Rates, Pricing & Zones
Configure how shipping prices are calculated — by weight, zone, service type, and surcharges.
What It Does
Define pricing rules for your shipping services. The rate engine calculates prices automatically when creating shipments, taking into account weight, dimensions, origin, destination, service type, and applicable surcharges.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Who uses it | Admin (full CRUD), Employee (view only) |
| Menu path | Logistics → Rates |
| View permission | settings.pricing.view |
| Edit permission | settings.pricing.update |
Three Building Blocks
The pricing system is built on three layered concepts. You configure them in order: Zones first, then Rate Cards, then Rate Rules.
1. Rate Zones
Define geographic routes: origin → destination. Example: "Colombia → United States" or "Bogota → Medellin".
2. Rate Cards
Containers for pricing rules. Each card has a currency and a chargeable weight calculation method.
3. Rate Rules
The actual prices. Each rule lives inside a Rate Card and applies to one Zone with weight ranges and surcharges.
Rate Zones
Zones define geographic routes for pricing. Each zone represents an origin-to-destination pair.
Zone Fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | Human-readable zone name (e.g., "Colombia to USA") |
| Origin Country | Yes | Origin country, or "Any" to match all countries |
| Origin State | No | Origin state/province, or leave blank for any |
| Origin City | No | Origin city, or leave blank for any |
| Destination Country | Yes | Destination country, or "Any" to match all countries |
| Destination State | No | Destination state/province, or leave blank for any |
| Destination City | No | Destination city, or leave blank for any |
| Active | Yes | Only active zones are used for rate calculation |
Wildcards
Setting origin or destination to "Any" acts as a wildcard that matches all countries. This is useful for catch-all pricing: create a zone "Any → Any" as a fallback rate.
Rate Cards
A Rate Card is a container that holds pricing rules. Each card specifies a currency and the method used to determine chargeable weight.
Rate Card Fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | Card name (e.g., "International Standard") |
| Currency | Yes | Currency for all prices in this card (USD, EUR, COP, etc.) |
| Chargeable Weight Rule | Yes | How to determine billable weight: Actual (scale weight only), Volumetric (dimensional weight only), or Max (whichever is greater) |
| Volumetric Divisor | No | Divisor for volumetric calculation. Default: 5000. Formula: (L x W x H) / divisor |
| Active | Yes | Only active cards are used for rate calculation |
Rate Rules
Rate Rules are the actual pricing lines. Each rule lives inside a Rate Card and applies to one Zone, specifying how to calculate the price for a given weight range.
Rule Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Zone | The Rate Zone this rule applies to |
| Service Type | Service level (e.g., Standard, Express, Same-Day) |
| Min Weight | Lower bound of the weight range (kg) |
| Max Weight | Upper bound of the weight range (kg) |
| Price per Kg | Per-kilogram charge applied to the chargeable weight |
| Flat Price | Fixed base charge added regardless of weight |
| Min Charge | Minimum total charge (floor). If calculated total is less, this amount is used instead. |
| Fuel Surcharge % | Percentage surcharge applied to the subtotal |
| Insurance % | Percentage of declared value charged as insurance |
| Tax % | Tax percentage applied to the subtotal |
| Handling Fee | Fixed handling fee added to the total |
| Rounding Rule | How to round the final total: None, Ceil, Floor, or Nearest |
| Active | Only active rules are used for rate calculation |
How the Calculator Works
Here is a complete numeric example showing every step of the rate calculation.
Example Scenario
Shipping a 3 kg package (30 x 20 x 15 cm) from Bogota to Miami, declared value $200 USD, Standard service.
Step-by-Step Calculation
-
1
Volumetric Weight
(30 x 20 x 15) / 5000 = 1.8 kg
-
2
Chargeable Weight
Using the "Max" rule: max(3.0, 1.8) = 3.0 kg
-
3
Zone Match
"Colombia → United States" zone is found.
-
4
Rate Rule Match
Standard service, weight range 0–10 kg, price $5.00/kg, flat price $3.00.
-
5
Price Calculation
Flat price (base) $3.00 Weight charge: 3.0 kg x $5.00 $15.00 Subtotal $18.00 Fuel surcharge (8%) $1.44 Insurance on declared value (2% of $200) $4.00 Tax (10%) $1.80 Handling fee $0.00 Total $25.24
CSV Import / Export
Bulk-manage your rate configuration using CSV files. This is especially useful when setting up rates for the first time or when updating prices across many zones at once.
Rate Zones CSV
Columns: zone_name, origin_country, origin_state, origin_city, dest_country, dest_state, dest_city. Use * as a wildcard for "Any".
Rate Rules CSV
Columns: zone_name, service_type, min_weight, max_weight, price_per_kg, flat_price, min_charge, fuel_surcharge_pct, insurance_pct, tax_pct, handling_fee, rounding_rule.
Workflow
- Go to Logistics → Rates and click Download Template to get the CSV template with headers.
- Fill in the template with your rate data.
- Click Import CSV and upload the file.
- Review the import preview showing what will be created or updated.
- Confirm to apply the import.
Test after import
Always test the Rate Calculator with several scenarios after a CSV import to verify that prices are correct. A typo in the CSV can cause incorrect pricing across many shipments.
Rate Calculator (Interactive)
The interactive Rate Calculator lets staff and customers get instant price quotes without creating a shipment.
Access
| Calculator | Path | Access |
|---|---|---|
| Internal (Staff) | Logistics → Rates → Calculator | Requires settings.pricing.view permission |
| Public (Customers) | /rate | No login required |
How It Works
- Enter origin and destination countries (and optionally state/city)
- Enter package weight and dimensions (length, width, height)
- Enter the declared value
- The calculator shows all matching rates sorted by price
- Each result is expandable to show the full price breakdown (base, weight charge, surcharges, taxes, total)
- Click "Ship Now" to pre-fill the shipment creation wizard with the selected rate
Share the public calculator
The /rate URL can be shared on your website, social media, or WhatsApp to let customers get instant quotes. This reduces inbound quote requests and pre-qualifies customers before they contact you.
Services (Fallback Pricing)
If no Rate Card rules match for a given shipment, the system falls back to Services pricing configured in Settings → Services.
Services have simple pricing with two components:
- Base Price — a flat charge for the service
- Price per Kg — a per-kilogram rate added on top of the base price
This fallback ensures that every shipment can be priced even if the Rate Card configuration does not cover a particular route or weight range. It is recommended to configure Services as a safety net, even if your primary pricing uses Rate Cards.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| "No rate found for this shipment" | No active Rate Card + Rule exists for the zone pair and service type. Create the missing zone and/or rate rule. |
| Calculator shows $0.00 | A rate rule is missing for the shipment's weight range. Ensure rules cover all weight tiers without gaps. |
| Volumetric weight not applied | Check the Rate Card's Chargeable Weight Rule. It must be set to "Volumetric" or "Max" for dimensional weight to be considered. |
| CSV import fails | Verify CSV encoding is UTF-8 and column headers match the template exactly. Check for trailing commas or empty rows. |