Shipping Methods
Shipping Methods is a simple catalog where you register the different ways your company gets merchandise to your customers (or receives it from your vendors): for example "Store pickup", "Mail/Courier", "Own truck" or "Motorcycle delivery". Once created, the shipping method becomes available to pick on your sales and purchase documents, leaving a record of how each transaction was dispatched.
What is it and what is it for?
Each record in this catalog is simply a name describing a shipping or dispatch method, plus optional notes. AdmCloud doesn't attach any automatic behavior to the method itself (it doesn't calculate freight costs or delivery times): it's informational data that gets stamped on the document so you, your dispatch team, or your customer know how the merchandise moved.
Its most common use is to flag, on invoices and sales orders, whether the delivery was a Store pickup or handled by some Courier/ shipping service, and also to define the default delivery or pickup method of an Online Store, when your company uses that feature.
How to use it
- Create the methods you need. Go to Configuration > Inventory > Shipping Methods and use the Add button to create each one, entering its name and, if you want, a note explaining when it should be used.
- Pick it on your documents. When creating a Quote, Sales Order, Cash Invoice, Credit Invoice, Promotion Invoice, Purchase Order or another transaction with a Shipping Method field, choose the matching one from the list. The field is optional on most documents.
- Review or edit an existing record. Click the name in the list to see its details, and use the edit button if you need to fix the name or the notes.
- Delete it once you no longer use it. You can only delete a shipping method that isn't referenced by any existing transaction and isn't configured as the delivery or pickup method of an Online Store.
Key fields
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Name | Identifies the method in selection lists (for example "Store pickup"). It's required and must be unique: you can't create two shipping methods with the same name. |
| Notes | A free-text, optional field to clarify when or how that shipping method is used. |
Validations when saving
- Name is required.
- Name must be unique: you can't create a shipping method with a name already used by another existing one.
- A method in use can't be deleted: if any transaction (invoice, order, purchase order, return, etc.) has that shipping method assigned, AdmCloud blocks the deletion and shows you the list of documents using it.
- A method assigned to an Online Store can't be deleted: if the method is configured as the delivery or pickup option of an Online Store, you must change that setting first before you can delete it.
Where this information shows up
- As the Shipping Method field on Sales Orders, Cash Invoices, Credit Invoices, Promotion Invoices, Historic Invoices, Customer Return Authorizations, Purchase Orders and Published Documents.
- As the default delivery or pickup method of an Online Store, if your company uses that feature.
Availability and permissions
- To view, create, edit or delete shipping methods you need the "Configuration" permission at the matching level (View, Add, Edit or Delete).
Tips and common pitfalls
Keep it simple. You don't need a shipping method for every zone or route; a handful of generic names (Store pickup, Courier, Own truck) usually covers everything your reporting and dispatch team need.
Can't delete a shipping method? Check the error message: it tells you whether it's already used on existing documents or assigned as the delivery/pickup method of an Online Store. Remove it from there first before trying to delete it again.