Configure the foundational shipping settings for your Pulse Commerce store. This article covers the essential settings that control how shipping is calculated, where orders ship from, and which countries you support. These settings apply globally to all shipping methods and should be configured before setting up custom shipping methods or enabling real-time carrier rates.
Your shipping origin address is the "ship from" address that appears on all shipping labels and packing slips. This address is also used by carriers to calculate real-time shipping rates.
Set Up Shipping Origin Address
1Navigate to Settings > Ship Methods & Rates
2Locate the Shipping Origin Address section at the top of the page
3Complete all required address fields:
- Company Name / Contact Person: Your business name and shipping contact person
- Phone Number: Contact phone number for shipping inquiries
- Address: Street address of your shipping location
- City: City where you ship from
- State: Select your state from the dropdown
- Zip/Postal Code: Your location's postal code
- Country: Select your country from the dropdown
4Click the Update button at the bottom of the Settings section to save your changes
Control whether your store accepts international orders and specify which countries you're able to ship to.
Allow Foreign Shipping Addresses
1Locate the Allow Orders with Foreign Shipping Address setting
2Select Yes to accept international orders, or No to restrict orders to domestic addresses only
Configure Supported Country List
3Click Edit next to Supported Country List
4A popup window displays two panels:
- Left Panel: Available countries to add
- Right Panel: Currently supported countries
5Select countries from the left panel and click Add to move them to the supported countries list
- Click Add All to support all countries at once
- Click Remove to remove specific countries from the supported list
- Click Remove All to clear all supported countries
6Click Save Changes to save your supported country list
7Click Update at the bottom of the Settings section
Handling fees add additional charges to orders to cover packaging materials, processing costs, or fulfillment expenses. Configure handling fees as either a flat dollar amount or as a percentage of the order total.
Set Up Handling Fees
1Locate the Domestic Order Handling Fee section
2Choose your handling fee calculation method:
- Select Amount ($) radio button to charge a flat dollar amount
- Select Percentage (%) radio button to charge a percentage of the order total
3Enter the value in the field to the right:
- For Amount: Enter dollar value (example: 3.50 for a $3.50 handling fee)
- For Percentage: Enter percentage value (example: 5 for 5% of order total)
4Click the Update button to save your handling fee settings
How Handling Fees Display
Once configured, handling fees:
- Apply automatically to all domestic orders
- Display as a separate line item during checkout
- Calculate in addition to shipping charges
- Are labeled "Handling Fee" on order summaries
Default shipping options determine which shipping method is pre-selected when creating labels or fulfilling orders in the admin panel.
Configure Default Shipping Methods
1Locate the Default Shipping Option - Domestic dropdown
2Select your preferred default domestic shipping method:
- Real-time carrier options (UPS, USPS, FedEx, Canada Post)
- Custom shipping methods you've created
3Locate the Default Shipping Option - International dropdown
4Select your preferred default international shipping method
5Click Update to save your default selections
When to Set Defaults
Configure default shipping options to:
- Speed up order fulfillment by pre-selecting your most-used shipping method
- Reduce errors by defaulting to your standard shipping service
- Streamline bulk fulfillment operations
Use Advanced Configuration for Custom Shipping Methods
This setting enables additional customization options for custom shipping methods.
1Locate the Use Advanced Configuration for Custom Shipping Methods dropdown
2Select Yes to enable advanced features, or No for standard configuration
3Click Update to save
Default Address Type
Set the default address classification for shipping rate calculations.
1Locate the Default Address Type dropdown
2Select either:
- Commercial: For business addresses (typically results in lower shipping rates)
- Residential: For home addresses (may include residential surcharges from carriers)
3Click Update to save
This setting determines the default classification for address types when calculating real-time carrier rates. Individual orders can override this setting if needed.
Pulse Commerce offers two main categories of shipping methods that work together to provide customers with flexible delivery options.
Real-Time Carrier Rates
Real-time carrier rates are calculated automatically by carrier APIs based on product weight, dimensions, and destination address.
Key Features:
- Calculated automatically in real-time using carrier APIs
- Based on product weight, dimensions, and shipping destination
- Displays actual carrier shipping costs to customers
- Supported carriers: UPS, FedEx, USPS
- Requires carrier account integration and API credentials
When to Use Real-Time Rates:
- You want to pass actual carrier costs to customers
- Product weights and dimensions are accurately configured
- You have active accounts with shipping carriers
- You need accurate cost calculations for varied product sizes
Custom Shipping Methods
Custom shipping methods let you create flat-rate, tiered, or free shipping options based on order price or weight.
Custom Shipping Options Include:
- Flat Rate Shipping: Fixed cost regardless of order details
- Price-Based Rates: Shipping charges based on order subtotal (e.g., free shipping over $100)
- Weight-Based Rates: Shipping charges based on total order weight
- Free Shipping: Zero-cost shipping with customizable conditions
- International Methods: Country-specific shipping options
When to Use Custom Shipping:
- You want to offer flat-rate or free shipping promotions
- You need simpler pricing than real-time rates
- You want to create tiered shipping based on order value
- You need country-specific international shipping options
Using Both Methods Together
You can enable both real-time carrier rates and custom shipping methods simultaneously. During checkout, customers will see all eligible options and can choose the method that best meets their delivery and budget needs.
Complete Your Shipping Setup
After configuring these foundational settings, you're ready to set up your shipping methods:
Option 1: Enable Real-Time Carrier Rates
- Navigate to the Real-Time Shipping tab
- Enable carrier service types (UPS Ground, FedEx Express, USPS Priority, etc.)
- Configure carrier API credentials
- See: Configure Real-Time Carrier Shipping
Option 2: Create Custom Shipping Methods
- Navigate to the Custom Shipping tab
- Create price-based or weight-based shipping methods
- Set up free shipping thresholds or flat rates
- See: Configure Custom Shipping Methods
Option 3: Use Both
- Enable real-time rates for accurate carrier pricing
- Add custom methods for promotional or flat-rate options
- Customers will see all eligible methods at checkout