Introduction

Shipping Modules gives the store owner a way to change which shipping options are available to the customers at checkout time. During the checkout process, these modules are called to calculate the final shipping and packaging costs for the orders.

In addition to the default modules installed in TomatoCart, there are others available under the Downloads>Extensions for other merchant vendors.

Administrative Tool Settings

There are several configuration settings that can affect the shipping calculation. Find these settings in the Shipping/Packaging article.

Figure 1 shows the Shipping Modules listing page under the admin>Module>Shipping Modules section.

Figure 1 Shipping Modules listing page

The shipping modules come with six modules built into the code. If other payment modules are placed in the code, they will need to be installed in the same manner as the ones listed above before use.

You may:

• Install/Uninstall modules
• Edit modules
  A module can only have its settings edited after it has been installed.
• Hide/Display some column
• Update data in the present page by clicking "Refresh" in the tool bar.

Unfamiliar with functions or operations of a button? See Common Button Operations.

Flat Rate

In Flat Rate shipping, a single price is used on the orders, regardless of quantity, weight, etc. This is the simplest method of shipping calculation. The default setup is for $5 for each order, without tax.

Figure 2 shows the Flat Rate listing page under the admin>Modules>Shipping Modules>Flat Rate edit section.

Figure 2 Flat Rate listing page

There are five fields editable.

1. Enable Item Shipping
   To enable customers to see Flat Rate shipping during checkout, set to "True"; to disable them, set to "False".
2. Shipping Cost
   The actual cost of shipping. It will be applied to all orders.
3. Tax Class
   Select the tax class to apply to the shipping cost before being shown to the customer, if needed.
4. Shipping Zone
   Select the shipping zone to apply to the shipping cost before being shown to the customer, if needed.
5. Sort Order
   Sort Order describes in what order the shipping module will be presented to the customer during checkout.

Free Shipping

Free shipping is applied to orders in a specific amount defined in the editing page as "Shipping Cost".

As for other fields editing, refer to the Flat Rate module.

Per Item

In Per Item shipping, the price entered in the Shipping Cost field is multiplied by the number of products ordered, then added to the Handling Fee (if any), to calculate the final shipping cost. The default setting is for $2.50 per item, plus $0 additional for handling.

Handling Fee is an extra field to add a separate handling charge to the final cost. It is the same for the order, regardless of the product quantity.

Table Rate

In Table Rate shipping, a table of prices is used to determine the shipping cost. Either the total weight or the total price of the order can be used in the lookup table.

Three different fields from those similar to the above are:

1. Shipping Table
   This table will be applied to either total weight or total price of the order to calculate a final shipping cost. However, there is a limit of 255 characters to this field.
   The default table of "25:8.50,50:5.50,10000:0.00" could be expressed in the following table form by weight or by price:
   

   Total Order size (Weight/Price)	Shipping Price
   0~24.99	$8.50
   25.00~49.99	$5.50
   50.00 and up	Free

   Table 1 The Default Table
2. Table Method
   The Table Method allows either the total price or the total weight of the order used as the lookup in the table described in the Shipping Table.
   Using the default Shipping Table and Weight Method, an order with a total weight of 75 kilograms will cost nothing, and one of 30 kilograms will cost $5.50. This cost is also added to the handling fee, which doesn't use the table, to reach a final shipping cost.
3. Module Weight Unit
   If the total weight of the order is being used to do the Table Rate calculation, this field applies the chosen weight type to the above order.

United States Postal Service (USPS)

In USPS shipping, the United States Parcel Service website is used to calculate the shipping cost for the order. Although an account is not needed to use the test server, it is necessary when using the production server.

Three different fields from those similar to the above are:

1. Enter the USPS user ID
   The username entered here will be used to communicate with the USPS production server about the shipping calculation.
2. Enter the USPS Password
   The password entered here will be used with the username above.
3. Which Server to Use?
   The radio buttons here specify which USPS server is to be used, production or test. The test server does not require a USPS account.

Zone Rates

In Zone Rates shipping, customers that are having an order delivered to one of the locations specified have the shipping cost calculated according to the table specified. This shipping is similar to the Table Rates shipping method, but will be available to a selected group of customers.

Two different fields from those similar to the above are:

1. Zone 1 Countries
   If the customer is having an ordered delivered to one of the countries specified here, Zone Rates shipping will be available as an option during checkout.
2. Zone 1 Shipping Table
   The shipping table in the total weight method ONLY is used in the calculation.