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UPS Online® Tools

With UPS OnLine® Tools, customers can get real-time shipping rates to domestic U.S., Canadian, and international addresses.  Your customers can also view UPS tracking information for their packages right from your store!  You can enable UPS OnLine® Tools by completing a short registration within AbleCommerce.  This allows you to begin testing real-time shipping rates without a UPS account.

The AbleCommerce integration with UPS Online® Tools includes the UPS Rates & Service Selection Tool and the UPS Tracking Tool.  The AbleCommerce UPS integration includes features like selecting your rate based on customer type, including insurance, and package tracking.  AbleCommerce uses your product's weight and dimensions to calculate the most accurate rates possible.

International shipping is available from many locations –

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Venezuela.

UPS Online® Tools Features and Requirements

  • UPS Online® Tools requires you to register online through AbleCommerce.  Providing a shipping account number is optional.

  • UPS expects all product measurements to be in pounds and inches. Rates will still be calculated if you use a different unit of measurement, but there is additional overhead in converting the measurements. You will have the best performance if you use pounds and inches to begin with.

  • Shipping to international destinations is available.

  • Shipment tracking features are built-into AbleCommerce.  Tracking services are provided by UPS Online® Tools.

  • Printing Labels with automated tracking number retrieval. [New in R11]

  • Address Verification Services. [New in R11]

  • Negotiated (discounted) business rates.

Register with UPS Online® Tools

You must register with UPS even if you already have an account with them.  

  1. From the Integrated Carriers page, click the ADD CARRIER button to choose the UPS Online Tools link or click the UPS Online Tools link directly from this page, whichever is available.

  2. The first step of the registration process is to read and accept the license agreement.  You should review the agreement and print a copy for your records by clicking the PRINT button at the bottom of the page.



    You must select the 'Yes, I Do Agree' option and click the NEXT button to continue.  

    If you do not wish to use any of the functions that utilize the UPS OnLine® Tools, click 'Cancel' to return to the main menu. If, at a later time, you wish to use the UPS OnLine® Tools, return to this section and complete the UPS OnLine® Tools licensing and registration process.

  3. The next page is the registration form where you will enter contact information for this account.  Fields designated with "R" must be completed.



    You must enter a contact name, title, company name, website URL, street address, city, state, and zip code.  Select a country supported as a shipping origin.  Enter a 10-digit phone number without spaces or hyphens, and an email address.

    If you already have an account with UPS, then enter it in the UPS Account Number field provided.  It is not necessary to have an existing account to complete the registration and use UPS Online Tools for rate calculations.  However, it is necessary to have an account to start shipping.  

  4. If you would like to have a UPS Sales Representative contact you about opening a shipping account, please select 'Yes', otherwise select 'No' and click the NEXT button to continue.

  5. After completing the short registration process, you will be on the Configure UPS Online® Tools page as shown in the next section.

Configure UPS Online® Tools

The settings here can impact the rates returned by the UPS Rates & Service Selection Tool.

NOTE:  If you already have an established UPS account, then see Configuring_UPS_Online__Tools_for_Negotiated_Rates_or_Label_Printing below.

  1. From the Integrated Carriers page, click the EDIT icon for UPS OnLine® Tools.  This will bring you to the Configuration Settings menu.

  2. The User ID is shown.  This is your identification for UPS Online Tools account.  For certain features, you must register online through UPS to obtain a permanent account.

  3. The Access Key is shown next.  This is a second piece of information that UPS Online Tools uses to identify your account.

  4. If you have a Shipper Number, you may enter it next.  This is only necessary if you desire to offer negotiated (discounted) shipping rates or the print label feature.  You must contact UPS and make sure your account is configured for negotiated rates.

  5. If you have an established account with UPS, you can use the printing label feature to generate tracking numbers and labels.  Check the box next for Enable Labels. [New in R11]

  6. Review and choose the appropriate Customer Type.  An incorrect setting for Customer Type will result in less accurate rate estimates.

  7. The Enable Packaging option is checked by default.  This allows a shipment to be split into multiple parts if the total order weight exceeds the maximum amount.  This will not change the number of shipments in the order, only the calculation to determine the most accurate shipping costs.

  8. The Maximum Weight is this carriers limit for a package.  The default value is 150 lbs.

  9. The Minimum Weight is the amount used when the order weight does not meet the minimum.

  10. The Insurance option can include shipping insurance with the shipping amounts. When enabled, all real-time rates will reflect the additional cost (if any) for insurance. If you want the estimated rate to include insurance, select 'Yes'.  When this option is checked, AbleCommerce sends the value of the shipment to the service rate provider.  Most shipping services already provide insurance up to a certain amount.  The default setting is 'No'.

  11. The URL settings come pre-configured when you create the shipping account through AbleCommerce.  These URL's can change so the fields are available for modification.  It is not advisable to modify the URL's here unless specifically instructed to do so.

    Rating URL
    : The URL to which requests are posted in Live mode.

    Test Server URL
    : The URL to which requests are posted in Test Mode.

    Tracking URL
    :  The URL to which requests are sent for package tracking. {0} is substituted with the tracking number at the time of request.

  12. The Mode settings are used to enable/disable rates from the test server.  Debugging can also be enabled which can help with any communication problems.

    Test Mode: When Test Mode is enabled, rate requests are sent to test server using the Test Mode URL.

    Debug Mode
    : When debug mode is enabled, all messages sent to and received from UPS are logged. This should only be enabled at the direction of qualified support personnel.

    Default Log File Location: ..\App_Data\Logs\[gatewayname].log

  13. When finished, click the SAVE button.  This DOES NOT COMPLETE setup of the shipping gateway.  Please see Configuring Shipping Services for UPS Online Tools in the next section.
    Or, you can click the SAVE AND CLOSE button to return to the Integrated Carriers page.

Configuring Shipping Services for UPS Online® Tools

You must select the services you want to be available to your customers.  Each service (shipping method) is configured separately.

  1. From the Integrated Carriers page, click the EDIT icon for UPS OnLine® Tools.

  2. At the bottom of the page, you will see the Add Shipping Method menu.  This is a list of all services offered by the provider.  You should review the entire list of shipping services offered and decide which ones you want to make available as shipping options in your store.


  3. In our example, we will add and configure the UPS Ground shipping service.  In the Add Shipping Method section, check the box next to UPS Ground and any others you want to offer as a shipping service.

  4. Click the ADD button.  The selected shipping services now appear in the Configured Shipping Methods section.

  5. Each shipping service will use its own configuration settings.  To configure a shipping service, click the EDIT icon to view the Edit Method page.

  6. The above example shows the default configuration values for all shipping services added.

  7. Change the Method Name if needed.  This is the name that will be displayed to the customer and the merchant on all invoices and receipts.

  8. If these shipping charges are taxable, then select a Shipping Tax Code.  Make sure you understand the tax laws according to your local tax authority.
    Taxes on shipping charges are combined with any other taxes calculated for the shipment.

  9. Use the Handling Fee option to include a charge for handling or processing.  The handling fee can be a fixed amount, percent of the shipping charge, or a percentage of the shipment total. New in R7

  10. There is an option to show the Handing Fee as a separate line item on the invoice, or to hide the amount in the shipping cost.  If you show the handling fee separately, you can also select a Handling Tax Code if you are required to collect tax on this type of charge.

  11. If this shipping service applies to a specific Warehouse(s), select it from Warehouses list.  Otherwise, use the All Warehouses option.
    A warehouse determines the shipping origin.


  12. If this shipping service applies to a specific Zone(s), select it from the Selected Zones list.  Otherwise, use the All Zones option.
    A zone determines the shipping destination.

  13. When you apply a shipping service to a user group, then it will only appear for the users who are logged in as members of that group.  Check the box(es) for Selected Groups or use All Groups if this shipping service is available to everyone.

  14. The Minimum Purchase field is the designated minimum value of a shipment before this shipping method will be available.  Until this limit is met, the shipping method will not display.
    A minimum purchase value applies to the total of each shipment, not the total of the order.

  15. The Maximum Purchase field is a new feature in Gold R7
    The designated maximum value of a shipment before this shipping method will be available.  If this limit is exceeded, the shipping method will not display.
    A maximum purchase value applies to the total of each shipment, not the total of the order.

  16. Click the SAVE button when finished.

  17. In the right section of the page, notice the section Shipping Charge.  This is the service previously selected for editing.

  18. After saving, you will be returned to the Shipping Methods menu.

  19. From this page, you can continue to add and configure shipping services from the Add Integrated Carrier Method section.

  20. To add a new shipping service, select the Provider and then select the Service.  Click the ADD button to edit as needed.

    After editing and saving, you will be returned to the Configure Shipping Methods page.

Configuring UPS Online® Tools for Negotiated Rates or Label Printing

For AbleCommerce Gold R11 and later, you can configure advanced registration for your UPS account by clicking the link in the first paragraph of the UPS configuration page.  If you plan to use Negotiated rates, Address Verification Services, or the Print Label feature, this is a required step.

After clicking the link, you will see the UPS ONLINE® TOOLS ADVANCED CONFIGURATION page as shown below.

The form requires the following 3 pieces of information (User ID, Password, and Access key).

  1. In the first field, enter your UPS User ID which is provided by UPS when you register through their website.

  2. Enter your UPS Password which is used to login to your account at the UPS website.

  3. Enter your Access key which is also provided when you setup your UPS account.

Address Validation Services

If you plan to use UPS's Address Verification Services, then check the box to Enable Address Validation.

The Address Service URL's should not be changed unless directed by UPS or AbleCommerce technical support.

  1. Click the SAVE button to return to the basic configuration page.

Printing Labels

If you plan to use UPS's Label Printing feature, then check the box to Enable Labels from the main configuration page.

  1. You must enter a Shipper Number to use this feature.

Negotiated Rates

If your UPS account is setup to use the discounted negotiated (business) rates, then you will need to select the Negotiated Rates option from the main configuration page.

  1. Click the SAVE and CLOSE button to finish.

Advanced configuration for all AbleCommerce Gold installations up to R10

There is a hidden registration page (~/admin/shipping/providers/UPS/RegisterDirect.aspx) which can be used as a workaround to configure the UPS gateway instance for negotiated rates.

The form requires the following 3 pieces of information (User ID, Password, and Access key) and that you configure the shipper number from gateway configure page (Admin/Shipping/Providers/UPS/Configure.aspx)

  1. To register for negotiated rates, you will need to login to the Merchant Administration.  

  2. Go to the Configure > Shipping > Integrated Carriers menu.  

  3. If you haven't done so already, complete the registration from the main UPS configuration page,

  4. When finished, simply change the URL so it will try to access your store URL and the RegisterDirect.aspx page directly.

    (e.g. http://www.your store.comAdmin/Shipping/Providers/UPS/RegisterDirect.aspx?ShipGatewayId=1 (This is an example.  Adjust URL as needed).

  5. Enter the 3 pieces of information (User ID, Password, and Access key) into the form and save.

  6. From the main configuration page, make sure you have the Shipper number entered as well.

 

UPS brand, and the Color Brown are trademarks of United Parcel Service of America, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

Related Topics

Shipping Items

Integrated Shipping Providers

Custom Shipping Methods

Warehouses

Zones

User Groups