Overview
UPS is one of our built-in "live rates" shipping providers that you can use. This is especially convenient for U.S.-based stores. When you enable this provider, your shipping rates will be dynamically requested from UPS and displayed to your customers. You should create a UPS method for each type of UPS service you wish to support.
Requirements
The following prerequisites will be necessary to accomplish the goals of this article:
- Have access to your Hotcakes store administration
- Be familiar with shipping method settings
- Have a valid UPS account
Getting Started
In order for this shipping method to work, your products need to all have weights and dimensions assigned to them. You'll also need to create your UPS account, if you haven't already done so.
Shipping Method: UPS
When you manage this shipping method, you have some of the standard shipping method settings, as well as a number of local and global settings that are specific to UPS. This grouping of settings are local to this instance of the shipping method. When you create another UPS shipping method, you'll have the opportunity to fill these in differently. Alternatively, you could just choose to have UPS return all available rates all at once, in a single shipping method setting.
Setting Name | Description |
Name | This is the language friendly name that you'll see in the shipping methods list, and your customers will also see this value in the checkout, receipt, and e-mail notifications. |
Highlight Color | By default, this value will be "None" but if selected, it will highlight this order in the order manager, when the customer chooses this shipping method during checkout. |
Shipping Zone | Choose the shipping zone that this method will be used with. |
Adjust Price By | In addition to the rate table below, you can specify an amount to add or remove from the total shipping rate. This value can either be a currency value, or percentage, depending on the amount type you choose. If you enter a negative value, the amount will be deducted from the shipping rate. |
Service(s) to Use | You have two choices available. If you're willing to potentially support every available UPS shipping service, select "Try all available UPS services." Otherwise, select the "Try only the UPS services I select" option. The latter option will give you the setting below. |
Available Services | This setting will only be availalbe if you choose "Try all available UPS services" in the previous setting. When it is available, a list of checkboxes will be displayed, allowing you to choose one or many UPS shipping services for this method. |
Global Settings
The global settings are those that only need to be set once. For example, it would be really irritating if you had to look up your UPS account information each time you wanted to add another UPS service to your store. You'll need to first create an account with UPS before you can enter and save this information.
Before you proceed with anything else, you'll need to address the first setting, which is to register with UPS to use their online tools. With UPS, you not only need to create an account, but you need to also register your site. Until you complete the registration process, UPS will not return shipping rates to your site. The registration process is discussed in more detail below.
Setting Name | Description |
Registration Status | This link will either prompt you to register, or it will tell you that you're already registered (but allowing you to re-register again later if needed). This step needs to be completed successfully at least once before UPS will return rates to your store. |
Account Number | Your account number is assigned you upon your UPS account being approved. You'll be able to look this information up in their administration area. |
Force Residential Addresses | This setting will generally make your returned rates more expensive, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Estimated rates and actual rates don't always match up. If your target customer is businesses, leave this unchecked. Otherwise, it might be a good idea to enable it. |
Don't Use Package Dimensions (only weight) | When checked, this will only pass weights over to UPS. This could result in shipping rates that are less accurate, so please test and use this setting with caution. |
Pick-Up Type | You can choose between "Daily Pick-Up" or "Customer Counter." You should choose the pick-up type that best matches what your store will do the most often. |
Default Service | The value you choose here will be selected by default in the local settings when you first begin creating any new UPS shipping methods. |
Default Packaging | The value you choose here will be selected by default in the local settings when you first begin creating any new UPS shipping methods. |
Diagnostics Mode | If you are having issues with your shipping rates and need to troubleshoot them for any reason, check this setting. You shouldn't leave this checked for long term on any site. When checked, the Event Viewer in the Admin menu will be populated with information sent to and returned from UPS. This could easily fill up your event log over time, which could end up slowing down your website. |
UPS Registration
UPS requires that you take one additional step after you create your shipping account with them. You'll need to come here and register your site with them. In order to do this, click on the link shown below.
One you click on the registration link, you'll see a UPS license agreement appear, along with a form to register your site. After you read the license agreement, begin filling out the terms acceptance form below it.
All of the information you enter into the license agreement form should use the information for the primary technical or business contact for the company. This is often someone like a CMO, CIO, CFO, or someone similar.
Setting Name | Description |
Primary Contact Name | Enter the your full name. You should be the person who's authorized to legally agree to this license agreement on behalf of the company. This is a required field. |
Contact E-Mail Address | Enter your primary e-mail address at the company. This is a required field. |
Contact Title | Enter your official title at the company. This is a required field. |
Company Name | This should be the legal name of the company, including the LLC or inc. if applicable. This is a required field. |
Company Website | Your full website URL should go here, such as http://example.com. This is a required field. |
Address Line 1 | This should contain the street address of the headquarters of the company, not a P.O. Box. This is a required field. |
Address Line 2 | If necessary, enter additional address information, such as the suite number. |
Address Line 3 | In most situations, there shouldn't be a line 3 necessary for your company, but you'll know if you need to enter it. This is most commonly used by those who have military addresses. |
City | Enter the city where the headquarters of the company is found, matching the street address above. This is a required field. |
Region | Enter the region/stage where the headquarters of the company is found, matching the street address above. |
Postal Code | Enter the postal/zip code where the headquarters of the company is found, matching the street address above. |
Country | Select the country where the headquarters of the company is found, matching the street address above. This is a required field. |
Phone Number | You should supply the best phone number at the company to reach you. This is a required field. This value will be used to generate a user account ID for you at the UPS license acceptance website. In addition, a random password is generated for you as well. This user account is not used by anyone at anytime, and is just created as a requirement for the API. |
UPS Account Number | Enter the account number that UPS assigned to you. This is a required field. |
Sales Representative Contact | Choose yes if you'd like to speak with a UPS sales representative, or no if you don't want to. |
When you've filled in all of the required fields, you can click the Accept License to continue. Your information will be sent to UPS for verification.
If you have any issues registering with the UPS license acceptance services, try entering a different phone number, and try again. This most commonly occurs when your phone number is already used as a username. You can attempt to register up to 10 times before UPS will block your attempts.
Upon successfully registering with UPS, you'll see the message below.
Now, the next time you view any UPS shipping method, you'll see that you're already registered.
Need More Help?
Do you need more assistance with this article? Please review your support options.