Staying informed about your freight shouldn't require phone calls, endless email chains, or waiting for someone to send you an update.

That's where AscendCustomerPortal comes in.

Your transportation provider has given you access to AscendCustomerPortal, a secure, self-service portal designed to put the shipment information you need right at your fingertips.

Depending on the features made available by your transportation provider, you can:

Best of all, there's no app to download and no complicated setup process. Access your portal from your computer, tablet, or mobile device using the secure link provided by your transportation provider.

Everything you need to stay connected to your freight - all in one convenient place.

Getting started with AscendCustomerPortal couldn't be easier.

Once your transportation provider grants you access, you'll receive an invitation email containing your secure link to AscendCustomerPortal.

Simply click the link in the email (sample email below).

After clicking the link, you'll be taken to your Pending Invite. Click Accept to activate your portal access.

Once accepted, you'll see your welcome greeting and you're ready to go!

View Loads - Head directly into your portal and start viewing your freight.

Manage Members - Add or manage other members of your organization who need portal access.

Select the hamburger menu on the left side of the portal to access your available navigation options.

You'll see five options there (shown in the image above):
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Home - brings you back to your Portal Home Page

View Loads - access the shipments your transportation provider has made available to you.

Connections - see all accounts associated with your email address.

From here, you can easily switch between connected portals to view the account you need or disconnect an account you no longer need access to.

Manage Members - add or manage other members of your organization who need portal access.

Sign Out - securely end your current Portal session.

Along the top of your Portal screen, you'll see a few more options to choose from:

Home - return to your main Portal Home Page at any time.

Loads - view and search the shipments your transportation provider has made available to you.

New Message - start a new conversation with your transportation provider for general questions, quote requests, or other assistance.

Messages - view your existing conversations and continue communicating with your transportation provider.

Your AscendCustomerPortal gives you more than just a list of shipments. From one convenient view, you can review load details, track shipment activity, communicate with your transportation provider, access documents, and customize how your freight information is displayed.

Let's take a closer look at everything available from your Loads screen.

At the top of your Loads screen, your shipments are organized into tabs to make it easy to find the freight and information you're looking for.

By default, AscendCustomerPortal includes three tabs:

Active - view shipments that are currently active or in progress.

My Payables - view shipments with invoices and other payment-related information available for your review.

Completed - view shipments that have been completed, giving you quick access to historical load information and available documents.

As your shipments progress, they'll automatically appear under the appropriate tab, helping keep your portal organized without any additional work on your end.

Once you've selected the appropriate tab, your Loads screen puts important shipment information right at your fingertips.

Each row represents a shipment made available to you by your transportation provider, with important details such as shipment status, pickup and delivery locations, dates, reference information, and more displayed directly on the Loads screen.

There’s no need to open a separate load view to find the information you need. Most shipment details are available at a glance, while clicking on a load opens the load-specific messages (more details on messages below) if you need to communicate with your transportation provider about that shipment.

Looking for the latest update on a shipment? Check the Updates column.

When tracking or check call information is available, click the Updates icon to view the latest shipment activity.

Depending on the information your transportation provider has made available, you may see the latest update along with a map showing the shipment's reported location and the date and time of the update.

This gives you quick access to the latest available shipment information without needing to call or email for an update.

Have a question about a shipment? You can communicate directly with your transportation provider from AscendCustomerPortal.

Access your load-specific messages by clicking anywhere on the load.

When messaging from a specific load, the conversation stays connected to that shipment, making it easy to ask for an update, provide information, or continue an existing conversation with the appropriate shipment context already in place.

When your transportation provider replies, you'll see a notification within AscendCustomerPortal letting you know a new message is waiting.

Not every question is about a specific shipment.

Select New Message at the top of your portal to start a new conversation with your transportation provider. You'll be presented with available message options so you can choose the one that best matches what you need.

Use this area for general questions, freight quote requests, billing inquiries, or other communication that isn't tied to a specific load.

Important shipment documents can also be made available directly through AscendCustomerPortal.

Navigate to the Documents column for a load to see the documents your transportation provider has shared with you. Depending on their portal settings and the stage of your shipment, these may include invoices, PODs, BOLs, customer confirmations, and other supporting documents.

When a document is highlighted in green, it's available for you to open and view.

As your shipment progresses, additional documents may automatically become available and the load may move to another portal tab, such as Completed or My Payables.

Finally, you can customize the Loads screen to focus on the shipment information that's most important to you.

Select Show/Hide Columns to choose which columns appear in your load list, hide those you don't need, and arrange them in the order that works best for you. It's an easy way to keep the information you reference most front and center.

No more digging through email chains for shipment updates. No more wondering where your freight stands. And no more searching for that invoice or POD you know someone sent you.

With AscendCustomerPortal, the information you need is right at your fingertips - from shipment updates and documents to invoices, messaging, tracking, and more.

Your transportation provider has given you a faster, easier way to stay connected to your freight. Now all that's left to do is put it to work!

AscendCustomerPortal is just one piece of AscendTMS.

If you're thinking, "Wait... could Ascend help us manage our own freight too?" - we'd love to show you.

Whether you're managing customers, carriers, vendors, or all of the above, AscendTMS gives you the tools to bring your transportation operation together in one powerful, easy-to-use platform - the World's #1 Rated Transportation Management Software.

Reach out to the AscendTMS Gurus to see how Ascend can help you simplify freight management, automate your operation, and keep your customers and vendors connected every step of the way.