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Calculating Shipping Rates

ShopSite gives you a variety of methods you can use to calculate shipping rates for your customers. These can be divided into three basic categories; shipping tables, real-time shipping carrier quotes, and the shipping add-on API. You should consider your shipping requirements and determine which methods are best suited for your situation. To view and configure your shipping options, go to the Commerce Setup section of your back office and click the Shipping button.

• Shipping Tables - The biggest advantage to a shipping table is that it's not dependent on any third-party services. ShopSite calculates all the shipping costs using information you have provided it. Some of the shipping tables you can use are very basic, such as a single flat rate or a flat per-product rate. You also have the option to make some more complex shipping tables such as weight based or a base rate plus a per product rate.
• Shipping Calculators - ShopSite includes built-in support for real-time shipping rate calculations by UPS, FedEx, and the U.S. Postal Service. After you configure one or more of these services, ShopSite will automatically contact the appropriate service to request shipping rates based off the shipping method, destination, package type, and product weight. These real-time services can give you very accurate, up-to-date shipping quotes, but they are dependent on a third-party service you can't control. It's always a good idea to set up a backup shipping table to use in case the third-party service is off-line or unavailable.
• Shipping Add-Ons - ShopSite includes an API that allows you to build or purchase add-ons for additional third-party shipping rate calculators. This can be very useful if you rely on a particular shipping carrier that you need accurate quotes for. You will, however, need to find someone who has or is able to develop a compatible add-on for your shipping carrier. As with any third-party service, you may want to set up a backup shipping table to use if the third-party is unavailable or off-line.

Calculating Tax Rates

Like any business, you are responsible for collecting and submitting the required taxes for purchases from your store. Tax laws vary by location, and you should check your local tax laws to know how to set up your tax calculations. ShopSite includes three different methods to help you collect the appropriate taxes for your business. To configure your tax settings, go to the Commerce Setup section of your back office and click on Tax.

• ZIP Code based tax - ShopSite gives you the option to set tax rates based off your customer's shipping ZIP Code. You can set up as many as 195 different tax zones based off 5 digit or 9 digit ZIP codes. You can set the tax rate to apply to a range or group of ZIP codes and ShopSite will automatically calculate sales tax when a customer enters their ZIP code in the shopping cart. This method may also work with some international postal code systems.
• Value Added Tax (VAT/GST) - If your business is based in Europe, you are required to collect VAT on sales of products. ShopSite has an easy system for calculating VAT based off the location of your business, your Customer's country and postal code, and the product type. After your configure your VAT settings based on the location of your business, you can configure each of your products for the appropriate VAT category.
• Shopper Selected Tax - You can allow your customers to pick an appropriate tax rate for their purchases. You can set up as many as 195 different tax rates for your customers to choose from. This can be useful if you need to collect taxes using a system other than ZIP Codes or VAT.

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