What Are Incoterms? Incoterms (International Commercial Terms) are standardized rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that define the responsibilities of sellers and buyers in international shipments — including costs, insurance, documentation, and customs clearance.
| Incoterm | Definition |
|---|---|
| DDP | The shipper handles the payment of duties and taxes, ensuring no surprise fees for the customer upon delivery. |
| DDU | The customer is responsible for paying duties and taxes to the local customs office before the package is released. |
By default, ShipHero sets Incoterms to DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid), meaning the buyer is responsible for paying duties.
How to Set Your Incoterms
The incoterms for an order can be managed in several ways:
- Use a Custom Profile to Set Incoterms at the Carrier Level
- Import Incoterms from your Store
- Manually Set Incoterms on the Order Details Page
- Add Incoterms Using Automation Rules
ShipHero does not support Incoterm changes for all carriers. Contact the support team to confirm your preferred carrier can be configured. More information about DDP and DDU is available in this article.
Use a Custom Profile to Set at the Carrier Level
Use this option when you want to apply different Incoterms to specific orders. Create a separate warehouse profile for each Incoterm you want to use (e.g., "FedEx_DDP"), connect the carrier to that profile, and enable the DDP carrier settings.
For the DDP carrier connection to apply, the DDP profile must be assigned to the order and one of that carrier's shipping methods must be used to generate the label.
Connecting a Carrier to a Custom Profile: Step-by-Step
Before you are able to connect a carrier to a custom profile you must first create it. For detailed instructions please reference How to Use Warehouse Profiles in ShipHero.
- Open Shipping > Carriers and click Connect Carrier.
- Select the carrier from the drop-down menu.
- Choose the profile you created and enter your carrier account details.
- Click Connect.
- After connecting, click Settings and choose your preferred duty option. If you don't see this option, contact our support team. Depending on the carrier, you will either:
- Check the Shipper Pays Duties or Deliver Duty Paid (DDP) option, or
- Select Account or Recipient from the Duty Payment drop-down.
Pro-Tip
Automate order profile assignments using Automation Rules.
Import Incoterms from Your Store
Shopify allows you to set Incoterms directly on their platform, which can then be imported into ShipHero orders. For more information on Shopify's Incoterm settings, see Shopify's documentation.
To import Shopify's Incoterms, check the Import Order Incoterms (must be enabled on your Shopify account) option in your store settings.
Manually Set Incoterms on the Order Details Page
For individual orders, set the Incoterm on the right side of the order details page, then click Update Details.
Important Notes
- This manual setting overrides any Incoterm settings from the carrier profile for that specific order.
- This setting will not apply if the selected carrier does not support Incoterm changes.
Set Incoterms Using Automation Rules
Use Automation Rule Actions to apply Incoterms to orders automatically. Set your Triggers (order criteria) first, then choose one of the following actions:
- Set Profile: Choose a profile from the drop-down. This must be used in tandem with the Custom Profile Carrier Connection.
- Set Order Incoterms: Choose DDU or DDP from the drop-down.