How to set up Royal Mail

Overview

Royal Mail’s integration with Starshipit allows you to use all of Starshipit's features including generation of packing slips and shipping labels, auto-correction of addresses, branded tracking and notifications and many more.
This article outlines how to set up Royal Mail as a courier service in Starshipit.

Before you begin

If you don't have one already Apply for a Royal Mail Online Business Account.

After setting up an an account, Royal Mail will give you an Account Number and a Posting Location.

1. Send account details to Starshipit Support

To set up the Royal Mail account in Starshipit please pass the following on to Starshipit Support:

Customer / Company Name
Main Shipping Address
Contact Name
Contact Phone Number
Contact Email Address
Royal Mail Account Number (starts with 3, 4 or 5, but then please add a 0 in front of that)
Royal Mail Posting Location (location linked to RM Online Business Account, 10-digit, starts with 9)
Royal Mail OBA (Online Business Account) Email Address (used to sign up for OBA with)
Return Name to Show on Labels (if different from shipping address)
Return Address to Show on Labels (if different from shipping address)

Starshipit Support will then contact Royal Mail to complete the set up process.

NOTE: Please contact Starshipit Support to turn on Royal Mail as a courier service. The option is not immediately visible without their help, and there may be extra charges if you wish to use Royal Mail.

2. Set up your product codes

Once Starshipit Support has confirmed your Royal Mail account has been added go ahead and add your product codes to complete the integration.

You can get a list of valid product codes for a destination address by using the product code finder tool in the tools tab. The most common product codes are:

BPL1 - ROYAL MAIL 1st CLASS
BPL2 - ROYAL MAIL 2nd CLASS
BPR1 - ROYAL MAIL SIGNED 1ST CLASS
BPR2 - ROYAL MAIL SIGNED 2ND CLASS
CRL1 - ROYAL MAIL 24
CRL2 - ROYAL MAIL 48
SD1 - SD GUARANTEED BY 1PM (750)
SD2 - SD GUARANTEED BY 1PM (1000)
SD3 - SD GUARANTEED BY 1PM (2500)
SD4 - SD GUARANTEED BY 9AM (750)
SD5 - SD GUARANTEED BY 9AM (1000)
SD6 - SD GUARANTEED BY 9AM (2500)
STL1 - 1ST CLASS ACCOUNT MAIL
STL2 - 2ND CLASS ACCOUNT MAIL
TPNN - ROYAL MAIL TRACKED 24 NO SIGNATURE
TPNS - ROYAL MAIL TRACKED 24 SIGNATURE
TPSN - ROYAL MAIL TRACKED 48 NO SIGNATURE
TPSS - ROYAL MAIL TRACKED 48 SIGNATURE

3. Map service formats for your product codes

Service formats are used to specify the type of packaging used when sending shipments both domestically and internationally with Royal Mail. It is important you specify the correct service formats for your product codes as they can greatly impact the shipping charges from Royal Mail.

By default, the service format will be 'P' for domestic shipments or 'E' for international shipments.

Valid service formats include:

L - Inland Letter
F - Inland Large Letter
P - Inland Parcel
N - Inland format Not Applicable
P - International Letter
G - International Large Letter
E - International Parcel
N - International Format Not Applicable

To change the mapping for your service formats follow the below steps;

Go to Settings > Couriers
Click Settings next to Royal Mail
Select the Advanced tab
Select a product code, and service format.
Click Add.
Repeat steps 4-5 for each product code you will use with Royal Mail.
Click Save.

Additional Information

NOTE: Royal Mail doesn't pass rates into Starshipit, so they are not be displayed in the New Order page. You can set up table rates for Royal Mail though, where you record the rates that the courier charges you, and these are then available for rates at checkout and on the Starshipit API.

NOTE 2: Parcel tracking is not currently supported with Royal Mail at this time (due to extremely high charges for this by Royal Mail). However, you can use their tracking page directly at https://www.royalmail.com/track-your-item#/

Other relevant information for you:

To know more about the benefits of Royal Mail's integration with Starshipit, click here