenly across the container types. If your volume allocation varies by container type, we recommend specifying this in your rate sheet before uploading.

Step 3. Map columns

The system presents a column mapping table showing how your columns have been matched to Xeneta's format. You may be asked to resolve a small number of issues before proceeding:

Unmapped columns — if a column in your file couldn't be matched to a Xeneta column automatically, you'll be asked to review it. You can choose to map it to a Xeneta column from a dropdown, or skip it if there's no relevant match. Every unmapped column is shown explicitly — nothing is silently dismissed.

Mandatory fields with no mapping — if a required Xeneta field has no column mapped to it, ingestion is blocked until you resolve it. You can either select a column mapping or provide the value directly.

Once all issues are resolved, the Proceed button becomes active.

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Use the filter menu to narrow the mapping table by status (Auto mapped, Auto structured, Inferred value, Mapped, Required field, or Unmapped). You can override any mapping by selecting a different Xeneta column from the dropdown.

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Your confirmed column mappings and conflict resolutions are remembered, so the same decisions don't need to be made again on future uploads.

Step 4. Review entries

The system restructures your file into Xeneta's format and presents it for validation. This is where you review your data, correct any errors, and confirm the upload.

Some values may be automatically normalised during this step — for example, common formatting variations in field values (such as "40 HC" or "forty foot high cube" being recognised as the same container type) are corrected silently where the system is confident.

The validation colour codes are:

Colour	Meaning
Blue	A cell was auto-corrected. Hover over the cell to see an explanation.
Yellow	Needs attention but you can proceed. For example, missing IMO class when hazardous is set to Yes.
Red	Critical error that must be corrected before proceeding.

If you have errors, you can edit cells directly in the table or use Find & replace for bulk corrections.

Once all critical errors are resolved, click Complete import. The system checks for duplicate rates that have previously been uploaded. If a matching rate already exists (based on contract number, supplier, container type, ports, origin and destination details, and hazardous classification with an overlapping validity period), you'll be shown a side-by-side comparison of the current and new charge values. You can either accept all updates as a method of adjusting the charges on an existing rate, or cancel. If no duplicates are found, your rates are submitted automatically as new rates.

You'll see a confirmation message: "Your rates are now live!"

Data visibility after upload

Once the upload is confirmed, your rates are instantly accessible to all company users with IRM access.

Your rates will also be available across Xeneta's benchmarking products (Ocean Monitor, Ocean Analyze, and others) under 'Your rates'. This removes the previous 5-day SLA, giving you near real-time benchmarking capability.