Explains how to connect one of your existing carrier accounts to ShipStation.
ShipStation provides a few options for connecting a postage provider so you can start creating labels. You can use ShipStation's included carriers by just entering your preferred payment method. You can also connect your existing accounts for any carrier ShipStation integrates with.
For U.S. accounts, ShipStation provides immediate access to USPS, UPS, DHL Express, GlobalPost, and SEKO LTL services through ShipStation Carriers. Just enter your payment method to start creating labels.
If you have your own carrier accounts you'd like to connect, you can do so in your account settings. Please be aware that subscription plans other than the High Volume plan require the Your Carriers add-on before you can connect your accounts. Stamps.com and Endicia accounts do not require the Your Carriers add-on.
If you are on the High Volume plan, the Your Carriers add-on is included for no additional fee, but all shipments created using your own carrier accounts (rather than with one of ShipStation's included carriers) will incur an $0.08 per shipment fee that will be invoiced to your account monthly.
For a breakdown of fees that may apply when shipping with your own carriers, go to the Your Carriers Shipment Fees help article. To see a comprehensive list of ShipStation's carrier integrations, review our Carrier Integrations help article.
This video shows how to add your postage provider accounts to ShipStation so you can add a service, get a rate, and create a label.
ShipStation Legacy Layout
This content features ShipStation's legacy layout and may not exactly reflect your current ShipStation layout experience.
To connect Your Carrier accounts:
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Your Carriers Add-On
Certain plans will require enabling the Your Carriers add-on before you can connect your carrier accounts. If you have not yet enabled it, you'll be prompted to do so before you can connect your accounts.
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Select the provider you'd like to add from the list.
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Fill in all the requested information, then click Connect.
The postage accounts you use to create labels in ShipStation will either be post-billed or balance-based accounts. The difference is how they charge you for the labels you create in ShipStation.
Most postage provider and carrier integrations are considered Post-billed. That means your provider sends an invoice each month and bills your account for all labels used in your invoice period. With post-billed providers, you are only charged for the labels you actually use. Any labels you create but do not use to ship a parcel will not be invoiced.
FedEx and UPS are common examples of post-billed providers. All billing for labels from post-billed providers is managed by the carrier and not by ShipStation. For billing issues with these providers, you must contact your provider directly.
Balanced-based providers charge you for your labels the moment you create them and require you to maintain a balance to purchase your labels. If your balance is lower than the amount required to purchase a label or batch of labels, you must add funds to your balance before you can create them.
Your ShipStation Balance pays for labels you create using ShipStation Carriers. Manage your balance directly in ShipStation in the Payments & Subscription settings.
If you have connected a separate Stamps.com account to ShipStation, you can also manage your Stamps.com account balance directly in ShipStation. Just go to Settings > Shipping > Carriers > Your Carriers.
To add funds to your ShipStation Balance:
You can now purchase labels with any service from ShipStation Carriers.
Set Your Account to Auto-Fund!
You can set ShipStation to automatically refill your balance when it crosses a certain threshold. Review our Add Funds to your ShipStation Balance help article for details.
You can add multiple accounts for the same carrier by repeating the provider connection process. We highly recommend giving each account a unique nickname so you can differentiate them in the Services selection menu.
Not Available for All Carriers
Not all carriers allow multiple accounts in ShipStation. Please review our Carrier Integration Guide to see if your carrier supports this feature.
ShipStation always defaults to the Primary account for a carrier when you select a carrier service for a shipment.
To select an account other than the Primary before creating a label, change the account using the Shipping Account drop-down in the Other Shipping Options section of either the Shipping Sidebar in the Orders grid or of the Order Details Screen.
To select a different account for multiple orders, you can apply it in bulk or create an Automation Rule to apply an account to specific orders as they import.
Primary Account Notes
Certain ShipStation features only allow the carrier's Primary account.
For example, Return Labels and labels created directly in the Rate Calculator will always use the Primary account.
Shipping Presets do not provide the option to change the carrier account within the preset. However, you can still manually change the account on an order before creating the label.
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If you use a provider that does not appear in our list of available providers, we may not yet integrate with them. If this is the case, we recommend contacting your provider directly to express your desire to connect your account to ShipStation. They can then contact our integration team so we can work together to build the integration.
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Different providers require different information, and in some cases, you may need to log in to your provider account directly to locate it. For details on specific provider needs and connection processes, review the article for your postage provider in our Integrations Help guide.
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When connecting multiple accounts for a single carrier, the first account you connect will be considered your primary account, which means it is the account automatically selected when you set that service from that carrier. (Multiple accounts not supported for all carriers.)
To set a different account as the primary account, open the carrier's Settings in ShipStation and check the box for Make this my primary account.
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To bill the cost of a label to a third-party carrier account, you must first add your own account with the carrier to ShipStation. This allows you to configure the shipment with the correct carrier service.