Setting up ShipHero involves configuring your account, connecting sales channels, preparing warehouse equipment, and enabling inventory management. Use this checklist before or during your Onboarding sessions. Your Onboarding Specialist will walk through each step with you in detail. Each step links to the article that explains it.
Table of Contents
- Step 1: Devices you may need
- Step 2: Configure basic administrative settings
- Step 3: Connect your sales channels
- Step 4: Set up your shipping options
- Step 5: Set up your shipping boxes
- Step 6: Set up your printers & scales
- Step 7: Download mobile apps
- Step 8: Set up automation rules
- Step 9: Ensure your inventory is counted & accurate
- Step 10: Enable ShipHero to manage your inventory
Step 1: Devices you may need
Depending on how you want to run your operations, you may need barcode scanners, printers, or iPads. You can start using ShipHero without any devices, but this is a good time to assess your needs.
For picking and general inventory adjustments around the warehouse
- A mobile device such as an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad for order picking and inventory management.
- A barcode scanner. ShipHero includes features for creating, printing, and scanning barcodes. See Overview: Supported Hardware Devices.
For general warehouse management, packing, and printing
- A computer workstation that can communicate with printers and scales. Windows 10 or Mac OSX Sierra or later are recommended.
- A printer for shipping labels, invoices, packing slips, and barcodes.
- A barcode scanner. Any standard barcode scanner works with a computer when using ShipHero in a web browser.
- Scales. You can set the weight for each SKU in ShipHero, which eliminates the need to weigh each order at pack time. Check the tested devices list in Overview: Supported Hardware Devices for scale compatibility.
Step 2: Configure basic administrative settings
Configure these four settings areas before going live with ShipHero:
- Configure General Settings to control order handling behavior.
- Set up Emails and Notifications to send automated messages to your team when key events occur. See How to Set Up Email Notifications for Orders.
- Update Invoice Settings to add your address, logo, and invoice details. See How to Set Up Branded Invoices.
- Add User Accounts so each team member can log in with a unique account, keeping permissions secure and activity trackable. See How to Create and Manage Users in ShipHero.
Pro-Tip
To restrict what users can access, manage permissions by creating and configuring user roles. See How to Create and Manage Roles and Permissions.
Step 3: Connect your sales channels
Connect your sales channels so ShipHero can pull in products and orders. Before connecting, make sure all products have unique SKUs. If you sell the same product across multiple stores, use the same SKU for that product in every channel.
See the connection article for your sales channel: Connecting a Shopify Store to ShipHero, Connecting an Amazon Store to ShipHero, Connecting a Walmart Store to ShipHero, Connecting an Etsy Store to ShipHero, Connecting an eBay Store to ShipHero, Connecting a WooCommerce Store to ShipHero, How to Set Up TikTok Shop with ShipHero.
ShipHero syncs inventory across your sales channels
ShipHero acts as the master of inventory across all connected sales channels. Any SKU sold across channels is tracked as orders are fulfilled. ShipHero will not change inventory levels in your sales channel until you enable that option.
Pro-Tip
Once you enable ShipHero to manage your inventory, SKU quantities updated in ShipHero are reflected across all connected sales channels. ShipHero does not create product listings. Manage product visibility and listings directly in your sales channel.
ShipHero supports direct connections for Shopify stores with Shopify POS (Point of Sale) devices. See Overview: Shopify POS Inventory Setups in ShipHero.
Using the ShipHero API to manage orders and products
ShipHero provides a GraphQL API for creating and managing orders and products. See Overview: ShipHero API Developer Resources.
Step 4: Set up your shipping options
Once an order is picked and packed, ShipHero selects the optimal shipping method based on the available carriers and the customer's expected delivery date.
- Go to Shipping > Carriers and connect your shipping carriers. See Connecting UPS to ShipHero, Connecting Your FedEx Account to ShipHero, Connecting USPS Modern to ShipHero, Connecting DHL Express to ShipHero.
- Go to Shipping > Methods and map your shipping methods to automatically assign a default carrier, saving time when shipping orders. See How to Map Shipping Methods in ShipHero.
Every US shipping address is validated automatically to help avoid incomplete or invalid addresses. See Understanding Address Validation and Managing Address Holds.
Step 5: Set up your shipping boxes
ShipHero lets you create and manage the boxes you use for shipping, including dimensions and weight. Each box gets a barcode that packers can scan for quick selection at pack time. See How to Set Up Shipping Boxes in ShipHero.
Step 6: Set up your printers & scales
Configure your printers and scales in ShipHero so they can be shared across workstations for printing shipping labels and invoices. See How to Set Up Label Printers in ShipHero, How to Set Up a Workstation in ShipHero, How to Use a Scale While Shipping.
Step 7: Download mobile apps
If you use mobile devices for picking and packing, install the ShipHero app from the App Store. The app is available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. See How to Enable the ShipHero Mobile App on iOS and User Guide: ShipHero iOS Mobile App.
Step 8: Set up automation rules
Automation rules trigger actions on orders when specified conditions are met. Use them to speed up fulfillment workflows. For example, send an email when an order contains a specific SKU, or assign a shipping method based on the destination zip code. See Getting Started with Automation Rules in ShipHero.
Step 9: Ensure your inventory is counted & accurate in ShipHero
ShipHero must have accurate inventory counts before you enable it to manage your store's inventory. If your inventory levels are already accurate in your connected sales channel, contact ShipHero Support to pull that data from the store.
If you're an existing customer adding a new store, email ShipHero Support with the store name and request that ShipHero update inventory from the store values. For new customers, work directly with your Onboarding Specialist.
To update inventory counts in bulk, see How to Use Inventory Upload in ShipHero. To count inventory by location, see Understanding Cycle Counting in ShipHero.
Step 10: Enable ShipHero to manage your inventory
Once your inventory counts are confirmed accurate, enable ShipHero to manage your store's inventory. After this point, ShipHero updates product availability across all connected stores whenever inventory changes.
Why ShipHero requires accurate inventory
When set to manage store inventory, ShipHero pushes its counts to your sales channel. Inaccurate counts in ShipHero will be reflected in your store. Confirm numbers are correct before enabling this setting. For every Shopify inventory setting, see Shopify Integration: Inventory & Product Settings.
- Go to My Account > Stores.
- Select the Settings button for the connected store you want to update.
- Check Have ShipHero Manage My Shopify Inventory.