Use Australia Post Shipping Methods
For our merchants located in Australia, Shift4Shop is compatible with real-time shipping calculations provided through Australia Post. This guide will detail how to set up your store for Australia Post shipping calculations as well as special considerations that need to be made when using this particular carrier.
Available Australia Post Shipping Methods
Your Shift4Shop store will have the following Australia Post Shipping Methods available:
Courier Post
Courier Post Assessed Medium Satchel
Express Courier International Document
Express Courier International Merchandise
Express Parcels
Express Post
Express Post Large (5kg) Satchel
Express Post Medium (3kg) Satchel
Express Post Small (500g) Satchel
International Courier
International Express
International Standard
International Air Mail
International Economy Air
International Economy Sea
International Sea Mail
Parcel Post
Parcel Post Large (5kg) Satchel
Parcel Post Medium (3kg) Satchel
Parcel Post Small (500g) Satchel
Regular Parcels
Australia Post Restrictions
Please be aware of restrictions that Australia Post has in place for sending packages. More information on these restrictions can be found here. We recommend contacting Australia Post Support in the event you have any questions or concerns regarding these guidelines. Their support team can be reached here.
Shift4Shop Product Weights and Dimensions
As mentioned in a previous guide, Shift4Shop's software uses neither metric or standard measurement units. Instead, the numbers listed in your product weights and dimensions are simply numbers. Ultimately it is up to the real-time shipping carrier to determine what the denomination will be for the order (i.e., U.S. based carriers will calculate "2" as 2lbs whereas European carriers may calculate "2" as 2g or 2kg). This is something you'll want to keep in mind when setting up your store for Australia Post.
Shift4Shop's integration for Australia Post is made possible via API. When your store is set up with Australia Post, a call is made to the API with the order's point of origin (your store's or drop shipper's AU postal code), the order's destination (the postal code it's being sent to), the order's total weight, and the package's estimated dimensions (when applicable). All of this information is then used to return a shipping rate calculation directly from Australia Post.
It is important to note that - although Australia Post returns most rates based on centimeter measurements and kilogram weights - the API which is used for calculation expects these measurements to be sent in millimeter and gram units by default.
When you set up Australia Post on your Shift4Shop store (see next section), you are given the option of specifying whether the sent weight and dimensions are millimeters and grams (default) or whether you'd like to use centimeters and kilograms. This is important to consider as it will affect how your products should be set up in the store.
When configuring your products on the Shift4Shop Online Store Manager, please be sure to enter your product weights and dimensions in accordance with the dimensions settings you choose on the AU Post module. For example, if you elect to go with the default grams/millimeter increments on the Australia Post shipping setting, then your products should reflect this (i.e., a 1kg item should be listed with 1000 in its weight field). On the other hand, if you go with the alternate kilograms/centimeter setting, you can configure your products accordingly (i.e., a 1kg item is listed with 1 in its weight field).
Additional Information:
Product dimensions are used to return shipping calculation when an item is either ordered individually or otherwise is intended to be shipped as its own individual package (i.e., "Ships by Itself" is toggled on the product). When multiple units or items are contained within the same order and set to ship together, there is no way to feasibly anticipate how those items will be boxed together during shipment. Therefore, when the order contains multiple items to be shipped at the same time, the shipping calculation will use a default dimensional measurement for the rate calculation. For Australia Post, this default measurement will be:
Length - 10cm
Width - 1cm
Height - 10cm
Weight will be the total combined weight of all items on the order.
Australia Post Settings
In the following steps, we'll outline how to add Australia Post to your store:
Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager.
Go to Settings > Shipping and click on the Edit Settings button in the Shipping Settings section.
Scroll down to the "Real-time Shipping Settings" section and locate the Australia Post Carrier module.
Click on the Show Settings link to display your available settings.
Select whether you'd like the store to send your product weights and dimensions in grams or millimeters (default) or kilograms and centimeters*.
*As mentioned previously, the API which is used to return rates for AU Post expects grams and millimeter dimensions to be sent from the store by default. However, in this setting, you can select whether to use this default action or if you'd prefer to use kilograms and centimeters for your store. Just remember to make sure your products reflect whatever choice you make here.
6. If you'd like to require a signature on delivery with Australia Post, mark the checkbox provided.
7. Click Save.
Your Australia Post shipping module is now configured for use, but there are still a few more settings to change before you move on to adding the individual shipping methods.
Additional Shipping Settings
First, let's go over setting the maximum box weight setting. While still on the Shipping Settings page, look for the "Package Settings" section and click on its Hide/Show + icon.
Look for the field labeled "Max Box Weight (Lbs)" and enter your maximum box weight in grams (or kilograms).*
2. While still on this page, scroll up to the "Shipping Origin" section and enter your shipping location's Postal Code information.
3. Click Save at the top right to update your settings.
Additional Information
The data entered in this area will serve as your real time shipping calculation's point of origin for the returned rates. More information on setting up your store's country information can be found here and here.
Also, if you are using drop shippers, please review the Drop Shipper guide, located here.
Once these steps are complete, you can proceed to the next section, where you will set up the actual Australia Post shipping methods.
Adding Australia Post Shipping Methods
Again, go to Settings > Shipping, and click on the Select Methods button in the Shipping Methods section.
Look for the "Australia Post" method and click on the Add New button for it.
Select the AUPost methods that you'd like to use for your store and click Add Method.
After you add the methods, you may click on their Settings and Advanced Settings links to set your preferences/restrictions like weight ranges, customer groups, etc.
For more complete information on setting up your shipping methods, please see our tutorial located here.
Congratulations! Your store is now set up to use Australia Post's Real Time Shipping Calculations.