Rules for checkout rates

Table of contents

• Overview
• Understanding the order of rules
• Enabling currency and weight using rules
• Setting up a rule
• Common use cases for rules at checkout
• Troubleshooting

Overview

• Using the rules for checkout rates feature, you can set up your checkout to behave in a way that works for your business.
• For example, you could set up rules to automatically cover your shipping surcharges or assign specific couriers to orders that contain dangerous goods. Or, you could set up a rule to apply free shipping.
• A rule can include multiple conditions and one action, and you can create as many rules as you like.

Watch the video

Understanding the order of rules

Rules apply from top to bottom in the list. This means when a condition is met in a rule at the top of the list, the rules engine won't apply other conditions in the list that conflict with the first rule.

For example:

• Our first rule says Condition weight >5kg Set the carriers for checkout as Australia Post
  • This means if the weight of the order is greater than 5kg, then only Australia Post will show on checkout.
• Our second rule says Condition weight >10kg Set the carriers for checkout as Aramex.
  • This means if the weight of the order is greater than 10kg, then only Aramex will show on checkout.

In this case, the second rule will never be triggered. This is because any order that is greater than 10kg, will also be greater than 5kg, meaning the first rule will take precedence.

As the rules engine is flexible, you can solve this problem in a couple of different ways:

• Solution 1: Condition weight >5kg and condition weight <10kg Set the carriers for checkout as Australia Post.
  • This rule solves the issue by providing a range: Show Australia Post for orders heavier than 5kg and lighter than 10kg. Show Aramex for orders weighing more than 10kg.
• Solution 2: Change the order of the rules so the order containing the >10kg condition is first on the list.
  • This solves the issue as the second rule (showing Australia Post) will now only trigger for orders under 10kg.

Entering currency and weight using rules

• When using Shopify, dollar values need to be entered in cents ($100 = 10000, $80 = 8000). This is due to a limitation with the Shopify plugin.
• Weight values need to be entered in kilograms (10kg = 10)

Setting up a rule 

1. Go to Settings > Checkout Rates > Rules.
2. Select Add a new rule.
3. Choose the Condition(s) that the rule should apply in. 
   Possible Conditions: 
   • All Orders 
   • Destination Country Name 
   • Destination Country Code 
   • Destination Post Code - AU 
   • Destination Post Code - NZ 
   • Destination Post Code 
   • Destination State
   • Destination Suburb or City
   • Destination Street
   • Destination Building
   • Destination Company
   • Item SKU
   • Item Quantity
   • Order Value 
   • Order Weight
   • PO Box & Parcel Locker Orders
   • Line Item Value
   • Their Reference
4. Choose the Action you would like to apply.
   • Set Carriers for Checkout: Only display the selected courier options on checkout  
   • Set Checkout Rates: Use a specified rate rather than the default couriers you have defined  
   • Set Courier & Product Code:  Specify the courier that should display in this case
   • Set Margin Type & Value: Add or subtract a margin from the quoted rate on checkout  
   • Set Shipping Location: Use an alternate shipping address from your Pickup Address defined in Starshipit as the sender address for the rate. This is useful if you are shipping from multiple locations and would like the live rate to be based on a specific address depending on what is in the cart or where the customer is based.
5. Click Save

Common use cases for rules at checkout

How can I cover my surcharges?

Some couriers may apply a surcharge if a package is over a specific weight, but this surcharge isn’t always provided on the quote you get back from the courier. You can set up a rule to specify that if a package weighs over a certain amount, add a 10% margin to cover the surcharge.

1. Select Add a new rule.
2. Select Condition(s) > Order weight (Enter your weight threshold in the field provided).
3. Select Action > Set Margin Type & Value.
4. Select Value (Choose your courier from the dropdown).
5. Input your product code.
6. Select your margin type (Amount or percentage).
7. Enter your value (10%).
8. Click Save.

How can I account for PO boxes?

Not all couriers deliver to PO boxes. You can set up a rule which says that if an address includes a PO box, remove those couriers that won’t deliver to them.

1. Select Add a new rule.
2. Select Condition(s) > PO Box & Parcel Locker Orders > Equals > True.
3. Select Action > Set Carriers for Checkout.
4. Select the couriers you’d like to display in your checkout.
5. Click Save.

Can I display free shipping based on order value?

You can set up a rule where if an order is over $100 (for example), you can display a free shipping option to the customer.

1. Select Add a new rule.
2. Select Condition(s) > Order Value > Greater Than > (Enter your order value, for example $100. Note, this needs to be entered as 10000)
3. Select Action > Set Checkout Rates.
4. Select Value (Choose your courier from the dropdown).
5. Select Free Shipping.
6. Click Return this item only.
7. Click Save.

You can customise this further by adding additional conditions (such as below a certain order weight, or within a certain destination).

Can I set specific couriers for dangerous goods?

Some couriers won’t transport dangerous goods (Something flammable or even an item which includes a dangerous item like a battery). You can create a rule to remove these couriers from the checkout if the card contains a dangerous item.

1. Select Add a new rule.
2. Select Condition(s) > Item SKU > (Enter the SKUs of your dangerous goods items).
3. Select Action > Set Carriers for Checkout.
4. Select the couriers you’d like to display in your checkout.
5. Click Save.

Can I set alternate shipping locations?

If you ship from multiple locations, you may want to provide a live rate based on the warehouse the order will ship from. You could create a rule which says if the order is in state/country A, use warehouse A. Or, if the order is in state/country B, use warehouse B.

1. Select Add a new rule.
2. Select Condition(s) >Destination Country Name or Destination State.
3. Select Action > Set Shipping Location.
4. Enter your Value (The name of your shipping location).
5. Click Save.

Troubleshooting

Why are my rules not working?

There are a few reasons why your rules may not be working:

• Rules apply from top to bottom in the list, so you may have conflicting rules. See the section “Understanding the order of rules” at the top of this article.
• With Shopify dollar values need to be entered in cents ($100 = 10000, $80 = 8000)
• Weight values need to be entered in kilograms (10kg = 10).
• If you’ve entered a weight for the order to be less than, your orders could be going above that weight and therefore the rules aren't applying as you intend them too. You may need to provide a range for orders to sit within instead of having a “less than” option.

Why isn't the right courier service selected on an imported order with checkout rates?

While this isn't default behaviour, it is recommended that you set up rules to map the 'Shipping Method' to the 'Select Courier and Product Code' action.