Shipping Rules: Automate Your Shipping Settings

Creating shipping labels is only one part of an efficient post-purchase workflow. Behind every successful shipment are the right package settings like accurate weights, correct dimensions, proper package types, and the best service selected for the order.

That’s where Shipping Rules come in.

Think of Shipping Rules as your behind-the-scenes assistant. Instead of manually adjusting shipment details for every order, you can tell Postsale:

“When an order meets these specific conditions, automatically apply these shipping settings.”

Shipping Rules work by matching orders to conditions you define, such as order source, order total, SKU, destination, or other criteria. When Postsale finds an order that meets those conditions, it automatically applies the shipment settings you’ve configured for that rule.

For example, a rule might say:

When the order contains SKU “DOG CRATE XL”

• Automatically set the package weight to 20 lbs,
• Set the Package Type to Package,
• Set the dimensions to 20 x 15 x 6 inches
• Select the most economical service for the shipment

No manual updates. No second-guessing. No missed details.

The best part? You’re not limited to just one rule. You can create multiple Shipping Rules, each with its own unique conditions and shipment settings, that work together to ensure every order is configured correctly. Whether your workflow is simple or highly customized, Shipping Rules give you the flexibility to build a system that fits your business.

To dive deeper into how conditions, groups, and logic work together within Shipping Rules, check out our Conditional Logic: Understanding Conditions and Groups help article.

By defining when rules should apply and what settings should be used, Shipping Rules help you:

• Save time on repetitive configuration
• Reduce manual errors
• Ensure accuracy and consistency
• Standardize your shipping workflow
• Confidently scale as order volume increases

Much like Automation in Postsale allows you to define triggers, conditions, and actions , Shipping Rules allow you to define conditions and shipment settings so the right configuration is applied automatically, every time.

This article will walk you through creating two Shipping Rules using real world examples. The goal is to give you enough information so that you can create the shipping rules for your workflow, allowing you to ship with confidence.

Let’s get started.

Before We Begin

Before creating Shipping Rules, there are two important items we recommend reviewing. Taking a few minutes to review them will help ensure your rules work exactly as expected.

1. Configure Your Default Shipping Settings First

Shipping Rules build on top of your Default Shipping Settings.

When a shipment is created in Postsale, your Default Shipping Settings are applied first. Then, Postsale evaluates your Shipping Rules. If an order meets the conditions of a rule, the rule’s shipment settings will override the default settings for that shipment.

Because of this workflow, configuring your Default Shipping Settings should always be your first step.

In most cases, your default settings should reflect the shipping configuration you use most often, such as your most common:

• Package type
• Weight
• Dimensions
• Carrier and Service
• Shipment Protection

Think of your defaults as your baseline. Shipping Rules then fine tune shipment settings for specific scenarios.

2. Use the Test Rules Tool While You Build

You can safely test your Shipping Rules before applying them to real orders.

Postsale includes a Test Rules tool that allows you to evaluate how your rules will behave without actually updating shipments. This makes it easy to confirm that the correct settings will apply when an order matches your conditions.

We strongly recommend testing each rule as you build it, especially if you are using multiple conditions or layered logic.

Taking these two steps, setting your defaults and testing your rules, will give you confidence that your Shipping Rules are working smoothly and supporting an accurate, efficient shipping workflow.

Shipping Rule Examples

Let’s walk through creating two Shipping Rules using a real world scenario.

REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE

We specialize in selling dog crates that range from very small to extra large. Each size category ships differently.

Our product lineup includes:

• Tiny, Small, and Medium crates - ship in the same package size and use the same weight configuration.
• Large, XL, and XXL crates - require a bigger box, a higher shipment weight, and insurance because of their increased value.

In addition, we run a loyalty program. As part of that program, we ship a T shirt and a bumper sticker to our most loyal customers in a 12 inch by 15 inch soft pack mailer. These loyalty shipments make up the majority of our orders.

Because the loyalty shipments are the most common, our Default Shipment Settings have already been configured to automatically apply the correct packaging, dimensions, and weight for those orders.

The Default Shipping Settings have been configured for the most common shipments

Now, we will create two Shipping Rules:

• A rule that overrides the default settings when an order contains a Tiny, Small, or Medium dog crate.
• A second rule that overrides the default settings when an order contains a Large, XL, or XXL crate.

This approach allows our default configuration to handle the majority of shipments, while Shipping Rules automatically adjust the shipment settings for crate orders that require something different.