You can use most USB scales with ShipStation, as long as they are HID compliant and connected directly to your workstation. Once you have installed ShipStation Connect and physically connected the scale to your computer, you can pull weights from a scale for your shipments!
To pull the weight from your connected scale for a shipment, just click the Scale button in the Configure Shipment Widget.
ShipStation will read the weight from the scale and enter it into the Weight fields.
If this is your first time using a scale, or if you have multiple scales connected to multiple workstations, you'll first want to select the USB scale from the Scale drop-down. This will set the selected scale as the default scale for this user and workstation.
To choose a scale:
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Select an order in the Order grid or open the Order Details screen.
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Click the down arrow next to the scale button in the Configure Shipment Widget.
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Select your scale from the drop-down menu.
ShipStation is compatible with most HID-Compliant USB scales. They must be directly connected to your workstation.
🇦🇺 🇳🇿Australian and New Zealand Merchants: We recommend using a scale that is HID-Compliant & Trade Approved by the Australian National Institute. Several trade-approved models of scales are available from Weigh.com.au.
For merchants outside of Australia and New Zealand, ShipStation has tested the following models:
Many more postage scales are available on the market, with new ones appearing frequently. You are not limited to the scales listed above!
In the ShipStation Connect settings screen, there are a few advanced functions for scales.
To see the actions available for a scale, hover your mouse over the scale you wish to edit in the list of scales.
Click the read icon to read the scale's current weight. Click the Edit icon
to open the device settings, where you can edit the name of the scale and other advanced options.
|
Advanced Scale Options |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Name |
This custom name is what all users on the account will see when selecting a scale for a shipment. |
|
Timeouts |
The number of milliseconds ShipStation will wait for a scale reading before it times out. The second value is the number of milliseconds ShipStation Connect will wait for a scale reading. You may need to increase both values if you have an older model scale, but make sure the first value is always higher than the second value. |
|
Read Wait |
The number of milliseconds ShipStation Connect will wait before attempting to read a weight from your scale. If you have a newer scale that quickly determines weight, you can decrease this value to 150 or even 100. Just make sure this value is less than the 2nd Timeout value. |
|
Retries |
The number of times ShipStation Connect will attempt to read a weight from the scale. If you've decreased the value for the Read Weight, you may need to increase this value. |
|
Weight Bytes |
The index of the first and second bytes of weight data, respectively. The default values match how most scales report data, so only change these values if you have a non-standard scale that reports differently. |
|
Factors |
These values multiply the first and second bytes of weight data by the specified amount. Configure Settings For High Capacity Mode changes these values from 1 to 0.1, so large-capacity scales report weights more accurately. |
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Restore to defaults |
Restore the scale's advanced settings to their default state. |
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Configure settings for high capacity mode |
Typically used for scales that handle heavier shipments. |
Weights Incorrect by Factor of 10x
If your scale appears to be reading incorrect weights that are off by a factor of x10 or x100, it may have been set to high capacity mode. Try resetting the scale to its defaults.
Here are some common issues experienced by users, potential causes, and available troubleshooting tips.
|
Issue |
How to troubleshoot or resolve |
|---|---|
|
Weights Incorrect by Factor of 10x or 100x. |
|
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Select an order in the Order grid or open the Order's Details.
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Click the scale icon
from the Shipping Info section of the Order.
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Select the scale from the list in the pop-up menu.
ShipStation will read the weight from the scale and apply it to the order.
Pull Weights With a Barcode Scanner
To learn how to use a barcode scan to trigger the weight for a shipment, review the Other Barcode Uses article on our help center.