How to configure USPS Direct (USPSDIRECT) in techSHIP [Guide]

The USPS Direct integration supports:

• Void

• Rate Shop

• Track History through techTRACK

• Label References

Information to be Provided

The following credentials and data points are mandatory to connect to USPS Direct. Ensure you have these items available before starting the setup:

Specifications and Constraints

Operational Details

USPS Direct processes small parcel shipments for domestic and international destinations using the services available to the account.

• Puerto Rico: Shipments addressed with country US and state PR, or with country PR, are handled as domestic shipments.

• Military and diplomatic addresses: APO, FPO, and DPO destinations use domestic services with customs information. Provide the applicable item descriptions, quantities, values, weights, countries of origin, and harmonized codes.

• Sender and recipient information: Both a name and a company are required, together with the city, state/province, and postal code. These validations apply to rating and shipment processing.

• International customs information: Provide an internal transaction number or an applicable foreign trade regulations exemption, along with the shipment's customs item data.

• Paper manifest: The integration does not generate a paper manifest.

Configuring a Baseline Account

A Baseline Account serves as the fundamental connection point between techSHIP and the carrier's system. It acts as a template that holds the credentials and fundamental properties required to process shipments.

The techSHIP AI Assistant is available from the Carrier page for supported Carrier configuration tasks. For detailed conceptual information and advanced configuration, refer to 📄 techSHIP AI Assistant: Overview & Availability [Information].

Adding a Carrier

Before adding an account, you must ensure the Carrier entity is available for your location.

1. Click My Carriers from the left menu under the Carriers category.

2. Click Add Carrier.

   

3. Select the desired Carrier.

You may encounter additional messages depending on the carrier status or your plan:

• Subscription Required (⭐): If the carrier has a star icon, you will see a message stating "To use this carrier, a subscription upgrade is required." Press Contact to Upgrade to proceed.

  

• Carrier Suspended: If the carrier has not been used for an extended period, you will see a message stating “This carrier is currently on hold...” Click Request Assistance to reactivate it.

  

• Setup Fee Waived: If a carrier from the same carrier group is already installed in your location, you can add this carrier without incurring additional fees.

  

4. If needed, update the carrier Name.

5. Click Add Carrier.

   

If the purchase confirmation appears, complete the following steps:

• Review the purchase notice and any applicable charge information.

• Optionally enter a PO Number.

• Select I am authorized to complete this purchase on behalf of my organization.

• Click Purchase to confirm the Carrier addition.

Once the Carrier is added, you will be automatically redirected to the Carrier page to continue setting it up.

6. Enter the Code of the Carrier as it appears in your host system.

The Code of the Carrier must match exactly the value defined in the host system. Any discrepancy (including casing or extra spaces) may prevent the carrier from working correctly.

7. Click Save.

   

If your facility utilizes the centralized Pickup Schedule, we highly recommend adding this new carrier to your calendar now. While not required to process labels, this ensures accurate induction metrics for your Insights dashboards. To learn more, see 📄 Understanding the Centralized Pickup Schedule & Expected Induction Logic [Information].

Adding a Baseline Account

From the Carrier page, click Add Account to create a new Baseline Account.

You will be redirected to the Baseline Account page to complete the setup.

Entering incorrect values will prevent the system from generating shipping labels.

General Tab

In the General tab, define the administrative properties:

• Name: Enter a descriptive name for the account.

Enter a descriptive name based on unique properties. E.g.:

• Carrier Name - Account Number (CarrierX - 123456789)

• Carrier Name - Consolidator Name (CarrierY - MyConsolidator)

• Carrier Name

• Usage: Select the most suitable option:

  • Test: Used for sandbox or onboarding purposes.

  • Production: Used for live shipping.

Keep the Status field set to its default Active value. An account must be Active to remain fully editable. For detailed conceptual information on account statuses, refer to 📄 How to Inactivate and Activate a Carrier Baseline Account [Step-by-Step Guide].

Carrier Tab

Credentials

Complete EPS Account number, CRID number, MID, Manifest MID, Consumer key, and Consumer secret with the information provided by USPS.

Sender Address

In Sender address, enter the warehouse induction address and Sender company. Complete Address 1, City, State/province, Zip, and Country; use Address 2 and Address 3 when needed. Phone and Email are also available for the sender's contact information.

Labels Tab

Formats: PDF and ZPL are supported for domestic and international shipments. PNG is supported for domestic shipments only. Use PDF or ZPL for APO, FPO, and DPO shipments.

Size: Shipping labels are requested in 4 × 6-inch format. ZPL output uses 203 dpi.

Receipts: Configure Receipt option in the Baseline Account's Carrier tab. Choose Separate page, Same page, or None for domestic label receipts.

Finalizing the Setup

Once you have entered the required information, click Save.

After you save the Baseline Account, check whether the Registration tab or a registration status badge is available.

If neither is available, the Carrier does not use this Registration workflow in techSHIP. If registration is still pending, open the Registration tab and press Registration, then complete 📄 How to Register a Carrier Baseline Account [Step-by-Step Guide] before creating shipments.

From the Carrier page, you can now see the Baseline Account listed with the administrative status Active. The Active status is separate from the account's registration status.

The Baseline Account configuration is now saved. You can continue with Configuring a Client Account below to assign the Baseline Account to a specific Client.

Configuring a Client Account

Adding an Account

Before adding a Client Account, ensure that the Client has been created. For instructions creating a Client, see: 📄 10 - How to create a Client profile [Step-by-Step guide].

1. Click Clients from the left menu under the Clients section.

2. Click the Edit icon for the desired Client.

   

3. Click Add Accounts.

   

4. Optionally, use the Search box to search by Baseline Account Name or Carrier.

5. Select the Baseline Accounts that will serve as the foundation for your new Client Accounts.

6. Click Add Accounts.

   

   A toast notification will confirm the accounts were successfully assigned. Click the Refresh icon if recently added accounts are not displayed.

   

7. Click Edit on each newly created account.

   

8. Configure the available options in each tab (except Carrier).

   

For complete instructions on configuring this settings, see 📄 How to configure the Billing Account General Options tab [Step-by-Step guide].

Carrier Tab

Service and Rating Settings

• Service code: Select the service to use for this Client Account. [Use Order] retains the order's service selection; [ECO] selects the lowest eligible rate.

• Override WMS Service Code: Enable this option when the configured service must replace the service received from the Integrated system.

• Package type: Select the rate indicator appropriate for the packaging and service.

• Processing category: Select the applicable mail processing category.

• Price type: Select the pricing category used when requesting rates.

• Destination entry facility type: Select the applicable entry facility type. Choose NONE when no destination entry facility applies.

Sender Address

Complete both Sender name and Sender company.

To use a client-specific origin address, enable Override sender address and complete the address fields. Otherwise, the Baseline Account supplies the origin address unless an order-level origin or an induction point applies.

International Settings

• Foreign trade regulations exemptions: Select the applicable exemption when it replaces an internal transaction number. When populated, this account setting takes precedence over the order's Internal transaction number.

• Customs content type: Select the content category for international shipments and shipments requiring customs information. This account setting takes precedence over the order's Customs content type.

• Importer vat number: Enter the importer's VAT number when applicable. This account setting takes precedence over the order's Importer vat number.

• Importer email and Importer phone: Enter the importer's contact details when applicable.

• Exporter email and Exporter phone: Enter the exporter's contact details when applicable. Exporter reference information is not sent for First class package international service.

Specifying Rate Shopping Service Codes

If this Client Account is used for Rate Shopping, configure which service codes to include or exclude from consideration.

For detailed instructions on how to configure this, see: Include or exclude Service Codes when Rate Shopping [Step-by-Step Guide].

Label References

Configure Reference 1 and Reference 2 in the Client Account's General tab, under Labels. USPS Direct supports up to two nonempty references for domestic and international shipments.

For domestic shipments, keep each resolved reference within 30 characters. Check the final value when combining dynamic and fixed text; long imported or copied order identifiers can exceed the carrier's limit.

For a comprehensive guide on how to use label references, see: Using order References in your labels [Step-by-Step guide].

Finalizing the Setup

Once you have entered the required information, click Save.

With the account configured and requirements verified, you can now proceed to process orders as described below.

Configuring an Order

The steps described in this section are not required for carrier setup, and they are offered as an optional review if further order-level configuration is required.

Follow the UI Navigation steps in 📄 05 - How to edit an order’s information - [Step-by-Step guide], using the carrier-specific values provided in this guide.

Carrier Tab

For the selected shipment, review the following fields:

• Service code: Select the applicable shipping service.

• Internal transaction number: Enter the transaction number for an international shipment when no Foreign trade regulations exemptions value is configured in the Client Account.

• Invoice number: Enter the invoice number to include in the customs information, when applicable.

• Importer vat number: Enter the importer's VAT number when it is not already supplied by the Client Account.

• Exporter vat number: Enter the exporter's VAT number when applicable. It is not sent for First class package international service.

• Customs content type: Select the shipment's content category when it is not already supplied by the Client Account.

For shipments requiring customs information, complete the item descriptions, quantities, values, weights, countries of origin, and harmonized codes.

Click Save to apply the order-level changes. After the Order is updated, continue with the standard shipping workflow.

Troubleshooting

• Connection or payment authorization fails: In the Baseline Account's Carrier tab, verify Consumer key and Consumer secret. For payment authorization errors, also verify EPS Account number, CRID number, MID, and Manifest MID against the information provided by USPS.

• Rating or processing reports missing sender or recipient information: Provide both the person's name and the company, plus the city, state/province, and postal code. Check the recipient on the order and the sender settings in the Client Account's Carrier tab, including any origin override.

• Rates are unavailable: Check Processing category, Price type, Destination entry facility type, and Package type in the Client Account's Carrier tab, together with the selected service and shipment destination. Ensure the Rate Shopping inclusion/exclusion rules allow the intended service.

• International processing requires export information: Enter Internal transaction number in the order's Carrier tab or configure Foreign trade regulations exemptions in the Client Account's Carrier tab.

• PNG labels are rejected: Use PDF or ZPL for international, APO, FPO, or DPO shipments.

• A reference is too long: Shorten the value resolved by Reference 1 or Reference 2 in the Client Account's General tab. For domestic shipments, keep each resolved reference within 30 characters.

• Primary Address Number missing: Check the recipient's street address on the order. Include the building number with the street in the primary address line rather than storing the number by itself in the secondary address line.