Box fees in 3PL Billing charge a client for each box used in a shipment, including wholesale orders. Configure them as a flat rate per box, a base cost plus markup, or a combination of both. Scope box fees to specific box types or warehouse profiles so different order types are billed at different rates.
For an overview of all available fee types, see Overview: 3PL Billing Fees.
Before You Begin
Box fees reference the boxes and their base costs configured in ShipHero. Confirm your box sizes are set up under Shipping > Boxes before configuring box fees in a billing profile. If you want different rates per order type, set up warehouse profiles first — see How to Use Warehouse Profiles.
Before configuring box type scoping, read Understanding Box Fee Matching in 3PL Billing — the difference between ad-hoc boxes and account boxes affects which setting to choose.
Table of Contents
- How to Set Up Box Fees in 3PL Billing
- How Box Fees Are Calculated in 3PL Billing
- Box Fee Calculation Examples
- Important Considerations for Box Fees
How to Set Up Box Fees in 3PL Billing
- Go to 3PL Billing > Billing Profiles and select a billing profile.
- Select the Fees tab, then click Shipments > Add Fee > By Box.
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Configure the fee fields:
- Flat charge: A fixed dollar amount charged per box. Always applied, regardless of other settings.
- Include base cost: When enabled, adds the box's base cost from Shipping > Boxes plus the percentage markup on top of the flat charge. When disabled, only the flat charge applies and the percentage is ignored.
- Percentage of cost: A markup applied as a percentage of the box's base cost. Only used when Include base cost is enabled. See the percentage rate warning in Important Considerations for Box Fees.
- Box type: Scope the fee to a specific box type or configure it as a default. See How Box Fee Matching Works in 3PL Billing
- Warehouse/order profile: Optionally scope the fee to a specific profile so wholesale orders or specific client types are billed at different rates.
- Click Save.
Box sizes and base costs are managed at Shipping > Boxes.
How Box Fees Are Calculated in 3PL Billing
The total box fee per shipment is:
Total = Flat charge + Box base cost + (Box base cost × Percentage rate)
The flat charge and base cost are independent and additive. The base cost and percentage are only included when Include base cost is enabled.
| Configuration | What Is Charged |
|---|---|
| Include base cost disabled | Flat charge only. Percentage is ignored entirely. |
| Include base cost enabled, box has no price | Flat charge only. Base cost and percentage components are $0. |
| Include base cost enabled, box has a price | Flat charge + box base cost + (box base cost × percentage rate). |
| Flat charge $0, include base cost enabled | Box base cost + (box base cost × percentage rate) only. |
Box Fee Calculation Examples
| Configuration | Scenario | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Flat rate only | $1.00 flat charge, 2 boxes used. | $2.00 |
| Base cost + percentage | $0 flat charge, $1.00 base cost, 10% markup, 2 boxes. | $2.20 ($1.10 per box × 2) |
| Flat + base cost + percentage | $2.00 flat charge, $10.00 base cost, 10% markup, 1 box. | $13.00 ($2.00 + $10.00 + $1.00) |
Important Considerations for Box Fees
Multiple Box Fees and Default Fallback in 3PL Billing
You can configure multiple box fees in the same billing profile, each targeting a different box type. ShipHero applies the most specific matching fee. When no specific fee matches, the default fee applies.
If you use box-specific fees, always add a default fee to capture any boxes that don't match a specific rule — including boxes added to ShipHero after the billing profile was configured.