> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.owlery.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tendering Settings

> Control what goes out when you tender a shipment, who gets told, and what carriers can see.

<Note>
  If you are an Enterprise customer with individual subsidiary organizations, remember that **shipper settings are organization specific**. Settings must be configured at the individual subsidiary organization level to ensure each subsidiary's operations work as expected.
</Note>

**Where to find it:** `Dashboard → Shipper Settings → Tendering`

Tendering is the moment you stop shopping and start booking: you've picked a price, and now you formally offer the shipment to that carrier. These settings control what goes out with that offer, who gets told, and what carriers can see before they commit.

## Tender Defaults

**What it does:** Sets which documents are sent when a shipment is tendered, and who receives them.

The editor is a grid. Each row is a document, and the columns are the possible recipients:

| Column         | Meaning                                                                     |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Carrier**    | Whether the document is sent to the carrier hauling the load                |
| **Facilities** | Which stops get it: **All**, **Pickup** only, **Dropoff** only, or **None** |
| **CC**         | Whether the order owner is copied in                                        |

The documents available are the Bill of Lading, packing list, shipping label, the order itself, and the rate confirmation, plus any custom templates you've turned on in [Document Settings](/shippers/documents). Where a column doesn't apply to a document, it reads *Not applicable*.

**When you'd change it:** Set this up once to match how your operation communicates. The usual pattern is BOL and rate confirmation to the carrier, BOL and packing list to the pickup facility.

<Note>
  These are your organization-wide defaults. Where a route has its own document settings, the route's settings win and saving here won't change them.
</Note>

To check what will be sent on a specific quote and preview each document before it goes out, see [Tender Configuration](/shippers/tender-configuration).

## Two-Step Tendering

**Value:** On / Off

**What it does:** Adds a confirmation step before a tender is final, rather than the tender being binding the moment it's sent.

**When you'd turn it on:** Normally used with direct LTL carrier relationships, where the carrier's process expects a confirmation exchange rather than a single instruction.

For what the extra step looks like in practice, see [Two Step Tendering](/shippers/two-step-tendering).

## Tender Acceptance Emails

**Value:** On / Off

**What it does:** Emails the teammate who tendered the shipment when the carrier accepts it.

**When you'd turn it on:** If your team needs to know a booking is confirmed without watching the screen.

**When to leave it off:** If your team lives in Owlery all day and the extra email is noise.

## Carrier Chooses Mode

**Value:** On / Off

**What it does:** On a direct tender, lets the carrier decide the final mode — LTL or full truckload.

**When you'd turn it on:** If you have carriers who can move freight either way and are better placed than you to decide which is more efficient. It can produce better pricing and service; the trade-off is you give up control of that choice.

## Carrier Account Manager Notifications

**Value:** On / Off

**What it does:** As well as your usual contacts, emails the carrier's default account managers about quoting, tendering, and load updates.

**When you'd turn it on:** If your carriers' account managers want visibility of your shipments. It helps to have someone at the carrier who can chase an issue for you.

## Pre-Tender Reference Visibility

**Value:** On / Off

**What it does:** Controls who can see your reference numbers — PO numbers, order numbers, and similar — *before* a shipment is tendered.

* **Off** (the default): only a carrier you've actually tendered to can see them.
* **On**: every carrier you're quoting with can see them, even ones you don't book.

**When you'd turn it on:** If carriers need your reference numbers to quote accurately, for instance to match against a customer's receiving appointment system.

**When to leave it off:** If your reference numbers are commercially sensitive. Leaving it off means carriers only see them once they've won the business.