How to Set Up a UPS Carrier (2023)

Overview

ShipperHQ supports an extensive set of UPS services across domestic, international, small package, and alternate delivery options. This article covers the various types of UPS carriers, some configuration settings, and the process for setting the carrier up.

ShipperHQ UPS Capabilities Video

Available UPS Services

• Domestic and International Small Package Services

  The UPS small package carrier discussed in this article covers the majority of domestic and international small package services provided by UPS both ground (including Ground with Freight Pricing) and air services. However, there are certain services which work differently and may require a separate carrier in ShipperHQ. These are outlined below:

  (Video) Straightforward Shipping with UPS for Small Businesses

• Ship to a UPS Access Point Location

  Offering the option for customers to ship their order to a UPS Access Point location is supported using the UPS Access Point carrier.

• Ground with Freight Pricing

  UPS GFP allows for non-palletized multi-packaged shipments within the 48 contiguous US states with a competitive rating structure for certain scenarios. This method is available when a shipment totals over 150 lbs but the individual packages which make up the shipment are all less than 150 lbs each. This is not a separate service, but instead a type of rating used for UPS Ground for shipments meeting the requirements and for customers who have a UPS Ground with Freight Pricing contract with UPS. Follow the steps to set up a UPS Ground With Freight Pricing carrier and for shipments meeting the criteria for UPS Ground with Freight Pricing, the pricing shown for UPS Ground reflects this rate. Hazardous materials are not accepted when shipping with GFP. Please see UPS’s documentationfor more information.

• UPS SurePost

  ShipperHQ supports UPS SurePost, though you will need to contact us to enable it for you. Once enabled, you can see as a new carrier option in the Marketplace allowing you to install UPS SurePost. The instructions below also apply to UPS SurePost.

• UPS Mail Innovations

  UPS does not currently offer the capability to retrieve Mail Innovations shipping rates in real-time. However, Mail Innovations shipping rates are straight-forward and can be set up manually using a Custom Table Rate carrier.

• UPS Hundredweight Service

  If you have an active UPS Hundredweight Service contract in place with UPS, ShipperHQ is able to return your discounted rates for eligible shipments. Note that when Hundredweight Service rates are returned by UPS, there is no visible difference in the shipping option names displayed, but the rates shown will reflect the appropriate UPS Hundredweight Service rates. All requirements of UPS Hundredweight Service apply including:

  • UPS installed in ShipperHQ connected to your UPS account and set to use Rates Associated with Shipper Number
  • Shipment containing multiple packages
  • Shipping from the 48 contiguous US states to the 50 states or Puerto Rico
  • Total shipment weight exceeding 200lbs for UPS 3 Day Select or UPS Ground or 100lbs for UPS Next Day Air, UPS Next Day Air Saver, UPS 2nd Day Air AM, or UPS 2nd Day Air

For more details on these requirements, see UPS.com.

Requirements

Before you begin, please ensure you have the following:

When connecting a UPS Account with your negotiated rates to ShipperHQ, you’ll need the following credentials that allow ShipperHQ to connect to the UPS servers and obtain a rate quote:

• A registered UPS Account
• UPS Account Number
• Most recent UPS invoice
• Shipping address associated to the UPS account

You may also use UPS’ standard list rates to rate packages/orders at checkout if you do not have an account with negotiated rates with UPS.

Steps To Add This Carrier

1. Log into your ShipperHQ account.
2. Navigate to the Manage Shipping > Carriers dashboard.
3. Click the + New to add a new carrier.
4. Click the Live Rate Carrier option.
   
5. Select UPS from the list of carriers.
6. Type in the name of the carrier you want your customers to see. Example: UPS.
7. Click the Continue button.
8. Select Use UPS Standard List Rates or Use My Own UPS Account Rates based on your needs.
9. Click the Continue button.

Use UPS Standard List Rates

1. Input your contact information into the fields provided to access UPS’ standard list rates.
2. Click the Finish button.
3. Success! Your UPS carrier has now been added to your list of carriers in ShipperHQ.
4. You can begin to configure your carrier’s settings right away.

This option uses UPS’ standard list rates to rate packages/orders at checkout. You can always choose to add your credentials to use your own negotiated rates with UPS at any time.

Use My Own UPS Account Rates

1. Click the Continue button.
2. You may now proceed to Validate your UPSCarrier(instructions are in the following section), or you can skip this step and choose to validate your carrier at another time. If you choose to skip validation you can begin to configure your carrier’s settings right away.

Register for UPS Account

If you do not already have a UPS Shipping Account, sign up at UPS. If you already have an account with UPS and have access to your most recent invoice you will use that invoice for validation.

Obtaining UPS Invoice/Credentials

In order to connect ShipperHQ to your UPS account, you’ll need your most recent invoice. You can download your invoice at UPS.com or use physical copy of the most recent invoice. If you have not received an invoice from UPS in the preceding 90 days, no invoice is required to register and you can skip this section.

1. Go to UPS.com and click the Log-in link at the top of the page.
2. Log in with your UPS.com username and password.
3. Once logged in, select Billing from the My UPS drop-down in the navbar.
4. Click the Access button to access the UPS Billing Center.
5. Click the View Invoice link from the Billing Center Quick Links section.
6. You should see a list of recent invoices under the Invoice Information header.
7. Click the Invoice Number for the most recent invoice. Note, it doesn’t matter if you’ve already paid.
8. Click the View/Download Invoice Data button at the bottom of the page.
9. Select PDF and click Submit to view the invoice PDF.
10. You need the information from this Invoice to connect ShipperHQ to your UPS account.

Example Invoice

Your invoice may vary somewhat from this example invoice but this helps identify where to find the required invoice information.

Steps to Validate This Carrier

1. Click the Enter Credentials button.
2. Review the UPS Validation License Agreement.
3. Click the I Agree button.
4. Enter your account credentials and required information as printed on your invoice

   Successful validation depends on the accurate entry of the account information required by each carrier. This validation is necessary for ShipperHQ to access your shipping account and rates. However, if you are unable to validate your shipping account, ShipperHQ defaults to the Standard List Rates. For more information, please see the Standard List Rates section below.

5. If you receive an error or your credentials are not valid, see the Troubleshooting section below.
6. Once validation is complete, you are presented with:
   1. The option to enable your carrier right away. (Enabling your carrier at this time turns its rates on immediately even before you have made any configuration adjustments to it)
   2. Begin to configure – continuing with this button redirects you to the carrier’s configuration page.
      

Configuring UPS Canada

The configuration for Canada UPS involves adjustments to ensure the correct rating.

• UPS Account Origin
• Weight Unit
• Shipping Methods
• Currency Conversion (Magento only)

1. 1. 1. UPS Account Origin When you have an Origin in Canada and wish to use UPS you must ensure the UPS carrier has the origin of the shipment set to Canada.
      2. Weight Unit
         Choose your weight unit for Canada, what are your product weight units? This is also set in Account Settings->Global Features.
      3. Shipping Methods
         Select the Canadian Shipping Methods.Because of a nuance in UPS currently, we map the following shipping methods in the dashboard to methods on the checkout:
         • Next Day Air – > maps to Express
         • Next Day Air Saver -> maps to Express Saver
         • 2nd Day Air -> maps to Expedited
         • Standard -> Standard

         So for example if you select Next Day Air Saver as an allowed method on the carrier than in the checkout you will see Express Saver as a rate.

         Only the following 4 rates shown above are for Canada.

      4. Currency Conversion
         On the Magento platform, you must ensure you allow the currency Canada and setup the conversion rate else you will not see any shipping rates. We return rates in CAD and rely on the platform to convert to store currency.

ConfiguringType of Rates (Customer Classification Code)

UPS has four types of rates, or customer classification codes. These codes are used in different scenarios and outlined below. It’s important to note that ShipperHQ does not provide UPS classification codes. If you offer a certain rate to your customers it’s important to ensure that you can actually ship at those rates. Talk to your UPS representative to determine which customer classification code you need use for your requirements.

This section is for daily rates and does not apply to list rates.

Rates Associated with Shipper Number

This is the most common option and uses the negotiated/incentivised shipping rates.

Daily Rates

This applies to shippers that have an existing customer account prior to January 3, 2011 that provides the Daily Rates, or UPS Scheduled Pickup service, implemented prior to January 3, 2011. The Daily Rates are the list rates used by UPS for years. For more information, please visit the UPS Daily Rates page.

Retail Rates

This applies to shippers that do not receive UPS Scheduled Pickup service; ship from a UPS retail location, such as The UPS Store® or UPS Customer Center; or ship infrequently with a UPS account number or payment card.

Standard List Rates

This applies to shippers that have a customised agreement with UPS that provides for Standard List Rates, or a UPS Scheduled Pickup account established on or after January 3, 2011. These are also the rates ShipperHQ defaults to these rates when you cannot validate your credentials or wish to not use your account rates.

Troubleshooting

If your invoice is not accepted on your first attempt, double-check all of your information and please look over the below tips. When you are sure that the below details are correct, please try again. If it fails a second time, please do not try again. Instead, contact the support team for assistance completing registration, as UPS limits the number of attempts to three a day.

The most common causes of registration failures are:

• Not using the most recent invoice UPS has generated. See the Obtaining UPS Invoice/Credentials section above for how to download your most recent invoice.
• Entering the Account or Billing address instead of the Shipped From address on the invoice. The address entered must be the address of the primary location where UPS picks up packages.
• Entering the wrong invoice date or charges this period. These must match exactly what was shown on your UPS invoice.
• Making changes to the carrier’s default settings before registering. If you changed anything about the carrier before attempting register, you must delete this carrier and create a new one. When you have created the new carrier, please register it before making ANY changes.
• No default origin is set on your website. A default origin must be set in order to register your carrier. You can see where to check and correct this on our Website Configuration page.
• Are you 100% sure you’re using a sandbox account? If you haven’t told this to UPS then you most likely don’t have a sandbox account so just make sure sandbox is unchecked on the UPS carrier in ShipperHQ. When you do, have this checked then you will see that the rates are inaccurate so please don’t use unless you are sure you have this type of UPS account and know the limitations of this setting.

Attempting to register unsuccessfully three times disables your account for 24 hours. You can still use your UPS account, but cannot attempt to register for another 24 hours. Please note, ShipperHQ defaults your UPS rates to the Standard List Rates if validation/registration is unsuccessful.