Shipmnts vs Fresa
The Fresa alternative that handles the full complexity of UAE freight operations
Fresa has a Dubai office and covers basic UAE VAT. But it's a micro-company platform built for small SMEs: limited finance depth, no collaboration workspace, and architecture that can't scale with a growing UAE operation. Here's the honest comparison.
Why teams switch to Shipmnts
Scales from 10-person UAE team to multi-branch enterprise
Fresa is built for small SME operations and generates around $260K/year in revenue: a micro-company platform. As your UAE business grows to multi-branch and multi-entity operations, Fresa's limitations become ceilings. Shipmnts supports everything from 10-person startups to 300-user enterprise on the same platform.
Finance depth Fresa's basic module can't match
Full general ledger, UAE VAT auto-calculation (0%/5%), configurable approval workflows, credit control, and AED-native analytics. Fresa covers invoicing basics: Shipmnts covers the full UAE finance stack.
Collaboration workspace Fresa doesn't have
Activity 360 puts your internal team and your customers on the same platform: shared inbox, shipment updates, document sharing, and in-app communication in one thread. Fresa has no equivalent, so UAE customers still wait for updates over email and phone.
Platform scale and reliability Fresa can't provide
Fresa Gold is built for small freight forwarding teams. Reviews mention server slowdown issues during peak usage, inability to edit entries after posting, and a product roadmap that hasn't evolved significantly beyond SME needs. With approximately $260K/year in revenue and 10 employees, Fresa is a micro-company: which carries vendor stability risk for UAE businesses that depend on the platform daily. Shipmnts is trusted by publicly listed enterprises, supports 300+ user deployments, and has multi-branch UAE operations built natively.
- Multi-branch UAE operations with branch-wise P&L in AED
- Configurable workflows by branch and role
- No post-posting edit restrictions
- Scales to enterprise without migration
- Trusted by publicly listed companies
Scale and reliability: Shipmnts vs Fresa
- Multi-branch UAE operations
- Enterprise scale (300+ users)
- No posting restrictions
- Trusted by listed enterprises
- Fresa: SME-only, server issues, micro-company
Finance depth and UAE VAT compliance Fresa can't match
Fresa covers invoicing basics for small SME teams. Shipmnts includes the full UAE finance stack: full general ledger with contextual links from reports to jobs, UAE VAT at 0% (international) and 5% (local services) calculated automatically, configurable approval workflows, credit control, and bank reconciliation. Growing UAE freight businesses consistently report that Fresa's finance module becomes a ceiling as operations expand beyond 20–30 users.
- Full general ledger with contextual job links
- UAE VAT (0%/5%) auto-calculated by shipment type
- Configurable invoice and payment approval workflows
- Credit control: hold documents for over-limit customers
- Branch-wise P&L and salesperson reports in AED
Finance: Shipmnts vs Fresa
- Full general ledger
- UAE VAT auto-calculation
- Configurable approval workflows
- Credit control
- Fresa: basic invoicing only
Activity 360 and analytics: unavailable in Fresa
Fresa has no customer collaboration workspace. UAE customer updates still happen over email, WhatsApp, and phone calls. Shipmnts' Activity 360 puts your team and customers on the same platform. The analytics layer gives management branch-wise, salesperson-wise, and vertical-wise visibility: all configurable, all in AED, all without Excel exports. Neither capability exists in Fresa.
- Activity 360: team and customer on same workspace
- Branch-wise P&L and operations reports in AED
- Salesperson-wise performance and pipeline
- Business vertical-wise revenue and margin
- Automated daily shipment summary reports
Collaboration and analytics: Shipmnts vs Fresa
- Activity 360 collaboration
- Branch-wise analytics (AED)
- Salesperson-wise reports
- Vertical-wise analytics
- Fresa: no collaboration, no analytics
"Fresa was fine when we were 8 people in one office. When we expanded to 3 UAE branches, it just couldn't keep up: no branch P&L, no approval workflows, and server timeouts during busy periods. Shipmnts handled everything from day one."
Feature comparison
Shipmnts vs Fresa: at a glance
| Shipmnts | Fresa | |
|---|---|---|
| Air & ocean freight management | ||
| UAE VAT compliance (0%/5%) | ||
| Mirsal 2 integrationBoth: not currently available | Soon | |
| Scales to enterprise (300+ users)Fresa: SME-only, ~10 employees | ||
| Multi-branch UAE operations | ||
| Full general ledgerFresa: basic invoicing | ||
| Configurable approval workflows | ||
| Credit control | ||
| Bank reconciliation | ||
| Collaboration workspace (Activity 360) | ||
| Branch-wise analytics in AED | ||
| Salesperson-wise performance reports | ||
| AI agent roadmap (2026) |
What customers say
Branch P&L
"Branch-wise profitability in AED, salesperson performance, and trade lane margins: all in one dashboard. Fresa had nothing close to this level of reporting."
Activity 360
"Our customers track their shipments and message us directly on the platform. The reduction in inbound status calls was noticeable within the first month."
Common questions
Before you decide
Switching platforms is a real decision. Here are the questions we hear most from teams evaluating Shipmnts as a Fresa alternative.
Does Fresa work for UAE freight forwarding?
Fresa has a Dubai sales office and covers basic UAE VAT invoicing. However, with ~$260K/yr revenue and 10 employees, Fresa carries vendor stability risk. Its architecture is built for small SMEs and doesn't scale well to multi-branch UAE operations: no branch P&L, limited finance workflows, and no customer collaboration workspace.
Is Shipmnts suitable for small UAE freight forwarding teams starting out?
Yes. Shipmnts works equally well for 10-person teams and 300-user enterprises on the same platform. SME teams typically go live within 2–3 weeks. There is no ceiling that forces migration as your UAE business grows.
Does Shipmnts support Mirsal 2 for UAE customs?
Mirsal 2 integration is on the Shipmnts roadmap and not yet available. Today, Shipmnts manages UAE customs documentation and UAE VAT compliance. Both Fresa and Shipmnts currently require a separate system for Mirsal 2 declarations.
What happens to our data when we switch from Fresa?
Opening balances and invoice history are migrated to Shipmnts as part of onboarding. Most teams are operationally live within a week.
Switching from Fresa to Shipmnts for UAE operations
We've helped UAE freight forwarders migrate from Fresa as their operations grew. Opening balances and invoice history are migrated. Your team is trained on UAE VAT workflows, AED analytics, and Activity 360 and live within days.
- Opening balances and invoice history migrated to Shipmnts
- Parallel run option: operate both systems during transition
- Live training on UAE VAT and multi-branch workflows
- Dedicated support through the first 30 days
Ready to see the difference?
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