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Where to find it: Quotes → click any quote row → Details tab Once carrier responses start coming in, the Details tab of the quote drawer is where the decision happens: compare rates side by side, pick your carrier, and turn the quote into a booked load.

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Comparing Carrier Responses

Every carrier you sent the request to gets a row in the Details tab. Owlery lets your carriers send more than one rate on a quote, across different modes and transit times. For example, a 3-pallet shipment can come back with both LTL and full truckload rates. That way you can compare cost against speed and service side by side, and pick the option that fits this load. You don’t have to decide the mode before you see the prices. If your broker or carrier provides API rates, we’ll go ahead and get all modes they provide so you can compare. If you’d rather only get rates for one mode on certain shipment sizes, set the Weight/Quantity Threshold in Quoting Settings. A few things to check before you commit:
  • Is the rate competitive? Flip to the Lane History tab for a historical rate chart on this exact origin–destination pair.
  • Is the quote still valid? Carrier quotes carry an expiration date — an expired bid needs to be refreshed before you can tender against it. You can always Re-quote to send a fresh round of requests.
  • Are responses still arriving? A spinning Quoting… indicator means carriers are still bidding; there’s no harm in waiting for the field to fill in.

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What’s in a Carrier’s Price

Owlery shows each carrier’s quote with the same level of detail the carrier sends.
  • Itemized quotes: if the carrier lists line haul, fuel, and accessorials separately, you see each charge on its own line.
  • All-in quotes: if the carrier sends one total, you see that total.
  • Discounts: if the carrier sends a discount as its own line, such as a special price or promotion, it shows as a negative charge.
The detail can differ from carrier to carrier on the same quote. To find out how a carrier sends a specific charge or discount, ask the carrier. Their system decides what Owlery receives.

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Selecting a Carrier

When you’ve found your winner, click the button on that carrier’s response. It reads Tender or Select Carrier, depending on the preferred action set for that carrier. The other action is in the dropdown next to it.
  • Tender: sends the load to that carrier immediately. The quote moves to Tendered.
  • Select Carrier: records the carrier without sending a tender. The quote moves to Carrier Selected, and you send the tender later, when the shipment is ready. See Two-Step Tendering.
Once the tender goes out, the carrier reviews it on their side and clicks Accept or Reject. When they accept, the quote status moves to Accepted.
A tender isn’t a load until the carrier accepts it. Until then, it stays Tendered (unless you cancel the tender) and shows only under the Tendered tab on the Loads page. A Tendered quote means the carrier hasn’t committed to moving the freight, so follow up if it isn’t Accepted well before pickup.

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Tendering Without a Rate

You can direct tender a load to a carrier without a price. We recommend against it. Owlery then has no agreed rate for the load, so:
  • You lose price control: the carrier sets the price when they invoice you.
  • Audits get harder: Invoice Auto Decision compares each invoice to the awarded rate. With no awarded rate, there’s nothing to check the invoice against.
If you already have an agreed rate with the carrier for the lane, store it as a contract rate. Owlery then prices the load automatically when you tender.

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Tendering and Booking the Load

Once the carrier accepts, the shipment becomes a load you can track end to end:
  • Follow the tender in the drawer’s Tender History tab. See Checking Tender History.
  • Jump to the load, related orders, and any other connected records from the Linked Items tab.
  • Manage the shipment itself — live tracking, status updates, and documents like PODs — from the Loads page.
Need to unwind a tender? Cancel it and the quote moves to Cancelled; you can then tender to a different carrier or Re-quote to start a fresh round. The full trail stays visible in Tender History.

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Checking Tender History

Where to find it: Quotes → click any quote row → Tender History tab Owlery keeps a full log of every tender on the quote, including cancellations and re-tenders. Once a load exists, the log shows its status too. Check it when you need to:
  • Confirm a tender went out: when it was sent, and to which carrier or broker.
  • See where a tender stands: whether the carrier accepted it and, if not, why it’s still waiting or was rejected.
  • Check what was sent with it: the tender release settings that applied when you tendered.
  • Get the raw EDI: available when the carrier or broker is connected by EDI.
Before you contact a carrier or Owlery Support about a tender, check Tender History. It usually answers the question.

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Handy to Know

  • Carriers may lower their bids: if Competitive Bid Carrier Visibility is on, carriers learn when a much lower bid exists. It can pay to leave a quote open a little longer before tendering.
  • The tendered price shows in the table: once you tender, the accepted response’s price appears in the Tendered At column on the Quotes page.
  • Expired doesn’t mean dead: carriers can resubmit on an open request after their quote expires, and you can always re-quote to restart bidding.
For extra charges after a tender is accepted, see Review Accessorial Requests.