Know which containers will cost money before free time runs out.
FreeTimeBoard gives small ocean-import teams a daily deadline board for last-free-day, pickup, customs release, terminal availability, and empty-return blockers — without replacing the TMS you already fight with.
Validation page only. Early teams get one manual redacted review before any carrier or terminal integrations are built.
free-time board
48 containers · 7 blocked · 3 at fee risk
Watch today
Last free pickup tomorrow; customs released but terminal appointment missing
Blocked
Empty-return location not confirmed; trucker waiting on carrier instruction
Client decision
Container ready, but consignee has not approved storage-vs-rush pickup tradeoff
Client-safe update
“Three boxes need action before Friday: one appointment, one return instruction, one consignee decision.”
Narrow customer
Small freight forwarders, customs brokers, and importer ops teams moving 20–300 ocean containers/month through a few key ports.
Paid problem
A missed pickup, last-free-day, release, or empty-return detail can turn into demurrage/detention, idle trucks, overtime, and client escalations.
Landing test
Join to test a concierge redacted deadline-board review before FreeTimeBoard asks for TMS, carrier, or terminal integrations.
Day-in-the-life pain
The vessel discharged. The spreadsheet says “watch.” The terminal says something else.
It is 4:30 p.m. The coordinator has carrier tabs, terminal tabs, arrival notices, broker release emails, trucker messages, and a shared spreadsheet open. Nobody wants another dashboard; they want to know which boxes will start costing money if no one acts before tomorrow.
Input
Upload a redacted container list, arrival notices, broker release status, terminal screenshots/CSVs, trucker notes, and any known empty-return instructions.
Checks
FreeTimeBoard flags missing last-free-day, customs-not-released, terminal unavailable, no appointment, no return location, unclear owner, and containers aging toward fee risk.
Output
A daily safe / watch / blocked board with next owner, deadline reason, client-ready update, and the few containers that need action before charges start.
Why the workaround breaks
Visibility is not the same as deadline ownership.
Carrier portals, terminal websites, forwarder PDFs, and ERPs may each hold one piece of truth. The expensive failure happens when the team cannot see the combined blocker, owner, and fee-risk deadline in time.
Last-free-day risk board
Sort containers by pickup and empty-return risk instead of making coordinators scan every portal row equally.
Readiness checks in one lane
See arrival notice, customs release, terminal availability, appointment, trucker status, and return instruction gaps together.
Owner and blocker assignment
Each at-risk container gets a next owner: broker, drayage partner, customer, terminal, carrier, or internal coordinator.
Client-safe daily digest
Turn the messy exception list into a clear update: what is safe, what is blocked, and what decision is needed today.
Concierge-first validation
Start from redacted exports and screenshots before asking for carrier, terminal, ERP, or TMS integrations.
Evidence, not proof
Public logistics threads point to one narrow wedge: containers are tracked manually, but deadline misses cost real money.
These sources do not prove demand. They justify a focused validation question: will a small import team share redacted container data to receive one manual free-time risk board?
HN · container tracking from Google Sheets into old ERP
A logistics operator built scripts because container numbers came through freight-forwarder Google Sheets, shipping-line updates had to be scraped, and the ERP had no API.
HN · multi-forwarder dashboard gaps
A commenter says importers using multiple freight forwarders end up entering PDF data into spreadsheets; last free pickup/dropoff dates and return locations are especially hard to standardize.
HN · manual carrier and terminal copy/paste
A logistics platform post claims most container managers still check carrier and terminal websites manually, then update spreadsheets by copy/paste.
GitHub · free-time deadlines across portals
A public problem statement names the exact workflow: arrival notice, customs release, terminal availability, carrier free-time rules, and empty-return instructions must be tracked together to avoid demurrage or detention.
HN · niche logistics software gaps
A logistics company executive describes stagnant third-party software, slow bug fixes, low-code gap filling, and missing niche functionality.
Objections
Why this deserves its own landing test.
Why not a full visibility platform?
This test is narrower. It is not trying to replace your TMS. It asks whether a deadline-owned board prevents the containers that cost money this week.
Will it integrate with every carrier and terminal?
Not on day one. Early users can upload redacted lists, notices, and screenshots so the workflow can be proven before integrations are prioritized.
Is this just another spreadsheet?
The first board keeps spreadsheet inputs, but adds deadline logic, blocker ownership, and a daily exception digest instead of another blank grid.
What if our forwarder already tracks this?
Then you probably do not need it. FreeTimeBoard is for teams that still reconcile multiple forwarders, portals, PDFs, and client emails themselves.
What early waitlist users get
A manual review of one redacted port-lane packet: container list, arrival notices, release status, terminal screenshots, and trucker notes. You get back a safe / watch / blocked board, top fee-risk containers, and a client-safe daily digest template.
Validation target: 5+ qualified logistics emails or 2+ teams willing to share redacted workflow data for a concierge review.