Shipping

Shipping in Litestore covers two separate tasks. You set up rates to determine the shipping price buyers pay at checkout, and you record shipments when goods leave your warehouse.

Rates and shipments

A rate lists the countries it serves, what the buyer pays, and how long delivery takes. Checkout uses rates to quote shipping to the buyer.

A shipment records what was actually sent, including the units, the carrier and the tracking number.

Litestore stores all of this in three records:

ShippingRate
Shipment
ShipmentItem

You manage shipping at:

Orders → Shipping

That page has a Shipments tab and a Delivery Rates tab.

Rate coverage

Each rate has a list of the country codes it serves. If the list is empty, the rate serves every country.

A rate can also be linked to the location that fulfills it, so the rate is tied to the warehouse that actually sends the parcel.

Litestore doesn't have a separate zone builder. The country list on the rate determines where it applies.

This keeps the setup simpler. Zones would add an extra layer that has to be kept in sync with the rates. When each rate lists its own countries, there's nothing separate to keep in sync.

To change where a rate applies, edit the rate.

Free shipping

Litestore doesn't have a free-shipping switch. Instead, you create a rate with a price of zero and a minimum order amount.

Checkout applies that rate once the cart reaches the minimum. Until then, the cart shows the buyer how much more they need to spend.

Because free shipping is an ordinary rate, it works like any other rate. Its country list limits where it applies, and its delivery days give buyers an arrival window.

Delivery dates

Each rate has a minimum and a maximum number of delivery days.

Checkout doesn't show the buyer those numbers directly. It converts them into actual dates, taking into account the store's handling time, its shipping weekdays and its holiday closures.

A specific date is more useful to a buyer than a "3–5 business days" label, and Litestore can calculate it because it knows, for example, that the warehouse doesn't pack on Sundays or is closed over a holiday.

The working days (Monday to Friday by default), holiday closures and handling time (one day by default) aren't admin settings. Whoever runs the store changes them in the store's configuration.

Partial shipments

A shipment contains specific quantities of specific order lines, so one order can be sent in several boxes. Each box has its own carrier and tracking number, and you record each one separately.

The admin rejects a shipment that contains more units of a line than the order has left. Litestore tracks the remaining amount for each line, so an order splits into shipments without anyone counting by hand.

Tracking links

When you enter a carrier and tracking number, Litestore builds the tracking URL for these carriers:

USPS
UPS
FedEx
DHL

For any other carrier, Litestore uses the URL you enter, so regional and freight carriers work as long as you provide the link yourself.

Shipment statuses

A shipment's status moves through a fixed sequence.

The status dropdown only offers the transitions that are allowed from the current status, and the server rejects any other transition.

The dropdown keeps the interface clear, while the server check is what actually enforces the sequence. This means a stale browser tab or a repeated click can't move a shipment to a status it isn't allowed to reach.

Two statuses are final:

picked up
returned

Once a shipment reaches either one, it's complete and can't move to another status.

Chargeback holds

An order with an open dispute can't be fulfilled.

If you sent goods for a payment that's being reversed, you probably wouldn't get them back. Litestore blocks fulfillment on the order automatically, so you don't need to check for disputes yourself before shipping.

Settings

Quick reference

Change a rate to change the shipping options and prices buyers get at checkout. A rate covers the destinations, the price, the delivery time shoppers see on the shipping step of checkout, and the order value where shipping becomes free.

When your working days change, ask whoever runs the store to update them. The rate's delivery days stay the same, but the dates buyers see are updated.

Record a shipment when goods physically leave your premises. If an order is sent in parts, record one shipment for each box rather than one for the whole order.

A rate sets the shipping options buyers get at checkout, and a shipment records the parcel that was sent.

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