If you want your customers to be able to order from your online store, you need to create shipping methods. In this chapter of the quick guide, you will learn how to create shipping methods and define shipping costs. You will also find out which logistics services are compatible with MyCashflow. 

Shipping methods can be found in the admin panel's Settings > Shipping methods page.

In this article, you will create the first shipping method for your online store, and define its shipping costs. As a result, you will create a shipping method, with which you will be able to ship the product created in chapter 3. Adding products to a customer who lives in Finland.

Creating shipping methods

  1. Log in to your online store's admin dashboard at https://STORE-NAME.mycashflow.fi/flow, if you are not logged in yet.

    To log in, use the same email address and password that you used when creating your online store.

  2. In the admin panel's top menu, go to Settings > Shipping methods.
  3. Add a new shipping method by pressing the Add shipping method button in the left-hand menu.
  4. Choose the shipment type:
    • Dispatch: the order is dispatched to the customer or to the shipping service's pickup location (e.g. to Posti).
    • Pickup: the customer picks up the product from the physical store or warehouse.
  5. Select Only shipping labels as the service for creating shipping labels.
  6. Click Save.

    The shipping method form opens.

  7. Enter a name for the shipping method.

    Choose a clear, descriptive name, so that your customers can tell right away, what kind of a shipping method is in question when they see the name at checkout.

  8. Below the name field, select the only available option in the section Enabled in version.

    If you don't select any version, the shipping method won't be displayed to customers at checkout.

    Just like products and payment methods, shipping methods can also be displayed in all versions, only in the selected versions or be hidden altogether.

    Versions are not further discussed in this section but they are presented in more detail in our user guide.

  9. Choose the package sizes that can be sent by using this shipping method.

    The products' shipping methods depend on the its weight and package size.

    Earlier in the quick guide, you created your store's first product, for which you defined a package size. Make sure that the shipping method has the same package size selected.

    Later in this chapter, we will discuss how shipping methods are selected for products at your online store's checkout.

  10. Also select the payment methods that can be used with this shipping method.

    The customer will see at checkout only such payment methods that are available with the selected shipping method.

  11. Select the countries, to which you want to ship products with this shipping method:

    In the example, only Finland is selected, because our sample online store does not sell outside of Finland.

  12. Finally, save the shipping method.

    After saving, you can check the details of the shipping. Do not leave this page yet.

The shipping method cannot be used, before you have defined the shipping costs. This will be discussed in the next section.

Defining shipping costs

In MyCashflow, you create weight-based shipping rates, which means that shipping costs grow together with the order's weight. This way, it is possible to use the same shipping method to deliver orders of different sizes and to charge the customers differently, based on the order's weight.

This is how you set shipping costs:

  1. In the shipping method details, press the Add shipping cost button.
  2. Enter weight limits for the shipping method and rates for each range.

    In the example, let us define three weight limits.

    • 0 ≤ 2.5 kg = 3 €
    • 2.5 kg ≤ 5 kg = 8 €
    • 5 kg ≤ 10 kg = 15 €

    Try to remember the weight of the product you added in chapter 3 (in our example, it was 0.5 kg). Make sure that the maximum weight limit is higher than the weight of that product. If the weight of the customer's order exceeds the maximum limit of a shipping method, the customer will not see the shipping method at checkout.

    Note that customers can order more than one unit of the same product. If the customer orders 5 units of the product, then according to the above example, the maximum weight limit has to be at least 2.5 kg, so that the shipping method will be available at checkout.

Once you have defined the shipping costs, the shipping method is ready for use in your online store. In chapter 7. Testing your online store we will discuss shipping methods from the customer's point of view.

Shipping method availability at checkout

The shipping methods offered to your customers are selected based on the weight and package size of the ordered products. In this way, we make sure that the customers only see shipping methods that can be used to deliver all ordered products.

For example:

  • There are two shipping methods in a store:
    • Postal parcel for which the allowed package sizes are Letter and Big letter. The weight limit is 0.5 kg.
    • Home parcel for which the only allowed package size is Letter. The weight limit is 0.2 kg.
  • The customer adds the product Comb to their cart, the package size of which is Letter and the weight 0.1 kg.

    In this case, the shipping methods Home parcel and Postal parcel will both be displayed at checkout.

  • If the customer orders 3 hairbrushes, the order's weight will go up to 0.3 kg, so Postal parcel will be the only shipping method displayed at checkout.
  • If the customer adds a new product, Remote control, the package size of which is Package and weight 0.6 kg, no shipping methods will be displayed at checkout.

    This package size is not enabled on any shipping method. Also, the order's weight (0.9 kg) exceeds the 0.5 kg limit of Postal parcel.

If, for any reason, no shipping methods are available for the customer's order, the following warning will be displayed at checkout:

When creating shipping methods, the following should be taken into account:

  • Keep track of your products' package sizes.

    Your customers can order multiple units of different products. The online store should have shipping methods serving package sizes for all products your customers can order.

  • Keep track of the weights of your store's products.

    Note that a single order can include several units of different products. The weight limits of shipping methods should be planned accordingly.

  • Do you plan to ship abroad? If yes, enable the shipping method for all countries, where you plan to deliver your products.

Supported logistics companies

MyCashflow supports the most popular Finnish logistics services (Posti, Matkahuolto) as well as international shipping services (UPS, GLS), which you can start using, e.g., via the Shipit or nShift services.

Once a logistics service has been set up for your online store, you can print that service's shipping labels for your customers' orders directly in your store's admin panel.

Many logistics companies also provide online order tracking services. With MyCashflow's integrations, tracking codes for such services are created automatically.