# Agency and integrated foreign trade services

Agency and integrated foreign trade services is Tranexio’s solution for agency importers and exporters and integrated foreign trade service providers. Agency fees are recognised net, and it covers agency contracts, advances and deposits, FX collection and fee settlement, coordinated shipping, customs, documents and tax refunds, and principal onboarding and credit control.

## Key points

- **Net basis**：Setting the commercial model to agency recognises the agency fee net and passes goods payments through, so the principal’s goods value is never booked as your own revenue.
- **One record per principal**：Principals, overseas buyers, freight forwarders and customs brokers share one counterparty record with multiple roles, with onboarding, sanctions screening and credit managed together.
- **Closed-loop cash**：Advances for goods and taxes, agency deposits, FX collected and agency fees are each tied to a principal and order, and reconciled and offset automatically at settlement.
- **Coordinated documents and customs**：Shipping, declarations and documents are generated according to the agency relationship, with handover packs for customs brokers, their returns and Single Window receipt status kept in sync.
- **Efficiency at volume**：Role-based workbenches drive work through to-do lists, every document number opens a read-only detail view, and business for many principals runs in parallel without mix-ups.

## The problem

Agency and integrated foreign trade services mean many principals, high volumes and thin margins. Get the accounting treatment wrong and revenue is inflated; let advances scatter and they turn into bad debt; let documents lag and the principal’s shipment is delayed. The key is to tie the goods, documents and cash of every agency deal to its principal and order.

## What the platform does

| Step | How Tranexio handles it |
|---|---|
| Modelling | [Agency](https://tranexio.com/en/resources/glossary/agency-trade/) commercial model, with agency export and agency import presets |
| Contract | Agency contract: fee rate, advances, deposits and division of responsibilities |
| Execution | Shipping, declarations and documents; handover packs for customs brokers |
| Cash | Advances, deposits, FX collection and agency fee settlement |
| Risk | Principal onboarding, [sanctions screening](https://tranexio.com/en/resources/glossary/sanctions-screening/), credit and ageing |
| Accounting | Agency fee recognised net; journal entries generated on business confirmation |

## Key controls

- FX collected must be matched to a principal and order.
- Advances and deposits consume credit, and overdue balances trigger freezes.
- The declaring entity and the agency relationship are checked for consistency.

> The agency module is fully featured; the specific cash, finance and tax treatment is configured in each project to fit the company’s agency relationships.

## FAQ

### We have many principals and high volumes. Can the system cope?

Yes. Principals are set up as counterparties, and orders, cash and documents all hang off the principal and order. Role-based workbenches drive work through to-do lists so business for many principals runs in parallel without mix-ups, and cash and credit are consumed separately for each principal.

### How are agency fees calculated automatically?

The agency contract sets the fee rate and charging basis, such as a percentage of goods value, per shipment or per container. The system calculates the fee by these rules at settlement; manual adjustments require approval and are logged, and settlement and account statements can go straight to the principal.

### Can we control the risk of advancing funds to principals?

Yes. Advances and agency deposits consume the principal’s credit limit, and any excess is blocked at order or payment. Ageing and overdue balances are linked to credit freezes, and risk staff can see each principal’s funds in use in the risk view.

### How are tax refunds coordinated for integrated service business?

The system manages export document completeness and its reconciliation with FX receipts and declarations, and refund-related handling is configured according to the agency relationship. Who files and on what basis depend on the business type and tax requirements, and are configured in the project to match the company’s situation.

---
Source：https://tranexio.com/en/industries/trade-services/ · Updated 2026-10-06 · © 上海赛淘数据技术有限公司 / Shanghai Saitao Datatech Co., Ltd