Basic Automation Rules are the simplest automation rules to create. They have one or two criteria and only trigger one or two actions.
All ShipStation accounts start with a basic automation rule called Default Confirmation. This automation rule applies to all orders and sets the confirmation option for the shipment to the default option for whichever shipping service you select for each order.
Common basic automation rules include:
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Setting an order's service and package type based on the order's weight
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Setting an order's service and package type based on the order's destination
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Setting a shipment's Ship From Address based on the store from which the order imported
Each of these scenarios are explained more fully in the sections below to help you build your own similar automation rules.
The most popular Automation Rule action sets the shipping service and package type.
For U.S. users who primarily ship using USPS, use a basic automation rule to determine whether a domestic order should use either First Class or Priority Mail based on the weight of the order.
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To create the First Class rule:
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Set the first criterion to Country :: Equals :: United States
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Set the second criterion to Total Weight :: Is less than :: 16
Only enter the integer into the field. Do not add the unit signifier. The type of weight unit is determined by your account settings.
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Add an action and choose Set Carrier/Service/Package.
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Set the Service drop-down to USPS First Class Mail and Package drop-down to Package.
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Save the rule.
To create the Priority Mail rule:
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Set the first criterion to Country :: Equals :: United States
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Set the second criterion to Total Weight :: Is greater than or equal to :: 16
Only enter the integer into the field. Do not add the unit signifier. The type of weight unit is determined by your account settings.
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Add an action and choose Set Carrier/Service/Package.
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Set the Service drop-down to USPS Priority Mail and Package drop-down to Package.
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Save the rule.
Once these two rules have been created, ShipStation will apply USPS First Class Mail to domestic orders under 16oz and USPS Priority Mail to all other domestic shipments.
Weights Must Be Present When the Order Imports
To ensure weight-based automation rules apply correctly, the weight must be present on the order when it imports. That means the selling channel must send the weight in the order's data. Most selling channels do this, but make sure the weights are set correctly on the selling channel side.
In cases where the selling channel does not send the weight, you can instead set the weights in the Product Defaults in ShipStation. The defaults will apply to weights to the order when they import but before the Automation Rules run.
Another common criteria uses the order's Ship To address. For example, you may ship all your orders going to the contiguous United States as First Class Mail, but use Priority Mail for orders going to Alaska or Hawaii.
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To create the First Class rule:
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Set the first criterion to Country :: Equals :: United States
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Set the second criterion to State :: Is not equal to :: Alaska, Hawaii
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Add an action and choose Set Carrier/Service/Package.
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Set the Service drop-down to USPS First Class Mail and Package drop-down to Package.
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Save the rule.
To create the Priority Mail rule:
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Set the first criterion to Country :: Equals :: United States
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Set the second criterion to State :: Equals :: Alaska, Hawaii
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Add an action and choose Set Carrier/Service/Package.
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Set the Service drop-down to USPS Priority Mail and Package drop-down to Package.
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Save the rule.
Once these two rules have been created, ShipStation will apply USPS First Class Mail to domestic orders in the continental U.S. and USPS Priority Mail to domestic orders going to Alaska or Hawaii.
Another popular basic automation rule sets the Ship From Location based on the store the order imported from. For example, orders from your Shopify store always ship from your primary warehouse, but orders from your eBay store always ship from your secondary warehouse.
For this scenario, you'll create a unique rule for each Ship From Location.
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Set the first criterion to Store :: Equals :: Shopify
If you have another store that uses the same warehouse, you can select it from your store list here as well.
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Add the action Set Ship From Location and select the Ship From location that applies to the store(s) selected in the criteria.
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Save the rule.
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Create another rule in the same way for each Ship From Address you have.