UPS LTL Freight Quotes for WooCommerce#
Make sure to read the “Manage Your License” section. You will need this information to upgrade your subscription once your free trial has expired.
Overview:
- WooCommerce Sign Up
- Download the File
- Install the Plugin
- Activate the Plugin
- How to Obtain a UPS API Access Key
- How to perform Connection Settings
- Quote Settings
- Identify drop ship locations and warehouses
- How to enable the Plugin
- Shipping parameters of products
Other Information:
- What Your Customer Sees
- How to Manage Your License
WooCommerce Sign up#
Follow the steps given below for WooCommerce Sign Up:
- Go to SHIPMOUNT ADMIN SIGN UP Page.
- Fill all the required fields of Sign Up form, Select WooCommerce from ‘Select platform’ dropdown.
- Click ‘Sign Up’
Choose Plan and Get License Key#
In Admin Shipmount, Go to Buy License Menu and Choose the required plan. After that click on dashboard and you will see license key here that is required for WooCommerce Shipmount Plugin.
Install the Plugin#
- Use administrative credentials to sign in to the WordPress Dashboard.
- Hover the cursor over the Plugins menu (on the left) to display sub-menu options.
- Click on Add New, and you will be taken to the Plugins page.
- You can use the search bar to download and install our plugin.
Installation progress can be seen at the bottom of the page. Following completion, you will see a Plugin Installed Successfully message.
How to enable or disable a carrier#
In the SHIPMOUNT app, locate and click Marketplace from the side menu where you will be able to enable/disable carrier(s) from the given list. Please see the screenshot below:
Activate the Plugin#
When the installation is complete, click the Activate Plugin link.
If you close that page but later decide to activate the plugin, you can go to the Plugins Menu and click on the Installed Plugins link.
On the Installed Plugins page, locate and click on the Activate link underneath “SHIPMOUNT”.
How to perform Connection Settings#
- Open the SHIPMOUNT plugin and enable UPS LTL carrier from the marketplace.
- Click Carrier Settings from the side menu.
Begin with Connection Settings. To access the Connection and Quote settings, use the tabs shown at the top of the page.
Account Number: Enter your UPS account number. If you don’t have one, contact UPS at 800-742-5877.
Username: Enter the username that you use to sign into UPS.com.
Password: Enter the password that you use to sign into UPS.com.
API Access Key: Enter UPS API Access Key that was obtained in Step 4.
Testing or Production: You will have to choose whether you want to display rates from the UPS Test or the Production environment.
Plugin License Key: SHIPMOUNT only issues the plugin license key to registered clients.
The License Key will be issued when you subscribe to one of our 3 plans. You will have 15 days of access to our Basic Plan, which is our Trial version of the plan. The other two plans are: the Standard Plan and the Advanced Plan. We display rates for monthly or yearly subscriptions. Further details about Plans and License Keys are given in the Manage Your License section.
Save your settings when you are finished. Then, click on the Test Connection button to make sure the connection is successfully established. In case of an error, double check the information you have entered. Make sure to check capitalization, as the information is case sensitive.
Advanced Features#
Residential delivery: We’ll automatically detect your location via our Global Positioning System or your own entered address.
At SHIPMOUNT we use advanced geolocation technology to detect your exact location. Specify your delivery address and we’ll find you at the right place, at the right time, at the right price.
Address type detection: For Automatic detection of Address type, you need to have a Standard Plan or higher. If you are not already on the required plan, you will see the words “Standard Plan required.” If you wish to upgrade your current plan to a higher plan, simply click on “Standard plan required” and upgrade it. To perform this upgrade, you must be logged in as the store administrator.
SHIPMOUNT will determine the address of every order to find out if it is a residential address or not. Once that is determined, the quote will automatically add the carrier’s residential charges.
Surcharge: Calculated and charged once per order and in special instances.
At SHIPMOUNT we’re truly transparent about fees and all costs incurred on a parcel. Handling fees are an additional cost to the order subtotal and shipping fee. They’re applied per order rather than per item and are carefully calculated based on factors like your parcels warehouse storage, packaging, and the time taken in handling and preparation. There might be a special handling fee added if the parcel is kept for collection or delivered on weekends. Some of our partner carriers do, however, have a fixed handling fee.
3D Bin Packaging: We select the most optimized packaging for your parcel based on our assessment of its weight and dimensions, providing you with minimal packaging and the lowest possible shipping costs as a result.
When we can use one package for multiple items, the application will automatically detect the appropriate box(es) and convey the packaging solution to the carrier while requesting rates. The step-by-step graphical representation of the packaging solution is saved on the Order Details page. The use of the same instructions is recommended to pack the products.
If this feature is enabled, there will be a charge of 3 cents for every individual packaging solution until/unless the capped amount is reached. In order to increase the capped amount, simply increase the set amount.
Capped amount: The amount in this field represents the limit of the amount that can be charged on the ‘Standard Box Sizes’ feature in a billing cycle. This feature will stop working once the set amount limit is reached. This occurrence can display inaccurate rates. To avoid this, increase the capped amount upon reaching the limit.
How to add Boxes
Add box button: A form to get parameters of the box when you click the Add button.
Nickname: This nickname will be displayed in the graphical representation of the packaging solution.
Length: Enter the length in inches.
Width: Enter the width in inches.
Height: Enter the height in inches.
Max weight: Enter the max weight in pounds.
Box weight: Enter the box weight in pounds.
Available: Selecting this box will make the box available to the algorithm, which checks packaging solutions.
Separate Package:
Having the ‘Standard Box Sizes’ feature enabled will display settings on the Product Shipping Parameters page that will show if the items need to be shipped as multiple packages. When these settings are applied, the product will show on the ‘Box Sizes’ page. They appear in the “items that ship as multiple packages” section.
Click on the Add box button to add a box. Then, you will see a popup containing the following details about the box:
Quantity: Enter the number of boxes
Nickname: This nickname will be displayed in the graphical representation of the packaging solution.
Length: Enter the length in inches.
Weight: Enter the weight in pounds.
Height: Enter the height in inches.
Width: Enter the width in inches.
Drop ship locations and warehouses#
To add drop ship locations and warehouses, simply click the Location option given under Products and then choose Add Location. For warehouses, it is necessary to have a complete inventory of products; otherwise, it is considered drop shipped. If two or more warehouses are on the list, the one nearest to the shopper will be considered to calculate shipping rates.
Drop shipping is a method of supply chain management where a retailer does not keep products in stock. Instead, it transfers customer’s shipment information to another retailer or manufacturer who then delivers to the customer on your behalf. The checkout shopping cart will show a single figure estimate if drop shipped products are included in the order. The single figure rate represents the total after calculating shipping requirements for each item.
How to enable the Plugin#
Click WooCommerce, then click on Settings.
Choose the Shipping tab, then click on the Shipping Zones link.
To add shipping zones, click on Add shipping zone. An appropriate shipping zone is required in order to add the shipping method.
Click on the “Add Shipping Method” button as seen in the screenshot below to add the shipping method.
You will be shown a list of shipping methods. Select the appropriate one from the list and click on the Add shipping method button and then save changes.
You need to go through this process for each shipping zone. We recommend that you carry out a test for each shipping zone to ensure that the application supports the geographical locations defined.
Shipping parameters of the product#
Congratulations! You are finished with application settings, you can now move on to product settings. You will use the same instructions for each product that you want to ship through LTL freight.
Locate and click on the Products from the menu list located on the left. This will take you to the product’s detail page. On this page, you will see the list of products. Click on the Edit Settings button of any product that you wish to enter the parameters of.
You will be redirected to the Product Setting page, where you will have to enter product details like dimensions, weight, freight class, etc. Fill in all of the blank fields by entering the required information. Then, choose Save at the bottom of the page.
Weight: The product weight should always be in pounds. It should also include the weight of any material involved in the packaging of shipment such as pallets, shrink wraps, cardboard, etc.
Dimensions: Dimensions of the products should be entered in inches.
Shipping Class: Choose “No Shipping Class” if you want the product to be quoted as a shipping parcel. This is only possible if the Small Package Quotes plugin is installed.
If you have the LTL Freight Quotes enabled, choose the LTL Freight option, and it will return quotes for LTL Freight.
Enable Drop Ship Location: Checking this box means that the product will be shipped from a drop ship location. Explanations on how to define warehouse and drop ship locations were provided in Step 7. This option will be only shown when drop ship locations are defined.
Drop Ship Location: Here, you will choose the drop ship location from the given list. An explanation on defining warehouse and drop ship locations can be found in step 7. This option will be only shown when drop ship locations are defined.
Freight Classification: Here, you will categorize or classify the products. You will have to define the freight class of all the products if you are offering both LTL Freight shipping and Small Package/Parcel shipping. The Density Based option is the alternative industry accepted way to define the freight class of shipment. In most cases, density based calculation will provide the accurate freight class, but it is your responsibility to check the accuracy of the freight class of your product(s).
In case of a Variable Product, go to the Variations page and define product variations.
The following points should be kept in mind while performing product classification:
- Freight Classification is only possible when the Freight Quotes plugin is installed.
- When complete, click the Update button.
What Your Customer Sees#
When an online purchase is complete, this plugin will display the shipping charges, and it will use the available sources to display the best possible shipping rates. This is in case two or more products in the cart are missing either weight or dimensions. For Example: If you have two products in the cart and one of them is missing weight or dimensions, the shipping rates shown will be based on the product that has specified weight and dimensions. If no product has dimensions or weight recorded, the Plugin will not return any quotes.
Note: There is a high chance of inaccuracy of rates if the product is missing dimensions, weight, or both.
The shipping rates will be returned to the shopping cart once the “ship to” details are provided by the customer. These rates will depend on the settings used for the plugin. For more details about these settings, please check the installation guide. The presentation of shipping rates can be managed on the Settings Page of WooCommerce.
If the plugin fails to display shipping rates, a message will be displayed. Here are the possible reasons for failure to display rates:
- Absence of freight class, dimensions, etc.
- Invalid credentials, suspended account, expired license, etc.
- Invalid address.
- Web service of the carrier is not operational.
Here is a screenshot of when the plugin fails to display shipping rates:
How to Manage Your License#
To manage your license, simply sign in to shipmount.com using the same credentials that you used to register for the plugin.
Commonly, the Dashboard is used to upgrade to a paid subscription, change or edit the registered URL to a license, and to see your current licenses.
How to upgrade to a paid subscription
Once your trial version has expired, you will have to upgrade to a paid subscription to keep the plugin functional. To upgrade it, select the Buy License from the side menu, click the Pay Now button of the required plan.
Choose the subscription plan that best meets your needs and enter the required payment information. Note that at the end of each subscription cycle, your plugin will be renewed unless you cancel your subscription.