Should each shipment get its own folder, or should I file all import documents by type?

File by shipment. The whole point is keeping the commercial invoice, packing list, freight invoice, and customs paperwork for one import together so you can read that shipment's full story. Filing all invoices in one folder and all freight in another breaks that link. Use one folder per shipment, named by supplier and PO.

Does Cash Workspace calculate duties or file anything with customs?

No. Cash Workspace only organizes the documents you already have. It does not calculate duty, classify goods, or submit anything to customs, and nothing here is customs or duty advice. You record the duty figure your broker's paperwork shows as a plain transcription.

How is this different from the freight invoice folder?

The freight and shipping invoice folder is for filing inbound carrier invoices on their own. This import purchase folder bundles the freight invoice together with the commercial invoice, packing list, and customs documents for one cross-border shipment, so all four document groups live in the same folder.

Can it read my commercial invoice and pull out the values automatically?

No. Cash Workspace does not use OCR or read your documents. You attach the files yourself and type any fields you want visible, like goods value or freight amount, by hand. Those typed fields are a convenience layer over the documents, which always remain the source of truth.

What about domestic restock orders?

Keep those out of your import folders. This page is for cross-border international shipments. Domestic vendor bills belong in your regular vendor records or a per-vendor folder, so the import folders stay limited to shipments with customs and freight paperwork.

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Vendor & supplier records

Import Purchase Document Folder: One Bundle Per Overseas Shipment

An international purchase doesn't arrive as one document. By the time a container or pallet reaches your door, you've collected a commercial invoice, a packing list, a freight or carrier invoice, and a stack of customs and duty paperwork from your broker. Each one shows up at a different moment, from a different sender, and on its own it tells only part of the story. Cash Workspace lets you build one folder per shipment and keep all of those documents bundled together as a single record set, so the answer to "what did this import cost and where's the proof" lives in one place. This page is about organizing the cross-border document bundle only. It is not customs or duty advice, and Cash Workspace does not calculate, classify, or file anything with customs on your behalf.

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The problem

Why import paperwork scatters before the goods even land

A domestic restock is usually one invoice and maybe a packing slip. An overseas purchase is the opposite: the documents arrive spread across weeks and channels, and they all reference the same shipment with slightly different numbers. When they end up in separate email threads, broker portals, and download folders, you lose the thread between what you ordered, what arrived, what you were charged to ship it, and what duty cost. A shipment-by-shipment folder fixes that by giving the whole bundle one home.

The supplier's commercial invoice arrives by email weeks before the goods, often referencing a proforma or PO number that doesn't match the carrier's tracking reference.
The freight forwarder or carrier sends their own invoice separately, sometimes after delivery, with charges you can't tie back to the goods without digging.
Customs entry and duty paperwork comes from a broker on yet another timeline and in its own format, easy to file in the wrong place.
The packing list that says what physically arrived often gets stapled to the box and never scanned, so there's no record of quantities received.
Months later, when you need to confirm the landed cost of one shipment or answer a supplier query, the four documents are in four different places.

Workflow

Build one folder per inbound international shipment

The goal is a single folder that represents one shipment, holding every document tied to that shipment as it arrives. You add documents to the same folder over the shipment's lifecycle rather than filing each one by type. Here is a practical way to set it up and keep it complete.

1
Create the shipment folder when the order ships
As soon as the supplier confirms goods have shipped, create a folder named for that one shipment, for example Imports/2026/Shenzhen-Textiles-PO1042-Mar. Use the supplier and a stable reference (your PO number) so the folder is findable later. This folder will hold the whole bundle, not just one document type.
2
File the commercial invoice first
Attach the supplier's commercial invoice, the document that states the goods, values, and terms (for example FOB or CIF). This is usually the earliest document and the anchor the other three relate back to. Record the supplier name, total value, currency, and any incoterm noted on it.
3
Add the packing list against the same folder
When the packing list arrives or you scan it on receipt, add it to the same shipment folder. It documents quantities, cartons, and weights so you can confirm what physically came against what the commercial invoice billed. Photograph it on delivery if it only exists on paper.
4
Drop in the freight or carrier invoice
When the freight forwarder or carrier bills you, attach that invoice to the same folder so the shipping cost sits beside the goods cost. Note the carrier name and the freight amount in the record so it's visible without opening the file.
5
Add the customs and duty paperwork as it comes back
File the customs entry, duty/tax receipts, and any broker documents into the same folder once your broker returns them. Keep them as documents only; record the duty amount paid as a number if you want it visible, but treat this as filing, not as any kind of duty calculation.
6
Mark the bundle complete and note the landed total
Once all four document groups are in the folder, add a short note listing the goods value, freight, and duty so anyone opening the folder sees the full picture of that one shipment. Use the same folder pattern for the next shipment so every import looks identical.

Record structure

What to record on the shipment folder

Keep the metadata light and consistent. These are the fields that make a shipment folder findable and let you read its story without opening every attachment. They describe the bundle; the documents themselves carry the official detail.

Shipment reference / PO number: Your own stable identifier for the order, e.g. PO-1042. This is what ties the folder name, the commercial invoice, and your purchasing records together.
Supplier name and country: Who shipped it and from where, e.g. Shenzhen Textiles Co., China. Helps group imports by origin when you have several overseas suppliers.
Goods value and currency: The total on the commercial invoice in its original currency, e.g. USD 8,420 or EUR 6,100. A factual transcription, not a conversion.
Incoterm: The shipping term stated on the commercial invoice, e.g. FOB Shanghai or CIF Los Angeles, so it's clear what the goods price did and didn't include.
Freight amount and carrier: The total from the freight/carrier invoice and who issued it, e.g. USD 1,150, DHL Global Forwarding.
Duty / customs amount paid: The figure shown on the customs/duty paperwork, recorded as filed. This is a transcription of what the broker's documents show, not a Cash Workspace calculation.
Shipment status: A simple marker like In transit, Delivered, or Bundle complete, so you can see at a glance which import folders are still waiting on paperwork.
Documents present: A short checklist note of which of the four document groups are filed and which are still outstanding, e.g. Invoice + packing list in, freight pending.

Example setup

Example: one import folder, fully bundled

Here is how a finished shipment folder looks for a small homeware importer who brings in a few containers a year. Each shipment is one self-contained folder under a yearly Imports parent, with all four document groups inside it.

Imports / 2026 / Shenzhen-Textiles-PO1042-Mar

The full bundle for one March shipment: commercial-invoice-PO1042.pdf, packing-list-PO1042.pdf, freight-invoice-DHL-PO1042.pdf, customs-entry-PO1042.pdf, duty-receipt-PO1042.pdf, plus a landed-cost note listing goods USD 8,420 + freight USD 1,150 + duty as filed.

Imports / 2026 / Jaipur-Ceramics-PO1051-Apr

A second shipment from a different supplier, same structure: commercial invoice, packing list, sea-freight invoice, and the customs/duty documents, with a status of Bundle complete.

Imports / 2026 / Hanoi-Rattan-PO1063-Jun (in progress)

An open shipment still landing: commercial invoice and packing list filed, freight invoice pending, customs paperwork not yet returned. Status In transit so you know it's incomplete.

Imports / 2025 (archive)

Prior-year shipment folders kept in the same one-folder-per-shipment pattern, moved into a fiscal-year archive so the current year's imports stay easy to scan.

Common mistakes

Common mistakes to avoid

Filing by document type instead of by shipment, so all commercial invoices sit in one folder and all freight invoices in another, breaking the link between the documents for a single import.
Mixing domestic restock paperwork into the import folders. Keep domestic vendor bills in their own vendor records; this folder is for cross-border shipments only.
Leaving the freight invoice in email because it arrived after delivery, so the shipment folder permanently misses its shipping cost.
Never scanning the paper packing list, leaving no record of quantities actually received against the commercial invoice.
Treating the duty figure as something to compute. Only transcribe what the broker's documents show; this is record-keeping, not duty calculation.
Reusing one giant Imports folder for every shipment instead of one folder per shipment, which makes it impossible to read a single import's full cost.

How it helps

How Cash Workspace helps with import bundles

One folder, every document type

Build a folder per shipment and attach the commercial invoice, packing list, freight invoice, and customs paperwork to it, so the whole bundle stays together as one record set instead of scattering by type.

Fiscal-year and supplier structure

Group shipment folders under yearly Imports parents and name them by supplier and PO, so this year's imports stay scannable and prior years archive cleanly.

Notes and a documents-present checklist

Record the goods value, freight, duty as filed, and which documents are still outstanding right on the folder, so you can see a shipment's status without opening every attachment.

Export the bundle when you need it

When an accountant, a customs query, or a supplier asks, export the shipment folder and hand over the complete document set in one go. Cash Workspace is free.

Freight & shipping invoice folder

When you only need to file inbound carrier and freight invoices against an order rather than the whole import bundle, this is the focused home for shipping-cost documents.

Vendor packing slip organizer

For organizing the packing slip that documents what physically arrived in a shipment, filed against the order, as a single document type.

Supplier quote records folder

File the per-deal quotes and estimates an overseas supplier sends before you commit to an import order, kept separate from the shipment's final documents.

Vendor deposit paid records

Track deposits or prepayments you pay an overseas supplier up front, with the remaining balance still owed before the goods ship.

Per-vendor folder template

The reusable per-vendor folder skeleton to clone for each supplier, holding agreements, tax forms, invoices, and payment proofs beyond a single shipment.

Business document organizer

The broader workflow for organizing all of your business documents into folders and records, of which import bundles are one part.

Business document organization hub

The hub page tying together document-organization workflows across vendors, clients, and records in Cash Workspace.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Should each shipment get its own folder, or should I file all import documents by type?: File by shipment. The whole point is keeping the commercial invoice, packing list, freight invoice, and customs paperwork for one import together so you can read that shipment's full story. Filing all invoices in one folder and all freight in another breaks that link. Use one folder per shipment, named by supplier and PO.
Does Cash Workspace calculate duties or file anything with customs?: No. Cash Workspace only organizes the documents you already have. It does not calculate duty, classify goods, or submit anything to customs, and nothing here is customs or duty advice. You record the duty figure your broker's paperwork shows as a plain transcription.
How is this different from the freight invoice folder?: The freight and shipping invoice folder is for filing inbound carrier invoices on their own. This import purchase folder bundles the freight invoice together with the commercial invoice, packing list, and customs documents for one cross-border shipment, so all four document groups live in the same folder.
Can it read my commercial invoice and pull out the values automatically?: No. Cash Workspace does not use OCR or read your documents. You attach the files yourself and type any fields you want visible, like goods value or freight amount, by hand. Those typed fields are a convenience layer over the documents, which always remain the source of truth.
What about domestic restock orders?: Keep those out of your import folders. This page is for cross-border international shipments. Domestic vendor bills belong in your regular vendor records or a per-vendor folder, so the import folders stay limited to shipments with customs and freight paperwork.

Organization only, not customs or duty advice

Cash Workspace helps you bundle and store the documents from each international shipment. It does not provide customs, duty, tax, or legal advice, does not calculate or classify duties, and does not file or transmit anything to any authority. Any duty or value figures you record are plain transcriptions of documents your supplier or broker already produced. Cash Workspace does not sync with your bank, does not read or extract data from your documents, and is not accounting software. For how duties apply to your goods, consult your customs broker or a qualified advisor.

Bundle your next import in one place

Start a free Cash Workspace, create a folder for your next overseas shipment, and drop the commercial invoice, packing list, freight invoice, and customs paperwork in as they arrive. When the bundle is complete you'll have one folder that tells the whole story of that import. It's free to use.