Right now, the shipping and fulfilment industry is navigating some big shifts. Global demand continues to grow, customer expectations for fast and flexible delivery are higher than ever, and many businesses are facing rising costs across carriers and operations. It can feel like you’re constantly under pressure to deliver more with less.
That’s why every update to Starshipit is designed to give you back time and control. Whether it’s optimising the flow of orders through your warehouse, giving customers a smoother checkout, or simply helping you manage costs more effectively, our goal is to simplify the complexity so you can focus on growth.
This month’s updates are focused on helping you fine-tune the details that matter most:
- Add HTS Codes to cost price to streamline U.S. shipments
- Define shipping zones once and reuse them across Starshipit
- Easily attach and manage documents directly from each order
- Improved order view: Find what you need, faster
- Create customised packing slips without starting from scratch
Each of these improvements is built to reduce friction, cut out manual work, and give your team the confidence to move faster in a challenging environment. Let’s take a closer look.
Add HTS Codes and cost prices for U.S. shipments
With all the ongoing changes to U.S. import regulations, retailers are being hit with a mix of new and sometimes confusing requirements. To help make things simpler, we’ve added two new fields to your Product Catalogue – HTS Codes and Cost Prices – to support you in staying compliant and keeping shipments moving smoothly.
HTS (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) codes are the U.S. equivalent of HS Codes, used to classify goods and calculate duties. While not mandatory for all carriers, adding them can help prevent delays or issues at the border by ensuring your products are classified correctly (important to flag, not mandatory). Starshipit will automatically apply your HTS Codes to all U.S. shipments.
Here’s what’s new:
- HTS Code support: HTS (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) codes are the U.S. version of HS Codes, used to classify goods and calculate duties. When you add an HTS Code to a product, Starshipit automatically applies it for all U.S. shipments.
- Cost Price field: When enabled, Starshipit can use the product’s base Cost Price as the declared customs value when shipping to the U.S.
- Built-in accuracy: With these fields in place, you’ll meet customs requirements automatically while keeping your pricing data consistent and compliant across all shipments.
This update helps simplify U.S. fulfilment, stay compliant, and avoid unexpected delays at customs, without extra manual work.
Coming soon: Landed cost solution
Our full Landed Cost solution is currently in pre-release and will be available to all users soon. It’s designed to give you complete control over duties, taxes, and cross-border compliance.
Here’s what you’ll be able to do:
- Show duties and taxes at checkout so there are no surprises for your customers.
- Collect payments upfront to avoid delays and reduce abandoned deliveries.
- Starshipit handles customs – we’ll generate the paperwork and make sure everything’s compliant.
- And if duties or taxes are higher than quoted? We’ll cover the difference.
This is the first step in making international shipping to the U.S. more predictable, transparent, and cost-effective.
Want early access or product updates? Register your interest so we can keep you in the loop.
Define zones once, use them everywhere
Managing shipping rules by location has always been tricky. Until now, if you wanted to apply a courier option to Australia (or any specific region), you had to manually enter the same list of postcodes across multiple areas of Starshipit. That meant copying and pasting lists, repeating work, and inevitably introducing errors.
With Shipping Zones, you only need to define your locations once. Create a zone in Settings by grouping together postcodes, states, or entire countries, then reference that zone anywhere you need it – from checkout rate rules, to import rules, to margins in app.
Here’s why it makes a difference:
- Less duplication: Stop copying and pasting the same postcode lists across different rules.
- Faster setup: Define a zone once and apply it wherever you need it.
- More flexibility: Go beyond static lists with rules like “all postcodes starting with 30.”
- Fewer errors: Centralised zones mean consistent, reliable logic every time.
“This is about taking something that used to be repetitive and error-prone, and making it simple and reusable. Zones give retailers confidence that their location-based logic will work consistently across the entire platform.” – Ron Bansal, Product Manager
Easily attach and manage order documents
Keeping track of shipping paperwork just got a whole lot easier. With the new and improved Documents Manager, you can now upload and manage order documents directly from the order details page, giving you complete visibility and control before printing.
Here’s what’s changed:
- Attach before printing: Upload and review documents manually right from the order details page. See every file attached, whether added manually or via automation rules, and easily download, replace, or remove them before printing.
- Automatic inclusion: When you print, any attached documents are automatically bundled with the shipment and sent to the courier (if supported).
- Attach non-courier documents: Add internal reference files like photos of packed goods, inspection checklists, or quality control forms. These stay linked to the order for future reference without being sent to the courier.
This update gives you greater flexibility and transparency when managing shipment documentation. You can now review and control every file directly from the order, making it easier to stay organised and ensure the right paperwork travels with every parcel.
Find the orders you need, faster
Views are how you power your workspace, and in UI 2.0, we’ve cleaned them up to help you work faster and stay organised.
If you’re new to Views, we’ve added five of the most popular ones used by retailers like you, so you can hit the ground running. And if you’ve built up a long list, you can now favourite up to three for one-click access, and use the new search bar to jump straight to what you need.
What’s new in UI 2.0:
- Favouriting: You can now pin up to three Views to the top of your list for quick access.
- Search bar: Find any saved View instantly without scrolling.
- Five smart defaults: We’ve added common filters to get you started, including:
- Valid address: Only see orders with verified addresses.
- Domestic orders: Focus on local shipments.
- International orders: Isolate cross-border orders.
- Packed orders: See orders validated with packing.
- Packing slip printed: Check orders where the slip has been printed.
These updates make views faster, smarter, and easier to navigate – especially if you rely on them daily to keep your workflow organised.
“For retailers with complex operations, views are essential. These improvements are about reducing clicks and making sure the right information is always at your fingertips.” – Shauni Drought, UX Designer
A fresh way to personalise packing slips
Do your packing slips need a refresh? With our new Packing Slip Template Library, you can skip the guesswork and jump straight into customising a professional layout that works for you. Whether you're looking for a streamlined picker-friendly format or an invoice‑style design, we've got you covered.
Here’s what’s new:
- Ready-made templates – Choose from three downloadable A4 portrait options:
- Basic Packing Slip: includes logo, barcode, address, order date, item image, description, quantity, and notes.
- Pick and Pack Slip: adds fields for bin location, “Packed” checkboxes, “Packed by” signatures, and shipping method.
- Invoice‑Style Slip: displays item prices, totals, and full order details.
- Easy setup – Download a template, upload it in Settings → Packing Slips using the Template Editor, then save and preview with real data.
- Flexible customisation – Use the built-in editor to swap parameters, delete columns, or add new fields. You can fully tailor templates to match your branding and workflow.
- DIY friendly – Want to create your own? Build a template in Excel or Google Sheets and upload it using the same editor.
“Our packing slip templates give busy teams a big head start. Just choose a layout that fits your process and tweak it as much or as little as you need.” – Shauni Drought, Product Designer
Every one of these updates is about helping you work smarter, not harder – from simplifying compliance for U.S. shipments to personalising the final touches that reach your customers. Together, they’ll make shipping faster, clearer, and more flexible, so your team can focus on what really matters: getting orders out accurately and on time this peak season!
Want to see what else is new?
Check out our changelog for the latest updates, including improvements to the carriers you already use and enhancements to your most-used features. We’re always making changes to help you ship smarter.