Batch Shipping and CSV Import

If you're shipping more than a handful of packages at a time, entering them one by one is what slows you down. The ship screen works in batches -- lots of shipments handled together -- and the CSV importer is the quickest way to fill one.

How a Batch Works

A batch is simply the set of shipments sitting on your ship screen right now. There are three ways to add to it: create shipments by hand, import them from a CSV, or pull them in from a connected store.

Once they're in, you can rate the whole batch at once and buy the whole batch at once. The batch rail shows you where each shipment stands, and running totals build up at the bottom -- the carrier total across the services you've selected, plus the convenience fee on retail accounts.

If a few shipments aren't ready yet, they won't hold up the ones that are. Buying the batch purchases everything that has a service selected and nothing standing in its way, and leaves the rest right where they are so you can come back and fix them.

Importing from CSV

Open the CSV import wizard from the utility strip at the top of the ship screen. It walks you through uploading your file, mapping your columns, and checking the rows before anything lands in the batch.

Column Mapping

Your CSV doesn't need particular headers. After you upload, you'll match your columns to ShipGenius fields, so an export straight out of your storefront or ERP works as-is -- no reformatting first.

Supported Fields

Required on every row:

• Ship To -- First Name
• Ship To -- Last Name
• Ship To -- Street
• Ship To -- City
• Ship To -- State / Province
• Ship To -- Postal Code
• Weight in ounces, plus Length, Width, and Height in inches

Optional:

• Ship To -- Company
• Ship To -- Street 2
• Ship To -- Country Code, two letters. Leave it out and we'll assume US.
• Ship To -- Phone
• Ship To -- Email
• Ship To -- Residential, true or false

Units Are Fixed

Weight is read in ounces and dimensions in inches. There's no unit column, so convert before you import. It's worth a second look at your file: one that's in pounds but imports as ounces will rate about sixteen times too cheap, and you usually won't notice until the carrier bills you the difference.

Dimensions Are Required

Every row needs length, width, and height in inches alongside its weight. Carriers price by the size of the box as much as what's in it, so we can't run rates on a row that's missing any of the three. Filling in all four up front is also what keeps the carrier from sending a billing correction after the label is bought.

Origin Is Inherited

Your CSV covers recipients and packages; the ship-from address comes from the From chip in the utility strip and applies to every row you import. Set your origin before you import if you can -- origin decides the zone, so changing it afterwards means rating the whole batch again.

Validation

The wizard checks every row before importing and tells you exactly which ones need attention -- a missing required field, a number it can't read, data that doesn't look right. Fix those rows in your file and upload again. That's far easier than importing broken rows and tracking them down in the batch later.

Rating and Buying the Batch

Rate the whole batch in one action. Each shipment gets its own list of live rates, since the cheapest carrier for a two-ounce parcel going one state over usually isn't the cheapest for a ten-pound parcel crossing the country.

Pick your services and buy. All the labels generate together and are ready to print, and the batch total you see before you buy is what you'll be charged.

When to Use Something Else

CSV import is the right tool when your list of shipments already lives outside ShipGenius. There are two cases where something else will serve you better:

• Orders in a storefront. Connect the store instead. Orders that come in that way bring their contents with them, link back to the original order, and mark themselves fulfilled once you buy the label -- none of which a CSV can do. See Connecting a Store.
• A recurring, rule-driven process. If the same rules pick the service every time, it's worth automating instead of repeating the import by hand. You can use the API's rate-and-ship operation, or a blueprint on OMS. See The Blueprint System.

FAQs

What headers does my CSV need?

None in particular. You'll map your columns to ShipGenius fields in the wizard, so any export works as long as the data is in there somewhere.

Can I set the ship-from address per row?

Not per row -- the origin comes from the From chip and applies to the whole batch. If you ship from more than one location, import one batch per origin.

Can I specify the carrier or service in the CSV?

Not in the file. The importer handles recipients and packages, and you pick the service after rating. If you'd rather have the service chosen for you, the API's rate-and-ship operation or an OMS blueprint can do that.

What weight unit does the importer use?

Ounces, always -- and dimensions are always inches. Convert before you import and you'll be in good shape.

What happens if some rows fail validation?

The wizard flags them row by row before anything is imported. Correct those rows in your file and upload it again.

Can I include customs information for international shipments?

Not through the CSV. You'll enter customs declarations per shipment, or keep them on a saved package. If you ship the same product internationally again and again, putting the customs items on the saved package saves you re-entering them every time -- see Customs Declarations and Commercial Invoices.

Is there a row limit?

There's no small fixed limit, though very large files are worth splitting up. Batches in the low hundreds run comfortably. If you're regularly importing thousands of rows, the API or OMS order import is a better fit -- get in touch and we'll help you find the right approach.