FAQ

Smart Boxing uses an advanced, proprietary boxing algorithm to determine the most efficient packing method possible using product and packaging dimensions. Packaging information is sent to your preferred carrier(s) to obtain the most accurate live rates.

At a minimum, you’ll need at least one (1) Shipping Method and one (1) Package. You’ll also need to make sure that all of your products have dimensions.

Smart Boxing also requires that you have carrier-calculated rates enabled on your Shopify account. To learn more, click here.

Yes! You can take as much time as you need to set up and test Smart Boxing. To make live rates available to your customers at checkout, you’ll need to activate your account.

Yep! Once you’ve finished setting up Smart Boxing and testing your setups, you can activate your 14-Day FREE Trial.

No! You can use Smart Boxing in Setup & Testing mode for as long as you need to get things set up. Your 14-Day FREE Trial will begin after you have activated your account.

Smart Boxing uses an advanced boxing algorithm to calculate live rates with the most efficient packaging possible. It does not use a condition system to determine how rates are displayed at checkout.

If your Shipping strategy is more complex and requires shipping rules and conditions, consider using our main app, Intuitive Shipping.

Smart Boxing uses an advanced boxing algorithm to optimize your dimensional shipping and provide accurate live rates at checkout. Fulfillment support and shipping labels are available directly through Shopify or through a fulfillment app.

If you’re currently using a label printing and fulfillment app, you can continue to use it with Smart Boxing. There are no known conflicts.

FlexDims™ is an exclusive feature in Smart Boxing that automatically shrinks the height of soft packages, such as poly mailers, depending on the size of the products being packed.

Yes! As a verified app on the Shopify app store, Smart Boxing is in full compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law. To learn how click here.

Absolutely. Take a tour of Smart Boxing with one of our amazing team members. Book your demo appointment here.

You can test your Shipping Methods before activating your account by using the customer name ‘Intuitive’ at checkout. Learn how to test your setups here.

If you’re testing a new setup on your checkout page and you can’t see the updated rates, you may need to clear the Shopify cache. Learn how to clear your Shopify cache here.

Or, you may need to enable Carrier-Calculated Rates on your Shopify account. Shopify mandates that Carrier-Calculated Rates must be enabled to use a third-party rates provider such as Smart Boxing. Learn more about Carrier-Calculated rates here.

To test new Shipping Methods that you’ve created after activating your account, simply set the Shipping Method Visibility to ‘Administrators only’. Learn how here. Then, use the Customer Name ‘Intuitive’ at checkout to bypass the Visibility setting.

The Activity page is the Smart Boxing dashboard. Once you’ve started using Smart Boxing to calculate rates, either for test purposes or in a live setting, recent calculations will appear on the Activity page, with the most recent activity at the top.

You can find a recent calculation by searching a customer name or transaction ID from the Activity page.

When you click on a recent calculation activity, you’ll see the items that were in the cart along with details about the carrier rates and service methods, and address details.

If you’re looking for a recent transaction and can’t find it on the Activity page, it may be due to one of the following reasons:

The calculation did not return any rate. If Smart Boxing is unable to return any rates as a result of missing information (box dimension, product weight), a transaction will not be displayed.

The Activity occurred more than 14 days ago. Recent activities are displayed for the past fourteen (14) days. If the transaction you’re looking for occurred more than 14 days prior, it will not show in searches.

Recent activities are displayed from the past fourteen (14) days. If you haven’t had any activity in this period, no activities will be displayed.

A Shipping method determines how live shipping costs are calculated at checkout. Shipping methods connect Smart Boxing to live carrier rates from one of our integrated partners.

Shipping methods connect your preferred carrier(s) with Smart Boxing so that live rates from the carrier can be presented to your customer at checkout using the most efficient packaging method possible.

You only need one (1) shipping method to use Smart Boxing. You can create as many as you need.

Yep! You can easily create an exact duplicate of any existing Shipping method, then make any necessary changes to the copy. To learn how to duplicate a shipping method, click here.

Smart Boxing returns live rates from each carrier based on the delivery services that are selected by you, such as UPS Ground. The customer has the option to choose from any of the available shipping methods. Rates cannot be combined.

If your shipping requirements are more complex and you need to combine shipping methods from multiple carriers, consider using our main app, Intuitive Shipping.

Absolutely! You can choose any or all of the available domestic or international service types offered by each carrier, such as Ground, 2 Day, Express. Only the service methods you select will be shown to the customer at checkout.

Not all service methods are available in all areas. When a service method isn’t available in a customer’s area, it won’t be displayed at checkout, even if you have selected it as an option. Check with your preferred carrier for any regional service restrictions.

We are currently integrated with the following carriers:

1. Canada Post
2. FedEx
3. United States Postal Service (USPS)
4. UPS
5. DHL

More coming soon!

Absolutely! When you set up a shipping method, simply add your account details – account number, password, etc. – to link your account to Smart Boxing. Learn how to set up each carrier here.

In most cases, carriers do not require an account to access their general retail rates. When you set up a shipping method, leave the Account Details section blank. When no account credentials are present, our system returns standard retail rates from the selected carrier.

Find your preferred carrier here, then review the Add Carrier Account Details section.

Shopify does not provide its own carrier account credentials to any third party. As a result, our system is unable to access their negotiated rates. You can apply a manual discount in the Optional Settings of your Shipping Method to simulate Shopify’s discounted rates. Learn how to simulate Shopify discounts here.

Then, you can continue to fulfill through Shopify to take advantage of their discounted rates.

You can add as many as you need! The more packaging options that are available, the more accurate the shipping costs will be.

Yes! When you set up a Shipping Method, you have the option to add a markup, add insurance, apply a discount, or round the final shipping cost.

We plan on adding carrier services for flat rate boxes in the near future. Stay tuned!

Smart Boxing will calculate live rate for any address that resides in your Shopify Shipping Zones. Shipping methods cannot be localized by postal code (postcode), zip code or city.

If your shipping strategy requires you to limit or exclude shipping to certain locations or regions, consider using our flagship app Intuitive Shipping which lets you create sub-zones based on postal codes and zip codes.

You can! If you want to take advantage of Shopify’s Local Pickup and Local Delivery features, you can absolutely use either – or both – in parallel with Smart Boxing. When a customer selects either Local Pickup or Local Delivery at checkout instead of Shipping, their shipping will be calculated directly by Shopify based on your Local Pickup/ Delivery configuration. If the customer selects Shipping, live rates will be calculated by Smart Boxing.

During Setup & Testing, we recommend syncing your products with Smart Boxing. Once you have activated your account, changes to your products will automatically be synced.

To learn how to sync your products, click here.

Our advanced boxing system compares the dimensions of all products in the cart with available package sizes to determine the most efficient packaging method possible. Without product dimensions, Smart Boxing cannot optimize dimensional shipping.

You can quickly add and edit dimensions for individual products, or you can use a CSV file to easily upload dimensions for multiple products.

Product weights can be added when you add Product dimensions. If weights are not included, Smart Boxing will pull the weight from the product listing in your Shopify settings. If weight is present in both systems, the weight in Smart Boxing will supersede the weight in Shopify, if different.

Product weights are required for calculating live rates, so we strongly recommend that you add weight for all of your Products.

Dimensional weight is a theoretical calculation used by most carriers to quote live rates. Using a formula that considers both the size (volume) and weight of a package, dimensional weight estimates the package density, because it is possible to ship a small box that weighs a lot and a large box that doesn’t.

When adding product weights to Smart Boxing, always enter the actual weight of the product. We send the actual product weights and packaging dimensions to the carriers who return rates based on dimensional weight.

Yes! If you have a product that ships in multiple pieces – e.g. a table with four (4) legs – you can add each additional piece to the Product listing in Smart Boxing. Learn how to add additional produce pieces here.

Product variants are included in the primary product listing. If necessary, you can edit the dimensions and weight, and add additional pieces to each variant when adding Product dimensions.

You only need one (1) package to use Smart Boxing. You can add as many package sizes and types as you like.

To take advantage of our advanced boxing system, we recommend adding all of your commonly used packages to Smart Boxing.

Carriers use package dimensions to determine the dimensional weight of the shipment, which is required to calculate and return accurate live rates.

Inner dimensions are used by Smart Boxing to determine the most efficient packaging method possible. Inner dimensions are optional.

Outer dimensions of boxes are used by the carrier to calculate dimensional weight and return live rates. Outer dimensions are used by Smart Boxing to determine the most efficient packaging method possible when inner dimensions are not assigned.

Absolutely! When you add a Package to Smart Boxing, you have the option to select ‘Box’ or ‘Soft Package’.

While boxes are rigid containers with fixed dimensions, Soft Packages have a fixed length and width, but a flexible height dimension. When adding a soft package, the maximum height of the package is used. Smart Boxing’s exclusive FlexDims™ system automatically reduces the height dimension based on the products being ordered to ensure the most efficient packaging is being used.

Because there are many types of soft packages, the best way to determine the maximum height is to fill a soft package and measure it. Be careful not to over-fill and stretch the soft package, as this may result in reduced length and width dimensions which may lead to calculation errors.

You can easily create an exact duplicate of any existing Package, then make any necessary adjustments to the copy. To learn how to duplicate a package, click here.

Yes! You have the option to make any Package in Smart Boxing ‘Active’ or ‘Inactive’. Packages that are ‘Inactive’ are ignored during calculations. You can also select which Packages are available for any Shipping Method.

If you want to temporarily disable a Package from being included in a shipping method calculation (perhaps you ran out of boxes), simply edit the Package and set the status to ‘Inactive’. When the status is ‘Inactive’, the Package will be ignored during calculations.

When you reset the status to ‘Active’, the package will once again be available to any Shipping Methods that were previously using it.

You can! When you add a Package to Smart Boxing, you have the option to enter the packaging cost. When included, the cost will be blended into the final shipping cost.

When you add new package sizes to the Packages page in Smart Boxing, you can set their status to ‘Active’ right away. This means they can now be added to any Shipping Method. By default, new packages are not automatically added to Shipping Methods. If you have multiple Shipping Methods, you may not wish to have the packages added to all of them.

Once you have added new packages and set their status to ‘Active’, be sure to add them to any Shipping Methods you want to use them.

Yes! If you have a product that ships in a custom box or package, you can tell Smart Boxing to pack it separately. Each product has a ‘pack separately’ checkbox. When this box is selected, Smart Boxing will exclude the product from the packages assigned to the shipping method and will generate a custom package using the product’s dimensions as package dimensions.

When using this setting for custom packages, it is important that you change the product dimensions to package dimensions. For example, if your product has actual dimensions of 3 x 5 x 9 inches, but it ships in a custom box with dimensions, 8 x 8 x 12 inches, make sure you change the product dimensions to 8 x 8 x 12 when you select the ‘pack separately’ checkbox.

Smart Boxing creates a custom package for each item. That means if you have ‘pack separately’ checked and a customer orders a quantity of 3, Smart Boxing will create 3 separate packages.

When Visibility is set to Everyone, your Smart Boxing shipping rates will be displayed to your customers at checkout. Your account must be activated for rates to appear to everyone.

When visibility is set to Administrators only, rates will only appear at checkout when the customer name includes ‘Intuitive’.

Yes! After installing Smart Boxing, you can set your preferred dimension and weight units – e.g. cm’s and kg’s. You can change these at any time in the Units section of the Settings tab.

Please note: changing the unit type does not automatically convert any dimensional values already entered into Smart Boxing. For example, if you add a weight of 10 lbs to one of your products, and you change your weight unit to kilograms, the weight will now be 100 kgs.

You must manually change the Weight value to the kilogram equivalent of 100 lbs.

Rates calculated by Smart Boxing are based on the currency in your Shopify settings and cannot be changed within the app. To update currency, go to your Shopify settings. Be sure to resync your Shopify settings in Intutive Shipping after making any changes.

Your Primary Email address is automatically imported from your Shopify account and cannot be changed within Smart Boxing. To change your Primary Email address, you will need to update it in your Shopify General settings. Be sure to re-sycn your Shopify settings with Smart Boxing after making any changes.

When you install Smart Boxing, be sure to sync your products with the app. If you add or make changes to products while you’re in Testing mode, you’ll need to resync your product catalog with Smart Boxing. Learn how to sync your settings here.

After you activate your account, changes to your Shopify product settings will automatically sync with Smart Boxing.

Use this API to link Smart Boxing with our integrated partners, when available.

You can use Smart Boxing in Setup & Testing mode for an unlimited period of time. Once everything is set up and you have successfully completed testing, you can activate your account by selecting a Billing Plan.

When you select a Billing Plan, your 14-Day FREE Trial will begin.

Nope! You can stay in Setup & Testing mode as long as you need to get everything set up just right. Once you’re ready to use Smart Boxing in a live setting, you’ll need to select a Billing Plan to activate your 14-Day FREE trial.

Once your 14-Day FREE trial period is over, regular billing will begin automatically.

Absolutely! You can change your Billing Plan at any time.

To change to a lower-tier plan, your current usage amount must be lower than the limit of the plan you wish to change to.

Billing plans are based on the number of orders that are completed at checkout. An order is complete when the customer’s payment method has been accepted and Shopify has generated an order number.

Test calculations and abandoned carts do not count against your orders.

If you exceed the order limit of your Billing Plan, there is no disruption to your Smart Boxing service. Each Billing Plan includes an additional cost per order that is applied to each order above the plan limit until you upgrade your Plan or until the next billing cycle begins.

Your Smart Boxing app charges will appear on your Shopify invoice. Learn more about how Shopify bills you here.

If you have any issues with Smart Boxing or get stuck in the setup process, please reach out to us for support. We’re here to help!

If you experience an issue with Smart Boxing that is urgent, please email us and put ‘URGENT’ in the subject line.

Every Smart Boxing plan includes the same level of support, regardless of the Billing Plan selected.

We typically respond to Support Tickets within 1 business day. Email support during weekends and Canadian statutory holidays is limited.

Live Support is by appointment and can typically be scheduled at a convenient time with one business day. After booking your appointment, we’ll send you an email explaining how to access your Live Support meeting.

If you have an urgent, business-critical issue with Smart Boxing, please email us and put ‘URGENT’ in the subject line. Someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

The Status page provides real-time updates during app downtime caused by maintenance or unforseen technical issues. We also provide updates when our carrier partners have critical rates-related issues.

Be sure to add the Status page to your browser bookmarks. Or click the Subscribe To Updates button at the top of the Status page to receive status alerts by email.