The TQL LTL Freight Quotes app retrieves your negotiated LTL rates, takes action on them according to the app settings, and displays the results as shipping options in the Woocommerce checkout process. TQL’s (tql.com ) headquarters is in Cincinnati, Ohio. and it has 57 offices in 26 states nationwide. In addition to offering LTL freight through more than two dozen carriers, TQL offers full truckload, intermodal, and other logistics services. To establish a TQL account call 1-800-580-3101 or email clientservices@tql.com.
Basic Plan
Live negotiated carrier rates returned to the checkout process.
Supported origins: United States.
Supported destinations: United States.
Three Rating Options: Cheapest, Cheapest Options and Average.
Customize the text used to label quotes displayed to shoppers. (Cheapest and Average methods only.)
Elect to display the carrier’s transit time with the rate estimate. (Cheapest and Cheapest Options methods only.)
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.
Support for products that can be nested when shipped, such as garbage cans. The freight class for nested products is identified using the built in freight class calculator.
Current version: 1.1.4
Requirements
WooCommerce 5.7 or newer.
An account relationship with TQL (Total Quality Logistics).
A license from Eniture Technology.
FAQ’S
How do I get a TQL account?
Call TQL at 1-800-580-3101, or email clientservices@tql.com.
Where do I find my TQL username and password?
Contact TQL at 1-800-580-3101 and ask for assistance.
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 Settings page (WooCommerce > Settings > TQL > Connection Settings) 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 invoices from my carriers different than what was quoted by the plugin?
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 the freight carrier 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.
Your shipment exceeded constraining parameters of TQL’s portfolio of carriers.
The TQL web service isn’t operational.
Your TQL account has been suspended or cancelled.
There is an issue with the Eniture Technology servers.
Your subscription to the plugin has expired because payment could not be processed.
There is an issue your server.
How do I determine the freight class for my product(s)?
The easiest thing to do is to contact your carrier representatives 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 carrier 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 Managing Your Eniture API Key section to learn how to upgrade your subscription.
Overview
Setting up the plugin consists of the steps listed below. Each step is bookmarked to the relevant section of the User’s Guide. In the heading of each section there is a Return to top link which will deliver you back to the list of steps.
Other information contained in this guide:
1. Register for the plugin License Key |
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On the Features tab of this webpage (you’re currently on the Documentation tab) is a list of available subscription plans and a description of the features included in each one. Click on the green button associated with the plan you want to subscribe to. The image below shows where to click to sign up for a monthly subscription to the plugin’s Basic Plan. There is also a button for a free 15 day trial beneath the name of the plugin at the top of the page.
You’ll be presented with a registration form. The email address and password you enter will serve as your credentials to eniture.com. Use the credentials to gain access to your customer dashboard where you can download the plugin installation file, manage your Eniture API Key and update your payment information.
If you’re starting with the free trial, you’ll receive a verification email. You must complete the verification step described in the email before you can access the customer dashboard. You’ll have immediate access to the customer dashboard if you choose to start with one of the paid subscriptions.
You’ll receive an email containing your license key. The license key will work for one production site and one staging site. You entered the domain for the production site when you completed the registration form. You can change the production site domain or add/update a staging site anytime from the customer dashboard.
2. Retrieve the Installation File |
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If you downloaded the plugin installation file from the plugin directory on wordpress.org, you can skip this step. While logged into eniture.com with the credentials created in the previous step, click on the Downloads tab. Locate the plugin and then click the link to download the installation file. Save the file to a familiar location because you’ll need to navigate to it during the installation process.
3. Upload the Plugin Installation 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.
4. 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 the previous step, 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 – TQL Edition plugin on the list and click the Activate link.
5. Connection Settings |
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Select Settings from the WooCommerce menu.
Click on the TQL tab to gain access to the plugin configuration settings. Use the links at the top of the page to navigate between the Connection, Quote and Warehouse settings. Start with the Connection Settings.
With the exception of the Plugin License Key, these credentials will be provided to you by TQL. If you don’t have this information, email integrationrequests@tql.com or contact your TQL Account Executive.
| Client ID | Enter the Client ID provided by TQL. |
| Client Secret | Enter the Client Secret provided by TQL. |
| Trax Username | Enter your username to TQL Trax. |
| Trax Password | Enter your password to TQL Trax. |
| Subscription Key | Enter the Subscription Key provided by TQL. |
| Eniture API Key | Enter the API Key you obtained from Eniture Technology. If you don’t have one, click the link to the right of this field to obtain one.
Related documents:
How To Obtain Your Eniture API Key |
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 TQL 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 TQL. 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 TQL 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 TQL 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 TQL should be included in the operation. |
| 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”. |
| 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). |
| 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 add-on 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)
The settings below display only if the Residential Address Detection plugin is installed.
Auto-renew
Choose a plan that best meets your needs. (View available plans.) 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 information about the current plan and the start and end dates of the current subscription period. Current usage
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 occurred. Suspend use
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:
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. Address type disclosure
Inform the shopper when the ship-to address is identified as residential address
Choose this setting if you want the shopper to be informed that the ship-to address has been identified as a residential address. (The residential address delivery fee will be included in the shipping quotes.) Don’t disclose the ship-to address type to the shopper
Choose this setting if you don’t want the shopper to be informed that the ship-to address has been identified as a residential address. (The residential address delivery fee will still be included in the shipping quotes.) Do not return rates if the shipping address appears to be a post office box
Enable this setting if you don’t want the plugin to present shipping quotes when the ship-to address appears to be a post office box. Addresses in the United States will rely on metadata provided by the USPS for this determination. String matching, which is less reliable, will be used for addresses in other countries. |
| Lift Gate Delivery | Always quote lift gate delivery When checked, the returned quotes will include the 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. |
| Handling Unit | Weight of Handling Unit Enter in pounds the weight of your pallet, skid, crate or other type of handling unit you use. The amount entered will be added to shipment weight prior to requesting a quote. Maximum Weight per Handling Unit
Enter in pounds the maximum weight that can be placed on the handling unit. If the total weight of the cart exceeds this value, the weight of additional handling units will be added as needed. For example, if the maximum weight is 500 LBS, and the total weight of the cart is 1200 LBS, the weight of the handling units added to the shipment shall be 3 times the weight entered in the Weight of Handling Unit field. (=roundup(1200/500,0)*Weight of Handling Unit) |
| Handling Fee / Mark Up | Increases the amount of the returned quote by a specified amount prior to displaying it 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%). |
| Enable Logs | Enable the checkbox to have API transactions logged on the Logs page. The plugin’s navigation will only display an entry for Logs when this setting is enabled. The page will contain as many as 25 of the most recent transactions. |
| Allow For Own Arrangement | Enable this setting if you want to give your customers the ability to make their own LTL freight arrangements for their order.Enter the text you want to use as the label to the Allow For Own Arrangement option, if enabled. |
| Text For Own Arrangement | Enter the text you want to use as the label for the Allow For Own Arrangement option, if enabled. |
| Show WooCommerce shipping options | (Yes|No) Permit or prevent the display of shipping rates from other plugins. |
| Return LTL freight quotes when an order’s shipment weight exceeds the weight threshold | When checked, the LTL Freight Quote plugin will return quotes when an order’s total weight exceeds the weight threshold, 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 a freight class or accurate weights and dimensions.
Weight Threshold for Freight Quotes
Enter in pounds the weight threshold for LTL freight. When the order’s weight is greater than or equal to the threshold, the LTL Freight Quote plugin will return a quote if the setting is enabled (enabled by next setting). Default = 150 LBS. Continue to display parcel rates when the weight threshold is met.
Recommended. Choose this option if you want parcel rates to continue to display even after the weight threshold for LTL freight is met. Suppress parcel rates when the weight threshold is met.
Choose this option if you parcel rates to be suppressed when the weight threshold for LTL freight is met. Requires the installation and use of one of Eniture Technology’s Small Package Quotes plugins. |
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 TQL 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.
| Steet Address | Optional. Enter the street address for the location. This will be displayed along with the city, state, and postal code when the setting for in-store pick up is enabled. |
| ZIP | Enter the postal code for the location. Enter only the five digit ZIP Code for US addresses. |
| City | The plugin will attempt to prefill the City based on the postal code. Edit it if the prefilled value is incorrect. |
| State | The plugin will attempt to prefill the State based on the postal code. Edit it if the prefilled value is incorrect. |
| Country | The plugin will attempt to prefill the Country based on the postal code. Edit it if the prefilled value is incorrect. Use only the two character standardized country code. |
| Handling Fee / Mark Up | Increases the amount of the quote received for this location 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%).
Note: The plugin has three different settings that can be used to mark up shipping quotes. They are applied to shipping quotes in the following order: 1) Location-specific Handling Fee / Mark Up (Warehouse settings); 2) Product-specific Mark Up (Product settings); and 3) General Handling Fee / Mark Up (Quote settings).
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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. |
| Phone number | Enter the phone number to display in the description of the in-store pickup option. |
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. If the correct one already exists, move your mouse pointer over the name of the zone to reveal the Edit link and click on it.
Now add the shipping method to the zone. Click on the Add shipping method button…
…select the TQL 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. |
| Length | Enter the length of the product in inches. It should include any incremental inches added by packaging materials that may be required to ship the product. The length must be between 1 and 636 inches. |
| Width | Enter the width of the product in inches. It should include any incremental inches added by packaging materials that may be required to ship the product. The width must be between 1 and 96 inches. |
| Height | Enter the height of the product in inches. It should include any incremental inches added by packaging materials that may be required to ship the product. The height must be between 1 and 102 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 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 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. |
| Markup | Use this field to modify the shipping quotes returned by the plugin. Enter a dollar amount (e.g. 1.00 or -1.00) to increase or decrease the shipping quotes. The amount of the adjustment will be multiplied by the quantity of the item in the Cart. Enter a percentage (1.0% or -1.0%) to have a percentage of the item’s price added to or subtracted from the shipping quotes. When a percentage is entered and there is more than one of the item in the Cart, the percentage will be applied to the extended price (quantity x price).
Note: The plugin has three different settings that can be used to mark up shipping quotes. They are applied to shipping quotes in the following order: 1) Location-specific Handling Fee / Mark Up (Warehouse settings); 2) Product-specific Mark Up (Product settings); and 3) General Handling Fee / Mark Up (Quote settings).
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| Hazardous Material | The Standard or higher plan required is required to use this feature. If you aren’t on the Standard Plan or higher the words Standard plan required will be displayed. |
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.
Logs |
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The Quote Settings page contains the Enable Logs setting. When enabled, the plugin’s navigation will include a link to the Logs page. Up to 25 of the most recent transactions will appear on the Logs page. The Response column shows the outcome of each transaction. Click on a transaction’s response result to view its details.
When viewing the transaction details, click on the “+” symbols to expand the level of detail and “–” to collapse it. A basic understanding of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) will be useful when viewing the logs.
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 Eniture API Key |
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You can manage your Eniture API Key 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.
Use the links below to navigate to documents in the knowledge base related to common topics of interest.
Shipping with FreightDesk Online |
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- How capture the cost of shipping on orders placed online.
- How to ship the order, including how to create the shipping label (or Bill Of Lading in the case of LTL freight), schedule the carrier to pick up the shipment, and update the customer with the tracking number.
Quoting plugins, like this one, provide a solution for the first challenge. What are your options for the second challenge?
Option 1 – The carrier’s website: You can log into the carrier’s website and manually enter all of the relevant information. Carrier websites are free to use since the carrier makes money when you use them to deliver an order. However, if you have more than a handful of orders each day this approach is time consuming and ripe for data entry errors which can be costly to correct.
Option 2 – Use a plugin with “print-label” capabilities: It’s possible to find a plugin for certain shipping providers that will both generate quotes during the checkout process, and allow the merchant to print a shipping label. These plugins have very limited functionality and are usually an acceptable option only for merchants with very simple shipping needs and a low volume of shipments. They also require that the individuals responsible for preparing shipments have access to the ADMIN area of WooCommerce, which is not an acceptable arrangement to many merchants.
Option 3 – Cloud-based Shipping Platforms: The next step up in capability are cloud-based shipping systems that will connect to your online store and retrieve the details of your orders, thereby eliminating the need for much of the manual data entry. Many of these shipping systems have arrangements with postal and parcel carriers that can provide the merchant with significant discounts. Where these systems excel is in the efficiency of the fulfillment process. That translates in to a much higher volume of shipments per unit of time. These systems are relatively inexpensive and the reduction in the amount of labor and time it takes to ship your orders will pay dividends.
Option 4 – FreightDesk Online: FreightDesk Online (freightdesk.online) is also a cloud-based shipping system. It enjoys all of the benefits of other cloud-based offerings but expands the solution in two ways:
- It makes use of the detailed information collected by Eniture Technology’s quoting plugins (like this one) such as the packaging solution and the additional services included in the shipping option chosen when the order was placed.
- It provideds merchants access to more than two dozen LTL freight providers in addition to the typical postal and parcel integrations offered by other cloud-based solutions.
These expanded capabilities will deliver you closer to true “click-and-ship” shipping than any other alternative, whether you’re shipping with a postal carrier, a parcel carrier, or an LTL freight provider.
How to connect your WooCommerce store to FreightDesk Online |
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First, if you don’t already have one, register for a FreightDesk Online account (https://freightdesk.online/register). You can connect multiple online stores to FreightDesk Online, even if they use different e-commerce platforms, so you don’t have to create separate FreightDesk Online accounts for each one.
The pricing for FreightDesk Online is á la carte. You’ll be able to pick a separate plan for parcel (and postal) shipments, and for LTL freight shipments based on the anticipated volume for each type of shipping. Your monthly subscription rate will be comprised of these two selections. You can begin a 30-day trial of both types of shipping by selecting Trial in the corresponding dropdown fields on the registration form.
After you complete the registration process, log into FreightDesk Online. Click on your avatar located in the top right-hand corner of the browser window. Copy your FreightDesk Online ID which will be located below your company name.
Return to the plugin settings and click on the FreightDesk Online tab. Enter your FreightDesk Online ID and click the Connect button.
Complete the connection by granting any permissions that you’re prompted for.
Next, return to FreightDesk Online. Navagate to Settings > Connections. Locate the store in the list of Connected Marketplaces and click on its Show/Edit link. Update the marketplace’s connection settings using the instructions below.
| Nickname | Enter a nickname you’d like to use to represent the connection to this store. Be aware that the nickname will be used to identify the store if you enable FreightDesk Online’s shipment tracking email notifications. It is used as the value for the “{Merchant}” mail-tag. |
| Marketplace URL | This field will be prefilled with the URL of the store that was connected to FreightDesk Online. You can not edit this field. To disable the connection, chose the Inactive Marketplace status option at the bottom of the page. |
| Order Import Status | This setting is used to filter which orders are imported into FreightDesk Online. Processing is typically the only order status enabled. |
| Order Shipped Status | Choose Completed if you want an order status seen in WooCommerce to be automatically updated to “Completed” when the shipping label or Bill Of Lading is printed. If you’d prefer to manually update the order status in WooCommerce, choose the option Don’t update the order status. |
| Order Shipped Status for Delayed PRO Number Assignment | You can ignore this setting if you won’t be connecting Worldwide Express to FreightDesk Online as an LTL freight provider. If you will be, then please read the information provided on-screen and install the add-on plugin. The add-on plugin will add “PRO Pending” as an additional order status in WooCommerce and will delay the order status from being updated to “Completed” until after a PRO number becomes available for the shipment. This is usually by 10:30 AM Eastern Time the next business day. |
| Auto Import Orders | Enable this setting if you’d like newly placed orders with the status(es) you identified in the Order Import Status setting to be automatically imported in to FreightDesk Online. The alternative is to initiate the import manually each time using the |
| Marketplace Status | Select Activate Marketplace to enable the store’s connection to FreightDesk Online. To disable it, choose Inactive Marketplace. |
When you’re done editing your marketplace settings, click the Test Connection button to verify the connection to the store, and then Update to save the settings and return to the Settings > Connections page.
Now that you’ve connected FreightDesk Online, unfulfilled orders can be imported in to FreightDesk Online for processing. To view them, log into FreightDesk Online and click on Orders in the navigation menu. If you have the Enable Auto Import Orders setting enabled, your orders will populate automatically. If not use the Import Orders button to manually initiate the process.
You’ll need to connect your shipping providers before you can start shipping your orders using FreightDesk Online. Connecting your shipping providers is also done on the Settings > Connections page. You can find a quick start guide in FreightDesk Online by navigating to Help > Getting Started. Short instructional videos are also sprinkled through FreightDesk Online. Click on the movie camera icon to view the video.