Shipping — buying labels for unshipped orders

Weigh, box, rate and buy shipping labels for your open orders, one at a time or in bulk, and print them with the packing slip.

What it's for

The Shipping page is your packing station. Every order that is ready to ship appears on the Unshipped tab. For each one you set the box and weight, OrderPilot pulls rates from your shipping accounts and picks one for you, and you press Buy. The label prints together with its packing slip, and the tracking number goes back to the sales channel.

This article covers the Unshipped tab. See also:

• Shipping — the Shipped tab and reprints
• Shipping settings
• Shipping — rate rules and the ship PIN

Where to find it

In the left sidebar, open Orders → Shipping. The page opens on the Unshipped tab.

The screen at a glance

The header

• Unshipped / Shipped / Scan to verify tabs. The number next to Unshipped is how many orders are still waiting for a label. Scan to verify is not available yet. It only shows a "coming next" note.
• Progress widget. Shows how many labels were bought today against a goal, a ring with the percentage, and still to ship today (orders whose ship-by date is today or earlier). The small bars show labels bought per hour. Point at a bar to see who shipped how many in that hour. Click the widget to switch the goal between "today" and "all open orders".
• 🖨 Recent prints. Reprint or download recent labels. The small number on the icon is how many labels this computer printed today.
• ⚙ Shipping settings. Printers, rate rules, boxes, ship-from address and more.

At the top of each hour, if your team shipped anything in the past hour, a short "Congratulations!" message with the count pops up for a few seconds.

The toolbar

• Search box. Scan a barcode or type a UPC, SKU, ASIN, order number, OP number or customer name. The list narrows as you type. Several words can be in any order. If nothing on the page matches, OrderPilot searches all open orders. Press / to jump to the search box.
• Filters. Add a filter chip (see below).
• Bulk. Actions for all checked orders.
• Columns. Show, hide and reorder columns, and manage saved views.
• Refresh ▾. Refresh orders reloads the list and keeps the rates already fetched. Refresh orders + re-quote all throws away every saved rate and asks the carriers again for every order.

Filters

Click Filters and pick one. Each filter becomes a chip under the toolbar. Click a chip to change it, click its ✕ to remove it, or click Clear all.

While a filter is on, the list only shows the filtered orders until you clear it.

Columns

The default columns are the channel logo, image, Item, Order #, Customer, Promise, Qty, Package and Rate · Buy. You can also turn on SKU, ASIN, OP #, Date, Ship by, Address, State, Lines and Customer paid $.

• Drag a column header to move it, drag its edge to resize it, and click it to sort.
• Columns → Saved views… lets you save the current layout under a name (for example "Packing station"). A saved view loads automatically next time. Column layouts are saved on this computer only.

What the main columns mean:

• Item — product title and SKU. A "⛔ Cancel requested" tag means the buyer asked to cancel. A blue "💰 ship $" tag means the buyer paid for shipping. An orange "⚡" tag shows a faster shipping speed the buyer paid for. "⚠ address" means the address check found a problem — click it to fix it.
• Order # — the channel order number (opens the order in Seller Central or Walmart Seller Center) and the OP number. Click ⧉ to copy.
• Promise — the delivery date promised to the buyer. It turns amber when the order must ship today and red when it is late.
• Qty — the true number of units to ship (for example 2 × a 3-pack = 6). A "🧩 SKUs" tag means several different products go in one box. A shelf tag (like A3-02) means the units come from your own warehouse. Green means they are picked; orange with ⚠ means they are not picked yet.
• Package — the box name, size and weight. "＋ Set box & weight" means it is still missing. Click it to edit.
• Rate · Buy — the chosen rate with carrier, price, service and delivery date, and the Buy button.

Tags in the rate box

Other messages in the rate box: Getting rates… (with your place in the queue — click to price it next), Set box & weight, Get rates, ⚠ … retry (the carriers returned an error — click to try again), and ⚠ Nothing from the rule's lanes — ↻ or pick (rates came back, but none your rate rule allows; pick one by hand or re-quote). Click ↻ in any rate box to fetch fresh rates for that order.

Buttons and actions

The order window

Click anywhere on a row (not on a button or box) to open the order window.

• Items — every product and unit count. Where the units were bought shows which vendor supplied how many units.
• Ship to — the address. ✎ Edit opens the address editor. ✔ Check checks the address with USPS.
• Profit estimate — what the buyer paid, minus the channel fee, product cost and label. If you don't have permission to see financial figures, this stays blank.
• Package — pick a saved box, or type width, height, length and weight. ⚖ Weigh on scale reads your USB scale. The tick box saves this box for future orders of the same product and unit count.
• Rates — every rate with its delivery date and estimated profit. Click one to choose it. ↻ Re-quote asks the carriers again.
• Bottom bar: Cancel order, ✂ Split (for orders with more than one unit), and 🛒 Buy & print. For an order that already has a label: ✕ Unship & void and 🖨 Reprint label.

Use ‹ › or the left and right arrow keys to move to the previous or next order. Press Esc to close.

How to set up before your first label

1. Open ⚙ Shipping settings → Ship-from and add your warehouse address. Until you do, a yellow warning shows and labels cannot be bought.
2. In Packages, add the boxes you use.
3. In Printers & scales, choose where labels print.
4. In Rates, check the default rate rule.

How to ship one order

1. Find the order. Scan its barcode or type in the search box.
2. If the Package column says "＋ Set box & weight", click it. Pick a box (or type the sizes in inches) and type the weight in pounds and ounces. Click Done.
3. Wait for the rate box to show a price. OrderPilot picks a rate using your rate rule.
4. To choose a different rate, click the rate box and pick one.
5. Click Buy. The row turns into "✓ Shipped" with the tracking number, and the label prints with its packing slip (if automatic printing is on).

Weights and boxes are remembered: with SFFO (Save For Future Orders) ticked, the next order of the same product and unit count fills in by itself, and other open orders of the same product on screen get the same box.

How to ship many orders at once

1. Tick the orders you want, or tick the box in the header to select all.
2. If some need a box, click 📦 Box & weight, fill in what they share (blank boxes are left alone) and click Apply to selected. Orders that already have a label are skipped.
3. Click 🛒 Buy & print.
4. A progress ring shows how many labels were bought. Keep the tab open until it finishes. When the batch is done, the labels print together (if automatic printing is on in Settings → Printers & scales).

Good to know:

• Only selected orders that have a box, weight and rate are bought.
• Warehouse orders that are not picked yet are skipped, with a message.
• If any order has a buyer cancellation request, you are asked to confirm, and the ship PIN is required. A ship PIN must be set up first.
• If an order takes longer than a minute, the batch moves on and that order finishes in the background. Its row updates when the carrier answers.

Working one pack size at a time

When you scan a product barcode and the results include different unit counts, a Select bar appears with one chip per pack size (for example "1 × 5 orders", "2 × 3 orders"). Click a chip to show only that pack size and select those orders. Click ✕ Clear to go back.

How to ship an order in several boxes (split)

1. Open the order and click ✂ Split, or tick just that order and choose Bulk → Split into boxes….
2. Choose how the units are packed: - Our own boxes — enter one unit's size and weight. OrderPilot works out how many fit in each saved box and what each option costs. - Manufacturer cartons — enter the carton size, full weight and units per carton. - I'll set the boxes myself — add each box with its units, box type or size, weight and how many of that box. The total must match the order's units.
3. Click Show box options or Price it.
4. Pick an option. Each option shows the price per box and whether each box gets its own tracking number on the channel order.
5. Click Buy every label and confirm. All labels print, each with its own packing slip.

Only boxes marked "use for splits" in Settings → Packages are offered.

How to fix a bad address

1. Click the "⚠ address" tag on the row, or ✎ Edit in the order window.
2. Click ✔ Validate address to check it. If USPS suggests a corrected address, click Use it to fill the boxes. Nothing is saved yet.
3. Correct anything else (address line 2, phone).
4. Click Save & re-rate. The order gets fresh rates for the new address.

How to use a USB scale and hotkeys

1. Connect the scale once in Settings → Printers & scales (Chrome only).
2. Click a row, put the package on the scale and press W (or click ⚖). The weight fills in.
3. Press P to buy the label for the active row (the last row you clicked, highlighted blue).
4. Press Ctrl + a digit to apply the box assigned to that digit in Settings → Packages. It works on the selected orders, or on the active row.
5. You can also scan a box barcode from the printed package barcode sheet. It applies that box to the active or selected rows.

P and W work only when you are not typing in a box.

How to build a pick list for warehouse orders

1. Tick the warehouse orders that are not picked yet.
2. Click 🧾 Picklist in the selection bar.
3. Choose Print the sheet (paper, in shelf order) or Pick on the phone (shows a QR code; scan it with the phone camera to open the list in OrderPilot Warehouse, signed in as you). The phone option is only offered if tick-off picking is switched on.

A warehouse order can't get a label until its units are picked. If paper picking is allowed, you can click the orange shelf tag to mark it picked without scanning. This takes the stock off the shelf and is recorded against your name.

How to cancel an order the buyer asked to cancel

1. Click ⛔ on the row, or Cancel order in the order window.
2. Confirm. The cancellation is approved on Amazon or Walmart and in OrderPilot. This cannot be undone.

To ship it anyway instead, click Buy. You must type I acknowledge to continue.

Tips and troubleshooting

• "Set your ship-from address before buying labels" — add an address in Settings → Ship-from.
• A rate looks old. Rates are saved for the day and shared with your team, so they don't need fetching again. If a saved rate has expired, OrderPilot refreshes the price for the same carrier and service just before buying. Use ↻ or Refresh orders + re-quote all to start fresh.
• Buy fails with an address error. The message has a ✔ Validate address button. Fix the address and buy again.
• "USPS refused postage payment" — your USPS postage account needs funds. The message has a button to open the USPS site. See Shipping — rate rules and the ship PIN.
• "Quantity corrected" — if Amazon has fewer open units than OrderPilot, the quantity is corrected to match Amazon, the rate is refreshed and the label is bought for the right number of units.
• "Amazon already has a shipment" — click ⤵ Recover the Amazon label in the message to fetch the label Amazon already holds.
• "Label still generating" — some carriers create the label a few seconds later. It prints by itself when ready. If it never arrives, reprint it from 🖨 Recent prints.
• The carrier refused a rate's add-ons, or Amazon refused an estimated price. OrderPilot tries a close alternative rate automatically and tells you which one it bought.
• Orders sent over from Recovery appear with the Order #s filter already filled in. When you print two or more of them together, labels are grouped by vendor.