How Do I Add a Surcharge or Discount for a Certain Zone?

Overview

A common shipping rule scenario used by ShipperHQ merchants is to add a surcharge or a discount when quoting shipping rates to a specific zone.

Shipping zones can be defined in SHQ as a group of countries, regions, or states within a single country.

Additionally, shipping zones can include one or more cities within a certain region or state, certain ZIP or postal codes, or ranges of postcodes.

Please be sure to visit our guide for creating shipping zones.

If you’d like to surcharge or discount rates to designated zones, please use the steps outlined in this guide for creating shipping rules to match your desired rule-type.

Setup

How to Surcharge Rates for a Zone

The steps outlined below can be used to set up a surcharge rule to be applied for a specific zone.

1. To begin, navigate to the “Shipping Rules” option in the left-hand navigation menu.

Location of 'All Shipping Rules' option under Shipping Rules menu.

2. Click “Add New” to create a new shipping rule.

Click the New button to start creating a new shipping rule.

3. Select “Surcharge Rates” for the action you would like the rule to perform.

Location to select Surcharge Rates as the action to begin creating a surcharge rule.

4. Apply the surcharge as a flat rate or a percentage or both.

Select how you would like to apply the charge. For example, as flat rate, percentage or both.

5. When entering a percentage specify how it should be applied.

Location to select how the surcharge would be applied to the products in cart,

6. Choose the shipping methods to be used in this surcharge rule from a list of all available shipping methods

Example showing selecting shipping methods on which the surcharge will be applicable.

7. Click the option to use “Shipping Zones” for the rule condition to apply this surcharge to the selected methods then click “Continue” to proceed to the next step.

Location to select Shipping Zones as a condition for the shipping rule to come in action.

8. Select the Shipping Zone(s) that the surcharge will apply to from the list in the dropdown.

Location to select Shipping Zones to which the shipping rule will apply.

9. If the zone to be used is not listed, a new one zone can be created by simply clicking the link below the dropdown to “Create a new Shipping Zone“.

Setting to create a new shipping zone for the rule.

10. After selecting the shipping zone and proceeding, a summary of the shipping rule will be displayed.

Be sure to add a title for the new rule so that it can be easily identified in the shipping rules list and when testing.

Example showing the summary of a shipping rule before you click Finish to enable it.

11. Click “Finish” to save the new rule. This will apply the rule immediately.

12. Once the rule has been created, we recommend using the “Test your Rates” feature to confirm the new rule is working as intended.

How to Discount Rates for a Zone

The steps outlined below can be used to set up a discount rule to be applied for a specific zone.

1. To begin, navigate to the “Shipping Rules” option in the left-hand navigation menu.

Select 'All Shipping Rules' from Shipping Rules Menu to view the list of shipping rules.

2. Click “Add New” to create a new shipping rule.

Click 'New' to start creating a new shipping rule.

3. Select “Discount Rates” for the action you would like the rule to perform.

Location of 'Discount Rates' option to create a shipping rule with discount action.

4. Apply the discount amount as a flat rate or a percentage or both.

Select how you would prefer the discount rule to apply. For example, flat, percentage or both of them

5. When entering a percentage specify how it should be applied.

Location to select how the discount rule should apply to the cart.

6. Choose the shipping methods to be used in this discount rule from a list of all available shipping methods

Example showing selecting shipping methods on which the discount rule will apply.

7. Click the option to use “Shipping Zones” for the rule condition to apply this discount to the selected methods then click “Continue” to proceed to the next step.

Location to select Shipping Zones as a condition to apply discount rule to specific zones only.

8. Select the Shipping Zone(s) that the discount will apply to from the list in the dropdown.

Select shipping zones to which the rule should apply to.

9. If the zone to be used is not listed, a new one zone can be created by simply clicking the link below the dropdown to “Create a new Shipping Zone”.

Location to create new shipping zones for the rule if need be.

10. After selecting the shipping zone and proceeding, a summary of the shipping rule will be displayed.

Be sure to add a title for the new rule so that it can be easily identified in the shipping rules list and when testing.

Example of summary of a shipping rule before you click finish and complete the creation of the rule.

11. Click “Finish” to save the new rule. This will apply the rule immediately.

12. Once the rule has been created, we recommend using the “Test your Rates” feature to confirm the new rule is working as intended.

Conclusion

Once completed, ShipperHQ will apply the surcharge or discount defined in this rule for the shipping method(s) selected whenever a customer’s address is within the selected zone.

Test Your Rates

Verify that your carriers and rules are working and see how they will display in your checkout right from the ShipperHQ dashboard.

Learn More

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