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Shipping with ShipStation
Shipping with ShipStation
Niels van Vlerken avatar
Written by Niels van Vlerken
Updated over 2 years ago

ShipStation is only available in North America, United Kingdom and Australia. For more information click here.

ShipStation is a web-based shipping service for eCommerce retailers. ShipStation is designed to streamline the fulfillment process. ShipStation integrates with all major eCommerce shopping carts and shipping and fulfillment platforms.

NOTE: If you do not plan to use a shipping service, you can set your own predefined shipping rates; for more information, see Setting a shipping method and rates.

This article explains how to get started with ShipStation and includes these topics:

  • Before you start

  • Set up ShipStation

  • Managing and executing your orders in ShipStation

Before you start

Before you get started, you'll need to create an account with the shipping company or carriers you want to use with ShipStation. Make sure you choose a shipping company that provides the services you need, including delivery to the locations where you sell your products. Also check if the shipping company is supported by ShipStation. Then sign up for an account with ShipStation.

IMPORTANT: ShipStation does not recognize currency. When setting up your ShipStation account, make sure that the currency you configure in ShipStation matches your store's currency (in the eCom Back Office).

Once you have completed these steps, you are ready to set up ShipStation with Lightspeed eCom.

Set up ShipStation

Setting up ShipStation involves a few simple steps that you complete in both your ShipStation account and the ShipStation integration in your eCom back office; these steps include:

  1. Set up a shipping company in ShipStation

  2. Choosing a Label Format in ShipStation

  3. Generating the ShipStation API keys

  4. Configure ShipStation in the eCom Back Office

  5. Set up Lightspeed eCom as a sales channel in ShipStation

  6. Manage your shipping companies and service levels

  7. Set up international shipping

1. Setting up a shipping company in ShipStation

NOTE: Before proceeding, make sure you have an account with the shipping company you want to set up with ShipStation.

  1. Log in to your ShipStation account.

  2. Click on Welcome in the top left.
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    shipping_carrier.png

  3. On the welcome page, click the link to add a shipping company and follow the on-screen instructions.

2. Select a shipping label layout in ShipStation

  1. In your ShipStation account, click on Welcome in the top left.

  2. On the welcome page, click the link to select a shipping label layout and follow the on-screen instructions.

3. Generating the ShipStation API Keys

NOTE: If you already have ShipStation API keys and you are using them with another service or application, DO NOT regenerate them. Copy your existing API key and API secret to eCom. If you refresh the API keys, you must also update the other services or applications where you use them.

  1. In your ShipStation account, click the gear icon at the top right to go to your account settings.

  2. On the Settings page, click Account > API Settings (from the menu on the left).

  3. Under API Keys click Generate New API Keys to generate the keys.

  4. Copy the values for API Key and API Secret. You will then need to paste these values when you configure ShipStation in the eCom Back Office.
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    shipstationapi.png

4. Configuring ShipStation in the eCom Back Office

  1. Log in to the eCom Back Office.

  2. From the main menu on the left, go to Settings > STORE SETTINGS > Shipping Methods.

  3. Click Connect ShipStation.

  4. Under LOGIN INFORMATION, configure the following:
    ​

    Screen_Shot_2018-01-10_at_18.26.56.png

    • Enable this integration - Turn on this setting.

    • API key - Copy and paste here the API key you generated in your ShipStation account.

    • API Secret - Copy and paste here the API secret you generated in your ShipStation account.

  5. Under CONFIGURATION, set the following options:
    ​

    Geeft een afbeelding weer van de sectie Configuratie van de ShipStation-instellingen

    • Calculate Taxes Automatically - Turn this on to let Lightspeed automatically calculate the tax on the shipping costs. To do this, you must have set this up for your store under Settings > PAYMENT SETTINGS > Tax.

    • Phone Number - Enter your company phone number. Make sure it matches the phone number you set up with your ShipStation account shipping companies.

    • Processing Fees - Set this setting to the position on and add a flat processing fee as an amount or percentage to cover any additional processing and/or administration costs. This can help you cover additional costs, such as insurance or signature on delivery (these are not included in the shipping costs that ShipStation returns on your online store's checkout pages).

    • Non-Delivery Option for International Orders - Specify how you want shipping companies to handle international packages that are NOT delivered to the intended recipient.

    • Sync all future orders to ShipStation - Set whether to sync all orders regardless of shipping method type, except for in-store pickup orders.

  6. Under DEFAULT PACKAGE SETTING, enter the default package dimensions for your products. This is useful if you have not configured weight and dimensions for your products and/or product variants.

    NOTE: If weight and dimensions are configured for a given product/variant, these settings override the default dimensions you set here.

    Screen_Shot_2018-01-10_at_19.07.43.png

  7. Enter your company's postal address under CITY OF ORIGIN; this is stated on the return labels. Make sure this address matches the one you set up with the shipping companies associated with your ShipStation account.
    ​

    Screen_Shot_2018-01-10_at_19.10.13.png

  8. Click on Save.

5. Setting Lightspeed eCom as a sales channel in ShipStation

  1. Log in to your ShipStation account.

  2. click on Welcome at the top.
    ​

    selling_channel.png

  3. On the welcome page, click Connect a channel.

  4. In the search box, type Custom store.

  5. Click the Custom Store icon.

  6. Configure the following fields in the pop-up window that appears:
    ​

    Screen_Shot_2018-01-10_at_19.25.37.png

  • URL to custom XML page -
    ​

    • For stores in the United States, Canada, and Australia, enter https://services.shoplightspeed.com/webhooks/shipstation.xml

    • For UK stores, https://services.webshopapp.com/webhooks/shipstation.xml

  • Username/Password - Enter the Username and Password associated with your ShipStation integration into the eCom Back Office; to get the Username and Password :
    ​

    1. In the eCom Back Office, go to the ShipStation page (Settings STORE SETTINGS > Shipping Methods > ShipStation).

    2. Under LOGIN INFORMATION, click the button Look at the details of the sales channel.

    3. In the pop-up that appears, copy Username and Password (by clicking the two copy buttons):
      ​

      Screen_Shot_2018-01-10_at_21.01.59.png

Go back to your ShipStation account and paste the Username and Password into the corresponding fields.

Click the Test Connection button in the ShipStation pop-up.

Once the connection is successful, click Connect.

6. Manage your shipping companies and service levels

Manage the shipping companies and service levels you offer to your customers. (To manage shipping companies, you must first set them up with ShipStation.)

By default, once you've set up the ShipStation integration, eCom will show all shipping companies associated with your ShipStation account on your online store's checkout pages, and it also allows for the service levels of each shipping company.

Depending on your business needs and your customer demographics, you may want to offer only specific shipping companies and services. For example, if you see a trend where the majority of your customers are using the cheapest service level, disabling more expensive service levels will increase the likelihood of purchase and reduce cart abandonment rates.

To manage your shipping companies and service levels:

  1. From the main menu of the eCom Back Office, go to Settings>STORE SETTINGS > Shipping Methods.

  2. Click ShipStation.

  3. Scroll down to the shipping companies section.
    ​

    carriers_1.png

    The shipping companies you've set up with ShipStation will appear here. If you don't see your shipping companies, or if you don't see a shipping company you've recently linked to your ShipStation account, click Sync shipping companies. If the problem persists, check your API key and API secret.

  4. Manage your shipping companies:

  5. Click Save when you are done.

7. Set up international shipping with ShipStation

When all products in your customer's cart have Harmonized System (HS) rate codes, customers can choose international shipping with ShipStation at checkout. Click here for more information about setting HS codes.

Managing and executing your orders in ShipStation

When a customer places an order on your online store, the order appears in your eCom Back Office (on the Orders page) and in your ShipStation account. Any change you make to the status of an order in ShipStation is automatically reflected in eCom and vice versa. For example, if you mark an order as shipped in ShipStation, the status of the order is updated to shipped in eCom.

We strongly recommend that you manage your orders in ShipStation (and NOT in eCom), including setting insurance charges, updating a shipment's status, etc. This is especially important for bulk actions, such as bulk printing labels, as executing bulk actions in eCom will affect ShipStations API limit.

To manage orders in ShipStation:

  1. Log in to your ShipStation account.

  2. Click on Orders at the top.

  3. On the ShipStation orders page, click the order you want to manage.

Screen_Shot_2018-01-10_at_21.59.35.png

ShipStation API Limit

ShipStation has a limit on the number of API calls. The current limit for each API key/API secret pair is 40 requests per minute. When this limit is reached, ShipStation will deny further API requests until the time is reset (at the beginning of the next 60 seconds). Possible consequences for your online store include:

  • (If ShipStation is the only fulfillment service you have set up) There is no shipping method available at checkout for your customers.

  • You may not be able to update the ShipStation integration in the eCom Back Office.

To avoid exceeding ShipStation's API limit, we recommend that you:

  • Limit the number of shipping companies you set up with ShipStation to 2.

  • Execute all your order fulfillment activities in ShipStation (instead of eCom).

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