Purpose: Learn how you can create shipping rules to make your label creation process more efficient.
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How to create a new shipping rule
To create a shipping rule, go to Shipping > Shipping rules. From here:
- Click on Create new to make a new rule
- Give your shipping rule a name so you can identify it, and select your conditions and determination. Click the + plus button to add a new condition line. Then select an action to apply and click the + plus button to add multiple actions.
Why should I create shipping rules?
When an incoming order is pushed from your online store into Sendcloud, the order will be automatically run through all your active shipping rules.
If the order meets the condition(s) of a shipping rule, then the subsequent action(s) will be applied. this means that you can print all of your labels without making any adjustments to your orders. Instead of manually changing 100 orders, you can process them all instantly in one click.
You can choose from the following conditions:
| Conditions: | Determinations: | Explanation: |
| Integration | Is/Is not | The integration from which the order was imported |
| Dynamic Checkout Method | Is/Is not | If you want to override the Dynamic checkout orders, you can use this condition |
| Payment status | Is/Is not | If payment status of the order is 'paid' in the connected shop integration |
| Postal code | Contains/Does not contain/Ends with/Is/Is not/Starts with/In/Not in/Pattern match | Postal code of the destination of the parcel |
| Company name | Contains/Does not contain/Ends with/Is/Is not/Starts with/Pattern match | Related to the address line in the recipient information. SeeB2B shipping below. |
| Item name |
Contains/Ends with/Is/Starts with/In/Pattern match
Does not contain/Is not/ Not in |
Rule will apply if any item in the order meets the condition.
Rule will apply if all items in the order meet the condition.
|
| Item SKU |
Contains/Ends with/Is/Starts with/In/Pattern match
Does not contain/Is not/ Not in |
Rule will apply if any item in the order meets the condition.
Rule will apply if all items in the order meet the condition.
|
| Order number | Contains/Does not contain/Ends with/Is/Is not/Starts with/Pattern match | The order number of the incoming order |
| Order status | Is/Is not | The order status of the order |
| Item quantity | Greater or equal than/Greater/Is/Is not/Less or equal than/Less than | The total amount of items in the order |
| Total parcel item value | Greater or equal than/Greater/Is/Is not/Less or equal than/Less than | The total value of the parcel items combined (sum of all item values multiplied by the quantity. This is excluding any shipping costs, discounts, etc.) |
| Sender address | Is/Is not | From which sender address is the parcel shipped |
| To country* | Is/Is not | What is the destination country of the parcel? |
| Checkout delivery method | Contains/Does not contain/Ends with/Is/Is not/Starts with/Pattern match | The checkout delivery name of the order (this is not conflicting with Dynamic Checkout orders) |
| Weight (kg) | Greater or equal than/Greater/Is/Is not/Less or equal than/Less than | The weight in kg of the total shipment |
| Phone number | Does not starts with/Starts with/Pattern match/Is empty |
Some carriers require a phone number. If you don't always have this information, you can use this condition to set a default phone number. |
| Carrier | Is/Is not |
The carrier is selected (only for API users or with default shipping methods for non-API users) |
| Customer email | Contains/Does not contain/Is empty/Pattern match |
Some carriers require an email address. If you don't always have this information, you can use this condition to set a default email address. |
| Parcel height (cm) | Greater or equal than/Greater/Is/Is not/Less or equal than/Less than |
The total height of the parcel in centimeters. |
| Parcel length (cm) | Greater or equal than/Greater/Is/Is not/Less or equal than/Less than |
The total length of the parcel in centimeters. |
| Parcel width (cm) | Greater or equal than/Greater/Is/Is not/Less or equal than/Less than |
The total width of the parcel in centimeters. |
You can set the following actions:
| Actions: | |
|
Insure shipment by |
Insure shipment by a fixed amount |
|
Insure shipment by % |
Insure shipment by a percentage over your order value, the % value has to be between 0 and 100. |
| Set item Origin Country | |
| Set item value |
This can be used for customs and free gifts. Set a condition "item name" and attach the appropriate "item value" to it. The item value cannot be 0. |
| Set weight | |
| Ship with address | This action is not available for checkout orders |
| Ship with |
This action is not available for checkout orders |
| Use box |
|
| Set number of parcels |
Not all carriers support multicollo shipments. Click here for more information. |
| Phone number |
Set default phone number |
| Set customer email |
|
| Set item weight |
|
| Use shipping contract |
The output is displayed as: Carrier + Country of contract + Sendcloud/Own rates |
|
Set general notes |
Set customs general notes to a defined text |
|
Add declaration statement |
Add the text to any existing or empty declaration statement. |
| Decrease item value by % |
Decreases the item value by % |
Examples of smart shipping rules:
In order to give you an idea of what smart shipping rules can do for you, here are some examples.
- Match a shipping method to a check-out shipping method name: When shop checkout shipping method is letter post AND to country is Netherlands > Ship with PostNL Mailbox Parcel Extra 0-2kg
- When shipping an expensive product: If item name contains Fine Jewelry > insure shipment by 1000€
- When shipping an extra large product: If item name contains carpet AND to country is Netherlands > Ship with DHL Europlus
- Shipping to foreign countries: If to country is United Kingdom AND weight is less or equal than 5kg > Ship with UPS standard 3-6kg
- When you want to allow customers to collect orders from your physical store: If checkout method contains "Click and collect" (text must be as stated exactly on your checkout) > Ship with Unstamped letter.
-
When you want to insure your parcel based on its value: You can download this CSV template and upload it to your Sendcloud account following this article. If the value of the order is between 100EUR and 200EUR > the insurance is set to 200EUR.
Match any or all conditions
You also have the option to select “Match ALL of the conditions of this rule”. If you select this option, all of the conditions have to be met before a shipping rule is applied. If you change this to "match ANY of the conditions of this rule", any of the conditions can be present and the actions will be applied to those orders.
Important notes when using a shipping rule to exclude values
To exclude values (e.g. you want to exclude certain countries) in a shipping rule, you will use the "is not" operator in the conditions you add.
If you have added several conditions, it is important that you activate the option "Match all the conditions of this rule".
If you activate "Match any conditions of this rule" instead, and in case at least one of the conditions is met, the rule will be triggered and the action will still be applied. Thus, you would not have succeeded in excluding all the values you wanted to exclude.
Click here to see an example
You have decided to exclude France, Spain and the United Kingdom from your shipments with PostNL Abroad. You prefer to use a different shipping method for those destinations.- You want to ship a parcel to France and you don't want to use PostNL Abroad. All the conditions of this rule match, therefore the action (ship with PostNL Abroad) does not apply and your package won't be shipped with PostNL Abroad.
- In case you wanted to ship the parcel to Poland, for instance, the action of this rule (ship with PostNL Abroad) would apply and the parcel would be shipped with PostNL Abroad.
Multiline for Postal code and Item SKU
When it comes to Postal codes and SKUs, you can add multiple inputs to a field for the following operators: In/Not in and Pattern match. So, instead of only using pattern matches, you can also decide to add a list of Postal codes/SKUs. The shipping rule will then be applied to every Postal code or SKU in the list. Make sure to separate the input by 'Enter'.
How can I make a shipping rule for B2B shipments?
You can use the condition Company name to create a shipping rule to ship B2B shipments with a specific shipping method. To do so, use the following rule, in which entering "?*" into the text field means that any character value in the address line Company name will trigger this shipping rule to be applied.
You can then select a shipping carrier of your choice to deliver B2B shipments.
Shipping rules for shipment protection
It is possible to create unlimited insurance-only shipping rules, giving you the flexibility to manage insurance for your shipments, regardless of your plan.
For those on the Free Plan, you can create unlimited insurance-only rules. While other types of rules can be set up, they won’t be activated. This allows you to experiment with shipping rules and learn how they work.
On the Lite and Growth Plans, the ability to create unlimited insurance-only rules also applies, even if your plan has a limit on the number of rules. Since insurance-only rules don’t count toward the overall rule limit, you have more flexibility in ensuring your shipments are covered. If you downgrade to a lower plan, all non-insurance rules will be deactivated, but your insurance-only rules will remain active.
To set up insurance shipping rules, navigate to Shipping > Shipping Rules OR Shipping > Shipment Protection. Once your insurance shipping rules are configured, you can view an overview of all your insurance-only rules by going to Shipping > Shipment Protection.
In the Shipping Rules overview, identifying which rules are specifically related to insurance is simple. Each insurance-related rule is clearly marked with a distinct blue tag that appears directly behind the shipping rule. This visual cue makes it easy to quickly distinguish insurance rules from other types of rules, helping you navigate and manage your shipping preferences more efficiently.
What types of shipping rules are available for my shop integration?
Not every type of webshop integration supports every shipping rule condition. If you're not sure, check the list below to see what conditions your integration supports:
Total order price value |
Shop checkout shipping method |
SKU |
Items |
| API | Amazon | API | Lightspeed |
| Bol.com | eBay | Bol.com (SKU or EAN) | Prestashop |
| CCVshop | ePages | Amazon | Shopify |
| eBay | Etsy | eBay | WooCommerce |
| ePages | Magento V1 + V2 | ePages | |
| Etsy | Mijnwebwinkel | Etsy | |
| Magento V1 + V2 | Prestashop | Magento V1 + V2 | |
| Mijnwebwinkel | Shopify | Mijnwebwinkel | |
| Prestashop | Shopware | Prestashop | |
| Shopify | WooCommerce | Shopify | |
| Shopware | Oxid | Shopware | |
| WooCommerce | CSV imports | WooCommerce | |
| Oxid | Lightspeed | Oxid |
Related articles
→ Shipping rules overview and application
→ Shipping rules: guide to using pattern matching