StarShipIT Integration

StarShipIT can be connected to Cin7 Core as a Shipping Service. It can then be used to estimate shipping rates and print shipping labels.

The procedures in this article are only applicable if you are using Cin7 Core for packing and shipping. In case you are using StarShipIT for packing and shipping, you will need to develop and integrate with StarShipIT using a Cin7 Core API key and follow a different workflow, including mapping your carrier values to the connected couriers in StarShipIT. You can only integrate between Cin7 Core and StarShipIT one direction at a time.

Note: The Ship From location selected is taken from the Pickup Address specified in StarShipIT, not the Ship From location specified in Cin7 Core.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The StarShipIT API does not allow Cin7 Core to import Carrier/Shipping method values from StarShipIT. The value in the Carrier field of a Cin7 Core sale is passed to StarShipIT, but there is no way to FORCE StarShipIT to use it. StarShipIT will then select a carrier according to shipping rules defined in StarShipIT.

If you have more than one Carrier set up in StarShipIT, you will need to set rules to correctly map Carrier values from Cin7 Core to your Carriers in Starshipit. If you do not perform this step, you will not be able to set the correct carriers for your shipping labels. See Carrier Rules for detailed instructions.

Prerequisites

Familiarity with sales is required.
Familiarity with Products and Product Management is required.
StarShipIT account settings currency MUST match with Cin7 Core base currency, set via Settings → General Settings.
StarShipIT account settings units MUST match with Cin7 Core default units, set via Settings → General Settings.
Configure what courier services you would like to display in Settings → Checkout Rates within StarShipIT. If the courier rate options are not enabled within this section, then the customer will not see courier rates within Cin7 Core. See Rates at checkout setup for more information.
User will need the following permissions:
- User will need the Shipping Services → StarShipIT permission enabled to access the integration settings.
- User will need the Sale → Sale Task – Pack view: Sales List & Tasks permission to enter package information and shipping instructions.
- User will need the Sale → Sale Task – Ship view: Sales List & Tasks permission is required to generate the shipping label.

StarShipIT Integration Setup

First, you must connect Cin7 Core to StarShipIT.

Connect StarShipIT to Cin7 Core:

Navigate to Integration → StarShipIT.
Enter your API Key and click Connect StarShipIT. You should have previously generated your API key from your StarShipIT account, specifically under Settings → API.

If you have more than one Carrier set up in StarShipIT, you will need to set rules to correctly map Carrier values from Cin7 Core to your Carriers in Starshipit. See Carrier Rules for detailed instructions. If you do not perform this step, you will not be able to set the correct carriers for your shipping labels.

Integration Settings

Connecting StarShipIT will take you to the integration settings page. Some StarShipIT Integration settings can be customised. If you make any changes to the default settings, make sure to click Save Changes upon completing them. If more than one shipping service is connected, you can click Set Default to set StarShipIT as your default service.

Use Tax Rate From: This setting determines which tax rule will be applied to the shipping charge. Option 1 is to use the Default Tax Rule for all customers and select from the list of available tax rules under the Tax Rule for Shipping setting (see below). Option 2 is to use the Customer Tax Rule, which is determined at the customer level during setup.

Tax Rule for Shipping: If the Default Tax Rule is selected in the Use Tax Rate From setting, choose the default rule to be applied here. If the Customer tax rule is selected in the Use Tax Rate From setting, this setting will not be displayed at all.

Currency in StarShipIT: This sets the currency to be used in StarShipIT. This MUST match the currency value set under Settings → General Settings in Cin7 Core.

Weight Units in StarShipIT: This sets the Weight Units to be used in StarShipIT. This MUST match the weight unit values set under Settings → General Settings in Cin7 Core.

Additional Shipping Margin: This optional setting allows an additional margin to the shipping cost passed on from StarShipIT to your customers.

Margin value is Absolute/Relative: Set to an Absolute valueby default, even if Additional Shipping Margin (see above)is NOT set. E.g. if Additional Shipping Margin=20, this will be 20 units of your Cin7 Core base currency. Relative sets the margin value as a percentage, or 20% in this case.

Pre-defined package types: This section is where you set up predefined package types that will be used in Cin7 Core Warehouse Management System (WMS) and shipping labels. To add a package type, click the +Package Type button, then enter the dimensions of the package type. Repeat the procedure for the rest of the package types you want defined.

Send Notification on Shipping Label Generation: Enable to trigger an internal notification on the generation of a shipping label.

Set Default: Clicking this button sets StarShipIT as your default shipping service. Label printing will be done through StarShipIT. This option will only be displayed if you have multiple shipping services, for example, Shippit and ShipStation, and you have not set StarShipIT as your default shipping service yet.

Disconnect from your StarShipIT: Click this button to disconnect and stop using StarShipIT.

Carrier Rules

The StarShipIT API does not allow Cin7 Core to import Carrier values from StarShipIT. The value in the Carrier field of a Cin7 Core order is passed to Starshipit. If you have more than one Carrier set up in StarShipIT, you will need to set rules to correctly map Carrier values from Cin7 Core to your Carriers in Starshipit. The Carrier field in Cin7 Core is labelled Shipping Method in StarShipIT and it can be seen at the top-right of the screen when selecting an order.

Set Carrier Rules in StarShipIT:

In your Starshipit account, go to Settings → Rules.
Select Add a new rule.
Select Shipping Method in the Conditions drop-down field and enter the Cin7 Core carrier values. You can select more than one condition per rule.
Select the Starshipit Carrier and Product Code.
Save your rule.

If Shipping Method rules are not set in StarShipIT, or a carrier value is passed to StarShipIT that does not fit the rule conditions, shipping labels will be generated using the default StarShipIT carrier.

Getting Shipping Rates

StarShipIT allows you to estimate how much shipping charges will be based on the 'from shipping' location to customers 'shipping address'. This information can be used to set predetermined Shipping Rates in Cin7 Core.

There are some steps to set up before you can start using StarShipIT to calculate rates. These can be skipped if you have done them already.

It is essential to Configure what courier services you would like to display in Settings → Checkout Rates within StarShipIT. If the courier rate options are not enabled within this section, then the customer will not see courier rates within Cin7 Core. See Rates at checkout setup for more information.

If Cin7 Core receives an error during shipping rate estimation, an error message will appear with a downloadable .txt file with the error data. If the error is unexpected, the user will also see an email dialog box with attached error data log file which can be sent to the shipping service provider customer support.

If the final shipping rate in StarShipIT ends up being a different value than the shipping rate estimate, the cost will flow back to Cin7 Core so Cin7 Core will reflect the correct shipping rates.

Setting Up Addresses in Cin7 Core

To correctly calculate shipping rates, you must first define where you are shipping from. Add addresses to all of your locations to make sure your shipping rates are accurate.

Set up addresses in Cin7 Core:

Go to Settings → Reference Books → Stock → Locations & Bins.
You can add more locations with + or Add more items.
Enter a name and address for each location.
Save your changes.

Setting Up Product Dimensions

To correctly estimate shipping rates in StarShipIT, the correct dimensions must be added to the product in Cin7 Core. See Product and Service Management for more information about setting up products.

Set up dimensions in Cin7 Core:

Go to Inventory → View All → Products.
Select the product in question and at the bottom of the page, select the Dimensions tab.
Enter the dimensions and Save the product.

Once the setup steps are complete, you can begin to estimate shipping rates on sales orders.

Using Shipping Rate Estimates in Cin7 Core

These instructions assume you are familiar with sales in Cin7 Core. Shipping Rate Estimates can also be calculated using ShipStation or Shippit.

If Cin7 Core receives an error during shipping rate estimate generation, an error message will appear with a downloadable .txt file with the error data. If the error is unexpected, the user will also see an email dialog box with attached error data log file which can be sent to the shipping service provider customer support.

Get shipping rate estimates in Cin7 Core:

Create a sales order using Simple Sale or Advanced Sale.
Add products to the order. Shipping Rates can be estimated at the Quote or Order stage.
Click Get Shipping Rates.
Select StarShipIT from the drop-down menu.
A dialogue box will appear where you will need to select the CARRIER and SERVICE types and then click OK. The carriers and services are loaded from your connected carriers on your StarShipIT account.

Using Shipping Rate Estimates in B2B Portal

Get shipping rate estimates in B2B Portal:

Go to Integrations → Cin7 Core B2B Portal.
Under the Setup tab, scroll down to Shipping Service and select StarShipIT from the list. Click Save.
During Checkout, the shipping methods from StarShipIT will be automatically shown for selection under Step 3: Shipping Method.

Label Printing

Cin7 Core allows printing of Shipping Labels through the StarShipIT integration (also supported by Shippit, ShipStation and Shiptheory). If more than one shipping service is connected, you must go to the StarShipIT integration page and select Set Default to print labels through StarShipIT.

If Cin7 Core receives an error during shipping label generation, an error message will appear with a downloadable .txt file with the error data. If the error is unexpected, the user will also see an email dialog box with attached error data log file which can be sent to the shipping service provider customer support.

Print shipping labels:

Use the normal sales process to create a sales order in either Simple Sale or Advanced Sale.
On the document header, enter the shipping address.
- Note: Make sure the shipping address field is correct as it will be used by external integration for address verification.
The sale process remains the same as far as the Pack tab, which must be authorized.
From here, click the Shipping Instructions sub-tab. This sub-tab is for shipping information that applies all packages. Click Enter Shipping instructions to open a pop-up window.
The pop up window is dynamically generated according to the connected shipping service. Enter the information and save your changes.
This will add the shipping instructions to the display. Click To Package Information to continue.
This sub-tab is for entering package dimensions for all packages within a sale order. Click Enter package details to open a pop-up window.
- This allows you to consolidate multiple boxes into a single package or shipment.
The pop up window is dynamically generated according to the connected shipping service. Select which boxes to include and enter the weight and dimensions. Save your changes.
This will add the shipment to the display. Continue to the Ship tab.
On the Ship tab, press Copy from Pack to enter the package details and select your Carrier. Click Generate Shipping Label to send package information and shipping instructions to the shipping service provider and generate the shipping label. The carrier info, including the tracking number, will then be automatically entered into the Ship tab. The Shipping Label will be generated automatically via PDF. You can also print the label by clicking on the shipment from the list.

Note: The most common source of errors when generating labels is invalid shipping addresses. Ensure the locality, postcode and street name are correct.

Note: The template used to print the shipping label is generated on StarShipIT side. Cin7 Core just downloads the PDF from their API, it is not possible to change the shipping label template through Cin7 Core.

FAQs

Here are some questions our users have asked about Shippit Intgration. If you are still unable to find an answer to your question, do not hesitate to get in touch with the Cin7 Core Supportteam.

In relation to the Cin7 Core and StarShipIT Integration which one is better to use, the API Key details from Cin7 Core generated API, or the API from StarShipIT?

That really depends on your requirements. When you integrate using Cin7 Core, you can use it to estimate shipping rates and print labels. If it's linked through the API, you have more flexibility but you will need to set it in StarShipIt.

The problem I am having is that the couriers please labels are not printing. It defaults to DHL when I click "Generate Labels" even though it shows multiple Couriers in Cin7 Core.

The StarShipIT API does not allow Cin7 Core to import Carrier/Shipping method values from StarShipIT. The value in the Carrier field of a Cin7 Core sale is passed to StarShipIT, but there is no way to FORCE StarShipIT to use it. StarShipIT will then select a carrier according to shipping rules defined in StarShipIT.

What is the process when there are more than 1 carton in an order? How does Cin7 Core deal with multi carton shipments when data is passed through the API as individual cartons?

This integration supports multiple packages in a consignment. When entering Package instructions, you can select more than one package to consolidate into the shipment.

We need to include “Duties & Taxes Paid” on the shipping label. What options do we have to make the shipment to include it?

This is managed by setting a rule in your StarShipIT account.

You will need to go to Settings → Rules and click Add a new rule.
Set one or more Conditions to specify which orders the rule should be applied to. This can be All Orders, or limited to orders from a certain postal area, orders above a specified value, etc.
Under Action, select Set Sender Pays Duty and set it to True.
Save the rule. Orders meeting the conditions will have the shipment marked as duties paid by the sender.