How It Works

Welcome to the gold standard in online shipping!

Intuitive Shipping lets you control how shipping costs are calculated at checkout. With our flexible, rules-based condition system, you can decide exactly when shipping rates and delivery options are shown to your customers.

Shipping costs can be tailored to your business needs. Here are some of the most common ways Intuitive Shipping is used to calculate shipping costs at checkout:

• Retail and wholesale rates
• Weight-based and quantity-based rates
• Conditional free shipping
• Restricted shipping based on postal codes and ZIP codes
• Distance-based local delivery
• Blended or tiered shipping rates
• Accurate dimensional shipping using SmartBoxing

Whether your setup is simple or highly complex, Intuitive Shipping was built to handle it.

If you have questions, you can check out our detailed, self-serve FAQ page. If you need assistance at any time, please contact us. We're here to help you!

 

 

Getting Started

This is your default starting point each time you sign into the app, and where you'll find key information to help you start using Intuitive Shipping.

 

Let's build together!

Make configuration a breeze with complimentary onboarding. 

• Get tailored guidance to navigate and optimize app features.
• Let us review your configuration to ensure everything is working as expected.
• We'll provide instructions for activating your free trial to unlock the power of Intuitive Shipping in your checkout.

One of our onboarding specialists would be happy to help you get up and running faster and with greater confidence. Why not? It's free!

If you're not quite ready to begin configuring Intuitive Shipping and would prefer a guided app tour, book a demo instead!

 

You're in sandbox mode!

Did you know you can use Intuitive Shipping in Sandbox mode for as long as you need, completely free? Take your time setting everything up exactly how you want it before going live. And the best part? Sandbox mode doesn’t count toward your free trial!

 

How-to guides

The Intuitive Shipping Help Center (you're in it!) provides detailed instructions and lets you explore the ins and outs of Intuitive Shipping. Clicking the Help Center button on the app's Get started page brings you right back here.

You can also access our detailed setup guides, how-to articles, and FAQs by navigating to the app's Support page and click 'Visit our help center'.

If you can't find the answers you're looking for in the Help Center, please contact us through the email support form on the app's Support page.

 

Stay in the loop

Stay informed about the status of Intuitive Shipping and our integrations by subscribing to our Status Page for timely updates on carrier outages and service disruptions.

 

 

The Basics

Here are some fundamental things you should know about Intuitive Shipping.

 

eCommerce Platforms

Intuitive Shipping is currently available on these platforms:

• BigCommerce - all subscriptions.
• Shopify - any subscription that can use the third-party carrier-calculated shipping rates feature.

 

Shopify Third-Party Carrier-Calculated Shipping Rates

Shopify requires their third-party carrier-calculated shipping rates feature to be enabled when using any rate calculation app like Intuitive Shipping. This feature is available on some Shopify plans.

 

Shopify Profiles

Profiles give Shopify merchants added flexibility with product-based shipping rates. However, due to the way Shopify sends information at checkout, Intuitive Shipping is unable to detect multiple profiles, which can lead to shipping calculation issues.

We strongly recommend using a single general shipping profile with Intuitive Shipping.

If you currently have multiple profiles, no problem! You can recreate them using Intuitive Shipping’s Scenarios feature to achieve the same results - often with even more precision and control. Scenarios are designed to do everything Shopify profiles were meant to do, and a whole lot more!

 

Shopify Locations

The Shopify Locations feature allows merchants to set up multiple shipping origin points, which can help with inventory management and local deliveries. While there are some exceptions, we generally recommend avoiding the use of Shopify’s Locations feature with Intuitive Shipping, as it can lead to calculation errors such as duplicated or missing rates.

Shopify does not share inventory levels with Intuitive Shipping during checkout, which limits our visibility into where products are being shipped from.

If you need alternate shipping origin points for live carrier rates or local delivery pricing and don’t rely on Shopify Locations for inventory management, we recommend using the built-in locations feature in Intuitive Shipping instead.

 

Scenarios

Scenarios are a set of rules that control when shipping costs are shown at checkout.

• Over 40 condition types to choose from.
• Add as many conditions as you need to each Scenario.
• Create condition groups when restrictions get complex.
• No shipping rules? Conditions are optional!

Regardless of whether you use conditions, at least one Scenario is required to use Intuitive Shipping, as this is where your shipping methods are managed. You can create as many Scenarios as needed.

 

Shipping Methods

Shipping methods define how shipping costs are calculated at checkout.

• Custom shipping methods allow you to offer free, flat-rate, or variable-rate shipping options.
• Parcel, freight, and integration shipping methods give you access to real-time shipping rates by connecting your preferred carriers or subscription services to Intuitive Shipping.
• Local delivery shipping methods enable you to set shipping costs based on specific distance ranges.
• Combine shipping method costs together using simple or advanced blending.

There's no limit to the number of shipping methods you can add to a single Scenario.

 

Zones and Sub-zones

Zones allow you to specify the geographic areas where products can be shipped, whether regional, national, or international. For more precise control, sub-zones let you show or hide shipping options at checkout based on postal codes or ZIP codes.

 

Packages

With Intuitive Shipping, you’re not limited to a single default package size, which often results in shipping costs being too high or too low. Instead, you can add all of your commonly used rigid and soft packages to improve the accuracy of real-time carrier rates at checkout.

Intuitive Shipping supports multiple packing algorithms, including SmartBoxing. This algorithm uses both dimensional volume and weight to calculate the most efficient package combination for each order. That means lower shipping costs for you and less packaging waste for the environment.

 

Activities

The Activity page displays calculated shipping costs from Intuitive Shipping from the past 14 days.

Clicking 'View' next to an activity will display detailed information about the rate calculation, including the items in the cart, the shipping methods available to your customers, package dimensions (if applicable), and more.

 

 

Billing Plans and Additional Orders

After you've finished testing and are happy with your configuration, activate your free trial by selecting a billing plan.

Choose the plan that best fits your business!

• Billing is based on the number of completed orders per month.
• We don't penalize you for test calculations and abandoned carts after shipping has been calculated.
• Every plan has the same access! We don't hide features behind a paywall.

 

All Intuitive Shipping billing plans include additional order costs above your plan's monthly limit, allowing you to continue using Intuitive Shipping even if you exceed your limit.

• Shopify: plan costs and accrued additional orders appear on your monthly Shopify invoice.
• BigCommerce: plan costs and accrued additional orders are invoiced directly by Intuitive Shipping each month.

Your free trial starts as soon as you select a billing plan. You can always check how much time remains in your trial from the Get Started page. When the trial ends, billing begins automatically. The transition is seamless, so there’s nothing more you need to do.

 

 

What's Next:

Ready to start using Intuitive Shipping?

• Create A Zone

 

Can we lend a hand? Let us help you get up and running faster and with greater confidence. Book a complimentary onboarding session!