For Port Agents & Their Principals

Port Call Software for Maritime Operations

One live port call record. Every stakeholder on the same page. Nominations, PDAs, charges, documents, and FDA approvals in the system your agents already use to run the vessel. Base replaces the inbox thread with a shared port call that principals can see in real time.

Port Call · Live
MV Atlantic Pioneer · Santos
IN PORT
NOR
14:32
Berth
17:08
SOF
Active
FDA
Pending
Live ChargesAmount
Pilotage · inbound$3,800
Tug assist · 2 units$5,250
Linesmen$980
Launch service$620
Running total$10,650
PDA: $14,200 Actual: $10,650 Principal: Notified

$1B+

in port call charges tracked

19,940+

records synced to accounting

15

currencies per port call

62,595

PDAs and FDAs generated

Every stage of the port call, on one record.

The port call record you keep coming back to.

Every charge, every document, every vendor, every SOF timestamp attaches to the same port call record. No separate spreadsheet. No disconnected folders. When the principal asks a question three weeks later, the answer is on the record, not scattered across five inboxes. Works with document generation for PDA and FDA output.

Port Call Record
PC-2418 · MV Atlantic Pioneer
ALONGSIDE
CHARGES
23
DOCUMENTS
14
VENDORS
7
Today on the record
Stmt of Facts updated · crew change logged
3 vendor invoices attached to charges
Principal approved 2 line items
SOF timestamps synced to QuickBooks

What a port call in Base tracks.

Nomination and scope

Vessel, port, berth window, principal, service template, agent assignment. Port call goes live in under a minute.

Charges and disbursements

Every pilot, tug, linesman, launch, and agency charge on the port call record. Pre-loaded from templates, adjusted per vessel.

Statement of Facts

NOR, berth times, departure, crew movements, weather delays. Timestamped entries that roll up into the FDA.

Documents and attachments

Vendor invoices, port authority receipts, SOF printouts, customs forms. Every document tied to the port call.

Vendors and compliance

Pilot stations, tug operators, customs brokers, launch services. License and insurance status surface with every charge.

Crew and husbandry

Crew changes, launches, transport, hotel bookings, immigration. Husbandry costs log against the port call like any other charge.

Principal View · Live
North Atlantic Cargo
GUEST ACCESS
This port call
Proforma sentAug 13, 09:14
PDA approvedAug 13, 11:42
Vessel arrivedAug 14, 14:02
Charges loggingLIVE
Your access scope
Your vessel calls Your invoices Your charges
No seat license · no full tenant access

Every principal sees the same port call you do.

A charterer joins your port call and wants to see what is happening in real time. You do not need to email a status update or forward a PDA. They log in to Base as a scoped guest, see every charge as it posts, every document as it attaches, every approval as it clears. They cannot edit the record. They see the reality. No more parallel reporting, no more version confusion between what the agent has and what the principal thinks they have. Powered by Base Connect with scoped guest access.

Why ship agents run their port calls in Base.

Faster turnaround

NOR to all-fast to charge-logging happens on one record. Agents stop waiting on email loops to move the port call forward.

Cleaner cost control

Every charge attaches to the PDA as it is logged. Variance against the proforma is visible live, not at month-end.

Better resource planning

Pilot windows, tug bookings, launch services, and crew transport all tied to the port call record your team reads from.

Shared communication

Agent, principal, finance, and compliance all see the same port call. Status questions do not become email threads.

Less idle time

Approval bottlenecks that stall a vessel alongside surface immediately. Reviewers act from the record, not from a forwarded PDF.

Tighter collaboration

Every stakeholder on the same port call means no parallel reporting and no version confusion between agent and principal.

4 days

typical port call close-out, arrival to FDA

0

parallel spreadsheets needed per port call

87

charge codes supported out of the box

15

currencies captured on every port call

What ship agents ask about port call software.

"We run port calls on spreadsheets and email. Why change?"

Spreadsheets work until the third principal asks a question about the same vessel. Base replaces the spreadsheet with a live record that every stakeholder reads from, including the principal. Agents running Base typically close port calls in four days instead of the ten to twelve days a spreadsheet workflow requires.

"Our principals will never log in to another tool."

They do not need a full account. Base gives them scoped guest access to only their vessels, their charges, their invoices. Most guest reviewers are approving PDAs within ten minutes of their first login. No training required.

"We already have accounting software. Why add Base on top?"

Base is the system your agents use to run the port call. When the FDA is approved, Base pushes the charges to your existing QuickBooks or Xero setup. Your accountant never logs in to Base. Your agents never touch the accounting system. The port call workflow and the books stay in sync without double entry.

"How fast can we get started?"

Most ship agency teams run their first real port call in Base within a week. You import your vessel and vendor list, pick the port call templates you use, and connect the accounting sync. Guest access for principals goes live the same day. No IT project, no rip-and-replace.

SEE A PORT CALL IN ACTION

Run a real port call in your demo.

Bring a real vessel call. One you are prepping for next week, one you just closed, or one that went sideways and you want to replay. We will set up the port call record, walk you through the PDA to FDA workflow, and show you what the principal sees, live, in your own tenant. No prep required.

See how Base runs your port call workflow

Stop running port calls from your inbox.

Move the nomination, the PDA, the charges, the documents, and the FDA into one port call record. See how Base runs the workflow from vessel nomination to final invoice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Port call software is the system a ship agent or port agency uses to manage every vessel call from nomination to final disbursement. It captures the vessel, port, berth window, charges, documents, vendor invoices, statement of facts, and principal approvals in one port call record. Good port call software replaces the spreadsheet and email workflow with a live record every stakeholder reads from, including the principal or charterer who is paying for the port call.
You nominate a vessel, pick a port call template, confirm the berth window and scope, and the port call record goes live in under a minute. Charges auto-load from the template. Agents log actuals from dockside as the vessel is alongside. Principals see the record in real time via scoped guest access. When the vessel departs, you reconcile the PDA against actuals, generate the FDA, and push the charges to your accounting system. The port call closes in days instead of weeks.
Nomination, PDA generation, port services logging, SOF capture, vendor invoice attachment, crew and husbandry tracking, FDA reconciliation, principal approval, and accounting sync. Every step lives on the same port call record. No separate spreadsheet for charges, no separate folder for documents, no separate email chain for approvals.
Port agency software frames the product around the agency business itself: clients, jobs, billing. Base frames the product around the port call: the vessel, the berth window, the charges as they happen, the principal who is paying. The port call is the core record. Everything else attaches to it. See port agency software for the agency-side view of the same platform.
Yes. The four stages are Nomination, PDA Generation, Port Services, and FDA Close-out. Each stage lives on the same record. You do not switch tools between stages. You do not export data from one system and import into another. The handoff from agent to finance to principal happens in the same workspace.
Yes. Base Connect gives principals scoped guest access: their vessels, their charges, their invoices, their approvals. They see every PDA line as it is generated, every charge as it posts, every document as it attaches. No email updates, no forwarded PDFs, no version confusion. See Base Connect for the full principal collaboration pattern.
Yes. Once the FDA is approved, Base pushes approved charges to your accounting system with charge codes, currencies, tax rates, and vendor references intact. The sync triggers on FDA approval, so nothing reaches accounting until the principal has signed off. See QuickBooks integration and Xero integration for the full list of fields that sync.
Yes. Vendor compliance, sanctions screening, and license validation run automatically against every charge and every vendor on the port call. If a tug operator lands on a denied-party list, the charge is flagged before it reaches the PDA. See sanctions screening and vendor compliance software for the full check flow.
Ports and port agents use several categories of software depending on the job. Terminal operators run TOS (terminal operating systems) for container and cargo handling. Port authorities run VTS (vessel traffic systems) and port community systems for coordination between carriers, customs, and terminals. Ship agents and port agencies use port call software like Base to manage the commercial side of the port call: nominations, PDA and FDA generation, charge tracking, vendor payments, and principal approvals. Base is the layer between the physical port operation and the finance side of the voyage.
Port call management is the process of coordinating everything that happens from the moment a vessel is nominated for a port call until the final disbursement account is approved and paid. It includes arranging pilot services, tug assist, linesmen, customs clearance, husbandry, and cargo handling on the operational side, and generating the proforma disbursement account, logging charges, attaching vendor invoices, and reconciling the FDA on the commercial side. Good port call management keeps the operational and commercial sides on the same record so nothing slips between them.
A port call is a single visit by a vessel to a port. It begins when the vessel tenders the Notice of Readiness (NOR) and ends when the vessel departs after cargo operations are complete, or when the final disbursement account is approved, depending on whether you are tracking the physical call or the commercial one. A port call can last anywhere from a few hours (bunker-only calls) to several days (heavy-lift or drydock calls). Each port call generates its own record in Base with the vessel, port, berth window, charges, documents, and principal approvals.

Ready to get started?

See how Base works for your operation.