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ShipStation Carrier Services: Parcelforce Worldwide

Details about using Parcelforce via ShipStation: How to set up billing, features, postal rates, notes, and troubleshooting tips.

This article contains:

Parcelforce offers domestic service to England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, the Scottish Highlands, Islands, and Scilly Isles, and international service to 32 countries.

Our partnership with Parcelforce provides you up to 78% off retail Parcelforce rates.

Set Up Billing for ShipStation Carrier Services

ShipStation Carrier Services is automatically added to your ShipStation account upon creation, but you'll need to provide billing information before you can create any labels.

You'll be prompted to add your billing information the first time you attempt to create a label, or you can follow the steps below to add the billing information in advance:

  1. Go to Account Settings (the wrench icon in the upper right).

    V3 Closeup of Toolbar. Red box highlights the wrench icon for Settings.

  2. Select Shipping then choose Carriers & Fulfillment from the left-hand sidebar.

    Settings Sidebar: Shipping dropdown. Red box highlights Carriers & Fulfillment option.

  3. Click the Setup link for ShipStation Carrier Services.

    ShipStation Carrier Service menu with arrow pointed to Setup link.

  4. Enter your billing information for the account and agree to terms and conditions.

This billing information will be shared among any carrier options listed under ShipStation Carrier Services. Charges from ShipStation Carrier Services will appear on your credit card reports with the description “ShipStation Carrier Services".

Post-Billed Charges

Certain courier-imposed fees may be assessed after you create a label and dispatch the parcel. 

These fees include, but are not limited to:

  • Excess weight surcharges

  • Out of area surcharges

  • Courier pickup-up surcharges

These fees are assessed by the courier and reported back to ShipStation. Once ShipStation has received notification of these charges, they will be billed to the credit card you set up for carrier fees.

Available Features

Parcelforce Worldwide through ShipStation Carrier Services supports the following standard features:

Key: Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes. = Supported; Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No. = Not Supported; Grey dash icon. Not applicable. = Does Not Apply

Common ShipStation Features

Feature

Supported?

Domestic Shipping
Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

International Shipping
Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Electronic Customs Submission
Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Return Labels
Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Estimated Rates
Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Carrier Insurance
Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Tracking
Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Automatic Tracking
Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

End of Day (Electronic)
Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

End of Day (PDF)
Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Label Branding
Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Label Messages
Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Multi-package Shipping
Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Multiple Accounts
Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Domestic Services

Express 9

Express 10

Express AM

Express 24

Express 48

International Services

Euro Economy

Package Options

Package

Custom Packages

Confirmation Options

No Confirmation

Additional Features

Parcelforce Worldwide through ShipStation Carrier Services allows for the following additional features:

Feature

Description

Discounted Rates

Parcelforce Worldwide through ShipStation Carrier Services includes access to pre-negotiated discounted rates!

Prepaid postage

All shipments created using Parcelforce Worldwide through ShipStation Carrier Services are prepaid and use a shared pool of funds managed by ShipStation. You can also set up auto-funding so you always have funds available to create shipping labels.

Return Labels

Parcelforce Worldwide through ShipStation Carrier Services supports the creation of domestic return labels using either the Express 24 or Express 48 services. Your customers will then need to drop these packages off at a local post office to be returned.

Manual Handling Surcharge

All items with a length between 1.1m and 1.5m or with a second-largest dimension greater than 0.7m attract the manual handling surcharge of £2.95 which will come through post-label billing. See ParcelForce's Pricing and Surcharge page for more information.

Other Available Options

For a comprehensive list of other shipping options and which carriers support them, please review our Available Shipping Options by Carrier article.

Important

The Available Shipping Options by Carrier article lists all the shipping options available when using ShipStation. However, your carrier may offer shipping options that ShipStation does not include. If an option is not included in this list, that means the option is not supported in ShipStation.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier integration can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipStation will submit international customs information electronically to the carrier.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic return labels.

ShipStation will display estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Additional carrier insurance can be purchased through ShipStation.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

When tracking is available, ShipStation will automatically track the shipment status and update the tracking status on the Shipments tab. This feature allows for other advanced ShipStation features like delayed notifications and the Branded Tracking Page.

ShipStation can perform an End of Day process for the carrier and submits the shipment information electronically. The End of Day process can be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. A printable file may or may not be available, see the End of Day (PDF).

ShipStation can perform an End of Day process for the carrier and creates an End of Day PDF file that can be printed and provided to the carrier. The End of Day process can be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. The file may or may not be submitted electronically, see End of Day (Electronic).

ShipStation can print the store's logo on shipping labels created for this carrier. Label branding may not be available for all shipping services.

ShipStation can include information that will be displayed on the label as a label message. Label messages may not be available for all shipping services.

The carrier integration can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple individual packages are linked together into a single shipment record with a master tracking number.

You can connect this carrier integration to ShipStation multiple times using different account information, and choose which account will be used to create each shipment.

Available Rates

The tables below show the rates available for Parcelforce drop-off services through ShipStation Carrier Services. Check the Parcelforce branch finder to find a drop off location near you. Rates do not include VAT.

Zones, weight, dimensions

Zone definitions as defined by Parcelforce

  • Zone 1: England, Wales & Scotland (excluding Highlands & Islands)

  • Zone 2: Highlands & Islands of Scotland

  • Zone 3: Isle of Man & Isle of Scilly

  • Northern Ireland

Parcel Weight limit for all services (domestic and international): ≤30KG

Parcel Dimensions:

  • All services except Express 48 Large: Length ≤ 1.5m, length + girth ≤ 3m

  • Express 48 Large: Length ≤ 2.5m, length + girth ≤ 5m

    Note

    Express 48 Large does not appear as it's own service in ShipStation but will be used if Express 48 is selected as the service and the parcel weight or dimensions are above the standard service maximums.

    Express 48 Large shipments can only be dropped off and picked up from Parcelforce Worldwide Depots.

Domestic Rates

Ship From Zone

Ship To Zone

Available Services

Rate

Zone 1

Zone 1 & Northern Ireland

Express 48 - Post Office Drop

£7.65

Express 24 - Post Office Drop

£8.85

Express AM - Post Office Drop

£10.29

Express 10 - Post Office Drop

£14.70

Express 9 - Post Office Drop

£18.29

Express 48 Large - Depot Drop Off

£27.28

Zone 2 & 3

Express 48 - Post Office Drop

£7.65

Express 24 - Post Office Drop

£8.85

Zone 2

Zone 1, 2, 3 & Northern Ireland

Express 48 - Post Office Drop

£7.65

Express 24 - Post Office Drop

£8.85

Zone 3

Zone 1, 2, 3 & Northern Ireland

Express 48 - Post Office Drop

£7.65

Express 24 - Post Office Drop

£8.85

Northern Ireland

Zone 1 & Northern Ireland

Express 48 - Post Office Drop

£7.65

Express 24 - Post Office Drop

£8.85

Express AM - Post Office Drop

£10.29

Express 10 - Post Office Drop

£14.70

Express 9 - Post Office Drop UK

£18.29

Express 48 Large - Depot Drop Off

£27.28

Zone 2 & 3

Express 48 - Post Office Drop

£7.65

Express 24 - Post Office Drop

£8.85

International Rates

All available countries for Parcelforce through ShipStation Carrier Services are listed in the table below. Countries not listed do not currently have service through this carrier method. As service to more countries becomes available, we will update this table accordingly.

Ship To Country

Rate

Ship To Country

Rate

Jersey

£16.83

Czech Republic

£20.90

Channel Islands & Guemsey

£16.94

Estonia

£34.21

Ireland (Republic of)

£15.31

Finland

£21.55

Belgium

£12.97

Gibraltar

£79.75

Luxembourg

£19.36

Hungary

£17.60

Netherlands

£16.89

Latvia

£33.66

Denmark

£22.94

Lithuania

£28.33

France

£15.18

Malta

£56.60

Germany

£15.24

Norway

£35.26

Italy

£17.49

Poland

£27.02

Spain

£26.51

Romania

£27.50

Greece

£32.18

Slovakia & Slovenia

£17.60

Portugal

£26.73

Sweden

£47.03

Austria

£19.25

Switzerland

£34.32

Bulgaria

£27.50

Turkey

£31.79

Canary Islands

£62.04

Croatia

£40.70

Integration Notes

Keep this in mind about ShipStation's integration with Parcelforce Worldwide:

  • ShipStation is not able to display estimated shipping rates for Parcelforce Worldwide shipments.

  • All shipments through Parcelforce Worldwide must include a Ship To Phone Number.

  • Parcelforce Worldwide requires both a first name and last name in the Ship To and Ship From addresses.

  • All shipments require a signature upon delivery as the delivery confirmation option.

  • Parcelforce Worldwide labels cannot be voided in ShipStation. Parcelforce Worldwide corporate accounts bill upon the label being scanned, so you should not be charged for labels that are not used.

  • Weight and dimensions are required for all shipments.

  • The Branded Tracking page does not work with Parcelforce Worldwide.

Troubleshooting Tips

Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.

Issue

How to troubleshoot or resolve

What should I enter for State when shipping orders within the UK?

When a State field is required, we recommend you use the ISO 3166-2 abbreviation for the parcel destination.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier integration can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipStation will submit international customs information electronically to the carrier.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic return labels.

ShipStation will display estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Additional carrier insurance can be purchased through ShipStation.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

When tracking is available, ShipStation will automatically track the shipment status and update the tracking status on the Shipments tab. This feature allows for other advanced ShipStation features like delayed notifications and the Branded Tracking Page.

ShipStation can perform an End of Day process for the carrier and submits the shipment information electronically. The End of Day process can be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. A printable file may or may not be available, see the End of Day (PDF).

ShipStation can perform an End of Day process for the carrier and creates an End of Day PDF file that can be printed and provided to the carrier. The End of Day process can be mandatory or optional, based on the carrier and your account with them. The file may or may not be submitted electronically, see End of Day (Electronic).

ShipStation can print the store's logo on shipping labels created for this carrier. Label branding may not be available for all shipping services.

ShipStation can include information that will be displayed on the label as a label message. Label messages may not be available for all shipping services.

The carrier integration can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple individual packages are linked together into a single shipment record with a master tracking number.

You can connect this carrier integration to ShipStation multiple times using different account information, and choose which account will be used to create each shipment.

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