Dock Scheduling Setup Guide

The Warehouse Info tab holds your basic details and everything carriers see on your landing page in the scheduling portal. Open Warehouses, click your warehouse name, and work down the page.

Name and address. Carriers search for you by warehouse name, street address, or organization name, so use a name your carriers will recognize. Confirm the full address, including any suite number.

Phone and contact email. Optional, but they populate the contact card on your landing page and appear in appointment notification emails. Only one contact email fits here; list additional contacts in the carrier instructions below.

Email subscribers. Anyone added here receives an email for every appointment created, changed, or canceled at the warehouse. Add as many as you need. Subscribers at the warehouse level cover the dock level too, so there is no need to add the same people twice.

Logo and internal notes. Upload a company or warehouse logo once here; it carries through to the portal. Internal notes are visible only to your team.

Instructions to carrier. Everything from here down is carrier-facing. This is your landing page, and a blank one makes a poor first impression. We recommend adding:

• A yard map, which can be an aerial screenshot of your facility with arrival and staging areas marked
• Arrival procedure: where to park, where to check in, who to call
• Appointment policies, including thresholds such as "shipments under five pallets do not require an appointment"
• Equipment restrictions (for example, no reefers), since load type settings do not enforce these
• Amenities such as a driver restroom, and PPE requirements such as high-visibility vests, safety boots, or no smoking

Click Save Warehouse Info at the bottom after any change. Use Preview Scheduling Portal under Settings to see the page as a carrier will.

Resources: Editing Warehouses · Adding Carrier Instructions · Warehouse Amenities · Adding Warehouse Email Subscribers · Uploading a Logo · Preview Scheduling Portal

Operating hours are your scheduling window: the earliest an appointment can start and the latest one can end. Think of them as scheduling hours rather than building hours.

Set the end time to when your last appointment finishes, not when it starts. Nothing can start at the end time; everything must be done by then. If your last slot is 2:30 PM and the appointment runs an hour, set the end to 3:30 PM. If drivers can arrive at noon, set the end to 12:30 or 1:00 PM.

Weekdays and weekends. Set the first day, then clone it across the week. A day must be open here before any appointment can be scheduled on it, including appointments your own staff create. If you take weekend appointments only by special arrangement, keep the weekend days open in operating hours and control carrier access at the dock level: a dock hidden from the scheduling portal lets your team book exceptions without opening the day to carriers (see Step 4).

Closed dates. Add holidays and planned closures here. Without them, the warehouse stays open to carriers every weekday, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. Use the built-in holiday calendar to add major US holidays quickly, and the blue trash can to remove a date.

Lunch breaks and shift changes are not set here. They are blocked on the dock schedule in Step 4.

Click Save after any change.

Resources: Adding Operating Hours · Next-Day Scheduling Cutoff

Load types are the menu carriers choose from when they book. Each one sets three things that drive the rest of your schedule: what kind of appointment it is, which direction it runs, and how long it blocks the calendar.

Name. Keep names simple and carrier-friendly: FTL, LTL, Container, Air Freight. Name them the way your carriers already talk about the freight.

Direction. Each load type can be set to Inbound, Outbound, or Inbound/Outbound. 

Duration. Duration is the length of the appointment from arrival to completion, and it determines which time slots appear in the portal. Hours open divided by duration equals slots per day. Starting points from real configurations:

Start with a realistic estimate and adjust after a few weeks of data. Edit any load type with the pencil icon; changes are recorded in the audit log.

Operation, equipment, and transportation fields. These are required to save but are informational only. They do not restrict what a carrier can book. Choose the closest match or "Other." If you need to enforce something like "no refrigerated trailers," put it in your carrier instructions or add a dropdown field in Step 5.

When to split a load type. Create a separate type only when you want to report on it separately or give it a different duration. Air freight arriving on a truck can be its own type if you want to track it; otherwise it is an FTL. Policies like "under five pallets, no appointment needed" belong in instructions, not in a load type.

Internal-only load types. Toggle off portal visibility to create a type only your staff can use.

Resources: What Is a Load Type? · Adding Load Types · Editing Load Types · Create a Load Type Schedule

A dock in Opendock is a schedule with a capacity, not a physical door. Most warehouses need one or two. Start by asking how many appointments you can take at the same time and whether that answer changes by load type or direction.

Create the dock. Name it for what it does ("Inbound Schedule," "Inbound/Outbound") and assign the load types it accepts. If you take one appointment at a time regardless of type, one dock with every load type assigned is the right setup. If inbound and outbound run on separate crews or doors, create one dock for each.

Instructions and subscribers. Optional at the dock level. Anything already on the warehouse record carries through, so no need to duplicate it.

Lead Times: Prevent Carriers From. Three toggles control when carriers can book or change appointments through the scheduling portal. They apply only to carriers; your staff can schedule and modify appointments at any time regardless of these settings. Each toggle is off by default and takes a number when turned on.

Inside the modify window, a carrier who needs to change or cancel has to contact your team, so set a window your staff can support. 

Overbooking. This setting allows both carriers and your internal team to book an unlimited number of appointments into the same time slot. Use caution when enabling this setting. 

Dock schedule grid. Orange cells are open, white cells are closed. Each dock can have its own hours inside the warehouse operating hours. Block lunch, breaks, and shift changes here by clicking individual cells or clicking a time label on the left to close that time across every day.

Parallel capacity. Click Add to accept two or more appointments at once on this dock. Capacity can vary by hour; use the arrow beside the dock name to allow two appointments at 8, 10, and noon only, for example. 

Create a hidden work-in dock. Add a second dock with every load type assigned and portal visibility turned off. Your team uses it for emergency appointments, standing appointments, and anything that does not fit the public schedule. Carriers can see appointments booked on it but cannot book into it. The same approach handles weekend-by-arrangement facilities: keep the weekend open in operating hours (Step 2), give the hidden dock weekend hours, and leave the public dock closed on those days.

Resources: What Is a Dock · Adding Docks · Modeling Your Dock Calendars · Adding the Dock Schedule · Scheduling Restrictions · Allowing Same-Day Appointments · Parallel Docks · Multiple Appointments per Time Slot · Deactivating Docks

The Fields & Forms tab is organized into three groups: Appointment Creation, Gate & Yard, and Claims Support. Each group holds one or more forms, and each form is a set of fields you can add to, require, or leave optional. 

A Preview Scheduling Portal button sits at the top right of this tab, so you can check how the booking form looks to a carrier as you work.

Appointment Creation

These forms control what carriers fill out when they book, and what your team fills out when creating appointments internally.

All Appointments. Click Manage to open the form that applies to every booking regardless of load type. Add fields here for information you collect on every appointment:

• Pallet count (number field). If you have a hard cap on units, see the Unit Limiter article.
• Vendor or shipper name (text field)
• Equipment type (dropdown) when you need carriers to declare trailer type
• BOL or packing list (document upload), usually optional

Each field can be required or optional, and can be shown to carriers or kept internal for your team only. There is a library of default fields to choose from; create a new one from the bottom of the dropdown. Fields can also be cloned from another warehouse in your organization.

Appointments per Load Type. Expand this row to create forms tied to specific load types. Fields on a per-load-type form appear only when one of those load types is booked. Typical pattern: pallet count on a form assigned to inbound load types, destination city and state on a form assigned to outbound load types. One form can be assigned to several load types, and the form name is for your reference only.

Where the primary reference number lives. The main reference number (PO, BOL, or shipment number) is not a field here; it is set under Settings, and there is only one. See Step 6 for the required, unique, and numeric-only options.

Make required fields optional at first if brokers book for you. Third-party brokers scheduling on behalf of suppliers often do not have the PO at booking time. Warehouses that required it from day one saw carriers unable to complete a booking. Start optional, watch the data, and tighten later once carriers are trained.

Gate & Yard

These forms apply to arrivals and departures and are used with Driver Check-In and Yard Management. If your plan does not include those products, you can skip this group.

• Check-in. Enable the form and set what drivers provide when they check in. Defaults are driver name, phone number, and carrier company; the required ones are phone number and carrier company. Add fields such as driver's license number if needed.
• Check-Out. Uses the phone number from check-in to identify the driver. Check-out requires check-in to be enabled.
• Asset Details. Fields for trailer or asset information captured at the gate.
• Appointment Completed. Fields your team fills out when an appointment is marked complete.

Full setup for these forms is covered in the Driver Check-In and Yard Management guides.

Claims Support

Forms for documenting damage and other claim disputes against an appointment.

• Received Load Inspection. Used on inbound appointments. Comes with default fields; review them and add any your claims process needs.
• Shipped Load Verification. Used on outbound appointments, with its own set of default fields.

If you do not plan to document claims in Opendock, leave these as they are.

Resources: Types of Appointment Fields · Adding Custom Appointment Fields · Require Appointment Fields · Load Type Specific Fields · Cloning Appointment Fields · Unit Limiter · Claims Support · Carrier Self Check-In · Driver Check-In and Check-Out guide

The Settings tab includes three pages: Appointment, Gate Management, and Scheduling Portal. Each page contains expandable panels. Make your changes and click Save Settings before leaving the page.

Appointment Settings

Reference Number & Validation
Set the primary reference collected on appointments, usually a PO or BOL. Choose whether it is required, must be unique, and whether it accepts letters and numbers. If the same PO can appear on multiple loads, leave Unique set to No.

You can also add validation rules for required formats or lengths. Most warehouses leave validation off until they are familiar with how carriers enter reference numbers.

Appointment Notifications
Opendock includes email notifications for events such as scheduled, rescheduled, canceled, arrived, and completed. Before go-live:

• Preview each notification
• Disable any you do not need
• Add custom messaging where helpful
• Choose which appointment details appear and in what order

Scheduling & Display Preferences
Review the following settings:

• Appointment Start Times: Match available start times to your shortest load type. For example, 30-minute appointments typically start on the hour and half hour.
• Time Display: Choose 12-hour or 24-hour time.
• Custom Appointment Grid: Choose which fields display on appointment cards and the order they appear.

Appointment Status Workflow
Decide how appointments move through your workflow:

• New appointments: Choose Scheduled for automatic confirmation or Requested if your team needs to approve each booking.
• Rescheduled appointments: If using Requested, decide whether carrier reschedules return to Requested for approval.
• After arrival: Choose either Arrived → In Progress → Completed to track processing time or Arrived → Completed for a simpler workflow.

Capacity Controls

• Handling Units: Set pallet or unit limits by time slot, dock, or day.
• Limiter: Set a maximum number of appointments by warehouse, dock, or load type. Most warehouses leave this off and manage capacity through the dock schedule.

Gate Management Settings

If your plan includes Driver Check-In, review the following before go-live:

• QR Codes: Download and print check-in and check-out signage for drivers.
• Geofencing: Require drivers to be within one mile of the facility before checking in.
• Check-In Controls: Configure reference number requirements, appointment matching, early/late check-in thresholds, and confirmation messaging.
• Driver ID Validation / SmartGate: Review these settings if they are included in your setup.

If a driver's reference number does not match an appointment, the check-in can appear as an unplanned arrival for your team to review and link manually.

Full setup instructions are available in the Driver Check-In and Driver ID Validation guides.

Scheduling Portal Settings

Carrier Visibility
This is your go-live switch. Once enabled, carriers can find your warehouse in the Opendock Carrier Portal and begin scheduling appointments.

Only enable Carrier Visibility after completing your pre-go-live review.

Next-Day Scheduling Cutoff
Set a time after which carriers can no longer book appointments for the following day. This helps prevent late bookings after your team has already planned the next day's schedule.

Appointment Tags

Tags such as Damaged, Short, or Hot can be added to appointments for easier tracking, searching, and reporting.

Tags are created under My Organization, not Warehouse Settings.

Resources

Appointment Settings: Reference Number · Unique Reference Number · Appointment Notifications · Custom Notifications · Appointment Start Times · Time Format · Appointment Statuses · Appointment Grid · Unit Limiter

Gate Management: Gate Management Settings & FAQ

Scheduling Portal: Carrier Scheduling · Next-Day Scheduling Cutoff · Appointment Tags

Does everyone need their own login? We strongly recommend it. Every action is recorded in the audit log with the user who took it, and that only helps if each person has their own account.

How many contact emails can I add? One in the contact email field, which shows on the landing page. Add as many email subscribers as you like for notifications, and list additional contacts in your carrier instructions.

What is the difference between Owner and Admin? Nothing, until you have more than one warehouse. Admins can be restricted to a single site; Owners always see everything.

Why do I set the end time later than my last appointment? The end time is when the last appointment must be finished. Setting it to the last start time cuts off your final slot.

Should I require the PO number? Only if your carriers reliably have it at booking time. Brokers booking for suppliers often do not, and a required field they cannot fill blocks the booking. Start optional and tighten later.

What happens when a carrier cancels? The slot opens immediately for another booking. The canceled appointment stays on the calendar in light gray so you can see it was there. Hide canceled appointments with the status filter rather than deleting them, because cancellations feed the carrier scorecard in Insights.

What if a driver misses the appointment and shows up later? Either mark it a no-show and let the carrier rebook, or drag the appointment to an open slot and reschedule it. Mark no-shows if you want to track them in Insights; reschedule if you just want the truck unloaded.

Can carriers create recurring appointments? No, only your team can, to protect the schedule. Create the first appointment, then use More, Create Recurrence. Recurrences can run up to 105 weeks.

Are late arrivals tagged automatically? They are tracked automatically on the carrier's scorecard and shown on the appointment, but no tag is applied. Tags are manual.

Where do I get help after the onboarding call? The Help button in the left menu opens the Opendock Community, with step-by-step articles and videos for every part of the platform. The support chat connects you to a support rep, or opens a ticket if the team is at capacity.