The Cerasis LTL Freight Quotes plugin retrieves your negotiated LTL freight rates, takes action on them according to the plugin settings, and displays the results as shipping options in the WooCommerce cart and checkout page. Cerasis (cerasis.com) is a third party logistics company that gives its customers access to dozens of LTL freight carriers through a single account relationship. To establish a Cerasis account click here to access the new account request form.
Basic Plan
Live negotiated carrier rates returned to the checkout process.
Choose to display a list of carriers, the cheapest option, or an average rate.
Supported origins: United States.
Supported destinations: Canada, United States.
Customize the text used to label quotes displayed to shoppers.
Elect to display the carrier’s transit time with the rate estimate.
Option to always include the residential delivery fee.
Compatible with the Residential Address Detection plugin which automatically includes the residential address delivery fee when the Ship To address is a residence.
Option to always include the lift gate delivery fee.
Additional options for lift gate delivery are enabled with the installation of the Residential Address Detection plugin.
Assign products a freight class, weight and optionally dimensions.
Identify one warehouse and multiple drop ship locations.
Embed a handling charge in the displayed rates to recover the cost of packaging materials or other shipping related expenses.
Dynamic presentation of parcel and LTL freight rates with the installation of compatible apps from Eniture Technology.
Standard Plan
Everything in the Basic Plan, plus…
Define multiple warehouses.
The warehouse closest to the shopper is used as the shipment origin to keep shipping costs low and delivery times fast.
Support for products that ship as hazardous material.
Advanced Plan
Everything in the Standard Plan, plus…
Offer in-store pick up based on the shopper’s ZIP code or distance to the warehouse.
Offer local delivery based on the shopper’s ZIP code or distance to the warehouse.
Identify a charge for local delivery.
Current version: 1.0.0
Requirements
WooCommerce 3.0 or newer.
Your Cerasis Shipper ID.
Your username and password to the Cerasis online shipping system.
Your Cerasis API Access key.
FAQ’S
How do I get a Cerasis account number?
Call Cerasis at 1-800-734-5351 or click here to complete a form that will immediately provide you with credentials to use with the extension and also initiate the new account process.
Where do I find my Cerasis username and password?
Cerasis issues usernames and passwords to its online shipping system Cerasis Rater. Contact Cerasis at 1-800-734-5351 to request credentials if you don’t already have them.
Where do I get my Cerasis authentication key?
If you are an existing Cerasis customer, call Cerasis at 1-800-734-5351. If you need to obtain a Cerasis account number click here to complete a form that will immediately provide you with credentials (including the authentication key) to use with the extension. Completing the form will also initiate the new account process.
How do I get a license key for the plugin?
You must register your installation of the plugin, regardless of whether you are taking advantage of the trial period or purchased a license outright. At the conclusion of the registration process an email will be sent to you that will include the license key. You can also login to eniture.com using the username and password you created during the registration process and retrieve the license key from the My Licenses tab.
How do I change my plugin license from the trial version to one of the paid subscriptions?
Login to eniture.com and navigate to the My Licenses tab. There you will be able to manage the licensing of all of your Eniture Technology plugins. Refer to the Documentation tab on this page for more thorough instructions.
How do I install the plugin on another website?
The plugin has a single site license. To use it on another website you will need to purchase an additional license. If you want to change the website with which the plugin is registered, login to eniture.com and navigate to the My Licenses tab. There you will be able to change the domain name that is associated with the license key.
Do I have to purchase a second license for my staging or development site?
No. Each license allows you to identify one domain for your production environment and one domain for your staging or development environment. The rate estimates returned in the staging environment will have the word “Sandbox” appended to them.
Why isn’t the plugin working on my other website?
If you can successfully test your credentials from the Connection page (WooCommerce > Settings > Cerasis > Connections) then you have one or more of the following licensing issues: 1) You are using the license key on more than one domain. The licenses are for single sites. You will need to purchase an additional license. 2) Your trial period has expired. 3) Your current license has expired and we have been unable to process your form of payment to renew it. Login to eniture.com and go to the My Licenses tab to resolve any of these issues.
Why are the shipment charges I received on the invoice from Cerasis different than what was quoted by the app?
Common reasons include a difference in the quoted versus billed shipment parameters (weight, dimensions, freight class), or additional services (such as residential delivery) were required. Compare the details of the invoice to the shipping settings on the products included in the shipment. Consider making changes as needed. Remember that the weight of the packing materials is included in the billable weight for the shipment. If you are unable to reconcile the differences call Cerasis customer service for assistance.
Why do I sometimes get a message that a shipping rate estimate couldn’t be provided?
There are several possibilities:
The most common reason is that one or more of the products in the shopping cart did not have its shipment parameters (weight, dimensions, freight class) adequately populated. Check the settings for the products on the order and make corrections as necessary.
The city entered for the shipping address may not be valid for the postal code entered. A valid City+State+Postal Code combination is required to retrieve a rate estimate. Contact us by phone (404-369-0680) or email (support@eniture.com) to inquire about Address Validation solutions for this problem.
Your shipment exceeded constraining parameters of Cerasis’s web service.
The Cerasis web service isn’t operational.
Your Cerasis account has been suspended or cancelled.
There is an issue with the Eniture Technology servers.
Your subscription to the application has expired because payment could not be processed.
There is an issue with your server.
How do I determine the freight class for my product(s)?
The easiest thing to do is to contact your Cerasis representative and ask for assistance. However, the official source is the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) directory maintained by the National Motor Freight Transportation Agency (NMFTA.org). You can purchase a hard copy of the directory or obtain an online subscription to it from their web site.
How does the density calculator work?
The density calculator will calculate a freight class by performing a calculation using the product weight and dimensions as inputs. In most cases the returned freight class will match the product’s (commodity’s) freight class as recorded in the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) directory. However, this is not always true and in the event there are differences, the freight class recorded in the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) directory takes precedence. An incorrectly identified freight class can result in unexpected shipping charges and even fees. You are solely responsible for accurately identifying the correct freight class for your products. If you need help doing this, contact your Cerasis representative for assistance.
Installation & User’s Guide
If you are taking advantage of a trial subscription, the plugin will stop working when the trial period ends. Be sure to read the Manage Your License section to learn how to upgrade your subscription.
Overview
Setting up the plugin consists of seven steps:
Other information contained in this guide:
1. Download the Installation File |
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Select a subscription package. You will be presented with a registration form. The email address and password you enter will serve as your credentials to eniture.com. Use these to gain access to your customer dashboard where you can download the plugin installation file, manage your licenses and update your payment information. When you download the plugin installation file, be sure to save it to a familiar location. You will need to navigate to the file during the installation process.
Note: If you obtained the plugin installation file from the WordPress Plugin Directory, you still need to select a subscription package and complete the registration form.
2. Install the Plugin Application File |
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Login to the WordPress dashboard as the website administrator.
In the left sidebar, hover your mouse over the Plugins menu to display the sub-menu options.
Select Add New from the sub-menu options. The Add Plugins page will load.
At the top of the Add Plugins page, click on the Upload Plugin button.
Controls will appear in the middle of page that will allow you to chose and install the plugin application. Choose the Choose File button, navigate to the location where you saved the installation file and select it.
Click the Install Now button.
WordPress will display information about the installation progress at the bottom of the page. The plugin has been installed once the message Plugin installed successfully is displayed.
3. Activate the Plugin |
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Once the plugin has been installed, it must be activated. If you are still on the same page that you were on at the end of Step 2, you can click the Activate Plugin link on the bottom of the page.
If you’ve already navigated away from that page, select Installed Plugins from the Plugins menu.
Locate the LTL Freight Quotes – Cerasis Edition plugin on the list and click the Activate link.
4. Get Your Cerasis Rater API Access Key |
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To successfully connect the app to Cerasis you need your Cerasis Shipper ID, your username and password to Cerasis Rater, and an API Access Key .
If you are an existing Cerasis customer, obtain your API Access Key by calling Cerasis at 1-800-734-5351.
If you aren’t an existing Cerasis customer, call Cerasis at 1-800-734-5351 or click here to complete a form that will immediately provide you with credentials to use with the app and also initiate the new account process.
5. Connection Settings |
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Select Settings from the WooCommerce menu.
Click on the Cerasis tab to gain access to the plugin configuration settings.
Use the links at the top of the page to navigate between the Connection, Carriers, Quote and Warehouse settings. Start with the Connection Settings.
| Shipper ID | Enter your Cerasis account number. |
| Username | Enter your username to Cerasis Rater. |
| Password | Enter your Cerasis Rater password. |
| ID | Enter the Cerasis Rater API access key. |
| Plugin License Key | The plugin license key is issued by Eniture Technology to registered users only. If you don’t have a plugin license key, click the link to the right of this field to obtain one. |
The plugin’s License Key will be tied to a subscription. The Trial Plan will give you 15 days of free access to the Basic Plan. Two other plans are available; the Standard Plan and the Advanced Plan. The features associated with each plan are listed on the Features tab of this web page. Each plan is available for a monthly or yearly subscription rate. To manage your License Key, including which plan is associated with it, see the section titled Managing your license. at the end of this User’s Guide.
When you’re done save your connection settings and then test them by clicking on the Test Connection button at the bottom of the page. A message will display at the top of the page letting you know if the plugin succeeded in establishing a connection to the Cerasis servers. If you receive an error, confirm the values you entered and try again. Be particularly attentive to capitalization. Most of the information you enter on this page is case sensitive.
6. Carrier Settings |
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If you don’t have visibility to the plugin’s navigation menu, select Settings from the WooCommerce menu.
Click on the Cerasis tab to gain access to the plugin configuration settings. Using the links at the top of the page, select Carriers.
This page identifies which carriers will be included in the list of quotes retrieved from Cerasis. You can exclude a carrier by removing its checkmark from the Include column.
Not all carriers service all orgin and destination points. If a carrier doesn’t service either one of the addresses, it is automatically omitted. Consider conferring with your Cerasis representative if you want to reduce the number of carrier responses.
7. Quote Settings |
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If you don’t have visibility to the plugin’s navigation menu, select Settings from the WooCommerce menu.
Click on the Cerasis tab to gain access to the plugin configuration settings. Using the links at the top of the page, select Quote Settings.
| Rating Method | The rating method determines what will be displayed in the shopping cart. There are three rating methods:
Cheapest Cheapest Options Average |
| Number Of Options | Displays only when the Rating Method is set to Cheapest Options or Average. Identifies how many of the quotes returned by Cerasis should be included in the operation. |
| Show Delivery Estimate | Displays only when the Rating Method is set to Cheapest or Cheapest Options. When checked, the transit time estimate appears with the quote(s). |
| Label As | Displays only when the Rating Method is set to Cheapest or Average. The entered value is used to describe the shipping charge in the shopping cart. If left blank, then the shipping charge is described as “Freight”. |
| Always quote residential delivery | When checked, the quotes returned will always include the carrier’s residential delivery fee. |
| Auto-detect residential addresses | Through the use of an addon plugin titled Residential Address Detection, Ship To addresses are checked against database records from the USPS. When the address is identified as residential, the residential delivery fee is included in the rate estimates. If the message “Click here to add the Residential Address Detection module.” is present, then the addon plugin is not installed. Click on the link to install it if you’d like to use this feature. (Learn more) |
| Auto-renew | Displays only if the Residential Address Detection plugin is installed. Choose a plan that best meets your needs. The credit card associated with quote plugin license will be billed immediately and the plan will become your current plan. Your choice will be retained for the auto-renew option. You can change your auto-renew selection at any time. Plans automatically renew at the end of every monthly billing cycle or upon the depletion of the current plan. To prevent a renewal, choose Disable from the list of options. |
| Current plan | Displays only if the Residential Address Detection plugin is installed. Displays information about the current plan and the start and end dates of the current subscription period. |
| Current usage | Displays only if the Residential Address Detection plugin is installed. Displays information about the consumption of the current plan. The date shown is the UTC timestamp of the last time a residential address detection event occured. |
| Suspend use | Displays only if the Residential Address Detection plugin is installed. Checking this box temporarily suspends the Residential Address Detection plugin. It does not permanently disable it and if the current monthly billing cycle expires, a new plan will be activated. To disable the plugin, deactivate it or choose Disable from the Auto-renew drop down. |
| Default unconfirmed address types to: | Displays only if the Residential Address Detection plugin is installed. Select Residential or Commercial. In rare cases the plugin my be unable to confirm the address type. This occurs when a match for the address can’t be found in the USPS database. Invalid addresses are the most common reason for this. In extremely rare cases an address may be valid, but the match found in the USPS database has a low confidence metric. Choose how you want addresses treated in these cases. |
| Always quote lift gate delivery | When checked, the returned quotes will include each carrier’s lift gate delivery fee. |
| Offer lift gate delivery as an option | An additional option for LTL freight will be offered that includes the lift gate delivery fee. |
| Always include lift gate delivery when a residential address is detected | Displays only if the Residential Address Detection plugin is installed. When enabled, if a residential delivery address is detected the lift gate delivery fee will be included in the shipping rate estimate. In such cases, the option to Offer lift gate delivery as an option will be suppressed, even if enabled. Enabling both the Offer lift gate delivery as an option setting and the Always include lift gate delivery when a residential address is detected setting allows commercial customers to choose whether or not lift gate service is needed while always requiring it for residential customers. |
| Handling Fee / Mark Up | Increases the amount of each returned quote by a specified amount prior to displaying it/them in the shopping cart. The number entered will be interpreted as dollars and cents unless it is followed by a % sign. For example, entering 5.00 will cause $5.00 to be added to the quotes. Entering 5.00% will cause each quote to be multiplied by 1.05 (= 1 + 5%). |
| Allow for Own Arrangement | Checking this box adds another option in the shopping cart that can be selected to indicate that the purchaser will make and pay for the LTL freight arrangements. When selected, the shipping charges included in the shopping cart are zero. |
| Text for Own Arrangement | You can customize the text that is displayed in the shopping cart for the Own Arrangement option. For example, you may want it to appear as “Pickup Order” or “Hold for pickup”. |
| Show WooCommerce shipping options | (Yes|No) By default the plugin suppresses shipping rates from all other plugins when the shopping cart contains an item you have indicated will ship LTL Freight. Enabling this setting will allow the native WooCommerce shipping options to also display. |
| Return LTL quotes when an order’s parcel shipment weight exceeds 150 lbs | When checked, the LTL Freight Quote plugin will return quotes when an order’s total weight exceeds 150 lbs (the maximum permitted by FedEx and UPS), even if none of the products have settings to indicate that it will ship LTL. To increase the accuracy of the returned quote(s), all products should have accurate weights and dimensions. |
8. Define Warehouse and Drop Ship Locations |
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If you don’t have visibility to the plugin’s navigation menu, select Settings from the WooCommerce menu.
Click on the Cerasis tab to gain access to the plugin configuration settings. Using the links at the top of the page, select Warehouses.
Click the Add button in the appropriate sections to add warehouse and drop ship locations. On the Basic Plan you can define one warehouse and multiple drop ship locations. To define multiple warehouse locations you must be on the Standard Plan or higher.
Warehouses should have a complete inventory of all products not otherwise identified as drop shipped items. If you have more than one warehouse defined, the warehouse closest to the shopper will be used to retrieve shipping rate estimates. You should define at least one warehouse, even if all of your products are drop shipped. This insures that quotes will be returned in the event the drop ship location was overlooked when the product entry was created.
Drop ship locations usually represent vendors that supply items that you don’t inventory. These items are shipped directly to your customer on your behalf. When an order includes drop shipped items the shopping cart will display a single figure for the shipping rate estimate that is equal to the sum of the cheapest option for each shipment required to fulfill the order.
8a. In-store pick up settings |
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The Advanced Plan is required to use this feature. If you aren’t on the Advanced Plan the words Advanced plan required will appear adjacent to the settings header, and the fields associated with the feature will be inaccessible.
In-store pick up can be offered as an option in the checkout process based the shopper’s postal code or proximity. It will only be offered if the feature is enabled and only one stocking location (warehouse or drop ship location) is involved in providing a quote. The settings for In-store pick up are visible on the page used to add or edit a warehouse or drop ship location.
| Enable in-store pick up | Check the box to enable the in-store pick up feature. |
| Offer if address is within (miles) | The distance in miles within which you’d like to offer in-store pick up. The distance is route miles (driving distance). Leave blank if you don’t want to use distance to determine if in-store pick up should be offered. If both distance and postal codes are used as evaluation criteria, in-store pick up will display if either is satisfied. |
| Offer if postal code matches | The postal codes to which you’d like to offer in-store pick up. Enter only the five digit ZIP Code for US addresses. Leave blank if you don’t want to use postal codes to determine if in-store pick up should be offered. If both distance and postal codes are used as evaluation criteria, in-store pick up will display if either is satisfied. |
| Checkout description | The description to use to identify the option in the checkout process. The most obvious candidate is In-store pick up, but you can make it anything you’d like. |
8b. Local delivery settings |
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The Advanced Plan is required to use this feature. If you aren’t on the Advanced Plan the words Advanced plan required will appear adjacent to the settings header, and the fields associated with the feature will be inaccessible.
Local delivery can be offered as an option in the checkout process based the shopper’s postal code or proximity. It will only be offered if the feature is enabled and only one stocking location (warehouse or drop ship location) is involved in providing a quote. Local delivery can display as a free option or have a charge associated with it. Other shipping options provided by the app can be suppressed when local delivery is to be offered. The settings for Local delivery are visible on the page used to add or edit a warehouse or drop ship location.
| Enable local delivery | Check the box to enable the local delivery feature. |
| Offer if address is within (miles) | The distance in miles within which you’d like to offer local delivery. The distance is route miles (driving distance). Leave blank if you don’t want to use distance to determine if local delivery should be offered. If both distance and postal codes are used as evaluation criteria, local delivery will display if either is satisfied. |
| Offer if postal code matches | The postal codes to which you’d like to offer local delivery. Enter only the five digit ZIP Code for US addresses. Leave blank if you don’t want to use postal codes to determine if local delivery should be offered. If both distance and postal codes are used as evaluation criteria, local delivery will display if either is satisfied. |
| Checkout description | The description to use to identify the option in the checkout process. The most obvious candidate is Local delivery, but you can make it anything you’d like. |
| Local delivery fee | Enter the amount to charge for local delivery. Leave blank to offer local delivery for free. |
| Suppress other rates | Check the box to show only the option for local delivery when the criteria for doing so (distance or postal code) is met. Leave unchecked to have local delivery offered in addition to the shipping options normally displayed by the app. |
9. Enable the Plugin (WooCommerce 3.0 or later only) |
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Select Settings from the WooCommerce menu.
Click on the Shipping tab and select the option for Shipping Zones.
The shipping method needs to be added to a shipping zone. If an appropriate shipping zone isn’t already defined, click the Add shipping zone button and define one.
Now add the shipping method to the zone. Click on the “+” inline with the shipping zone…
…select the Cerasis option from the drop down list of shipping methods…
…and click on the Add shipping method button.
Repeat this process for each shipping zone you want to the app to return quotes for. You should test each zone to make sure the geography defined by the shipping zone is supported by the app.
10. Product Settings |
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Navigate to your product list in the WordPress Dashboard by selecting Products from the Products menu.
Select the product you want to ship LTL freight from the list. Once you’re on the Edit Product page, locate the Product Data region and click on the Shipping option to access the product’s shipping characteristics.
| Weight | Enter the weight of the product in pounds. |
| Dimensions | Enter the dimensions of the product in inches. |
| Shipping Class | If you have the Small Package Quotes plugin installed and you want the product to be quoted as shipping parcel, select the No shipping class option.
If you have the LTL Freight Quotes plugin installed and you want the product to be quoted as shipping LTL freight, select the LTL Freight option. |
| Enable Drop Ship Location | This option will only be visible if there are drop ship locations defined. Refer to Step 5c: Define Warehouse and Drop Ship Locations for instruction on how to define drop ship locations.
Check this box if this product ships from a drop ship location. |
| Drop Ship Location | This option will only be visible if there are drop ship locations defined. Refer to Step 5c: Define Warehouse and Drop Ship Locations for instruction on how to define drop ship locations.
If the product is drop shipped, select the drop ship location from the list of options. |
| Freight Classification | This option will only be visible if the LTL Freight Quotes plugin is installed.
Select the freight class for the product from the list of options. If you utilize both small package (parcel) and LTL freight shipping methods, you should identify the freight class for all products, even those that normally ship small package (parcel). The last option in the list of freight classifications is Density Based. In most cases this is an industry accepted alternative for identifying the freight class of an item or shipment. Validate the returned quotes if using this setting. There are exceptions in the NMFC Freight Classification Directory that can render the density calculator results invalid for particular commodities. To be used successfully the product must have its weight and dimensions populated in the Shipping sub-panel. |
If your product is a Variable Product, set the shipping parameters for each product variation on the Variations page.
When you are done click the Update button located in the Publish widget located at the top right of the page.
What Your Customer Sees |
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To facilitate the successful conclusion of an online purchase the plugin always attempts to return an estimate of shipping charges. If multiple products are in the shopping cart and some are missing weight, dimensions or both, the plugin will use what is available to obtain the shipping rate estimates. For example, if you have two products in the shopping cart and the first has weight and dimensions and the second does not, the shipping rate estimate will be based solely on the first product. The plugin will fail to return shipping rate estimates only when none of the products in the shopping cart have weights or dimensions recorded. Please note that shipping rate estimates will be increasingly inaccurate the more omissions there are to the weight and dimensions of products in the shopping cart.
The shopping cart won’t display shipping rate estimates the first time the shopper views the shopping cart because it isn’t aware of the ship to address. The user will be prompted to click on the Calculate Shipping Cost link to provide this information.
| Appearance of shopping cart when viewed by a shopper who is not logged in to the website. | Appearance of the shopping cart after the user clicks on the Calculate Shipping link. |
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After the user provides the ship to information, the shopping cart will display the shipping rate estimate based on the settings entered in the plugin.
| Appearance of shopping cart when viewed immediately after the ship to information is provided. | |
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If the plugin is unable to display shipping rate estimates, a message will display. Typical reasons why a quote may not be displayed include: 1) Insufficient data on the products in the shopping cart, such as weight or dimensions or freight class; 2) Invalid credentials due to a password change, an expired license, or a suspended account; 3) An invalid or incomplete ship to address was provided; or 4) The carrier’s web service is not operational.
| Appearance of shopping cart when the plugin is unable to display shipping rate estimates. | |
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Managing Your License |
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You can manage your license by signing into eniture.com with the email address and password you entered when you registered for the plugin. After you sign in, My Account will be added to the navigation menu. Click on it to access the Dashboard for your account.
The most common uses of the Dashboard are to upgrade a trial subscription to a paid subscription, change the URL registered to a license, or to identify the URL of a staging or development site.
Upgrade to a paid subscription
If you fail to upgrade your trial subscription to a paid subscription before the trial expires, the plugin will stop working. To upgrade, click on the My Licenses tab, locate the license, and click the Pay Now button.
Choose one of the subscription packages and then enter the information for your payment method. Your plugin will be automatically renewed at the end of each subscription period unless you return to the Dashboard and cancel the subscription.
Change the URL registered to a license
The plugin license allows you to use the plugin on a single website. To use the plugin on additional websites, you must purchase additional licenses. You can change the URL registered on a license at any time. To do so, click on the My Licenses tab, locate the license, and click the Edit button. Enter the new URL into the Licensed Domain field and then click the Update button.
Identify a staging or development site
The plugin license will allow one staging or development site. Quotes returned to this site will have the word “Sandbox” appended to them. To identify a staging site, click on the My Licenses tab, locate the license, and click the Edit button. Enter the new URL into the Staging Domain field and then click the Update button.
