ShipEngine & Flxpoint

Overview

ShipEngine is a platform that helps to manage your shipping needs without worrying about the complexities of carrier APIs and protocols.

Flxpoint has integrated to ShipEngine's API and added a feature to our app that allows our clients to easily leverage the power of ShipEngine to rate shop and buy shipping labels in the same place where you manage orders.

Connecting your ShipEngine account in Flxpoint will give you the power to make informed routing decisions based on estimated shipping costs and purchase shipping labels to use when either you or your vendors fulfill the fulfillment requests/fulfillment orders (FRs/FO).

For more information on ShipEngine integration features, please see: Shipping Labels and Rate Shopping.

Setup & Get API Credentials

First, you must have your own ShipEngine account so when buying labels or rate shopping in Flxpoint, your actual shipping rate will be applied and your ShipEngine or carrier account will be charged for the transaction. If you don't already have an account, follow these steps to get started with ShipEngine:

Sign up for a new ShipEngine account here
Enter billing Information for ShipEngine here (required for using ShipEngine carriers)
Connect Your Own Carriers or Set Up ShipEngine Carriers
Generate API key under API Management

To learn more about using ShipEngine, check out their Getting Started page.

Connecting to Your ShipEngine Account

Once you have a ShipEngine account, you can add/update your API key in Flxpoint to start purchasing shipping labels and utilizing rate shopping:

Go to app.flxpoint.com
Under Settings → Orders → Rate Shopping
Under Settings → Orders → Shipping Labels

Any time you add or update your ShipEngine API key in Flxpoint, we will attempt to re-connect your associated carrier accounts on ShipEngine with what is configured in Flxpoint.

Connecting Your Carrier Accounts

Suppose you have not yet established a connection to your carrier account(s) from your ShipEngine account. In that case, you will need to either enter the carrier account credentials directly on your ShipEngine account or do so directly in Flxpoint.

From the rate shopping and shipping label screens, you can select an unlinked carrier (denoted by a red broken link icon) and enter the required credentials to connect your carrier account.

Each carrier requires different information to authenticate you have access to retrieve rates for that account. To connect your account, complete the fields required for your specific carrier and select Connect.

If there are any errors during this process, a notification will appear on your screen with details on what needs to be corrected. Example below:

Warning

If you previously configured a free ShipEngine account on Flxpoint for rate shopping (Settings →Orders→ Rate Shopping), you will need to connect to your own personal ShipEngine account for purchasing shipping labels.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I need to enter my billing information in ShipEngine?

Yes. Flxpoint integrates directly with ShipEngine's API, and when you rate shop for a FR/FO or purchase a shipping label, this transaction will be charged directly through ShipEngine. By default, you will be subscribed to their "Pay-as-You-Go" plan that charges cents and fractions of cents per transaction. After you have created a free account, you can go here to learn more about billing plans.

2. Will the billing information added in ShipEngine be used for shipping charges?

No. This billing information will be used for your ShipEngine API subscription/overquota fees and third party insurance purchases. Your shipping charges are separate and must be managed with your shipping provider. You can add your billing details here.

3. Do I need to have access to all the different carriers ShipEngine has access to?

No. Currently, we only support: FedEx (CA & US), DHL Express, ONTRAC, UPS, and USPS/Stamps.com.
If there is a carrier that ShipEngine provides that you don't see on this list and is required for your business operations, please reach out to our support team, so we can evaluate adding it to our platform.

4. Can I use the ShipEngine account automatically created for me when setting up rate shopping to also purchase shipping labels?

No. This free account that was set up for you is not eligible for use when purchasing shipping labels, since it will not have access to your billing information.

5. Can I still use the ShipEngine account automatically created for me just for rate shopping and use my personal ShipEngine account just for shipping labels?

No. Flxpoint will only allow one set of active credentials for our ShipEngine integration.
This means, if you are currently using the free account we created for you to use for Rate Shopping, once you have connected your own ShipEngine API key for shipping labels, we will use your account going forward for rate shopping as well as shipping labels. But not to worry, rate shopping only costs a fraction of a cent for each request.

Need additional help with your ShipEngine account?

Check out ShipEngine's Help Center or send them a message directly by clicking the Help? button in the bottom right-hand corner of the page once logged into your ShipEngine account.

Flxpoint Knowledge