Getting started with Sendcloud

Purpose: in this article, we will introduce you to Sendcloud and how to get started with the platform. 

What does Sendcloud do? 

Sendcloud is an all-in-one solution for processing & shipping your orders. With our software, you can organize your entire shipping process, from printing your labels and sending Tracking notifications to arranging return shipments. Want to know more? Watch our product presentation video here. 

Getting started with Sendcloud

We'll have you up and running in just a few steps. You can sign up for your Sendcloud account for free on our website. Just click on Create your account

Follow the steps below to set up your account, link it to your webshop and start processing your orders. You can also watch our Getting Started video below. 

Step 1. Basic account set-up

First thing's first - configure your Sender and Invoice addresses in your account settings.

Enter your address details

1. Go to Settings in the top right of your Sendcloud panel
2. Select Addresses in your settings menu
3. Under the Sender addresses tab, click the button Create new
4. Enter your sender address details and click Save. Your sender address is the location from which you will be sending your parcels, and where they may be returned to in the event of non-delivery.
5. Now go back to the Addresses page and select the Invoice address tab
   
6. Enter your invoice address details into the relevant fields and click the Save button when complete. 

Enable direct debit

Once you've entered your address details, it's time to enable direct debit so that you can begin creating shipping labels.

1. In your Settings menu, select Financial
2. Navigate to the Direct debit tab and click Enable direct debit
3. You will be redirected to the page of your payment provider. You will be asked to authorise a payment of 0,01EUR
4. To create a recurring payment contract, see our article here

Step 2. Choose your carriers 

Now you've completed the admin side of your account setup, it's time to select which carriers you want to ship with. By default we've already activated a number of carriers. 

1. To select which carriers to enable, go to Settings > Carriers & Pricing
2. Click enable or disable for the carriers you'd like to activate or deactivate.
3. You can offer more than one carrier to your customers at checkout. This article explains how you can choose multiple carriers: see this article: Choose your carriers
4. Want to see shipping rates? You can easily calculate which shipping methods are the fastest or most economical using our Price calculator

Step 3. Connect your shop 

One of the most time-saving features of Sendcloud is the ability to have all of your orders appear in your panel in real time. To do this, you must connect your webshop with Sendcloud via one of our apps or plugins. 

We offer seamless integration with all the major e-commerce platforms. If you have multiple shops you can connect them all to the same Sendcloud account to see a full overview of all your orders and shipments at once. 

Go to the following article and find your e-commerce system in the provided list to find out how to connect: Connect your shop

Next steps 

Congratulations! You're all set up and ready to start printing your shipping labels. But what's next?

• Process your orders - learn how to optimise your workflow in our tips & tricks article
• Create your brand - see how you can add your logo and brand colours to key features across the panel
• Enable your Tracking emails - keep your customers up to date every step of the way with branded delivery notifications 
• Process your return shipments - we don't just handle your orders, but your returns too. Learn how to set up your return portal and offer easy returns to your customers 
• Service point delivery - have your parcels delivered at a location convenient to your customers

Happy shipping on behalf of our founders Bas, Sabi and Rob!