While not required, you can connect your Canada Post account credentials to Intuitive Shipping to access your negotiated or discounted rates.
Connect Canada Post Account
This guide shows you how to link your Canada Post account credentials to Intuitive Shipping.
Learn how to connect to other carriers.
If you have an account with Canada Post, you can connect it to Intuitive Shipping using your account credentials. Once connected, Canada Post will be available when creating a parcel service shipping method.
You don’t need Canada Post credentials to use Canada Post rates. When creating a parcel service shipping method, choosing the ‘Canada Post’ service type lets you access standard Canada Post standard domestic and international rates without an account.
If you don’t connect your Canada Post credentials here, you can still add them directly when setting up a shipping method.
After your credentials are saved in Intuitive Shipping, they’ll be used automatically each time you add the same carrier account to a new shipping method.
Learn more about how to create a parcel service shipping method.
Add Canada Post To Carrier Accounts List
Canada Post account credentials are required to complete this setup. If you don't have Canada Post credentials, including a Key number - which contains your Username and Password - Account (Customer number) and Contract Number (optional), learn how to get them here.
1. Click Carrier accounts on the sidebar menu.
2. Click Add carrier account.
3. Click the drop-down arrow beside Parcel services.
4. Select Canada Post from the list.
5. Click the Configure account button.
Carrier Account Settings
1. Enter a Carrier account title, such as ‘Canada Post’.
Carrier account titles are not visible to customers.
Canada Post Account
Your Canada Post username and password are contained within your Key number, which is split into two parts separated by a colon (:). The first part is your Username, and the second part is your Password.
When completing Step 1, make sure the colon is not included in either field. Including it will result in an authentication error.
1. Enter your Canada Post Username (the first part of your Key number).
2. Enter your Canada Post account Password (the second part of your Key number).
3. Enter your Account (Customer) number.
4. Enter your Contract number if desired - this is optional.
5. Click the Save button to save your Canada Post account.
Create A Canada Post Account
If you don’t have a Canada Post account, you can easily create one following the steps below. Please contact Canada Post directly if you have technical issues while creating your account.
1. In a new browser tab, go to the Canada Post website.
Canada Post periodically updates their website. The screenshots below are provided for visual reference and may differ from your experience.
2. Click Sign in on the main menu bar.
3. Click the Register now button.
4. Click the Create business profile button.
5. Finish creating your business profile by signing up with an existing customer number or creating a new one. Make a note of your customer number, as it is required for connecting your account.
6. On the Welcome page, make a note of the Key Number that appears in the Production section of the API Keys table.
The Key Number contains your username and password.
7. Connect your Canada Post account to Intuitive Shipping.
If you have issues connecting your account or accessing your discounted Canada Post rates, please contact Canada Post directly.
Restrictions
Each carrier has restrictions that may limit your shipping capabilities or prevent you from making certain shipments. Here are some restrictions to be aware of when using Canada Post.
- Originating address - To use Canada Post, the shipment must originate within Canada.
- Restrictions by country - Each country you ship to may have its own trade and import restrictions. Not all Canada Post delivery services are available to all countries. Learn more about restrictions for specific countries here.
- Prohibited items - Certain goods, including items considered to be illegal or dangerous, may not be shipped by Canada Post under any circumstances. Learn more about restricted items here.
- Controlled items - items such as tobacco and vaping products, plants and animals, and dangerous goods may be shipped if they meet certain criteria. Other items such as pharmaceuticals may be shipped by Canada Post under strict regulations in some areas and prohibited in others. Learn more about restricted items here.
- Packaging restrictions - Some products can only be shipped if they comply with certain packaging standards. Learn more about Canada Post packaging requirements or obtain guidance for packaging your items here.
- International restrictions - Customs and international laws may limit what you ship, how you ship it, and how it can be returned to you. You may also require additional information, such as Harmonization codes, documentation and fees to complete your shipment. Learn more about shipping internationally with Canada Post here.
- Size & weight restrictions - Packages shipped by Canada Post must not exceed a length + girth of 3 meters (118 inches or 9.8 feet), or a weight of 30 kg (66 lbs) for most services. Some international destinations may have lower limits. Standard letters may not exceed 245 x 270 mm (9.6 x 6.1 inches), or a weight of 50 g (1.76 oz). Oversized letters may not exceed 380 x 270 mm (15 x 10.6 inches), or a weight of 50 g. Parcels and letters exceeding the limits may be subject to additional fees and may be shipped only at the discretion of Canada Post.
For more information about Canada Post restrictions, please visit the Canada Post website or contact your local Canada Post representative.
Troubleshooting
In certain situations, rates from Canada Post may not appear at checkout, or they might not be displayed as expected. You may be able to determine why rates aren’t being displayed correctly by reviewing the rate calculation Activity.
1. Click Activity on the main menu.
2. Select ‘Unsuccessful requests only‘ from the Filter by request status drop-down list. This will list only Activities where rates were not returned.
Warnings & errors are not displayed as a result of missing information, such as missing customer address information, or an invalid request, such as Status (visibility) turned off or Shopify Carrier-calculated Rates not enabled.
5. Review the warnings for Canada Post delivery services.
Here are some of the most common reasons why carrier rates don't appear at checkout:
Sandbox Mode
While you're in Sandbox mode, rates will only appear at checkout when you use ‘Intuitive’ on the checkout page, even when the Scenario status is set to ‘On’. To make your rates visible to customers, you will need to select a billing plan to activate your free trial.
To test rates in Sandbox mode
- For Shopify - enter ‘Intuitive’ as either the customer’s first or last name at checkout
- For BigCommerce or Shopify B2B - enter ‘Intuitive’ in the optional address field for ‘Apartment/ Suite/ Building’ at checkout.
Scenario Status
If rates are not appearing with an active billing plan, it may be because the Scenario status is set to 'Off' (not visible to anyone) or 'Test' (only visible when using ‘Intuitive’ on the checkout page).
Shipping Method Status
If rates are not appearing with an active billing plan, it may be because the shipping method Status is set to 'Off' (not visible to anyone) or 'Test' (only visible when using ‘Intuitive’ on the checkout page).
Carrier-calculated Rates
If you're using Shopify, their third-party carrier service feature must be enabled on your Shopify account to use any third-party shipping rate calculator app, including Intuitive Shipping.
Account Credentials
Double-check that you have correctly entered your User ID and password, and that there are no spaces or extra or missing characters.
Packages
Rates may not appear if a suitable package size is uavailable in your parcel service shipping method. If the correct package size is missing or set to 'Off', the next largest package will be used. If the next package size exceeds the carrier's size limits, no rate will be returned.
If a suitable package isn't found, Intuitive Shipping will attempt to create a custom package using the product dimensions. If that custom package also exceeds the carrier limits, no rate will be returned.
To prevent this, make sure the packages in your shipping method are properly set up to fit your products and that they meet the carrier's size requirements.
Delivery Services
Some carrier delivery services may be unavailable due to restrictions such as shipment size, weight, or the customer’s address. If some Canada Post rates appear but others do not, or if another carrier returns rates while Canada Post does not, the issue is likely related to service limitations.
Check that the selected services are compatible with the shipping address. For example, domestic-only services will not return rates for international addresses.
If some rates were returned and others were not, review the Notifications for any messages related to the carrier.
Product Dimensions & SmartBoxing
If you’re using SmartBoxing, volume-based shipping, products must have dimensions set in Intuitive Shipping (Shopify only). Dimensions are required for SmartBoxing and volume-based packing to pack the order. If any product is missing dimensions, the packing process will fail, no package info will be sent to the carrier, and no rates will be returned. If you're using dimension-based conditions, missing dimensions will cause the Scenario conditions to fail.
Learn more about how to use SmartBoxing.
Syncing
While you’re in Sandbox mode, any product changes must be manually synced with Intuitive Shipping. Once you activate a billing plan, syncing happens automatically. However, if many changes are made in a short period of time, such as adding or editing several products, auto-syncing may not finish completely. If required product details are missing, the calculation will fail and package information cannot be sent to the carrier.
If you’re using the SmartBoxing packing algorithm, be sure all new products have dimensions added in Intuitive Shipping.
Cost Adjustments
If rates are showing but appear too high or too low, a cost adjustment may have been applied. Check the 'Cost adjustments' section (in Optional Settings) of your parcel service shipping method.
Contact Us
If rates aren't displaying as expected and you are unable to resolve the issue, please contact us. We’re here to help!