Enabling a shipping method allows you to send products to customers. In this article, you'll learn how to initially set up a shipping method in PinnacleCart.
Applies to Version(s): 3.9.x Series
Complexity Level: Easy
Estimated time for Completion: 7 Minutes
In this article, you will learn:
Setting up Shipping to the United States
Setting up Shipping to International Countries
How to Enable Shipping
1. In the admin area of your cart, select Settings > Shipping & Delivery > Shipping Methods.
2. There are three things we must be sure to enable before real-time shipping will work:
• We must have a weight assigned to products
• We must have the correct real-time credentials setup
• We must create a ship-from address.
Select Shipping Settings from the upper right.
3. Fill in the physical address orders where they will be shipped from. Real-time shipping calculations are based on the weight of the order, where it's shipping from (origin), and where it will be shipped to (destination). After you've filled this out, select Save.
4. Next, click Handling Settings. 
If you plan to charge handling, use these settings to enable it. The settings are explained below:
- Charge per-order handling fee: The amount entered will be applied per order for handling. This price will be added to whatever other shipping charges are selected in the set-up process.
- Handling fee type: You can either select a percentage (%) of the total cost of the order or a flat Amount to be applied per order.
- Show handling separately?: When enabled, this will separate shipping method cost and base handling fee. Selecting the default setting "No" will display the total cost on checkout.
- Is handling fee taxable?: When enabled, this setting allows you to determine a Tax rate to be applied to shipping.
- Handling tax class: When “Is handling fee taxable?” is enabled, this setting allows you to choose from a pre-existing Tax Class that has been built into the cart.
5. Once proper options are in place, select Save.
6. Click Display, Checkout & Taxes. 
Under Shipping & Checkout, the settings are explained below:
- Enable the "Shipping Quote" feature? - Once enabled, your customers will be able to click a link to get an estimated shipping fee before proceeding to the checkout page.
- Display alternative shipping methods when the product ships free? - If disabled, products that have free shipping will not display other shipping methods, including fast shipping methods. Enabling this option allows customers to choose between Standard Shipping for Free or 2-day Shipping for $12.99.
- Enable shipping to multiple destinations - Ship orders to different destinations at once.
- Allow separate billing and shipping addresses? - This is enabled by default. If this is disabled, customers will not be able to enter a shipping address that is different from the billing.
- Allow orders to be completed if no shipping methods are available? - If this is disabled, a customer will be unable to check out if their order doesn't qualify for shipping.
- Use USPS Validation Services - Enable this to use USPS' address validation service. This will ensure that customers are entering a valid address for shipping.
- Is shipping taxable? - Decide whether you want to charge tax on shipping or not. If you enable this, choose a tax class from the Shipping tax class drop-down menu.
Setting up Shipping to the United States
1. In the admin area of your cart, select Settings > Shipping & Delivery > Shipping Methods.
2. Click Add Domestic Method.
3. What kind of shipping do you plan to offer? Whichever you choose, only orders to the US territory will trigger these methods. Real-time shipping uses real and live rates from major carriers USPS, UPS, FedEx, and VIP Parcel. For the custom shipping method, you can choose in the dropdown either Per item, By order subtotal, Per order total weight, or Set individually per product.
If Per Item is chosen, under Shipping Rates:
- Min Items - Minimum amount of items being purchased for the Flat Rate option to appear.
- Max Items - Maximum amount of items being purchased for the Flat Rate option to appear.
- Price - Flat Rate price per item in the cart. Choose either dollar or percentage amount to be applied.
If By Order Subtotal is chosen, under Shipping Rates:
- Min Subtotal - Set the minimum subtotal the order has to meet to trigger this shipping method.
- Max Subtotal - Set the maximum subtotal for the order to avail of the shipping method.
- Price - Set the total shipping price the customer will get if they meet the minimum or maximum range you set. Set as a flat dollar amount or % of the subtotal.
If Per order total weight is chosen, under Shipping Rates:
- Min Weight - Set the minimum weight that the entire order needs to meet to trigger this shipping method. The weight is set in pounds (lbs).
- Max Weight - Set the maximum weight that the order needs to meet before it's no longer offered. The weight is set in pounds (lbs).
- Price - Set the price for the entire weight range.
If Set individually per product is chosen:
- You will need to enable this to set the shipping price at the product level. We have a detailed article on how to set this up at Multi-shipping and How it Works.
4. Real-time is the other and more common option chosen. This allows you to pull real-time rates from the major carriers USPS, UPS, FedEx, and VIP Parcel.
Setting up Shipping to International Countries
Most of the steps for setting up shipping to International Countries are identical to the steps to the US which are listed above.
1. In the admin area of your cart, select Settings > Shipping & Delivery > Shipping Methods.
2. Click Add International Method.
3. What kind of shipping do you plan to offer? Whichever you choose, only orders to International Countries will trigger these methods. Real-time shipping uses real and live rates from major carriers USPS, UPS, FedEx, and VIP Parcel. For the custom shipping method, you can choose in the dropdown either Per item, By order subtotal, Per order total weight, or Set individually per product.
If Per Item is chosen, under Shipping Rates:
- Min Items - Minimum amount of items being purchased for the Flat Rate option to appear.
- Max Items - Maximum amount of items being purchased for the Flat Rate option to appear.
- Price - Flat Rate price per item in the cart. Choose either dollar or percentage amount to be applied.
If By Order Subtotal is chosen, under Shipping Rates:
- Min Subtotal - Set the minimum subtotal the order has to meet to trigger this shipping method.
- Max Subtotal - Set the maximum subtotal for the order to avail of the shipping method.
- Price - Set the total shipping price the customer will get if they meet the minimum or maximum price range you set. Set as a flat dollar amount or % of the subtotal.
If Per order total weight is chosen, under Shipping Rates:
- Min Weight - Set the minimum weight that the entire order needs to meet to trigger this shipping method. The weight is set in pounds (lbs).
- Max Weight - Set the maximum weight that the order needs to meet before it's no longer offered. The weight is set in pounds (lbs).
- Price - Set the price for the entire weight range.
If Set individually, per product is chosen:
- You will need to enable this to set the shipping price at the product level. We have a detailed article on how to set this up at Multi-shipping and How it Works.
4. Real-time is the other and more common option chosen. This allows you to pull real-time rates from the major carriers USPS, UPS, FedEx, and VIP Parcel.
Links to Related Articles
None at this time.
If you didn't get your question answered, please contact the Pinnacle Cart Support Team. To submit a ticket, go to the My Account drop-down menu at the top right of the admin area and select Support.
