Labels outside Dashboard

Learn what carriers and systems support producing labels outside Dashboard.

Producing a label correctly outside of Zonos Dashboard requires you to use the right carrier and system, and know how to correctly process a Landed Cost guarantee shipment.

Approved systems 

Customers who want to ship in their system must use an approved carrier, an approved shipping system, or 3PL. A certification from Zonos is required to ensure the labels and paperwork comply with our labels and customs documentation specifications.

FedEx, UPS, or DHL certification required 

Zonos charges an additional 1,000 USD annually to ship with UPS, FedEx, or DHL outside Dashboard. Currently, FedEx, UPS, and DHL Express have not been certified to bill at an account level with Zonos.

Learn about becoming a certified shipping provider with Zonos.

How Landed Cost guarantee works 

At a high level, two things need to occur for Zonos to pay duties and taxes and for the Landed Cost guarantee to work.

1. Zonos is billed for duties and taxes from the carrier (billed third party)
2. Zonos tax ID is applied to the documentation in required countries

Certified consolidators 

Many carriers support billing duties and taxes third-party, yet the combination of the shipping system and carrier can limit the ability to ship outside Dashboard. For example, UPS, FedEx, and DHL allow for the billing of duties and taxes at a shipment level (time of label creation). However, ShipStation doesn’t support billing the duties and taxes third-party. This means Zonos does not support Landed Cost guarantee for UPS, FedEx, or DHL out of ShipStation.

On the other hand, other shipping providers may have already certified with Zonos, and they can bill duties and taxes to Zonos at an account level. In that case, you could ship out of ShipStation if you used a certified provider and did not also use UPS, FedEx, or DHL.

The following shipping partners have been certified to ship outside the Zonos Dashboard:

• APC
• Asendia
• ePost

The following shipping partners are finalizing their certification to ship outside the Zonos Dashboard:

• BoxC
• DirectLink
• eLogistics
• Landmark
• FB
• Floship
• ShipWizmo
• WW Express

Certified 3PLs 

Depending on your 3PL, the carriers they use, and the shipping software, they may be able to support a Landed Cost guarantee with Zonos. The following 3PLs have been certified with Zonos and are supported:

• Barrett
• Complemar Partners Inc
• Creative Logistic Services
• FloShip
• GEODIS
• Nice Commerce
• OurServiceWorks (UPS and DHL not supported)
• ShipTheory (UPS not supported)
• ShipVine

Certified and other supported shipping systems 

Learn what systems support shipping outside the Zonos Dashboard.

Tier 1

Tier 1 shipping systems have been certified with Zonos and have integrated Zonos Landed Cost calculations into their international label process. All calculations are guaranteed and offered directly in their software. Even if Zonos didn’t provide a guaranteed landed cost in an ecommerce checkout, Tier 1 shipping systems will quote a landed cost and allow you to guarantee the landed cost when you create the label. Tier 1 systems also support billing duties and taxes third-party to Zonos without special configuration.

Tier 2

Tier 2 shipping systems support billing duties and taxes third party to Zonos, but it does not support quoting the Zonos Landed Cost guarantee.

Tier 3

You are limited to only using a certified carrier or a couple of express carriers. The Landed Cost guarantee is unavailable if these systems do not support billing UPS, FedEx, or DHL duties and taxes to Zonos.

System	Tier	Consolidators	FedEx	DHL	UPS
InXpress	Tier 1
ConnectShip	Tier 2
EasyPost	Tier 2
eHUB	Tier 2
LOGIWA	Tier 2
Proship	Tier 2
Shipping Easy	Tier 2
ShipTheory	Tier 3
ShipEngine	Tier 3
ShipHero	Tier 3
TechShip	Tier 3
Shipium	Tier 3
ShipStation	Tier 3
ShipWorks	Tier 3

Identify orders that are eligible for Landed Cost guarantee based on the Landed Cost response 

The Landed Cost response will contain a field specifying if that quote is eligible for the Landed Cost guarantee if the landedCostGuaranteeCode is populated with ZONOS. If the field is populated with NOT APPLICABLE, the quote is not eligible for the Landed Cost Guarantee.

{
  "id": "ldct_1Ce6vt2eZvKYlo2CrgzPqxaz",
  "landedCostGuaranteeCode": "ZONOS"
}

How to process a Landed Cost guarantee shipment 

Creating an international shipping label is not straightforward and will require configuration or a carefully followed process. Some basic requirements incl/marketplaceude the following:

1. Update Zonos with tracking numbers
2. Billing duties and taxes third party to Zonos
3. Add Zonos' tax ID and required message to the commercial invoice

Update Zonos with tracking numbers 

Zonos needs to be updated with the tracking number after the shipment is processed. If you are using a Zonos plugin on Shopify, BigCommerce, Miva, or Magento and you already sync tracking numbers with those platforms, you can skip this requirement.

Bill duties and taxes third party to Zonos 

Billing duties and taxes third-party to Zonos are only required with FedEx, DHL, and UPS. If you are shipping with FedEx or DHL, you can always bill third-party to Zonos.

UPS guidelines for billing duty and tax third party

If you do not have the UPS duty and tax forwarding surcharge waived, you must ensure you do not bill duties and taxes to Zonos unless the below guidelines are followed. If you do, it will result in a charge from UPS on your shipping invoice for performing a service of billing duties and taxes to Zonos, even though they won’t have billed Zonos for the duties and taxes. If you accidentally ship DDP and the order is under the de minimis, you should contact UPS and see if they will refund the fees since they never performed a service with the associated fee.

Identify de minimis

The de minimis qualification is returned in the Landed Cost API responses as well Dashboard. You will see the following behavior in the API response if you should ship the package DDU even though you requested a DDP quote:

• The de_minimis.threshold = below and the list returns both tax and duty
• The de_minimis.duties de_minimis.taxes and de_minimis.fees = 0

{
  "id": "ldct_1Ce6vt2eZvKYlo2CrgzPqxaz",
  "amount_subtotal": {
    "duties": 0,
    "fees": 0,
    "taxes": 0
  },
  "de_minimis": [
    {
      "formula": "(cost {'<='} 150 cad)",
      "method": "FOB",
      "note": "Items value less than 150 CAD",
      "threshold": "below",
      "type": "duty"
    },
    {
      "formula": "(cost {'<='} 40 cad)",
      "method": "FOB",
      "note": "Items value less than 40 CAD",
      "threshold": "below",
      "type": "tax"
    }
  ]
}

Add the tax ID to the commercial invoice 

When appropriate, providing the tax number on your documentation allows customs authorities to efficiently process and clear the shipment, which can help to avoid double taxation.

The tax number is often required when shipping to Great Britain, the European Union, and Norway. You can identify if the order requires tax remittance from the API or the Dashboard.

Add the correct tax ID

Add the tax ID in the shipper or from section on the commercial invoice.

• To European Union, use the Zonos IOSS ID
• To the United Kingdom, use the Zonos tax ID

Add the VAT message

The following message should be inserted only when a tax ID is put on the paperwork.

VAT has been collected at the point of sale for all items in this consignment and will be remitted via VAT #taxId

Shipping system automation

Depending on the system you are using, you can automate the insertion of the tax ID with a rule. The shipping service level name will be prefixed with UK for the United Kingdom and EU for Europe, followed by LV, indicating it is a low-value shipment. For example, EU LV indicates you should use the Zonos IOSS tax identification number.

Action is only needed for Australia, New Zealand, or Singapore if you are registered based on the requirements in those countries.

Identify tax remittance in the Landed Cost API response

Using the Zonos API, you can identify if the shipment requires a tax ID. When the remittance object is present, the tax ID is required.

{
  "id": "ldct_1Ce6vt2eZvKYlo2CrgzPqxaz",
  "amount_subtotal": {
    "duties": 0,
    "fees": 15,
    "taxes": 12.25
  },
  "remittance": [
    {
      "amount": 12.25,
      "description": "UK VAT",
      "note": "Remit to HMRC quarterly"
    }
  ]
}

Currently, the order in Dashboard does not indicate remittance or if a tax ID is required.