Automation rules can help you automatically manage orders and reduce the time it takes to create labels.
This section gives a full overview of the automation rules feature, including how to create automation rules, basic troubleshooting tips, and a full list of available criteria and actions. You may want to also check out our video tutorial on automation rules.
Automation Rules are account-specific user-created rules that tell ShipStation to automatically perform certain actions on orders that meet specific criteria as soon as those orders import into ShipStation. They allow you to save time by auto-applying numerous actions that you would otherwise perform manually.
Automation Rules are the third and final automated process an order will go through as it imports into ShipStation, after Product Automation and Service Mapping have already been applied.
Automation Rules allow for more fine-tuned customization than other automated processes. In a rule, you specify at least one criterion and one action, but you can also have multiples of each. This means you could create a very simple automation rule that affects all orders and only changes one thing (like the standard Default Confirmation rule ShipStation includes for all new accounts) or a much more specialized rule that only applies to a small subset of orders and changes multiple shipping options.
Any ShipStation user with Administrator or Configuration user permissions can access, edit, and delete automation rules.
From the Automation Rules page, you can:
View all existing automation rules on your account
Create new automation rules
Edit existing automation rules
Re-organize the order in which rules apply (using click-and-drag)
Delete existing rules
Reprocess Automation Rules
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Click the +Create a Rule button to get started.
Name the rule so that it has a name that uniquely identifies its function.
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Set the criteria.
The criteria determines which orders the rule will apply to. You have three options:
Apply these actions to EVERY order that is imported.
Only apply these actions to orders that match a specific criteria.
Only apply these actions to orders that match an existing filter.
For the purposes of this article, we'll focus on the second option.
Select the option to Only apply these actions to orders that match a specific criteria.
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Click +Add Criteria.
The criteria you set here will determine which orders the rule will apply to. The About Rule Criteria section below has more details.
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Set the action.
Actions tell ShipStation what to do to the order.
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Click the Add an Action button to start adding actions to the rule.
The About Rule Actions section below has more details. See the table at the end of this article for a full list of available actions.
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Save the rule.
Think of automation rules like if/then statements. The criteria for a rule will be the IF portion of the statement.
There are many criteria options, and some let you choose more than one value. If the criterion you select allows you to choose multiple values (like stores), they are treated like OR statements.
Figure 24. Criteria: Multiple Stores
This statement says, "IF the Marketplace Equals Magento OR Shopify..."
Similarly, some criteria require you to type the value. If you need the criteria to look for multiple different values, separate them with a semicolon (;) and ShipStation will treat them as OR statements.
Figure 25. Criteria: Multiple Cities
This statement says, "IF the City Equals Austin OR San Antonio..."
Lastly, you can add additional criteria to the rule, and each individual criteria line is an AND statement.
Figure 26. Criteria: Store AND City
This statement says, "IF the Marketplace Equals Shopify AND the City Equals Austin..."
Again, think of Automation Rules as if/then statements. The actions are the THEN portion of the statement.
Figure 27. Action: Single
This action says, "...THEN Add an Internal Note 'Call customer before shipping'"
Just like with criteria, you can have multiple different actions in a single automation rule, and each individual action would be an AND statement.
Figure 28. Action: Multiple
This action says, "...THEN Set International Non-Delivery to Treat as Abandoned AND Set Customs Content Type to Gift."
Note
If you ever need to change the criteria or actions for a rule or de-activate it, click Edit next to the rule in the Automation Rules settings window.
Tip
If you need your rules to apply in a certain order, click and drag a rule to adjust its position in the list.
Automation rules in ShipStation run in descending order, so the rule at the top of the list will run first, and the rule at the bottom of the list will run last. This also means you can create a series of rules that depend on criteria set by actions in a previous rule!
Automation rules can seem a bit abstract until you actually create a few.
Below are several common automation rules you can use to help you get started.
One of the most popular uses for automation rules is to apply a specific service based on the weight of the order.
For US-based ShipStation users, the most common form of this would be a rule that sets the shipping service to USPS First Class Mail for all domestic orders under 16 oz.
Here is an example of how such a rule would look:
Figure 29. Example Rule: Weight
IF the Country Equals United States AND the Total Weight is less than 16 oz THEN set Shipping Service / Package to USPS First Class Mail / Package.
Some shipping carriers, like FedEx, offer different rates and services based on whether an address is residential or commercial, so you may find it helpful to automatically switch to a service based on address classification.
For example, you may want any FedEx orders to use FedEx Home Delivery if the address is residential.
Here is an example of how such a rule would look:
Figure 30. Example Rule: Residential Orders
IF the address is verified as Residential AND the Carrier is FedEx THEN set Shipping Service / Package to FedEx Home Delivery® / Package
Order tags applied to products or customers apply to orders automatically before automation rules run, which means you can use tags as rule criteria.
For example, you selling clothing and want to upgrade shipping to USPS Priority Mail for any order of a shirt or pants where the buyer also purchased a hat, but not if they ordered shoes (because orders with shoes are heavy and must be shipped via a different service).
Assuming the products are already tagged based on the type of product - shirt, pants, hat, shoes - here is how such a rule would look:
Figure 31. Example Rule: Order Tags
IF the Order Tags INCLUDE pants OR shirt AND the Order Tags INCLUDE hat AND the Order Tags DO NOT INCLUDE shoes THEN set Shipping Service / Package to USPS Priority Mail / Package.
In this example, the merchant is located in Pflugerville, TX and wants to send a special gift to their nearby customers who buy from their Magento or Shopify stores and have spent over $50 on their order.
To identify those orders, the merchant has decided to apply an tag to the orders so they're easy to locate in ShipStation, and then print a special packing slip so their staff knows to include the gift in the package.
An example automation rule that could achieve this would look as follows:
Figure 32. Example Rule: Multiple Criteria & Actions
IF the Order Total IS GREATER THAN 50 AND the Marketplace EQUALS Magento OR Shopify AND the State EQUALS Texas (TX) AND the City EQUALS Austin OR Pflugerville OR Round Rock THEN add the GIFT tag AND use the Gift Packing Slip template.
Tip
For this example, if the additional gift means a different package type or shipping service needs to be used, just add that as another action in this rule. Alternately, a subsequent rule could use the GIFT tag as the criteria to set the new service and package type.
Below is a list of all available criteria.
Criteria |
Description |
# of Line Items |
The number of unique line items in the order - not to be confused with Total Quantity. |
Address Line 1 |
The first line of the address |
Address Line 2 |
The second line of the address |
Address Verified |
The address verification system processed the address and returned a “Verified”, “Warning”, or “Error” status. |
Amount Paid |
The amount paid by the customer |
Assigned User |
The specific user assigned to this order |
Buyer ID |
Customer identifier imported from the marketplace - typically the username or email address. |
Buyer Name |
The name of the buyer |
Carrier |
Carrier and/or Postage Provider |
City |
“Ship To” city |
Country |
“Ship To” country |
Custom Field 1 |
Refers to the Custom Fields within an order. Data can equal, contain, start with, end with, or be blank |
Custom Field 2 | |
Custom Field 3 | |
Date Paid |
The date the payment was made |
Gift Order |
Is the "This is a gift" option checked in the order? |
Internal Notes |
Data can equal, contain, start with, end with, or be blank |
Item Name |
The name of the order item. |
Item Sku |
The SKU of the order item. |
Marketplace |
The marketplace the order is importing from |
Notes to the Buyer |
Refers to the Notes fields within an order. Data can equal, contain, start with, end with, or be blank |
Notes from Buyer | |
Order # |
The number that imported into ShipStation as the Order Number |
Order Date |
The date the order was placed |
Order Subtotal |
The cost of the order prior to calculating customer’s shipping charge and taxes |
Order Tags |
Refers to tags the order contains. |
Order Total |
The cost of the order, including shipping fees and taxes |
Package |
Refers to what package type is selected in the order |
Payment Method |
How was this order paid for? Credit card, C.O.D., etc |
Postal Code |
“Ship To” postal code |
Recipient Company |
“Ship To” company name |
Recipient Name |
“Ship To” recipient name |
Requested Service (Mapped) |
The carrier/service/package the requested service has been mapped to in ShipStation |
Requested Service (Marketplace Value) |
The carrier/service/package that was selected for the order in the store during the customer's checkout |
Residential / Commercial |
Address has been verified as residential or commercial |
Ship By Date |
The already-defined Ship By Date from the marketplace |
Shipping Account |
Which Shipping Account is defined - ‘My Account’, 'Third Party’, or ‘Recipient’? |
Shipping Paid |
The amount of shipping paid by a customer |
Source |
The original source of the order when importing orders from a Shopping Cart, Inventory Solution, etc |
State |
“Ship To” state |
Store |
Refers to the store the order imported from |
Tax Paid |
The amount of tax paid by the customer |
Total Quantity |
Total number of items in order |
Total Weight |
Total order weight |
USPS Zone |
USPS Zone based on Ship From and Recipient postal codes |
Ship From Location |
The defined Ship From location |
Warehouse Location |
The Warehouse Location outlined in the product defaults of the order item. |
Notes About Automation Criteria
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Address Verified: There is not currently a way to have multiple values selected for this criterion in a single line.
If you want automation to apply whenever an address is verified as a Warning or an Error you will need to have two automation rules - one for each value
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Item Specific: Automation rules using the Item Name, Item Sku, and Warehouse Location criteria options will only apply to orders containing a single unique line item (the quantity of that line item does not matter).
Even if every product in the order matches the criteria, the automation rule will be skipped if there is more than one unique line item.
If you need automation based on an ordered product, regardless of other products in the order, create a tag for the product, tag the product record in ShipStation with that tag, and use the tag as the criteria instead.
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Order Tags: If you select multiple tags as the value in a single criteria line, then the rule will apply when any of the selected tags are on the order.
If you only want the rule to apply if all tags are present, each tag should have its own criteria line.
Below is a list of all available automation rule actions.
Action |
Description |
Add an Internal Note… |
Adds notes to the Internal field in the order. |
Add Note to the Buyer… |
Adds notes to the to Buyer field in the order |
Adjust the Order Weight… |
Adds a specific amount to the order weight based on what you select in the rule setup. |
Assign to a user… |
Assigns the order to a designated user in the ShipStation account. |
Bill Int’l Duties to Payor of Shipping Charges |
Marks the duties of the order to be billed to the shipper instead of the recipient (check with your carrier to find out how they will bill those charges) |
Charge Shipping to 3rd Party… |
Designates a third-party account as the payor of shipping charges (this option requires the shipping service to have already been applied to the order) |
Charge Shipping to My Account… |
Designates your pre-selected shipping account as the payor of the shipping charges. |
Collect Payment on Delivery (C.O.D.)... |
Applies the Cash On Delivery (C.O.D.) option to the order (not supported by all carriers) |
Create an Alert… |
Creates an order alert with customized information |
Do Not Notify Marketplace of Shipment |
Prevents ShipStation from sending the Marketplace Notification |
Do Not Prepay Postage (Endicia Only) |
Automatically selects “Do Not Prepay Postage” from Other Shipping Options in the matched order |
Don’t Import the Order |
Removes the order from ShipStation and prevents future imports of the same order from that selling channel connection. |
Enable Saturday Delivery (UPS / FedEx) |
Automatically selects “Saturday Delivery” from Other Shipping Options in the matched order |
Enable Shipper Release (UPS only) |
Automatically selects “Driver may release package without signature” in Other Shipping Options in the matched order |
Hold the Order for… |
Places matched order on hold for a specific number of days |
Hold Until… |
Places match order on hold until a specific date |
Include a Return Label with the Outbound Label |
Generates a return label when the outbound label is created |
Insure the Package… |
Automatically assigns a specific insurance provider to the matched order |
Mark Shipment(s) as “Non-Machinable” |
Automatically marks the matched order as “Non-Machinable” (typically results in a surcharge). |
Request Confirmation… |
Assigns a specific confirmation type to the order |
Send an email… |
Sends an email to designated email addresses when the rule runs. |
Set Carrier/Service/Package… |
Assigns a Carrier/Service/Package to the matched order |
Set Custom Field 1… |
Adds a note to Custom Field 1. |
Set Custom Field 2… |
Adds a note to Custom Field 2. |
Set Custom Field 3… |
Adds a note to Custom Field 3. |
Set Customs Content Type… |
Assigns the content type of your order’s customs declarations |
Set Declaration Statement (FedEx only) |
Sets declaration statement which will be used on customs documents for FedEx international shipment. |
Set Fulfillment Provider… |
Selects the Fulfillment Provider and offers the option to automatically send the order to that provider. |
Set International Non-Delivery… |
Selects the action that should be taken when an international shipment cannot be delivered |
Set Package Dimensions… |
Sets the length, width, and height of your order |
Set Ship By Date |
Sets the Ship By Date in your Order |
Set Ship From Location… |
Sets the Ship From Location in your order |
Set the Dry Ice Weight (UPS / FedEx) |
Sets the Dry Ice Weight in the order. Does not alter the order's weight. |
Set the Order as Containing Alcohol (FedEx) |
Automatically selects “This order includes alcohol” in Other Shipping Options in the matched order |
Set the Order as Containing Dry Ice (UPS / FedEx) |
Selects that the order includes dry ice, but does not set the weight |
Set the Total Order Weight… |
Defines the total weight of the order (different from Adjust Order Weight) |
Show Postage Paid on the Label |
Displays the price of the postage on the label for the matched order |
Stop Processing Rules for the Order |
Stops any automation rules that follow this rule from running on that order |
Use a specific Packing Slip… |
Assigns a selected packing slip to the matched order |
Use email template for Delivery Notification… |
Assigns a selected email delivery template to the matched order |
Use email template for Shipment Notification… |
Assigns a selected email shipment confirmation template to the matched order |
Notes About Automation Actions
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Note Actions: If your store sends Internal Note, Custom Field #1, Custom Field #2, or Custom Field #3 to ShipStation, an action that sets the same note field will override the note imported from the store.
However, if the store refreshes and includes the same order information, ShipStation will update the order to match the store. In this situation, it's best to update these notes directly in the store and let it flow into ShipStation via a store refresh.
Adjust Weight: This action will only apply to an order once. It will not apply to an order again even if you reprocess automation rules.
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Charge Shipping to My Account: Only use this action if you have multiple accounts connected to ShipStation for a single carrier, e.g., two FedEx accounts. When used, this action will allow you to set which account should be used to create the label.
If a shipping service is already selected for the order but does not match the services provided by the carrier account set by this action, ShipStation will clear the order's shipping service.
If you only have a single account connected for each carrier, this action is not necessary.
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Don't Import the Order: Be very careful with this action!
If this action applies to an order, the order will be set to an inactive status in our database and removed from view and all reporting in ShipStation.
Once this action applies to an order it cannot be undone and it locks the order out of ShipStation completely. Even if you delete the rule, re-importing the store's orders or using the Reprocess Automation Rules button will have no effect.
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Send an Email: This action will only apply to an order once. It will not apply to an order again even if you reprocess automation rules.
When setting this action, you can either send the email to a specific email address or use the customer or store's email address.
This action sends the email immediately when the order imports. If you intend to adjust the shipping confirmation email that is sent at the time of label creation, use the Use email template for Shipment Notification… action instead.
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Set Fulfillment Provider: This action will set the fulfillment provider for the order. This action also gives the option for ShipStation to automatically send a fulfillment request to the provider upon import of the order.
The portion of the action that sets the fulfillment provider will apply again if you reprocess automation rules, but the action that automatically sends the request will not. If you encounter an error when sending the automatic fulfillment request, ShipStation will retain the order in the Awaiting Shipment status and you will need to use the manual Send Fulfillment action to request fulfillment again.
If your automation rules are not applying to orders as expected, try the following troubleshooting tips:
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Review the Order Activity log
You can see if a rule applied to an order by checking the Order Activity log in the Order Details window. If the rule did not apply, the order may not have met the rule's criteria.
If the rule did apply, but did not effect the order as you were expecting, it could be that the changes the rule made were overridden by another automation rule. The activity log will help you find which other rules were applied to the order that may have overridden the desired rule.
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Check for invalid criteria
If you're using criteria that calls for a number (like Order Total, Total Quantity, or Total Weight), the numerical value must be entered without any additional symbols or letters.
For example: No $ symbol in Order Total. No weight indications like oz or kg in Total Weight.
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Check for missing criteria or actions
Each rule must have at least one criteria (or be set to apply to all orders) and one action. The select criteria and action should not be blank.
Leaving blank criteria or actions will cause an automation rule to fail, and can also cause all subsequent automation rules to fail to run as well. If you find that a large number of your automation rules are not running, even though the rules themselves appear to be valid, check the previous rules in the list to see if any are missing their criteria or action values.
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Check order of operations
Many automation rule actions update the Other Shipping Options of an order, but those options are often carrier-specific (such as Shipper Release for UPS.) In such cases, it's best to have automation that sets the shipping service on the order before any automation rules set a carrier-specific shipping option.
For example: Use product defaults, service mappings, or an automation rule which is earlier on the list to set the order's shipping service to a UPS service before any automation rules that enable Shipper Release.
Similarly, the criteria for an automation rule may be dependent on other automation being applied first.
For example: If a rule uses a tag as criteria, something else must apply the tag to the order before the rule. This would be achieved by product defaults (which apply before automation rules) or prior automation rules adding the tag as an action.
If those tips do not help resolve the issue, please contact ShipStation's User Success team and one of our User Success Specialists can help you sort out what's going on with the rule.