Approved systems
Customers who want to ship in their system must use an approved carrier, an approved shipping system, or 3PL. A certification from Zonos is required to ensure the labels and paperwork comply with our labels and customs documentation specifications.
Zonos charges an additional 1,000 USD annually to ship with UPS, FedEx, or DHL outside Dashboard. Currently, FedEx, UPS, and DHL Express have not been certified to bill at an account level with Zonos.
Zonos fees still apply if you incorrectly bill duties and taxes to your shipper account
How Landed Cost guarantee works
At a high level, two things need to occur for Zonos to pay duties and taxes and for the Landed Cost guarantee to work.
- Zonos is billed for duties and taxes from the carrier (billed third party)
- Zonos tax ID is applied to the documentation in required countries
Certified consolidators
Many carriers support billing duties and taxes third-party, yet the combination of the shipping system and carrier can limit the ability to ship outside Dashboard. For example, UPS, FedEx, and DHL allow for the billing of duties and taxes at a shipment level (time of label creation). However, ShipStation doesn’t support billing the duties and taxes third-party. This means Zonos does not support Landed Cost guarantee for UPS, FedEx, or DHL out of ShipStation.
On the other hand, other shipping providers may have already certified with Zonos, and they can bill duties and taxes to Zonos at an account level. In that case, you could ship out of ShipStation if you used a certified provider and did not also use UPS, FedEx, or DHL.
The following shipping partners have been certified to ship outside the Zonos Dashboard:
- APC
- Asendia
- ePost
The following shipping partners are finalizing their certification to ship outside the Zonos Dashboard:
COMING SOON
- BoxC
- DirectLink
- eLogistics
- Landmark
- FB
- Floship
- ShipWizmo
- WW Express
Certified 3PLs
Depending on your 3PL, the carriers they use, and the shipping software, they may be able to support a Landed Cost guarantee with Zonos. The following 3PLs have been certified with Zonos and are supported:
- Barrett
- Complemar Partners Inc
- Creative Logistic Services
- DVA Express
- FloShip
- GEODIS
- Nice Commerce
- OurServiceWorks (UPS and DHL not supported)
- ShipTheory (UPS not supported)
- ShipVine
Certified shipping systems
Shipping systems are classified into three tiers based on their ability to support a Landed Cost guarantee. The following table outlines the tiers and the systems that fall into each tier.
-
Tier 1: Tier 1 shipping systems have been certified with Zonos and have integrated Zonos Landed Cost calculations into their international label process. All calculations are guaranteed and offered directly in their software. Even if Zonos didn’t provide a guaranteed landed cost in an ecommerce checkout, Tier 1 shipping systems will quote a landed cost and allow you to guarantee the landed cost when you create the label. Tier 1 systems also support billing duties and taxes third-party to Zonos without special configuration.
-
Tier 2: Shipping systems that support billing duties and taxes third party to Zonos, but do quote a Zonos Landed Cost guarantee in the system.
-
Tier 3: You are limited to only using a certified carrier or a couple of express carriers. The Landed Cost guarantee is unavailable if these systems do not support billing UPS, FedEx, or DHL duties and taxes to Zonos.
| System | Tier | Consolidators | FedEx | DHL | UPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| InXpress | Tier 1 | ||||
| ConnectShip | Tier 2 | ||||
| EasyPost | Tier 2 | ||||
| eHUB | Tier 2 | ||||
| LOGIWA | Tier 2 | ||||
| Proship | Tier 2 | ||||
| Shipping Easy | Tier 2 | ||||
| ShipTheory | Tier 3 | ||||
| ShipEngine | Tier 3 | ||||
| ShipHero | Tier 3 | ||||
| TechShip | Tier 3 | ||||
| Shipium | Tier 3 | ||||
| ShipStation | Tier 3 | ||||
| ShipWorks | Tier 3 |
How to process a shipment
Creating an international shipping label is not straightforward and will require configuration or a carefully followed process. The following steps are required to ensure the Landed Cost guarantee is valid.
Identify shipments to bill duty and tax to Zonos
The Landed Cost response will contain a field specifying if that quote is eligible for the Landed Cost guarantee if the landedCostGuaranteeCode is populated with ZONOS. If the field is populated with NOT APPLICABLE, the quote is not eligible for the Landed Cost guarantee.
Response
{
"id": "ldct_1Ce6vt2eZvKYlo2CrgzPqxaz",
"landedCostGuaranteeCode": "ZONOS"
}
Update Zonos with tracking numbers
Zonos needs to be updated with the tracking number after the shipment is processed. If you are using a Zonos plugin on Shopify, BigCommerce, Miva, or Magento and you already sync tracking numbers with those platforms, you can skip this requirement.
Bill duties and taxes third party to Zonos
Billing duties and taxes third-party to Zonos are only required with FedEx, DHL, and UPS. If you are using a certified consolidator or 3PL, you can skip this requirement.
Add the tax ID to the commercial invoice
When appropriate, providing the tax number on your documentation allows customs authorities to efficiently process and clear the shipment, which can help to avoid double taxation.
The tax number is often required when shipping to Great Britain, the European Union, and Norway. You can identify if the order requires tax remittance from the API or the Dashboard.
Add the correct tax ID
Add the tax ID in the shipper or from section on the commercial invoice.
- To European Union, use the Zonos IOSS ID
- To the United Kingdom, use the Zonos tax ID
Add the VAT message
The following message should be inserted only when a tax ID is put on the paperwork.
VAT has been collected at the point of sale for all items in this consignment and will be remitted via VAT #
taxId
Shipping system automation
Depending on the system you are using, you can automate the insertion of the tax ID with a rule. The shipping service level name will be prefixed with UK for the United Kingdom and EU for Europe, followed by LV, indicating it is a low-value shipment. For example, EU LV indicates you should use the Zonos IOSS tax identification number.
Action is only needed for Australia, New Zealand, or Singapore if you are registered based on the requirements in those countries.
Identify tax remittance in the Landed Cost API response
Using the Zonos API, you can identify if the shipment requires a tax ID. When the remittance object is present, the tax ID is required.
Response
{
"id": "ldct_1Ce6vt2eZvKYlo2CrgzPqxaz",
"amount_subtotal": {
"duties": 0,
"fees": 15,
"taxes": 12.25
},
"remittance": [
{
"amount": 12.25,
"description": "UK VAT",
"note": "Remit to HMRC quarterly"
}
]
}
Currently, the order in Dashboard does not indicate remittance or if a tax ID is required.
Labels outside Dashboard
Understand how to print labels outside of Zonos Dashboard.Producing a label correctly outside of Zonos Dashboard requires you to use the right carrier and system, and know how to correctly process a Landed Cost guarantee shipment.