Frequently Asked Questions - Rate System

📊 General Questions

What is a zone in the rate system?

A zone is a grouping of postal codes or geographic areas that share the same pricing scheme. For example, all the postal codes in downtown Madrid can form the “Madrid Centro” zone.

Can I have different prices for the same destination?

Yes, you can have different prices based on:

• The service (standard, express, priority)
• The calculation method (fixed price, by weight, by volume)
• The shipment’s origin
• The date or season

Are rate changes immediate?

Yes, as soon as you save the changes, they apply to all new quotes. Orders already created keep their original price.

Can I schedule price changes for the future?

Yes, you can set validity dates (valid from/until) so changes apply automatically on the desired date.

🗺️ About Geographic Zones

How many zones should I create?

It depends on your operation, but generally:

• Local business: 3-5 zones
• Regional: 5-10 zones
• National: 10-20 zones
• International: 20+ zones

What happens if a postal code isn’t in any zone?

If you have a catch-all zone for that country, the shipment is quoted with it and nothing goes wrong. If you don’t have one, the system won’t be able to calculate the price. Having a catch-all zone per country is the simplest way to never be left without a price.

Can I have a postal code in several zones?

Yes. When an address fits into several zones, the system considers all of them and lets the rate rule’s priority decide the price. In fact, the country’s catch-all zone is always added, so there’s almost always more than one in play.

What matters is that you use different priority numbers: the lowest one wins. Use low numbers for your specific rates and high numbers for the general fallback ones.

What is the catch-all zone?

It’s a zone that covers an entire country without needing to list postal codes. It works as a safety net: any address in that country that doesn’t fit a specific zone is resolved with it. It’s created by enabling the whole-country coverage option when setting up the zone.

How do I handle islands or special territories?

Create specific zones for them. For example:

• “Baleares” zone for all 07xxx postal codes
• “Canarias” zone for 35xxx and 38xxx postal codes
• “Ceuta y Melilla” zone for their specific codes

Can I change a zone’s postal codes later?

Yes, you can edit zones at any time. Changes will apply to new quotes.

💰 About Calculation Methods

What’s the difference between real weight and volumetric weight?

• Real weight: What the scale shows
• Volumetric weight: The space it takes up (length × width × height ÷ factor) Whichever of the two is higher is what gets charged.

What volumetric factor should I use?

It depends on the type of transport:

• National ground: 5000-6000
• Air: 4000-5000
• Sea: 6000-7000
• Urban courier: 5000

What is minimum billable weight?

It’s the minimum weight billed even if the package weighs less. For example, if the minimum is 1kg, a 200g envelope is billed as 1kg.

Can I combine several calculation methods?

Yes, you can have different methods for:

• Different services (standard = by weight, express = fixed price)
• Different routes (local = fixed price, national = by weight)
• Different product types

🛤️ About Routes and Combinations

What is a route?

A route is the combination of origin zone + destination zone. For example: “Madrid Centro → Barcelona Ciudad”.

Do I need to create all possible combinations?

Only the ones you’ll actually use. If you don’t ship from Barcelona to Madrid, you don’t need to create that route.

Can I temporarily deactivate a route?

Yes, you can mark a route as “inactive” without deleting it. Useful for maintenance or temporary issues.

What happens if the requested route doesn’t exist?

The system will show that no service is available for that origin-destination combination.

📦 About Services

How many service types can I have?

As many as you need. The most common are:

• Standard (3-5 days)
• Express (24 hours)
• Priority (same day)
• Economy (5-7 days)

Can I have different services by zone?

Yes, for example:

• “Same day” service only in local zones
• “Express” service not available for islands
• “Economy” service only for national routes

How do I handle delivery times?

You can set estimated times (min-max days) for each route and service combination.

How do I allow cash on delivery (COD) on a service?

Under Rates → Service Levels, when creating or editing the service, turn on the “Allow cash on delivery (COD)” toggle inside Service Attributes. It’s off by default.

I enabled COD but the amount field doesn’t appear when creating an order

The toggle applies to the service selected on that order, not to all of them. Check that you enabled COD on the same service that’s being chosen: the option should show the green COD label in the list of shipping options.

Can I allow cash on delivery only on some routes?

Not with the same service: the permission belongs to the service level and applies to all its rates, on every route. If you need that distinction, create two different services (for example “Standard” and “Standard with COD”) and give each one its rates on the routes that apply.

If I disable COD, what happens to orders that already had an amount?

They keep their amount and continue counting in the collected COD report. What changes is going forward: new orders on that service can no longer carry a charge, and if you edit an old one the system will ask you to set the amount to zero before saving.

Does enabling the COD Collected module enable charging on my services?

No, they’re independent settings. The COD Collected module (under Organization → System) is the report of money already collected. Whether a shipment can carry a charge is decided by the service level’s toggle.

💵 About Prices and Rates

In what currency are prices configured?

You can configure the currency for each price rule. The system supports multiple currencies.

Can I have different prices for different services?

Yes, you can configure different prices based on:

• The service level (standard, express, priority)
• The calculation method (fixed price, by weight, by volume)
• The specific route (origin-destination)

How do I handle taxes?

Prices can be configured with or without taxes. The system can automatically calculate taxes based on the configuration.

Can I set up free shipping?

Yes, you can set a $0 price for certain specific routes or services.

🔧 Common Issues

The system doesn’t calculate a price

Possible causes:

1. The postal code isn’t assigned to any zone
2. There’s no route between the zones
3. The route is inactive
4. There’s no rate configured for that combination

Solution: Check each point in order.

The calculated price is incorrect

Possible causes:

1. Incorrect calculation method configuration
2. Wrong volumetric factor
3. Incorrectly configured minimum weight
4. Another rule with a lower priority number applying first
5. A weight-based pricing template shared with other rates, which someone edited

Solution: Use the rate tester (Rates → Rate Tester). It tells you which rules competed, which one won, and why, without having to guess.

Customers complain about high prices

Options:

1. Check if the volumetric calculation is penalizing large packages
2. Verify the minimum billable weight
3. Consider offering a cheaper service
4. Implement promotions or volume discounts

I can’t create a new zone

Possible reasons:

1. The zone code already exists
2. The postal codes are already in another zone
3. Incorrect postal code format
4. Missing required information

🚀 Optimization

How do I know if my rates are competitive?

1. Compare with the competition
2. Analyze checkout abandonment rate
3. Review customer feedback
4. Monitor shipment volume

When should I review my rates?

• Monthly: Verify they cover costs
• Quarterly: Adjust for inflation or market changes
• Annually: Full strategy review

How can I reduce costs without lowering quality?

1. Optimize zones (group them better)
2. Negotiate with transport providers
3. Encourage less urgent services
4. Implement minimum billable weight/volume

📈 Advanced Strategies

Can I have multiple rates for the same route?

Yes, you can configure different rates for the same route using:

• Different service levels
• Different calculation methods
• Validity dates (rates valid during specific periods)

How do I handle temporary price changes?

You can create temporary rates using validity dates (valid from/until) so they apply automatically during the desired period.

Can I bulk import rates?

Yes, the system allows importing from Excel/CSV to update multiple rates at once.

🆘 Support

Where can I find more help?

• 📖 Complete documentation in the system
• 💬 Online support chat
• 📧 Email to [email protected]
• 📞 Direct line for premium customers

Can I request help with the setup?

Yes, contact the support team for:

• Assisted initial setup
• Recommended pricing strategies
• Training for your team

Are there video tutorials?

Yes, find tutorials on:

• Basic zone setup
• Creating rates
• Pricing strategies
• Specific use cases

💡 Final Tips

To Get Started:

1. Keep it simple: Start with few zones and services
2. Test first: Use a test environment
3. Document everything: Note why you configured things this way
4. Monitor results: Adjust based on metrics

To Optimize:

1. Analyze data: Review which routes are used most
2. Listen to feedback: Customers will tell you what to improve
3. Be flexible: Adjust based on season or demand
4. Automate: Let the system do the work

Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Don’t overcomplicate: More zones isn’t always better
2. Don’t change constantly: It confuses customers
3. Don’t forget to update: Inflation erodes margins
4. Don’t ignore competitors: Stay competitive

👤 Per-Customer Rates (New)

What are per-customer rates?

They’re custom prices you can assign to specific customers. When that customer creates orders or checks shipping options, they see their special price instead of the base price configured for the route.

How do I turn on this feature?

Go to Pricing → Rate Rules and edit a flat-rate rule. In the “Per-Customer Prices” section you can add users with the Client role and assign them a custom price for that rule.

Does it only work with flat rates?

Yes, currently overrides can only be created on flat rate rules. For weight- or volume-based methods, the standard calculated price is used.

Does the customer see they have a special price?

The customer sees their price directly when checking shipping options or creating orders. They don’t see the base price or receive any indication that their price differs from other customers'.

Can I deactivate a customer’s price without deleting it?

Yes, each override has an active/inactive toggle. When deactivated, the customer goes back to seeing the rule’s base price, with no need to delete the configuration.

On which plan is it available?

Per-customer rates are available starting on the Professional plan.

Your question isn’t here? Contact us and we’ll add it to this FAQ.